Can a 2012 JKUR pull a Coleman Evolution E1 comfortably?

[Longtallsally]

I answered my own question: Yes, I still need to splice into the brake switch.

So my game plan is this:
1) Run the OEM 7 pin harness (hooking up to the drivers side tail lamp and up to the bay and the pos and neg of the battery and run the blue wire to the cab)
2) Wire the controller to the brake light switch (still need to determine which wire is the correct one), connect the blue wire from the OEM harness to the controller harness, and just run a pos and neg wire to the bay and the respective terminals on the battery.

I really don't want to do the splice, but according to Tekonsha, I don't have a choice. I'm a little nervous as I am very much against this, but there really isn't another way.

I also am unsure if I should put the hot and ground for the controller through a relay, or is there one in the controller itself?

 

[Longtallsally]

We got it! The price was fair, he threw in a bunch of stuff, and generally speaking it is in darn good shape- not showroom, but we negotiated to get it to where we both were happy. Enough babbling, here it is:

Yes, one of the covers flew off on the way home. Already something to fix, but I don't think a big deal.

None of it popped up yet as we were on a short timeline today, but getting to the purpose of the thread, it was a total joke to tow. The trailer brakes barely let me know it was there and we even approached 18mpg on the way home, which included 3 passes to go over.

We are really excited!

 

[Power Wagon Family]

Looks Great!! Good for you guys I hope you enjoy it. By the way like the Dozer Rubi. :ylsmoke:

 

[HenryJ]

Looks wonderful!

 

[crawler#976]

We have a similar setup - StarCraft RT10, and '12 JKUR. We don't tow it with the Jeep - the tongue weigth is too high for the Jeep. We tow it with the Power Wagon, and with 25 gallons of water, both LP tanks full, and the DieHard G31M up front, it drops the suspenstion almost 2" on a 3/4T truck.

The 3.6L would have no problem hauling it. That motor has plenty of grunt! So, IMO, it's not the gross weight that would be the problem - find out what the tongue weight is.

 

[HenryJ]

I agree. Tongue weight on these adds up fast. I have done what I can to counter the forward weight. The hitch tray on the back with a full cooler, filling the water heater and stowing the heavier supplies behind the axle helps.
I did add air bags to the back of my Avalanche to level it up a little. Many have installed weight distributing hitches. I think that would greatly limit offroad clearance though.

 

[Longtallsally]

Tongue weight is a concern, but like Henryj mentioned, there are some things I'll be able to do in order to offset it. As it stood towing home, propane tanks were full, and a slew of extras inside, so probably not too far off.

We just put a 2" spring lift on the Jeep which helped immensely as you can see, it barely dipped the rear. I think with a full water tank, a cooler and other stuff hanging off the rear, the WR or the like the front deck shouldn't dip it that much more. My calculations on hitch height put us at needing to be directly even for the ball- so with a 2" drop, I thought we'd need to flip the ball but again, as you see, it turned out perfect.

The main things to do at this point are to do our own cleaning of it (although the previous owner was pretty meticulous), for me to learn the systems and proper use and maintenance, and troubleshoot why the passenger side turn signal won't work. Then it will be a first trip out. Then we'll slowly start to determine what to bring, how much to bring, and weight distribution. I feel I have A LOT of headroom right now on gear. I'm hoping I won't need a load leveling hitch, but we'll see once I get to the point of putting the bike up there.

 

[HenryJ]

For the tail light issue. Check the trailers plug first. I found corrosion in mine and the left turn signal wire disconnected. Tinning (solder) the wires and coating with dielectric silicone is a good preventative measure. It takes some time, but is worth it in the long run.

 

[monkeyplunger]

We have the exact same E1 and love it (tow with a xterra). The first thing I did was to install LED lights (2 inside and one red out). This saves a bunch of power. Another very useful mod, was to add a small computer fan and switch to the fridge. I zip tied the fan to the fridge cooling fins. This made a ten fold improvement in the fridges cooling capacity. It now can get to freezing temps.

I also upgraded to a group 27 decka battery since the battery it came with died. The difference in price between a 23 and 27 is minimal in cost and worth the extra power. The new 27 batt box is about 9 bucks at Wally mart. Only Change needed was to reverse the small "L" locating brackets on the tray o accommodate the increased length of battery.

Another good device to have is a high quality battery tender with temp control. It will make you battery last much longer and will always maintain full chrage ready every time you go camping.

Next modification is to make a side table which attaches to the grill mount. I have all the parts and will post pics Ina couple of weeks. I found I hardly ever use he grill it came with.

After a few uses I decided to add a brake controller and Firestone air bags to the xterra. A huge improvement in handling.

Hope ou enjoy your E1 as much as we do!

 

[Longtallsally]

Yeah we're really excited. I've not touched it since we got it as I've been focusing on getting the Jeep ready for the Rubicon this weekend.

In terms of upgrades, we mistt have really done well:
- already has the computer fan for the fridge
- already has mostly LED lights
- has a solar panel for battery maintenance (I want to eventually get to full solar sustainment)
- it has the outside grill as well as an awning for both sides

The first thing to do other than fix the tail light will be to figure out getting the WR on the front. We're crazy excited and already have 2 trips planned with it after the Rubicon.