Why Does Hitch for 2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Have Higher Towing Capacity Than Vehicle

Published 11/16/2021

Question:

Looking at your 4500 lb hitch for a 2020 Jeep wrangler 4 door rubicon unlimited. Will it increase the towing capacity of the vehicle? If not are there any other options for increasing the rating. Does a trailer with brakes reduce the effective towing weight of the trailer? Thanks

asked by: Dave R

Helpful Expert Reply:

The overall towing capacity of a vehicle is always limited to the lowest rated component in the setup as that would be the weak point that would fail first. So that begs the question of why are the hitches like the # DT78MR that fits your 2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited rated higher than the vehicles they fit? Good question (pats self on back), the answer to that is that the hitches are first designed to fit the vehicle and then reinforced to make them as strong as possible and then independently weight rated from the vehicle. So what typically happens is the hitch ends up stronger than the vehicle and you'd still be limited to vehicle's capacity.

Trailers with brakes do not reduce the overall weight of the trailer as far as capacity goes.

expert reply by: Jameson C