New camper specs

[Jobofly]

Hey guys I am looking at a 2020 Apex ultra light 245BHS. The specs, dry weight of 4568, hitch weight of 578. i am towing with a stock Mojave. I am able to lower the hitch weight by 30 pounds by moving the camper spare tire from the tongue to the rear bumper. Thoughts on towing this? I ordered the curt echo brake controller and I have a good WDH.

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[Sbro2021]

I’m on 40’s, diesel, pulling an opus lite which weighs in a 2700 with all of our junk in it. The only thing I watch when pulling is the engine oil temp and the water. You can forget about mpg, gas or diesel. Pulling over 3500 seems to be pushing it in my experience so far. Also you can get an OE brake controller from Chrysler that works plug and play if you have the tow package. Took me an hour to install it.

 

[Sbro2021]

Oh yeah, you will be one of those squatter trucks with 500 on the tongue. It will drive horribly..

 

[KWin]

you'll definitely know it's there. I don't know Mojave ratings but I know having almost 600lbs on the hitch will get you close to your payload once you throw a 50lb Weight distribution hitch on and you're sitting in the truck.

 

[Jobofly]

you'll definitely know it's there. I don't know Mojave ratings but I know having almost 600lbs on the hitch will get you close to your payload once you throw a 50lb Weight distribution hitch on and you're sitting in the truck.

Payload won’t be an issue because it will be just me and the dog when towing it. My wife and daughter will be driving separately.

 

[Labswine]

I would look at a different camper...that tongue weight is high.

I have a Vantage Sonic SN220VRB where the weight is 4,720 lbs and the tongue weight is 420 lbs that I easily tow with an Overland.

If you need the rear bunks (which mine doesn't have) then I'd go with this one:

https://www.venture-rv.com/products/sonic-travel-trailers/SN220VBH.html

It's the same length as what you're looking at but, lighter by ~100 lbs and the tongue weight is only 440 lbs.

I LOVE my Sonic and the build quality is really good.

 

[Curt Oz]

Check out the GeoPro and Epro's
There's a Facebook page for Jeeps and Geos

https://www.facebook.com/groups/509315616286336/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

 

[rigger 17]

Thats a lot of camper for the gladiator !I had a smaller one i sold it after 2 month because i didn't want to pull that much around ! I thing the tongue was it worst evil . My Rubicon just had to work to hard on the freeways .

 

[Gren71]

?‍ there’s a LOT of nay sayers on this forum when it comes to campers.

im in a max tow with a travel trailer tongue weight of 715lbs and 6,000lbs of camper. A dialed in WDH alleviates the squat from a heavier tongue and keeps you level.

-your steering will be a little lighter. It happens with all trailers. Its not dangerous feeling or un-drivable. But it’s certainly different than driving with nothing on your hitch.

-your jt will dog down a little while accelerating. Thats to be expected while pulling…it never really bothers me because im not gunning it off the line with a camper. Its not a race when i pull. And by dog down..it just takes a bit longer to get going. The power from the engine and i feel confident on the highway.

-The gas jt does FINE on the highway with a heavier camper. I get 10-12mpg towing so have about a 200 mile range between stops. Ballpark that’s every 3hrs or so for fuel and potty breaks.

-keeping your jt in manual will help. That way you can keep it in the rom range you need. I am largely in 6/7 while cruising on the highway.

-i also used the curt echo for a long time. Great device.

you NEED to measure, or at least know the frontal area of any camper you’re pulling. There is a matrix in your owners manual that says what the maximum frontal area of a camper can be for your model. At no point what I suggest exceeding any of the manufacturers recommendations, especially when it comes to frontal area and hung weight.

a a caveat i live on the east coast as sea level. I pull through the mountains but the grades are fine. The only time they are an issue is if I see a sign that says for the tractor trailers to slow down I know the grade is a little more than normal and I will usually manually shift on the second or third for the climb.

i’m not super familiar with the Mojave, so I don’t know how it will specifically handle a camper on the heavier side of its tow spectrum. But just as food for thought the gladiator does fine with heavy campers.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

?‍ there’s a LOT of nay sayers on this forum when it comes to campers.

im in a max tow with a travel trailer tongue weight of 715lbs and 6,000lbs of camper. A dialed in WDH alleviates the squat from a heavier tongue and keeps you level.

