Jeep Tow Vehicle

[foggy1111]

The new (2011) Jeep Grand Cherokee has some pretty good towing capacity....and I am considering buying one of these. They are rated at up to 7400 lbs trailer towing....which is the highest I know of with a uni-body / cross-over type vehicle.

I like driving a cross-over size vehicle for everyday driving. But that has made some issues for me when towing my boat or my tractor....as the tow ratings have not been there for my vehicle.

I am considering a Jeep Overland model (all the whistles and bells) and the V8 Hemi Engine and 4WD....which has a towing capacity of 7200 lbs. I'm tired of living on the edge of the tow ratings....and wanting a nimble SUV.

I thought I would give a heads up on this....as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the new Dodge Durango (which is just about to be produced) are both "cross-over" size and have big tow ratings. (FINALLY!!)

 

[BruceWard]

All VW Touaregs are rated to tow 7716 pounds.

I do like the look of the new Grand Cherokee. I wish they had 7 seats!

 

[foggy1111]

All VW Touaregs are rated to tow 7716 pounds.

I do like the look of the new Grand Cherokee. I wish they had 7 seats!

Yeah...I had heard that too...and have ridden in one. Nice vehicles....but a bit small for me....and my junk hauling (in the back). I always wondered how they got that tow rating on such a small wheel base...as found on the VW.

 

[foggy1111]

All VW Touaregs are rated to tow 7716 pounds.

I do like the look of the new Grand Cherokee. I wish they had 7 seats!

The Dodge will have the seating....and I was told a similar price tag.

 

[Diamondpilot]

We had a V8 AWD Mercury Mountaineer that my wife drove. It was a great vehicle that we keep for 3 years and 68,000 miles. Never in the shop a day and still had the factory tires on it with good tread. It had a 6,880# tow rating which I thought was good at the time. That new Jeep sounds impressive.

By the way I towed my 18' car hauler many times between my home and in laws, 130 miles or so each way, pulling my 5,200# tractor for a total load right around 7,000#. I also towed my uncles Corvette on the same trailer to quite a few shows with it and it did just fine. That load was probably 5,500# total.

Chris

 

[Dmace]

All VW Touaregs are rated to tow 7716 pounds.

The problem with the Touareg is that your only choices of engines are a severely underpowered V6 3.6l (280hp/266lb.ft) or an expensive and higher maintenance V6 3.0l diesel engine (225hp/406lb.ft). Most SUV drivers don't want or need a diesel.

Dropping the HEMI in that Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of the best things they did to it. 360hp/390lb.ft with the Jeep over road ability, looks and the adjustable "quad-lift" suspension makes a near perfect SUV in my book. :thumbsup:

I too am hoping the Durango comes with the 3rd row seat like previous models, the wife and I are looking to replace our 04 Chrysler Pacifica within the next year and really like having at least a 6 passenger vehicle.

 

[foggy1111]

The problem with the Touareg is that your only choices of engines are a severely underpowered V6 3.6l (280hp/266lb.ft) or an expensive and higher maintenance V6 3.0l diesel engine (225hp/406lb.ft). Most SUV drivers don't want or need a diesel.

Dropping the HEMI in that Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of the best things they did to it. 360hp/390lb.ft with the Jeep over road ability, looks and the adjustable "quad-lift" suspension makes a near perfect SUV in my book. :thumbsup:

I too am hoping the Durango comes with the 3rd row seat like previous models, the wife and I are looking to replace our 04 Chrysler Pacifica within the next year and really like having at least a 6 passenger vehicle.

Your in luck on the Durango. It WILL have the third row seat....and its about a foot longer (?) than the Jeep....if my memory serves. I think they are going to be showing up in November / December. I have read so much on these vehicles in the past days confused2. There is lots of fresh info on the web. The dealer I am talking to claims that the price for the Durango will be very close to the Jeep (when both are similar equipped).

I predict these Jeeps are gonna be HOT. Already hard to get the Overland model.....seems they made more low cost vehicles first...which is backwards to normal.

I think I am going to play "Lets make a deal" on a Jeep tomorrow.

 

[Ken45101]

We have a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 7000# tow rating. No way in heck would I ever tow that much with a small vehicle!

Yes, I'm sure it can PULL it. But can it handle that weight in an emergency maneuver?

I used to pull 7000#s occasionally (and slowly) with a half ton pickup. It was kind of scary. I only did it a few times. A 3/4 ton truck did much better.

I also assume that the Jeep requires a weight distributing hitch and a sway bar for that kind of weight.

I remember back when Chevy's towing guide rated the Chevette (a 70's compact car) for towing 3000#s! There wasn't even a way to attach a hitch to it that would handle that weight

Ken

 

[ovrszd]

I remember back when Chevy's towing guide rated the Chevette (a 70's compact car) for towing 3000#s! There wasn't even a way to attach a hitch to it that would handle that weight

Ken

I laughed outloud at this one!!!

