Just received my Featherlite Trailer to haul Gen 3

ZDigital1

Viper Owner
Joined
Jun 25, 2006
Posts
255
Reaction score
0
Location
Peoria, Illinois
For those of you looking to haul your Viper, I have been researching the various manufactures and here is by far my favorite.(Featherlite)
Here is my set up and below is what she will be hauling.

You must be registered for see images attach


You must be registered for see images attach
 

Bob K

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 16, 2000
Posts
732
Reaction score
0
Location
Woodinville, WA USA
That's a nice setup you have. How much does the empty trailer weigh and what vehicle are you towing it with (what engine?)? I am close to ordering a trailer in partnership with my neighbor who also owns a Viper (and a few other cars). I plan to pull it with my '06 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. It weighs 6,150 lbs and has the 5.7 liter Hemi engine. I am planning on upgrading the intake and exhaust and also adding a chip to crank out a few more horses.It has a 7,200 lb towing capacity. Am I pushing my luck with this setup? The trailer will probably weigh close to 3,500 lbs.

Bob K
 
OP
OP
Z

ZDigital1

Viper Owner
Joined
Jun 25, 2006
Posts
255
Reaction score
0
Location
Peoria, Illinois
That's a nice setup you have. How much does the empty trailer weigh and what vehicle are you towing it with (what engine?)? I am close to ordering a trailer in partnership with my neighbor who also owns a Viper (and a few other cars). I plan to pull it with my '06 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. It weighs 6,150 lbs and has the 5.7 liter Hemi engine. I am planning on upgrading the intake and exhaust and also adding a chip to crank out a few more horses.It has a 7,200 lb towing capacity. Am I pushing my luck with this setup? The trailer will probably weigh close to 3,500 lbs.

Bob K

Bob K,
The trailer weighs 3100 pounds configured with recessed floor winch, full aluminum cabinetry, insulated and lined in white aluminum. I am pulling it with a BMW X5 4.4i (320 horses). I was really suprised with the great handling and overall power with the X5. I'm fairly confident that your Jeep would be able to handle it with no problem. You defineately want to have a brake assist controller in order to insure good braking. I will post some interior images later once I am done moving.
Scott
 

FrankBarba

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 2, 2000
Posts
3,285
Reaction score
3
Good luck towing with your set up. The weight of the Trailer & your car will exceed the weight of your vehicle...
 

Frank 03SRT

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 2, 2000
Posts
1,225
Reaction score
0
Location
Somewhere in Kansas
BobK, look at your owners manual for the trailer front wind loading. It is the maximum front surface area of the trailer that your Jeep can tow. It might exceed that. I was thinking about towing a camper with my Jeep (06), and it exceeded it by many SF. Got a truck instead.
 

Joseph Dell

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 2, 2000
Posts
3,463
Reaction score
0
Location
Atlanta, GA 30338
That's a nice setup you have. How much does the empty trailer weigh and what vehicle are you towing it with (what engine?)? I am close to ordering a trailer in partnership with my neighbor who also owns a Viper (and a few other cars). I plan to pull it with my '06 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. It weighs 6,150 lbs and has the 5.7 liter Hemi engine. I am planning on upgrading the intake and exhaust and also adding a chip to crank out a few more horses.It has a 7,200 lb towing capacity. Am I pushing my luck with this setup? The trailer will probably weigh close to 3,500 lbs.

Bob K

Bob - I have towed ~6300lbs with a jeep overland (older model) cross-country with no issues at all. car handles great! that was an 03 overland. with the hemi, i bet it will be like towing nothing! I used to have a 2500lb steel trailer (open) plus viper + loaded up viper and accessories... and it was cake.

good luck!

BTW - i like that featherlite! i have an open featherlite now, but you've inspired me to take a look at that enclosed later this season...

JD
 

wallbanger

Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 26, 2006
Posts
1,961
Reaction score
0
Looks like my old x5. not a big fan of pin stripping but it did look good on the silver
b5.jpg
b9.jpg
b1.jpg
 

jdoc7

Viper Owner
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Posts
561
Reaction score
0
Location
Illinois
Scott! Haven't heard from you in a while! Hope all is well. That's a sweet setup you have there. I may be asking you for a big favor soon! :D Care to accompany me to Michigan for a short 4 hour stint? There is a vehicle in Richland MI, that I may be purchasing soon and would love to trailer it back.
 

ROCKET62

Has Left the Room!
Joined
Mar 6, 2003
Posts
2,392
Reaction score
0
Location
Phoenix, AZ bye-bye IOWA
Very Nice Combo. Viper looks AWESOME.

Only concern I would have would be total weight you are trailering with the X5. X5 itself only weighs about 5300 pounds.

As a frame of reference, U-Haul wont rent a car trailer unless the towing vehicle weighs 10% more than the combined weight of the trailer and the vehicle being towed.
 

Vypr Phil

Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Posts
402
Reaction score
1
Location
SoCal
Great set-up Scott! :2tu:

Could you post some pictures of the inside?

Can you open the Viper's driver's door with your trailer's side door open?

