New owner 179

Originally posted by dr2428 DanoJK,      Thanks for the welcome, we took a long time to decide but found the 179 just delivered to the dealer and grabbed it, seems like they go very fast. I've scrolled through your posts and find your upgrades impressive, and the Jeep. What tow capacity does the Jeep have? Looks like a longer wheelbase than a regular Jeep, I'll bet that makes a difference. Let me know how it does, my Santa Fe has great power but it isn't a truck, this is my biggest concern. I'm looking forward to hearing people's towing stories. Thanks for the welcome.

Sure, I'll pass along some things I've noticed about towing, lengthy post but it should give you an idea as to what you may experience.   We picked the 179 because we just knew we'd want the couch and wow did we ever use it this past trip while getting hammered with 6 hours of straight thunderstorms.  We would never have been comfortable trying to relax on a small or larger dinette.

With my Jeep, the 4 door Unlimited, I do have a longer wheel base then the 2 door Jeeps.  I am rated for 3500Lbs towing, the 2 Door is rated for only 1500Lbs if I recall.  I also have the lower HP motor than then the new 2012+ Jeeps now have, but I still do just fine.  I have a 90Hp estimated HP boost with a SuperChips tuner running their Tow tune and I fill up on 93 Octane for the trips which is helpful.  I actually run the Tow Tune all of the time and I use 89 octane when not towing.

Driving
When I tow on the highway, I'm shifting between 3rd, 4th and 5th a lot and my RPM's are much higher than usual.  But that's normal for a tow vehicle under load, especially with a 6 speed manual transmission. The Jeep normally runs around 2000-3000RPM so my motor sounds much louder at 4500PRM, but again that's normal for the load.  On your Santa Fe, you may hear the automatic transmission shifting a lot more often and the motor will sound much louder at those higher RPM's.  It's just something you get used to.  Overdrive should be off when you tow or shifted out of D to force off the overdrive highway gear.

On the highways in PA, which generally are flat with rolling hills for the most part, I have no issues keeping it between 55mph and 65mph.  On the flats, I have no issues maintaining 65mph in 4th or 5th gear but the higher grade hills drop me back down to the 55-65mph range, which is fine in the slow lane.   On the steeper hill climbs, I may drop down to 45-50mph and hold that in 3rd gear for the duration of the climb.  Those are usually the same hills\mountains that the tractor trailers drop down to 45-50mph so I'm usually behind one of them, in their draft which helps.  Again, it's not a problem, it's just to be expected when towing.

Some back roads on the way to our campgrounds have some really steep hills and for those, I've had to climb in 1st gear to hold 25mph with my flashers on.  I'm not the only person to have to climb at 25mph up those hills as I've gone back with just the Jeep and followed some other campers\trailers up those same hills.  Many of the others I followed had the same trouble as I did.  So it's not really a problem, it's just that it's a tough hill and a slow climb is to be expected.   Pulling out from a stop is slower for me through 1st and 2nd gear and if it's uphill, I may only get to 3rd gear and 45mph until I reach the top or level ground.  If I pull out from a stop on flat road, I end up accelerating as fast as any car in front of me.  Many times I could accelerate faster.  I've towed a lot more weight with a Tundra 5.7L up mountain passes and of course it does much better but I'm a Jeep guy and "It's a Jeep Thing" and I find towing to be very acceptable.

One thing I'd check on is if your Santa Fe has an Automatic Transmission cooler installed or if it is an option.  It may or may not need the cooler, I can't comment on that but I know most vehicles with a tow package will have the Automatic Transmission cooler installed.  It's not applicable for me since I have a manual.  The motor plays a big role but the Automatic transmission should have a cooler installed if it's an available option.

Weight Distribution and Anti Sway
I love the Anderson hitch and I bought it for 4 main reasons, which will most likely help you too.  I have the 3324 with the 2inch ball and universal brackets.  They make another 2 inch ball version with universal brackets but it has more drop hitch capability meaning it has more hole slots to lower the 2 inch ball to the desired height.  My trailer is jacked up over 5.5 inches and the Jeep is higher, so the choice of shank might be different for you, it just depends on the level coupler height of the trailer and the ball height needed to match up.  For the Anderson, it says install the ball in to the slots that allow the ball to sit about 1 to 1.5 inches higher then the level coupler height of the trailer.  It's not complicated, I'm making it sound complicated.  The dealer will know and follow the recommended installation guide if you go through them for the product and installation, or call Anderson as they are very helpful and courteous.