I think today's specifications are a little more realistic than the Chevette, but I'm with you. I had a V8 '96 Grand Cherokee. It would pull a Offroad Jeep or my Kubota B3030 on a trailer but you certainly didn't want anything to go wrong!!!

I decided I needed a tow vehicle before I killed someone or myself and bought a used (100K miles) Powerstroke Super Duty for $12K. When comparing new Grand Cherokee prices, that still leaves me with at least $25K to buy a comfortable used SUV. Best of both worlds!!!

 

[Bikewanderer]

I laughed outloud at this one!!!

I think today's specifications are a little more realistic than the Chevette, but I'm with you. I had a V8 '96 Grand Cherokee. It would pull a Offroad Jeep or my Kubota B3030 on a trailer but you certainly didn't want anything to go wrong!!!

I decided I needed a tow vehicle before I killed someone or myself and bought a used (100K miles) Powerstroke Super Duty for $12K. When comparing new Grand Cherokee prices, that still leaves me with at least $25K to buy a comfortable used SUV. Best of both worlds!!!

I couldn't agree more. I have pulled heavy loads with a half ton before and lighter SUV's but there is no replacement for a proper tow vehicle. IMHO, anything over about 5000 lbs is in 3/4 ton range - regardless of what they say in there. Something as simple as getting proper tongue weight on a trailer is much more difficult with that much weight. Can a grand cherokee handle 800-1000 lbs tongue weight? If not - it has no business advertising that kind of towing capacity. Too little tongue weight results in a violent side to side sway that is terrifying in a properly sized tow vehicle.

 

[KeithInSpace]

...anything over about 5000 lbs is in 3/4 ton range...Can a grand cherokee handle 800-1000 lbs tongue weight?

Not sure I agree with everything you say. You can get F150s that are rated over 10k#. Not that I would consider towing that with a F150, but, say, 7k# is perfectly reasonable. My Expedition is rated at over 9k#...wouldn't consider more than 7k# in that, either. I regularly tow my 6,500# travel trailer over the mountains and other than having to shift into 2nd, there is no ill effect. I have well over 2,000 miles on this combination.

Of course, on the other side of my mouth I politely offer that my NEXT tow vehicle will be a 3/4 ton. Half to make the towing experience a little easier, and half to take full advantage of my 10k# rated utility trailer.

Also, I'm not sure of your tongue weights. Handling a tongue weight is a matter of structure. Any thusly rated hitch can "handle" the weight. Your question is probably more toward the suspension squat.

While I 100% believe (along with Chris and others) that a WD hitch IS NOT intended to "hide" an overloaded tongue, it IS intended to work in conjunction with the truck/hitch/trailer to maximize the tow rating. Without looking, I will guarantee that the Jeep specifications stipulate that the full tow capacity is only achieved with a WD hitch. Without one, my truck (for example) is only good to 6k#.

Having said everything I just said, I am of the opinion that a Jeep Grand Cherokee shouldn't tow more than 5k#. Wheelbase and truck width will bite you every time. As I said before, my 1/2 ton body-on-frame truck has no business towing more than 7k# for any appreciable distance.

So to generally summarize my reply to Mr. Dirtyoldman's point and my opinion in matters of ROUGHLY gee-whizing long-distance towing capabilities:
-Jeep/uni-body/sub-half-ton-whatever: 5,000# max
-Half-ton trucks/SUV's: 7,500# max
-3/4 ton trucks/SUV's: 10,000# max...maybe a little more

Of course, I'm much assured that others will have strong opinions to counter the above. These are just my mental rules-of-thumb having wandered around the Travel Trailer world for the past couple of years.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I couldn't agree more. I have pulled heavy loads with a half ton before and lighter SUV's but there is no replacement for a proper tow vehicle. IMHO, anything over about 5000 lbs is in 3/4 ton range - regardless of what they say in there. Something as simple as getting proper tongue weight on a trailer is much more difficult with that much weight. Can a grand cherokee handle 800-1000 lbs tongue weight? If not - it has no business advertising that kind of towing capacity. Too little tongue weight results in a violent side to side sway that is terrifying in a properly sized tow vehicle.

While I am not sure about SUV's I would take a 2007 or newer 1/2 ton anything than a 1997 3/4 ton gas truck... The new stuff is 10 times better and safer than the old stuff.

Larger anti lock brakes with disc all around, fully boxed frames, nice hitches, good motors, 5 and 6 speed auto trannys, ect.

I look back at the 1 ton GMC I had back in 1997. It was a 1996 with 4 wheel drive and was gutless compared to my 08 Nissan Titan. Yes, it will handle a little more weight in the bed but I guarantee you that Titan or anything from GM, Ford, Toyota, and Dodge made today will out accelerate and stop with 7,000# behind it.

