Towing - how close to 5k lbs can it be?

Thinking about buying an 19' Airstream tow-behind, which will be about 4600 lbs fully loaded... pretty close to my '99 4.0 and Class 3 hitch's max.

Has anyone pulled - for a real trip, not to the dock and back - anything around 5000 lbs? How does the Jeep react, what can I expect for mpg, and do I need to add tranny/coolant upgrades?

Thanks in advance.

I towed a 31' 7400lbs Resort trailer about 190 miles round trip, only problem I had was tranny overheated on a long steep hill. My XJ is lifted 4.5" on 31's and no sway bars so i had to keep the speed below 65 mph. My mpg was cut in half, and i only get about 16 mpg as it is, so it was a pricey trip.I also have a hitch set up that is way overrated for my jeep, but overkill is king, and it was free from work, along with the elec. brakes controller, which helped out big time. I used a leveling hitch set up with 1,000 lbs. leveling bars on each side, as the trailer had about a 760 lbs tongue weight,(my son filled the fresh water tank before the return trip!).It is possible to do, but in hindsight I wouldn't tow something that big again.

Pulling that much weight with a stock cherokee is NOT recommended for safety reasons. Not just your safety, but the safety of others around you.

do I need to add tranny/coolant upgrades?
====================================
Yes, for heavy towing or hard offing.

Drive slower, stop sooner, use your head to keep you out of dodo not your brakes to get you out of it. You will do just fine.
Last year. The new ball and chain and I put almost 7k with 4300 LB of trailer on my 01. No problems.
I have done a few upgrades but I drive a stick and tow a lot. Clutch life can be short pulling a big trailer very much with 3.07s and a 4 to 1 first gear.
The only upgarde other then a trany cooler would be a better rad then ONLY if you tow a lot.

I've towed a 19' boat with mine. It had a tendency to push the little jeep around. We use a cummins/ram now. But I'll use the jeep again in a pinch.

Yes, it's possible. Yes, you need to make modifications.

If you're looking at hills and such, I would certaily add a tranny cooler. Better safe than sorry.....

While driving, that 5k trailer is gonna push the XJ around quite a bit. Don't know how much towing you've done (I used to pull single-wides for cash), but if you don't have trailer brakes, you'll be in a world of hurt if you drive like normal.

Overall, it's not too bad. Upgrade with tranny cooler (or at least temp gauge) if you've got the time. Do a full workup on the Jeep before you leave, don't want to get stuck on the road somewhere. And remember....You're now stopping the equivalent of 2.5 Jeeps, not just 1. Keep *lots* of room all around yourself.....and get trailer brakes!

In addition to everything else here, make sure you use a very high quality, high viscosity synthetic differential oil in the rear; like 75W-140 or 85W-140. I've towed around 3500 lbs before using both cheap regular diff oil and then with Redline diff oil and the differential felt like it was going to ignite it was so hot with the regular stuff. It also started to whine a bit louder, not so with Redline, or I'm sure any other good, heavy synthetic.

It isn't necessary, but I'd also recommend running a good synthetic engine oil as well (I've used Mobil 1's 15-50W when towing recently) to give some extra protection from the stress caused from towing.

According to the owners manual you can tow up to 5k lbs..... over 2k lbs you need a tranny cooler, synthetic differential gear oil, heavy duty cooling and I wouldnt tow anything that does not have brakes on it..... Also stick to towing in 3rd gear rather than OD.... HD leaf springs are something you should look into.....