Bought a T@B 400 Boondock Lite

Primer5513

Hi. I’m Bea 🇵🇷 and I’m new here. I just bought my T@B 400 Boondock Lite that I tow with my 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. I’ve named my trailer C@rlsson, after my beautiful Swede that was supposed to travel the world with me but passed away from cancer. He will still travel the world with me ❤️. I’m hoping to meet lots of fellow travelers and become part of this beautiful community. I went on my maiden voyage last week and boondocked for a few days and it was great.  Please say hi 👋.  I’m shy and want to meet lots of people here 😊

Sharon_is_SAM

Hi Bea!  Welcome.  Pictures or it didn’t happen!  Try to add a signature line with your model TaB and TV.

Denny16

Hi and welcome aboard.  I assume your Wrangler is the 4-door model, with a 3,500 lbs tow rating.  That said, what year is the TaB400?  In any case you are on the edge your max towing capacity.  Your tongue weight capacity is only 350 lbs, based on the 3500 lbs towing capacity.  

A TaB 400 loaded is going to be 3,000+ lbs, tongue weight can be 400lbs, get you trailer tongue weighed with the trailer loaded as you would for camping.

Also, measure the distance from the ground to the bottom of the tow receiver, before and after connecting the trailer, see how far if any the Jeep drops down with the weight of the trailer attached.  

While on a level spot see if the Jeep still sitting level with the trailer attached, or is the back lower?  If so, your tongue weight may be too much for the Jeep rear springs.  

Cheers

VictoriaP

Hi, Bea, and welcome to the family! 

I have to add on to Denny’s comment above, the minimum towing capacity needed for a 400 is 5,000 pounds, with a 500 lb tongue weight limit, and your Wrangler is well under that. If you are new to towing, you may not realize that trailer manufacturers do not estimate your fully loaded tongue weight; rather, they typically publish an empty weight, which for some years doesn’t even include propane or batteries. Additionally, certain model years of the 400 are known to be significantly front heavy, and do not match published tongue weights. We’ve had quite a few 400 owners who were surprised to find their loaded trailers had tongue weights of over 500 lbs!

A too heavy tongue weight can do significant damage to the structure of your vehicle. Going over any weight limits can negate any insurance claims you make in the event of an accident. 

Please, do look deeper into this issue. This is unlikely to be a safe towing combination.

Denny16

Yes, the Wrangler can safely tow a TaB320, but the 400 is in the edge.  I traded my small Jeep in for the Jeep Gladiator truck, which is the smallest tow vehicle I would consider for a 2018-2020 TaB400.  The new TaB2021 has a different setup, as the axle has been moved forward, but still loaded, you can be a 3,500 lbs trailer weight.  

If you do decide to use the Wrangler, for safety, keep your speed at 55max, 45-50 is better, to allow for more control over the trailer. Going slower will increase your mpg rating also.  Keep your trips as local as possible for a few test runs.

Get a brake controller, I use the Kurt Echo with my Jeep JT, works great, and has a trailer brake button on the smart phone app, that you use with the Echo to set it up.  If you plan to go cross country, you should really consider a bigger tow vehicle.  

Cheers

Primer5513

Hi,
yes, sadly that I found out pretty quick on my 2nd camping trip to the mountains that my Wrangler was not equipped to safely tow my T@B 400 and so I sold it and bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the towing package and it is rated to tow 6,200 lbs. omg, what a difference! Like night and day! This was a very important learning point for me and I definitely should have done more research on my towing vehicle. But now we are set and went back to the mountains and my new Jeep handled it like a dream. It has aV8 hemi so I barely even felt the trailer at all. Thank you guys for your valid concern and advice 🙏.  

Here is the photo of my T@B and new tow vehicle  we’ve been on 3 camping trips and have had no problems  I’ll be going to French Meadows campground near the Tahoe forest this month and then to Pinnacles National Park in November  😁

(Photo deleted due to sizing.  @Pr@Primer5513   https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/47/what-size-should-my-posted-forum-photos-be#latest   Try Image Size app for phone photos!  Sharon - Moderator)