Anyone towing with 2014 Grand Cherokee/Durango?

Area13 wrote:

Sounds like you need to dump your Ford?
I too had an 97 Ford, F250 Light Duty, same as the F150 basically. It had the 5.4 in it. Probably the 2nd most problematic rig I owned I guess. The coil packs were a PITA, needed a few changed along with the spark plugs. Ultimately the before stated problems cause the cat to go out if not addressed immediately. Engine and Tranny were solid when I sold it with 175k on it, I suspect more coil packs will be in order though.

Mine dumped a valve which ultimately took 2 cylinders with it. Had a local company rebuild it with some performance parts and enhancements in mind, which they got wrong and refused to warranty. I keep throwing money at it, hoping to stretch it's use out just another year. For about 250k miles, it's got quite the hodge podge of new and old on it. Desperately needs front suspension work now. If Ford is vigorously shedding the 2014s, I might be in line for the right one. But that high mpg RAM Ecodiesel sure has my attention too. Payload is low, but I could work around that as it's only two of us camping anymore, and one of us (me) has beat up joints that precludes the big toys. A new truck like that would replace my current old truck and the old commuter car I'm keeping around.

The vehicles being talked about in this thread have changed so dramatically from just a few years ago when Chrysler was under the Cerberus/DamnLiar thumb. Professional reviewers have been quick to pickup on that. Others not so quick. My elderly mother and her friends wouldn't get caught dead in any of the big three, based solely on conversations from back in the 80s. She was quick to get roped into Hyundai at a ridiculous price, even though she'd never heard of them.

Times have changed. Vehicles have changed a lot. American workers are once again proud to be doing their jobs. As are their Canadian and Mexican counterparts. The companies are trying very hard to make sure they don't drop lemons on us. We owe it to ourselves to at least pay honest attention to what's out there, and not badmouth everything we don't actually know anything about. All the companies have coal in their historic stockings they'd prefer we overlook.

Oh, and GO SEAHAWKS!!! :B

rexlion wrote:
Sky_free, what's your fuel economy while towing?

Averaging 14.5MPG. It's been as high as 15.5 for a tank, but goes down dramatically with speed and/or wind. Your TT is about 1,500 lighter and 12" narrower, so I think 17MPG is a possibility.

sky_free wrote:

rexlion wrote:
Sky_free, what's your fuel economy while towing?

Averaging 14.5MPG. It's been as high as 15.5 for a tank, but goes down dramatically with speed and/or wind. Your TT is about 1,500 lighter and 12" narrower, so I think 17MPG is a possibility.

Thanks, glad to know that. Very interesting.

As I mentioned earlier, at 17 mpg I could save close to $1000 on fuel(Edit: I estimated too high, it would be closer to $500, less $200 for increased oil change costs.). But if I only average 14 mpg, it's a wash (the higher diesel mpg is offset by the higher price per gallon).

Some folks have gotten into talk of problems with the brand, and I'm well aware of them. But also aware that they are the exception; many owners report no significant troubles with theirs. I've had Dodges and Fords before; I know how it goes.

We just bought a 2014 Grand Cherokee ecodiesel to replace our 2008 Grand Cherokee with the 3.0 liter CRD. I haven't had a chance to tow our RV yet, but unloaded mileage on our regular commute went up from about 21.5 MPG to 25.9 MPG.

With the 2008, towing our RV along flat freeways was about 12 MPG compared to 8 MPG with our 2002 Durango and the same RV.

I'm towing a 4800 pound/25 foot travel trailer with the new Jeep GC Ecodiesel. Getting around 14 mpg in Colorado, up and down I-70 in to the mountains from Denver.

Plenty of power on the flatlands, but maxed out on the steep grades. Limited to 50 mph from Silverthorne to the Johnson/Eisenhower Tunnel for those who know that stretch. You would never know that was going to happen by the grunt available from a stop and on flatlands. I'm guessing it is due to the lower HP.