We have a 2016 Cherokee Trail Hawk. You are right - you do need Active Drive II
if you are using it as a towed. We had to pay $700 to have the special wiring harness installed and have had no problems with wobble. Perhaps by the time you purchase a new Cherokee, the newer wiring harness will be standard. BTW we purchased ours off the lot - actually it was a showroom model.
So far, ours has worked out OK for us but I must admit, it is the worst towed vehicle we have had for preparation. There are so many steps involved and pulling fuses is a nuisance. I guess we were spoiled towing our Fiat - all you needed to do was put it in N and release the parking brake - and away you went
We tow our Jeep behind our 24 ft. B+. The ride is more bumpy than I would prefer - again I think our little Fiat spoiled us with its light weight. Getting rid of it was a major mistake on our part - we really miss our Fiat Abarth.
Good luck with your research and purchase. At least your dealer was aware you needed Active Drive II. We knew this from our own research and had to "educate" our salesman who then researched it himself. Luckily we knew what we needed and did not buy the wrong vehicle despite telling the salesman we were looking for a vehicle that could be towed. Buyer beware.
2014 Triple E Regency GT24MB (Murphy Bed) with all the good stuff
towing a 2016 Jeep Cherokee TrailHawk
Berkley, the amazing camping cat missed dearly (1996-2012)