-your steering will be a little lighter. It happens with all trailers. Its not dangerous feeling or un-drivable. But it’s certainly different than driving with nothing on your hitch.

-your jt will dog down a little while accelerating. Thats to be expected while pulling…it never really bothers me because im not gunning it off the line with a camper. Its not a race when i pull. And by dog down..it just takes a bit longer to get going. The power from the engine and i feel confident on the highway.

-The gas jt does FINE on the highway with a heavier camper. I get 10-12mpg towing so have about a 200 mile range between stops. Ballpark that’s every 3hrs or so for fuel and potty breaks.

-keeping your jt in manual will help. That way you can keep it in the rom range you need. I am largely in 6/7 while cruising on the highway.

a a caveat i live on the east coast as sea level. I pull through the mountains but the grades are fine. The only time they are an issue is if I see a sign that says for the tractor trailers to slow down I know the grade is a little more than normal and I will usually manually shift on the second or third for the climb.

i’m not super familiar with the Mojave, so I don’t know how it will specifically handle a camper on the heavier side of its tow spectrum. But just as food for thought the gladiator does fine with heavy campers.

Do you think an air deflector on top of the cab would help with aerodynamics and MPG?

 

[Gren71]

Do you think an air deflector on top of the cab would help with aerodynamics and MPG?

?‍ maybe. I suppose it sorta mimics what tractor trailers have on top of their trucks. But ive never really looked at them. I vaguely remember seeing a post a few months ago, where somebody found an attachment that kind of looked like a wing to be put on the back of the hard tops.

i also edited my post to add the NEED to measure the campers frontal area.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

It would be cool to test one out. If you gained 1 MPG, would it be worth it? I’ve seen them on 1/2 to one tons and thought I’d ask.

 

[Gren71]

It would be cool to test one out. If you gained 1 MPG, would it be worth it? I’ve seen them on 1/2 to one tons and thought I’d ask.

Id be all about it. Only thing that prevents me is I tow primarily during my soft top season so having an attachment on my hardtop wouldn’t be a worth while cost.

 

[Labswine]

My rig. 5,100 lbs with all we want or need and, just me and the bride in the truck.

As mentioned earlier, my Overland handles it just fine. So, with your Mojave having 4.1 gearing vs. my 3.73, it should do just fine.

Also, as mentioned, a good weight distributing hitch (WDH) will take care of a lot of that rear droop.

My trailer has a 420 lb tongue weight. I once measured rear droop with it attached BEFORE setting up the WDH and my back end only dropped like an inch and a half. Hooked up the WDH and half of that drop was eliminated.

Steering feels just as planted as if I'm not towing anything. Mind you, I'm not going to try the chicane at Nurenberg at 90 to nuttin' with it but, for normal driving, there's no issues.

I think you'll do just fine. Buy what will comfortably hold your family and also what you're going to be comfortable towing.

As Gren71 said, it will be slower coming off the line but you're not drag racing so just drive your own drive and to hell with what anyone else around you, on the road, is thinking. Also, like Gren71, I shift manually, and I also don't drive over 65 mph on the highway. As far as frontal area, mine has a pretty good slope on the front to help with wind flow over the frontal area. Yeah, it's still the aerodynamics of a brick but, compared to other trailers I've seen, that frontal slope has gotta help cutting through the wind whilst towing.

 

[Sbro2021]

Scrolling through the thread and total shiny things…. WTF is this add doing on here. Did a triple take!?‍ Bike nuts?????Taking ‘Merica a step too far!

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