After 10 years of tenting

Eperino · 05-20-2012, 01:10 PM

We think we are ready to own a 2007 Sunline 1950! We have a few concerns but it looks like we're doing it anyway. This site has certainly squashed some of our fears and we will probably buy it this week. Hoping we got a decent deal at 6,800. Hoping our 2010 Jeep Liberty will be able to pull it and finally hoping we don't outgrow it before we've gotten our money's worth.

DianeScraps · 05-20-2012, 05:33 PM

Hi Eperino and welcome! Sunline's are great trailers!

You might want to post a separate post so that it doesn't get missed about the towing ability of the 2010 Jeep Liberty, I think your going to be too heavy.

Eperino · 05-20-2012, 08:18 PM

Thanks for the advice Diane. A moderator of the site was kind enough to move my message so more people would see it. I'm going to see my dealer tomorrow and I'm hoping we just make it or else we're going to have to trade our Jeep in a year early.

Poppy & Nana · 05-20-2012, 09:07 PM

Eperino....I think the Jeep might be traded a year early!

Welcome to the Sunline Family, hope you are able to close the deal on your 1950....that was our 1st Sunline (ours was a 2006) - we now have a 2007 T2499! Oh and by the way and now tow vehicle to pull it with!!!!

**Sunline Fan** · 05-21-2012, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppy & Nana

Oh and by the way and now tow vehicle to pull it with!!!!

Kathy, did you mean you now have two tow vehicles or no tow vehicle? If it's the latter, what happened?

Eperino · 05-21-2012, 04:05 AM

So it seems most people agree the Jeep Liberty won't be able to hack it. Is there anybody out there who tows a T1950 with a Jeep Liberty 3.7L engine with GVWR of 5,000 or similar vehicle?

Poppy & Nana · 05-21-2012, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunline Fan

Kathy, did you mean you now have two tow vehicles or no tow vehicle? If it's the latter, what happened?

It was supposed to read, we had to buy a new tow vehicle........

We still have the 08 Ford Diesel with about 25,000 miles on it.....ya we use it a lot!

Diane · 05-21-2012, 06:41 AM

The 1950 is a great TT and you will love it! however, the Jeep Liberty will NOT be able to pull that trailer. The GVWR on the 1950 is 5500 pounds. We towed our former 1950 ONCE with a Ford Explorer and went out and bought an Expedition to tow the Sunline.

**Sunline Fan** · 05-21-2012, 11:49 AM

I recall a member who did have that setup a long time ago, because he was buying a new, leftover Sunline. As I recall though, the Liberty was a CRD version, not the 3.7.

kanyonkitty · 05-21-2012, 02:08 PM

Congrats on your future Sunline purchase. Now to your proposed tow vehicle. You state that your Liberty has a GVWR of 5,000 lbs. You NEED to take your Liberty to a set of scales and get it weighed. Make sure the Liberty has any & all passengers, pets, cargo, full fuel tank. Once you get the weight of your "road ready" Liberty, deduct the road ready weight from the GVWR of the Liberty) . If your Liberty does not have a class 3 receiver on it, you will need to have one installed and then you'll have to deduct the weight of the receiver from the Libertys' GVWR.

The 1950 has a GVWR of 5,500 lbs. The approx. tongue weight of the 1950 could be around 660 lbs. (That is figuring a 12% tongue weight, too light a tongue weight or too heavy a tongue weight does not make good towing performance). Now the tongue weight also has to be deducted from the GVWR of the Liberty.

SO, long story short, you deduct the TOTAL weight of your Liberty from the GVWR of the Liberty, what ever the remaining amount is has to cover your tongue weight. So, if your Liberty loaded ready to roll weighs say 4800 lbs, that leaves you 700 pounds for tongue weight. And that has you right at your limits, and it probably would not be a very enjoyable towing experience.

I am glad to see that you appear to be open to needing to upgrade your tow vehicle.

If you have any questions, I'm sure the guys on here can /will chime in and help you more.

Kitty

Eperino · 05-21-2012, 02:26 PM

Thanks everyone. The towing capability of the tow vehicle is a lot more complicated than I had anticipated. While I'm really not familiar with the technical jargon, it sounds like if it were even possible that it would be dangerously close to the various limits in terms of GVWR and tongue weight. I have been trying to read as many posts as I can in order to understand these values and their impact on the tow vehicle. While I'm open to an upgrade, I would really love to stay with Jeep and I'm hoping to continue to keep the monthly payments reasonable as well. That being said, does anyone know if we'd be safe with the Jeep Grand Cherokee or the Commander? I'm trying to head into the dealership with as much infortmation as possible so that I do not leave with a vehicle with an unecessarily large towing capacity and/or I encounter a salesperson who has limited TT knowledge.

Erin (A wanna-be Sunline owner)

EMD_Driver · 05-21-2012, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eperino

I'm trying to head into the dealership with as much infortmation as possible so that I do not leave with a vehicle with an unecessarily large towing capacity and/or I encounter a salesperson who has limited TT knowledge.

Erin (A wanna-be Sunline owner)

Hey Erin!

