Towing a Wide Trailer with a Jeep Patriot

[Abaker50]

450 pounds seems high for an aluminum trailer chassis. My 5x8' steel chassis was only 343 pounds. Even if your chassis is bigger, being aluminum, it should weigh less than that, unless that includes the wooden deck.

Aligator built a 6x11' foamie with a beautiful wood interior; but the end weight was 1640 pounds. If that happens, you'll have to buy a different tow vehicle. (Does your dear husband secretly want a truck?)

Well, I am a newbie.

Mostly looking at things that seem to be in stock locally - no they aren't THAT big. Looking at 6x8 or 10 mostly. A couple of them are snowmobile or raft trailers that, for some reason, are really good deals, but mostly all aluminum cargo trailers. They do tend to have decks or ramps, which would up the weight some. Anyway, just trying to find my way around, at this point. We're looking at getting the hitch & chassis after the 1st of the year, then going from there.

The Jeep was DH's idea - he wanted a vehicle with a back seat when our old truck died a horrible death. We'll be paying that off for a while, so another vehicle is not in the near future.

-Andrea

[S. Heisley]

450 pounds seems high for an aluminum trailer chassis. My 5x8' steel chassis was only 343 pounds. Even if your chassis is bigger, being aluminum, it should weigh less than that, unless that includes the wooden deck.

Aligator built a 6x11' foamie with a beautiful wood interior; but the end weight was 1640 pounds. If that happens, you'll have to buy a different tow vehicle. (Does your dear husband secretly want a truck?)

Well, I am a newbie.

Mostly looking at things that seem to be in stock locally - no they aren't THAT big. Looking at 6x8 or 10 mostly. A couple of them are snowmobile or raft trailers that, for some reason, are really good deals, but mostly all aluminum cargo trailers. They do tend to have decks or ramps, which would up the weight some. Anyway, just trying to find my way around, at this point. We're looking at getting the hitch & chassis after the 1st of the year, then going from there.

The Jeep was DH's idea - he wanted a vehicle with a back seat when our old truck died a horrible death. We'll be paying that off for a while, so another vehicle is not in the near future.

-Andrea

Yes, if they already have a deck on them, that's not bad; and, if they have a ramp, that would probably get removed, trimming down the weight. If you decide to build that Rapido (Is that the name?), you might have to have your chassis specially built. That's not a bad thing. Good luck on your endeavors.