I had a 16' Jayco Jayflight SLE. Added a trans cooler, trans temp gauge, air shocks, electric brakes, weight distribution hitch and a PowerTrax no slip locker. On flat ground, no problem.. At 60 MPH dropped highway mileage to 10mpg. Going over tall bridges, it slowed down to 40 MPH. Manufacturer recommend that the transmission (AW4) is in the D3 position while towing. I never felt 100% comfortable towing the camper even though my Jeep is rated to tow 5000lbs. It just seemed to work to hard to tow it. In my opinion tow a pop up camper and the lightest one you can find, or get a full size SUV or Pickup that has been designed for the heavier weights. Hope this helps

 

I tow a 2700#, 15' hybrid RV with mine with WD hitch, sway bar, and electric brakes. My XJ has upgraded HD springs front and rear and a transmission cooler. It's a bit of a sail, so I keep it at 60mph or below.

 

i agree that an xj seems to work really hard yo tow anything. I'll tow 2000 pounds or so but not much more. Like someome said above, its easy to get the weight moving, but stopping is the biggest thing. You can add trailer brakes and the works, but all you need is for them to fail and your toast. You should see how often people come in to have their brakes fixed. I have a half ton truck to do my towing. I cant even imagine towing 5k pounds like an xj is rated for, even setup with trans cooler and the works. Thats alot of weight.

 

Get a bigger camper and tow the XJ four down. I am in the process of setting mine up to be towed. Not only when camping but when it breaks I can tow it home with the truck.

 

You really should consider a weight-distributing hitch to put some weight on your front axle. You're well over the rated weight without one.

 

Yeah, that 5,000 pounds is WITH a weight distributing hitch.

 

I towed one of the uhaul 5x10 double axle trailers from Denver to FL. Had all my stuff in it, probably close to 5000lbs total.

Zero issues on the way back. My highway RPM was a bit high at 70mph, but didn't affect fuel economy that badly. Pulled the front driveshaft for the trip. XJ got a full run-through in the weeks before. Coolant flush, bled the brakes, new gear and t-case oil, Rotella T6 + .5qt of MMO, and MMO in the gas at every oil change. And the A/C and radio blasting the whole way of course
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35" tires & 4.88 gears had more than enough power up the grades going through Georgia. No issues stopping, obviously keeping the weight increase always in mind
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I would definitely NOT take that west on i70 through the Rockies though. Even with a 5-spd manual and engine braking capabilities

 

what on earth did you fit in that relatively small trailer that was nearing a total weight of 5k pounds? Lol.....are those uhual enclosed trailers really heavy? Other brand enclosed trailers arent all too heavy at all. I just cant see 5k pounds haha

 

Actually, your right. For some reason I thought the trailer was 2000lbs, but is only 1300lbs or so. Probably closer to 4000 lbs, wish I stopped at a weigh station on the way down

I had everything I owned in the trailer. Tools, jeep parts, a welding table, some heavy furniture, lots of computing equipment, etc. It was pretty full but I actually shifted weight around several times before I left to get it as stable as possible