Knowledge of what your TV(tow vehicle) can safely handle is paramount. When selecting a TV, select one that will cover your trailer's MAXIMUM rated weight. The empty trailer and tongue weights mean absolutely nothing. What you will be looking for, while selecting a TV are these:

TV GVWR... The maximum your TV can weigh, with trailer attached and fully loaded with fuel, supplies and people.

Trailer GVWR... The maximum your trailer can weigh, when fully loaded and ready to go camping.

GCWR... This is the gross combined vehicle weight rating. It's the maximum your trailer and TV combined can weigh.

FAWR... This is the TV's front axle weight rating. The maximum weight you can have, on the front tires.

RAWR... This is the TV's rear axle weight rating. The maximum weight you can have, on the rear tires.

Make sure you never exceed any of those ratings.

Hope this is all clear as mud now.... We aim to please!

Gene · 05-21-2012, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eperino

... does anyone know if we'd be safe with the Jeep Grand Cherokee or the Commander? ...

First, I looked at the specs on a Liberty a few years back and knew the 3.7 would not be enough guts to pull with.

I had a 2002 Jeep GC with a 4.7 V8 and a 3.73 rear axle and it was ok with my T2363 (GVWR 5500# that measured 5100# on the scale). As I recall, that '02 Jeep GC had a tow rating of about 6000#. Currently I have a Toyota 4Runner with a 4.7 V8 (no longer offered, sigh...) and it has more guts than the '02 Jeep had. My 4Runner pulling my T2363 will accelerate faster than the 4 cylinder Tacoma company truck I had empty.

Bottom line is that you need to read the fine print in the spec sheet and then reduce those numbers by 20% or so.

Eperino · 05-21-2012, 08:05 PM

Hi again!

I have some additional information and I could use some more feedback please. I shared my VIN number with customer service and the build sheet indicates that we can only tow 2,000lbs. which is far too low as most of you suggested. We thought we had gotten the trailer tow package when we leased as we have a receiver for our bike rack, but apparently we did not and even if we had, the capability is 5,000lbs. with that package which I believe would still be too low when road ready.

As I mentioned earlier, I think our best bet since we are trying to get out of our lease a year early is to stick with a Jeep. The Grand Cherokee 4x4 has a 5.7L engine and it can tow 7,200lbs. Does this sound like it would be able to pull the 2007 T1950?

I'm still confused as to whether the values that Jeep provides are GVWR or GCWR?

Also, the person who we plan to buy it from has listed different values from some of the previous posts. For example, the ad states the length as 20'4", the GVWR as 5,000lbs. (2 people posted 5,500lbs.) and UVW as 3,455lbs.

I do really appreciate all that has been shared so far and thank you in advance for additional advice and feedback. We are concerned that the current owners may sell it to buyers who have a TV ready to go and so we're trying to figure this all out as quickly as possible.

Thanks again,
Erin

Diane · 05-22-2012, 08:22 AM

The Expedition we bought to tow our 1950 was rated for 8600 pounds and we also used an Equalizer WDH. The Expedition, fully loaded with us and two standard poodles and Honda 3000is generator, towed the 1950 like it wasn't even there through ME, VT and NH mountains and through western MD mountains. I think the Jeep rated at 7200 would work but hopefully John B or another of our great folks with more knowledge will post with additional information.

kanyonkitty · 05-22-2012, 08:34 AM

The GVWR of the 2007 T-1950 is 5500 lbs. as per the 2007 Sunline brochure.

The length is listed as 20'4", but I am not sure if that is just the size of the box or the total overall length.

I'm sure some of the guys will be along soon to help more with the tow vehicle, as I'm not as up on the motor info. as they are.

Don't get discouraged, the guys will get you straightened out.

Kitty

Eperino · 05-22-2012, 10:20 AM

Thanks girls! I am trying not to get discouraged. All this helpful advice and support is definitely allowing me to stay in the game.

kanyonkitty · 05-22-2012, 10:59 AM

Please don't get discouraged. Doing this homework WILL pay off in the end. This is the BEST place to get HONEST answers to your questions as dealers will tell you just about anything so they can make a sale.

About all the guys need is the info on the anticipated tow vehicle and they can advise you. It would be great if your auto dealer would let you take any perspective purchase to a set of scales to see what it weighed. The guys could then estimate the amount of weight you would be adding to the vehicle. Also, get the info off the door sticker about the weights.

Kitty

In 1996 when I started RV'ing, it was just my mom & I. There was no Sunline Owners Club, don't know if there was really any kind of trustworthy site to get my answers, so I had to do the trial & error method.

Gene · 05-22-2012, 06:03 PM

I think the Jeep GC with the 5.7L and the tow package would do very well with a T1950. The tow package will give you a few things like the hitch receiver, extra transmission cooling, wiring and socket for the trailer connection, and there will be a connector under the dash to connect a pigtail from a brake controller so everything should be "plug and play" as they say.

rebellious78 · 05-22-2012, 07:36 PM

Congradulations on getting a camper. You will be very pleased with a Sunline.

Dave