Conflicting requirements for towing 2014 Jeep Cherokee

The parking brake "will auto engage" if in gear with engine running and you open the driver door.

roam1 wrote:
What ever you do, make sure the parking brake did not auto engage while you were hooking up and going to neutral. Mine did once and I noticed the wheels would not roll. There are lots of reasons a it will auto engage, understand them!

Never had mine engage by itself but easy to hit the button and that little sucker will come on, and when the dash lights etc go off when you are ready to tow that tiny light on the brake goes off too, so you do not know its on

What ever you do, make sure the parking brake did not auto engage while you were hooking up and going to neutral. Mine did once and I noticed the wheels would not roll. There are lots of reasons a it will auto engage, understand them!

I have the 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited and completely agree with your comments on the towing instructions. They were the same on the 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee we had.

We always hook up first, then do the jeep process to get it set up for towing. One in three times, we don't guess right and have to move the jeep a little forward or backwards to get the tow bar attached.

Plus I think it is much safer to be attached and use the motorhome brakes before putting the jeep in neutral.

I don't think it matters what towbar you use. We have a readybrute.

The instructions also say after putting the 4wd ptu in neutral, to start the engine and put the transmission in reverse, then release the brake to check the jeep doesn't move. Well, it does move if you are headed uphill due to gravity! So this makes no sense to me either. Does Jeep think we are all on level grounds when we hook up... don't I wish!

I still put the jeep in reverse, just in case there is another reason for going thru the gears in the order listed.

Because I hook up first, I don't use the parking brake. We had it go on on its own when the door was open, and it locks the rear wheels. It's electronic and I'm still not clear what must happen before you can release it.

So the order is: hook up, put the jeep in towing gear, check the brake lights, then move forward and check the wheels all move (no parking brake.)

We towed the jeep 4000 miles this summer and hooked up first every time.

Susan

The Latitude I bought has the active drive II. I made sure what would tow behind the MH. I was just being lazy typing on my Kindle Fire and did not want to have to type ALL the Jeep instructions. I am talking about putting it into Neutral (N) with the little button and not the shift lever.

I just picked it from having the base plate installed. Will test it tomorrow if no rain. I am going to attach it to the MH and then do all the stuff Jeep recommends. And I will avoid putting it in Park so I don't forget at some point. Even with a checklist, things happen. Since my M&G system won't fit, next comes the Air Force One brake installation.

Thanks for all your help.

TedToo

I drive my Trailhawk to MH, put in park, hook up tow bar, put xfer case in Neutral per the manual, disengage electric parking brake, put tranny in drive and confirm it does not move, if so, move tranny to park and release the electric parking brake ( because it automatically engages when you put tranny in park), remove key.

When I first start the motorhome, I put it in drive and see if it will roll without the accelerator, if so and toad wheels are rolling and turning I smile and GO!

mowermech wrote:
...My reasoning is simple:...

Agreed with your entire post.
Driving Jeep to RV, much easier then backing RV to Jeep.
Parking brake only if on a hill.
Shut off engine, and swap key for a key without the sentry chip.
Hook up tow-bar.
Put Jeep in 3rd gear manual, transfer case to neutral, brake off(in case the Jeep starts to roll backwards I can control the rate of roll (or I can, if really steep, get in the drivers seat and use the foot pedal brake)).

In RV, watch and listen to backup camera closely.
Check that the tow bar locks when extended.
Check that the Jeep front tires/steering wheel turn while making first turn.

Turn down the camera volume, cause its annoying, but like to have it loud enough that I can hear any weird/loud sounds.

I'm towing a 2014 cherokee trailhawk. I hook up and then place system in neutral. The gear selector remains in park according to the manual. Jeep has done their homework for towables. The active drive ii is the only one capable for flat towing in the cherokee.

Executive wrote:
Crossing my fingers the OP bought the Latitude WITH the Jeep ACTIVE DRIVE II.....:E....Dennis

Yep if you did not get the right transmission Active Drive II you made a big mistake

I have already towed mine 5,100 miles

Tedtoo wrote:
Just bought a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude. Also bought a Demco Dominator hitch as my old Demco hitch was almost 20 years old. The problem is this: Jeep says to put the Latitude in Neutral (N) BEFORE hooking to the MH and the Demco Dominator says to hook up the Jeep and then back up to lock the arms of the towbar BEFORE putting the Jeep into Neutral (N). For those of you that are already towing this vehicle, which would you do? It just seems intuitive to me to lock the arms on the towbar first and then to put the Jeep in Neutral (N). But with all the electronics on this vehicle, I would hate to ruin the transmission by not following the exact procedures Jeep recommends.

Thanks,
TedToo

You're talking about disconnecting the drive train using the little nuetral button next to the round 4x4 position selector? That is the button used to get into "neutral" .... NOT THE GEAR SELECTOR stick shift ( although it will be in neutral too along with the correct procedure using the neutral button).

If so, just hook up your tow bars and lock them like you mentioned - then put the drive train into nuetral. If you put the drive train into nuetral first you can always push the car back by hand to lock them. It doesn't take much effort to move the car, as long as your on flat ground.