Towing with a Grand Cherokee

[zuley]

Prior to pulling the trigger on ordering our Elite 23RB I just about got myself a divorce because of the time I spent researching as to whether my 2008 Grand Cherokee diesel would drag a 4600 pound TT safely. The general consensous was yes provided I did so with the proper hitch. I ended up purchasing a Centreline hitch with built in sway control. Trip home from the dealer was pretty uneventful with the Jeep doing as expected. Unlimited pulling power but I had to certainly be aware I had something behind me. Fast forward two weeks to this past weekend. Again we hooked up and headed out roughly 130 km from home for a three day weekend. Heading home Monday aft all was well. Running at about 85 km on a county hwy when I took a gust of wind from the right hand side. There was no sway whatsoever but both the Jeep and the trailer responded as one and I crossed the centre line. Fortunatly there was no one coming towards me at the time. However, it did scare me. Two hands on the wheel the rest of the way home. I'm thinking the short wheel base of the Jeep is to blame.
So, today I show up at work. The nice thing about working for an automotive dealership is that it does not take long to purchase a vehicle. By 9:30 I had a new 2013 goat on order. Ordered a SLT hemi quad 4 by, 3:92 gears, and tow package. No more uncertainty as to whether we are safe to tow.

[labs4life]

Congrats on the new digs, tow vehicle and trailer!! Enjoy
It makes life more pleasant to be properly equipped!!

[davidjsimons]

Congratulations on the new Goat! A Goat owner here myself and love it.


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[dbailey1111]

You'll be much more happy with the way it pulls the 23rb. I just purchased the same unit and pull with a 06 f-150 HD, ext. Cab, 5.4, 4:10 gears. If handles the trailer great. Have towed with and without weight dist. setup and can't tell much difference. With weight dist. Connected only thing I've noticed different is the ride is a little rougher. Haven't installed the sway control yet but don't think I need it.

[Randy_K]

Congrats on the new TV . I guess you can always sleep in the new TT until the DW cools down a bit :o. You can see the numbers i got with the set up on mine here.. http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11427

I hope to wait a few years before i have to change my TV but i think i will go with a 3/4 ton diesel next time. I guess i have to agree with those that say " you can never have too much truck"

Randy

[davidjsimons]

I guess i have to agree with those that say " you can never have too much truck"

Randy

Amen!


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[zuley]

New truck arrived last Friday. It's a good thing I did not read that paragraph in the owners manual about not towing with a new vehicle for the first 800 km. I believe there was 70 km on it when I hooked the trailer up and left the next morning for our weeks vacation. Warranty issues? Naaa, Dodges don't break down. :D Had the truck not arrived I would have used the Jeep for one more trip. Truck towed like a dream. Averaged just short of 19 litres per 100 km towing 5500 pounds. I certainly did the research and firmly believed the Jeep would do the job prior to us ordering the new camper. It was like night and day between the two. The short wheel base of the Jeep is the week link which I never considered when doing my research.