By the way, love the HRE 542's, they look awesome; just don't track the car with them!!! :nono:
--------------------------------------
Vypr Phil
Silver 2005 SRT-10 :usa: :usa: :usa:
 

Photog1

Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 6, 2004
Posts
765
Reaction score
0
Location
Morton, Illinois
Scott! Haven't heard from you in a while! Hope all is well. That's a sweet setup you have there. I may be asking you for a big favor soon! :D Care to accompany me to Michigan for a short 4 hour stint? There is a vehicle in Richland MI, that I may be purchasing soon and would love to trailer it back.


:nono: I think that is a Viper only trailer :D :nana: . Fords have to be hauled with an open trailer from uhaul.
Just kidding :D Jeff I am glad to hear you found a car I asume it is a GT
When are you getting it? Lets see a photo of it. It won't be long and we are going to want to get the cars out for a gettogether. :2tu:
 

lABrit

Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Posts
33
Reaction score
0
Location
London
Wow, that is the nicest silver SRT10 i believe i have seen pics of!

Really does look good, and this is coming from a guy that has a particular disliking for silver cars!

Josh.
 

jdoc7

Viper Owner
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Posts
561
Reaction score
0
Location
Illinois
Wow, that is the nicest silver SRT10 i believe i have seen pics of!

Really does look good, and this is coming from a guy that has a particular disliking for silver cars!

Josh.
It IS the nicest silver SRT-10 ever! And it looks BETTER in person!
Rob, check your PM
 

Bandit3

Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 26, 2001
Posts
1,510
Reaction score
0
Location
Atlanta
Beautiful set up, but it looks dangerous. My opinion, and I'm no expert on towing, is that your tow vehicle is too small/light. I see you stated the HP--that's not the factor you look for in towing, it's the torque. Anyhow, good luck, be careful and if I see you on the road, I'll give you lots of room. John
 

GR8_ASP

Enthusiast
Joined
May 28, 1998
Posts
5,637
Reaction score
1
Not sure I would be too comfortable with that setup either. I tow an aluminum flatbed (1200 lbs) behind a Durango with the 5.7L Hemi. Not an issue with that setup. But that is more than 2000 lbs less and a whole lot less aero drag. Also, given that you want around 10% of the trailer load on the tongue, how does the car like a 700 lb tongue load? Got to think the front end rides very high.
 

Joseph Dell

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 2, 2000
Posts
3,463
Reaction score
0
Location
Atlanta, GA 30338
I thought that it wasn't HP that mattered in towing, but overall wheelbase. If you have a wider wheelbase, you can tow more (even if less HP). My Tahoe with a smaller engine has a greater wheelbase than my grand cherokee with a bigger motor. but i can tow more w/ the tahoe.

something like that...

210hp jeep wrangler can only tow like 2k lbs. why? wheelbase, methinks...

JD
 

GR8_ASP

Enthusiast
Joined
May 28, 1998
Posts
5,637
Reaction score
1
I think many things go into the trailer tow ratings. Certainly, as Joseph indicates, the weight, wheelbase and track of the vehicle matter. As does the rear frame and its strength. Also of importance is the powertrains capability. That is engine, torque converter or clutch, transmission, transfer case and axle. Things like tire diameter and axle ratio play a significant part in it as the towed load applies significant inertial loads into the powertrain.

All said read your owners manual as the oem has gone through all the calculations and testing to prove the capability.
 

Bob K

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 16, 2000
Posts
732
Reaction score
0
Location
Woodinville, WA USA
If the weight of the tow vehicle is supposed to be more than the trailer how can Ford advertise (on TV) that the new F150 pickup can tow 10,000 lbs ( it might even be 11,000, I can't remember)? I doubt that it weighs close to that.

Bob K
 

IEATVETS

Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Posts
2,348
Reaction score
0
Location
Cottage Grove, Wis.
OK, I will throw this into the mix since I also agree that this setup is dangerous. My uncle and aunt had a 2002(?) Chevy Avalanche and then bought a brand new pull behind 30 foot travel trailer. They were on their way home from vacation 3 years ago on interstate 94 here in Wisconsin. Was passing a semi, the trailer started to sway back and forth, ended up going off the road and rolling 2 times! They walked away with minor cuts and bruises luckily. Obviously both the truck and trailer were a complete loss but now for the real meaning of this story; Because the truck that they were pulling the trailer with was not rated to tow that much weight their insurance company refused to pay the claim!! I believe that the Avalanche was rated to tow something like 8000#'s and the trailer weighed in at 11,000#'s.
A long legal battle ensued and the insurance company did end up paying the claim but after it was settled, dropped them like a bad habit.
Moral of the story, do not tow more than your vehicle manufacturer says to tow. Period.
 

Racer Robbie

Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 15, 2004
Posts
2,817
Reaction score
0
Location
Guilford, CT-USA
If the weight of the tow vehicle is supposed to be more than the trailer how can Ford advertise (on TV) that the new F150 pickup can tow 10,000 lbs ( it might even be 11,000, I can't remember)? I doubt that it weighs close to that.

Bob K

Bob,

I have the same Jeep as you and bought it to tow my viper. All car manufactures rate their maximum towing rates assuming you are going to be using a load distribution type hitch on your trailer. AAA just had a really good article on this in their latest newspaper.
 
Top