Chris

 

[powerstroke444e]

I bought a new jeep in 04 and dealer said 6k would be fine behind it. I loved it empty and around town but with an honest 5,500lbs behind it got 9mpg and scared the **** out of me @ anything above 45 mph I kept it about 6 months took my bath and went back to using my old pickup as a daily driver till I could afford to purchase a second car for the daily driver. I towed every weekend at the time.

I will agree in the last few years the major companies have greatly improved most of the new suvs and trucks but I still like my old school trucks for towing. Even though I keep looking at the new Jeeps and fords with envey but I just have had the chance to use one to see how they do.

Good luck with the new Jeep and keep us posted on how it does.

 

[KeithInSpace]

While I am not sure about SUV's I would take a 2007 or newer 1/2 ton anything than a 1997 3/4 ton gas truck... The new stuff is 10 times better and safer than the old stuff.

That's the troof. And I'd apply it to SUV's just as well though the 'gap' may not be as well defined.

The CHASSIS capability between a 1997 3/4 ton Suburban and a 1/2 ton Expedition would be tough to call. Like to see that solid axle and 8 lugs. Of course the RIDE of my Expedition would waste the Suburban.

The ENGINE capability between those is no comparison. Even if you had the 7.4L (454) in the 1997 3/4 ton Suburban, I'd pit my 3 valve 5.4L Expedition (300 hp; 365 ft-lb) engine against it every day and twice on Tuesday. I may, just may, lose...but it wouldn't be by much. I'd even pit my engine against the 6.5L Diesel of the day.

 

[Renze]

The problem with the Touareg is that your only choices of engines are a severely underpowered V6 3.6l (280hp/266lb.ft) or an expensive and higher maintenance V6 3.0l diesel engine (225hp/406lb.ft). Most SUV drivers don't want or need a diesel.

In Europe we can get the V8 gas and 5 liter V10 Diesel.... I guess those big engines dont fit the "european" brand image VW wants to keep in the USA...

 

[KeithInSpace]

In Europe we can get the V8 gas and 5 liter V10 Diesel

Used to have those...no more. Didn't sell as well. VW asking prices are at a premium to other brands (justified or not), and putting particularly expensive engines in a car with an already overbearing price didn't help much. Or something like that.

 

[foggy1111]

In fact, they do recommend a tongue weight from min 350 # to max of 1,130 lbs on the Jeep GC with a 7200 trailer tow max. This ain't the old JGC....and its built on a whole new platform (check it out)...but I agree that you need to do lots of things correctly if you get into that big tow situation.

The reason I defend this is that I will on occasion use that max tow rating to haul both my tractor and my boat. I realize the weight I am dealing with and will be set up appropriately....and have done some serious towing and hauling in the past.

I just ordered a new Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland, Hemi V8, 4x4 today. It's gonna haul my tractor and loader, at right (with 800 lbs of fluid in the tires) and an implement and a tandem trailer quite nicely.....thank you!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Foggy 1111. Not sure what your trailer is built like for your boat but 9 out of 10 that I deal with on boats will not allow for WD hitches and if they will make sure you take the weight bars off prior to launching. They can get into a bind making the sharp turns sometimes needed and also cause issues on the ramp break over (transition from flat parking lot to the ramp itself).

Chris

 

[foggy1111]

I've got a Cobalt 222 (23' boat) that rests on an aluminum/galv. steel tandem trailer (the trailer has the cobalt name on it....but its made by Phoenix). I have two axle surge brakes on this trailer which seem to work pretty well (and two axle electrics on my car trailer).

IIRC...this boat weighs right at 4500 lbs (bare) plus the trailer...fluids and gear. No weight distributing hitch involved with either trailer. Hook it on the cat 4 hitch and down the road go I. :thumbsup:

 

[Dmace]

I just ordered a new Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland, Hemi V8, 4x4 today.

Congrats! Did you get that Quadra-Lift adjustable suspension or Selec-Terrain transfer case?

I love reading the comments about how an SUV or 1/2 ton truck should be limited to 5,000 lbs. :laughing:
A 3/4 ton truck for anything over 5,000 lbs? Give me a break...
I've put a pallet of wood pellets (2,000 lbs) in the BED of my 1/2 ton truck with no problem and I trailer 8-9k lbs behind it with ease as well. That's a 7 year old truck, these new trucks are even more capable.

There is no doubt in my mind that this Jeep GC can handle 7,200 lbs safely and even in an emergency situation, WHEN PROPERLY SETUP and with all the vehicles systems (brakes, suspension, transmission, etc...) PROPERLY WORKING. Those are the major concerns, the vehicle itself is more than capable.