1) It's only 60lbs of extra weight for the entire setup.  That's a fantastic design accomplishment.
2) It's quiet (supposed to be really quiet but I hear some squeaks from the poly bushings, not a big deal) and very easy to use despite any of the earlier forum complaints before they mastered the technology.
3) Anti sway is built right in.  It's really nice to not have to worry about your trailer swaying and oscillating (panic) after being passed by a tractor trailer. 
4) I can reverse with it hooked up.  I can even go off road to an extent with the WD chains engaged, and I can easily disengage the chains if I need to.  This basically means that the hitch can handle non flat driveway, road, camp site, etc. transitions much better than other WD hitches.

While not shown in this picture, the ball on the hitch of my Jeep is about 1.5 inches higher than the top of the coupler "dome".  The top of the coupler is about 24 inches on my RPod, your's will probably be about 18.5" or close to that.



The Anderson requires that no grease be used on the coupler or ball, in fact, I had to remove the factory grease with a rag and Brake Clean spray.  Grease decreases the anti sway capability built in the hitch ball which is connected to a cone and surround by brake pad material to keep the ball from turning during a sway "event or push"  Your dealer won't understand the grease comment if they are not familiar with the Anderson technology.  I installed my own hitch right on the service bay floor prior to taking delivery.  I bought my 3324 on Amazon and brought my own tools because my dealer only wanted to sell me some heavy, clunky junky old school Reese hitch and they weren't Jeep people so they could not understand my hitch requirement and questions.  I was sold on the Equalizer until I researched the Anderson, the Anderson is just revolutionary technology.

Braking
I have the Prodigy P3 and have since found that 11.3 and Boost 1 settings work well for me.  You need to know the RPod will do some of the braking for you and should you need to initiate an emergency stop, you need to count on the Rpod's brakes responding correctly.  It's a constant adjustment though and I think I may up my setting to 11.5 just so I can feel a little more braking power.  You simply drive up to 25mph, let off the gas and quickly apply the Prodigy P3 lever-brake to full (not your vehicle brake pedal) and look to see if the trailer wheels lock up.  If they lock up, drop the voltage setting down.  If they don't lock up, raise the voltage setting.  The manual states to start at 6.0 and no Boost setting and work your way up.  Everyone is different but that should give you an idea.  You will get a feel for the RPod tugging back on you with the 25mph setup testing.

I always try to drive with a extra padding of safe distance but I have never had an issue stopping.  Even when coming down a blind hill and finding the traffic light ahead suddenly changing and the person in front of me slamming to a stop, and knowing full well momentum is not my friend in this case, I hit the brakes harder than usual and had no issues stopping normally.  I think the P3 is one of the best options out there.  You do need the 7 way plug on your Santa Fe, a 4 way to 7 way adapter won't give you brake control feature.

I hope this helps.  Please feel free to ask me any questions and I'll do my best to help out.  I didn't intend for this to be such an information overload post.

Leo B,
     Thanks for the welcome, I hope to learn something here and will try to contribute as well. I see at the bottom of your post it lists a 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan, do you pull with that? If so, how well does it pull? My biggest concern is pulling with my 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe, if minivans can pull the RPod I should be ok. I'm going to find out soon anyway.

     I'll be sure to add pictures when I get it, and tell how well it tows or not.

Thanks

Welcome to the group!! Congrats on your 179!!

Hello,
     Just purchased a new 2017 179, with work and other things won't be able to pick it up for 2 weeks. I'm looking for feedback on towing experience. I will be towing with a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe with the 3.3 V6 and is rated for 5000lbs. I will have brakes, weight distribution, and sway control. I've found several posts from folks pulling with minivans, and similar SUVs. Please let me know how yours does, especially if you have a Santa Fe.
     Long time tent campers, this is our first camper, we are really looking forward to using it before winter sets in. I'll be reading this forum for tips and tricks and will post anything interesting I come across.

Thanks
Danm