And,

I am planing to tow it with my '13 Wrangler with the 3.73 axle ratios.  The Jeep is rated at 3,500 lbs with this axle ratio and the 192 is 3,449 lbs dry so I should be fine.  I have towed much heavier double axle trailers all over the state in previous vehicles so I do have lots of towing experience.  Have any of you used a Wrangler for this kind of towing, and what are your experiences?  Did you need a weight distributing system?  

Thanks,

No, you will not be fine. The 192 is 3,449 dry, but that does not take into account what you will be adding in the way of water, propane, clothing, food, etc. The loaded weight will be much higher. You will be well in excess of the 3,500 lb rating by the time you are done. I could tow it with the our Frontier Crew Cab 4x4 which is rated at 6,100 lbs, but the Wrangler just is not up to the task. Either consider upgrading your tow vehicle to one with a minimum of 5,000 lbs tow rating or choosing one of the smaller models that weight significantly less than 3,000 lbs dry (which rules out the 178 and higher model numbers). Please be safe, not sorry.

Edit: Actually, you could probably tow a 179, but it does not leave much room for  capacity. I originally towed our 179 with a 2016 Ford Escape SE with tow package and 2L Ecoboost engine. It also had a 3500 lb tow rating. We traveled a lot with it until we hit ice with a crosswind. That is why we now have the Frontier. There is a big difference between could and should.

If the dealership allows this, knowingly hooking up this trailer to your jeep, please tell us the name of the dealership and the salesman.

We want to give good dealerships positive exposure, and bad dealerships, well, they need to be publicly flogged.

My advice: have a will drawn up and a lawyer on speed dial. 

The sticker on my 180 says 2749 dry weight.  After adding sheets and towels, cleaning supplies, dishes and pots for 2, a tiny bit of food, water, sewer and electric hook-ups, a bottle jack and lug wrench and battery and propane (all with a keen eye for minimizing weight), my 180 weighs 3122 pounds. Its options and I added 350 pounds with the minimum stuff, except for the bottle of wine and bourbon, to be ready to hit the road.  I will argue with you about the beverages.  ;-)   

Towing experience notwithstanding, I'd be most concerned about a Wrangler's short wheelbase and the small distance between the hitch and its center of gravity.  You could have a "wag the dog" scene easily. 

                        JKU            GC

wheelbase         116            114.8

track                61.9           64.1

rear axle           Dana 44     Mercedes 195mm IRS

towing capacity  3500         5000

payload             880             1840

weight              4397           4632

design          body on frame    unibody with sub frame         

I wonder why the Grand Cherokee has a higher tow rating  and payload rating?

 

The three optional engines have a 7,200 lb tow rating.

Seems like its gotta be the rear axle capacity. Check the rear axle max load numbers, not usually published but they should be on the door stickers. Note that you do not get both the payload and the towing capacity at the same time. Best to weigh the axles loaded for travel (without the wdh tensioned) and be sure that those weights are all in spec along with the trailer weight, tongue weight and the MCGVW. 

You can't count on the wdh because its effectiveness changes with uneven road surfaces (higher when you go through a swale, lower when you go over a berm), so the stress from the tongue on your TV is still there. It certainly helps with ride quality and steering effectiveness though. I notice it also helps with front/rear brake proportioning. Modern vehicles have load sensors at each wheel and send more hydraulic pressure to the wheels with higher loads, so when towing you end up with too much braking action at the TV rear. The wdh helps that but you'll still go through rear brake pads faster towing that not, at least I do. 

Considering that 50 lbs of that is the water sitting in the water heater, you're doing really well. To compare, my 179 comes in at around 3700. I always have  250 lbs of water and dual batteries so that explains about 320 lbs. The 179 is also a bit heavier supposedly than the 180, and I have a "real" mattress, so add another hundred or so. I'm still a couple hundred pounds heavier. I haven't ever fully emptied the trailer to compare my dry wt to FR's spec but I suspect it is heavier than they claim. 

I'm not a fan of bourbon but as long as you don't ingest it as part of getting ready to hit the road you won't get an argument from me. 

Make sure that you are comparing apples to apples...

Check in your owners manual to see if the ratings are SAE J2807 ratings, and if possible, do the same for the other vehicle. 

Maybe they aren't rated under the same standards, or maybe no standard test condition is used at all for either or both. 

In the end it doesn't really matter. This is a place where the manufacturer's spec will prevail, however they got to it. You can of course always do whatever you want, its your vehicle, but if you exceed the manufacturer's ratings and have a wreck towing, an argument that this jeep should be like that jeep because this or that component is the same as on this other model won't get you very far in court. You might never make it out of debtor's prison after the lawsuits. 

Knowingly towing beyond a vehicle's capacity in some states is a violation of their vehicle codes and if there was an accident, there could also be criminal penalties; in the event of a fatality, even a vehicular manslaughter charge.  

Point is, towing too much trailer with too little TV comes with high motivation because there is a lot of money involved in doing it right.   That's a slippery slope many folks have gone down to their sorrow. 

We certainly agree that towing beyond a vehicle's weight capacity is dangerous on many fronts.

our 2012 ford Expedition EL came with a towing package and 3.73 rear ratio

Vann