Towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee

[SkipnTerri]

Has anyone towed a late model Jeep Grand Cherokee behind the Forester? How was the performance?

[MikeRP]

I have a 2014 I'm going to tow behind a Sunseeker. I haven't towed it yet. Mine weighs 4860 lbs so I'll be upgrading the hitch to the new 7500 lbs one this winter. I'll be ready to go in the spring. I've researched this a lot and talked to folks in person and on the net who are towing heavy with the Sunseeker. There is no problem with the weight.

You do have to get the right Grand Cherokee equipped with the 4wd system that can be put into neutral

I have towed 4000 lbs with no problems so I'm sure the extra 1000 won't make a difference. When done my gross weight will be 18500 lbs fully loaded and the gcvwr is 22000 lbs.

[SkipnTerri]

Thanks for your input. We're curious how it will do on hills performance-wise.

[MikeRP]

Well you will go up any mountain with the v10. The ford transmission is great. You will be 3500 to 4000 rpm on big hills and that is what the v10 is made for.

Coming down you let off the gas and the tranny does the work automatically which is very impressive. I still have the mountain directory east and west. I'm not going over 6-7% grade period. Hooked up or not. I will go a different way. I was on like a 10% grade in West Virginia recently in my truck no way I would do that In a motor home.

[SkipnTerri]

Currently we have a 2007 Georgetown with the V-10 and will be taking delivery on a Forester in a couple of weeks. The Georgetown has a tow rating of 5000 lbs. whereas the Forester now has 7500; however, there's a difference in the hp and torque ratings between the V-10s in a class A and C -- the C being less. Will stay away from the steep grades if at all possible.

[davepcpowernet]

We tow a Chevy Colorado which is just about the same weight as the Jeep. No problems, including up and down the grades on I90 in Idaho and Montana. The grades on US30 in Pennsylvania at 18% or so were a little harder but doable. The grades on the old logging road between Pemberton and Lillooet in British Columbia were slower, but still not a problem. All it takes is patience. (This and experience owning and driving log trucks.) The transmission does a great job in retarding.

[MikeRP]

Thanks Dave it's great to have real world experience from someone who has been there!

[Pacopico]

Not exactly a JGC but I tow my 98 Land Rover Discovery flat behind my 2013 3171DS, and at max GCVWR had no problems on any grade on a 2500 mile trip from Seattle to Los Angeles and back this summer.

On the trip I hooked up my OBDII reader to the data port when pulling the Grapevine 6% grade SB I5 on a 100+ degree day. We went up "conservatively" at about 45MPH, and got up to about 210-215 coolant temp before the fan kicked on and cooled it down. I could have gone faster if I wanted to wring it out.

The trans and compression braking also were able to hold me to 55MPH down the other side as well.

I usually go by an old motto I heard from truckers - go down the hill in the gear you go up the hill.

[EricInColorado]

Originally Posted by Pacopico

I usually go by an old motto I heard from truckers - go down the hill in the gear you go up the hill.

^^^ good advice

[MikeRP]

Pacpico,

Just curious did you manually put the coach into 2nd gear going down the other side of the hill or just tap the brake and let the transmission do the shifting?

[Pacopico]

Mike

Typically I have found that with tow-haul "on" you can brake for a few seconds using somewhat firm pressure and force a downshift. If I remember correctly on the grapevine I did manually select second gear as I like to conserve my brakes and it was taking longer than I desired to select second.

As well, it seems that the controls for downshifting use some combination of brake pressure, time, and vss input to force the downshift. Sometimes when coming off a hill it will roll a bit before downshifting and if you really get on the brakes it will downshift aggressively (i.e. hard stop event).

Most times I can just modulate the brake input and force shifts where I want them for deceleration.

On hill climbing I tend to select gears myself and or switch the tow/haul mode on an off to keep the engine in the gear I desire as with tow haul always on it shifts too much (in my opinion) and with it off it can shift too late (again in my opinion).

Overall I am happy with the transmission/engine combo. I have +/- 5000 miles on the coach and am still learning how it wants to be driven.

FYI the LR Discovery weighs in right about the same as your JGC...and with four young kids and all the "stuff" I am at the max combined weight limit. Without the car being towed it feels much more responsive, which should be similar to your weight with a tow vehicle in my estimation.

[MikeRP]

Interesting......when I did it a few times without the toad, all I did was get to my desired speed then tap the brake. Once I tapped the brake once I never touched it again. It automatically downshifted from there. But I surely don't know if that works on a hill like the grapevine.

But it's cool to know that a fully loaded vehicle is completely manageable with no braking or very little braking. Thanks for your experiences it is very encouraging and good to know.

[USNMM1VETERAN]

I have2013 Forester amd towing Ford Transit connect And just got dealer to put Class IV hitch on. As soon as house sells we will ne on road. My GCVW will be just under 21000 lbs. Need tow dolly for car. Am a little nervous, being this is first time towing, after reading about people having control problems driving

[Pacopico]

Back when I worked for a Freightliner dealer in the truck shop we had many complaints from Freightliner Custom Chassis Motorcoach owners (Class 7) about wandering steering.

99% of the time there were no mechanical defects, just drivers that were unaccustomed to driving a vehicle with the high GVW. What I found worked best for advice to the drivers, (and for myself) is to drive with both hands on the wheel (10,2 or 9,3) and leave your elbows resting on the armrests...it helps to fight the urge to "oversteer" the wheel whenever the front wheels follow grooves or the coach sways a little.

This works for me on my heavy 3171DS towing a heavy car.

As well, when driving tour coaches or tractors or class 7 coaches or fire engines they all behave the same as mentioned above...to me it is nature of the high GVW vehicles.

[MikeRP]

There some truth to its a big truck and drives like one.