'15 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE AND TRAILER COMPATIBLE?

Adequately pulls depends on the puller. Not for me, but let us know.

The new GC paddle shifter with the gas engine should do a good job of engine braking. But yeah, the diesel is a different animal.

As I understand it, the 8 speed is set up so well, there is no need to lock out overdrive. I guess there isn't an issue with unlocked torque converters; instead of trying to get a little extra power by letting the converter slip (the way my Highlander does and so many older vehicles do), the new GC simply shifts to the next lower gear!

Bionic Man, I thought I had made it clear that I manually downshifted at the top of hills, but a quick scan of my post leads me to believe I thought about it, but it never made it to the keyboard.

Yes, I manually downshift at the top of hills, while going slower. I would even downshift to 3rd gear when I knew it was a steep hill. But, as the speed increased, the computer would upshift, and continue to do so if I did not brake.

I have found out since purchasing my latest diesel, that gas engines have better engine-braking than diesels, due to the mechanics of the engines. So, my hope now is that someone comes out with an after-market engine brake for the GC diesel, but I am not holding my breath!

In my opinion, based on my experience, if you are going to be towing your boat regularly in the mountains, I would not get a 6-cyl GC to tow a 6,000 lb boat. If you are only going to go through mountains occasionally, it will be fine, if you monitor your downhill braking, and don't overdo it. Hills across the midwest are no problem, as they are short enough. My hills are over a mile long where I complain about having to brake, instead of letting the engine hold me back.

The 8 speed tranny makes a big difference. I did some research before buying the 2014 GC and professional auto experts/reviewers gave the new tranny high marks for towing purposes.

I haven't experienced any white knuckle rides due to lack of stopping power coming down a mountain or getting blown by high crosswinds. I use an Equalizer hitch system that makes towing my trailer a pleasure.

avoidcrowds wrote:
Well, gemsworld, maybe the naysayers have similar desires from our towing experience to what the OP has, and our opinions are valid.

I had a 2004 Grand Cherokee with the 8-cyl, and towed our 1,500 lb popup trailer with no problem. Our 2006 GC Hemi V-8 also towed it with no problem.

We got a 3,200 lb TrailManor (similar towing profile as a popup), and the 2004 was a dog. The 2006 Hemi towed it up mountains (I live in Colorado), but it worked. I don't like holding-up traffic, so maintaining at least 50 on uphills is important to me.

I got rid of my 2004 V-8, and got a 2007 Grand Cherokee 3L diesel. Huge difference! Much better torque going uphill, and better fuel economy than the Hemi. Had no problem going at least 60 up I-70 or Hwy 285 out of Denver.

Diesel had too many issues, so I traded it for a 2014 diesel GC with the 8-spd tranny. World of difference, for the better! BUT, my only complaint about the 2014 diesel is that is has virtually no engine braking. That is important when towing in the mountains, as I do.

The 9-spd tranny and engine are programmed to upshift at a certain speed, which defeats the braking of the engine. So, for me, I would not recommend towing any trailer over 4,500 lbs with the 2014 GC, even though it is rated to 7,200 lbs. It will tow it like a champ, but it won't hold it back going downhill.

That's my experience with 4 Grand Cherokees, and different trailers. If that isn't a valid opinion, I don't know what is.

Can't you manually down shift as you are going down the passes to increase engine braking? Honest question. I am considering a GC to tow my 6000 pound boat.

No, our jeep did not have the 8 speed transmission. Don't know how much difference that would make. We do love our Jeep as a regular everyday car. We actually kept it, and bought the Tahoe just to tow our trailer. As I said before we were extremely dissapointed in it as a tow vehicle. It's not fun to be white knuckles the entire time you are traveling somewhere.

I can't speak for the diesel, but with the V6 gas engine and the tranny engaged in sport mode, I get plenty of engine braking coming down mountains.

BTW, I have also owned three other Jeeps. The prior one was a 2007 Commander with the Hemi engine. Great TV but a big gas hoag even when not towing.

Well, gemsworld, maybe the naysayers have similar desires from our towing experience to what the OP has, and our opinions are valid.

I had a 2004 Grand Cherokee with the 8-cyl, and towed our 1,500 lb popup trailer with no problem. Our 2006 GC Hemi V-8 also towed it with no problem.

We got a 3,200 lb TrailManor (similar towing profile as a popup), and the 2004 was a dog. The 2006 Hemi towed it up mountains (I live in Colorado), but it worked. I don't like holding-up traffic, so maintaining at least 50 on uphills is important to me.

I got rid of my 2004 V-8, and got a 2007 Grand Cherokee 3L diesel. Huge difference! Much better torque going uphill, and better fuel economy than the Hemi. Had no problem going at least 60 up I-70 or Hwy 285 out of Denver.

Diesel had too many issues, so I traded it for a 2014 diesel GC with the 8-spd tranny. World of difference, for the better! BUT, my only complaint about the 2014 diesel is that is has virtually no engine braking. That is important when towing in the mountains, as I do.

The 8-spd tranny and engine are programmed to upshift at a certain speed, which defeats the braking of the engine. So, for me, I would not recommend towing any trailer over 4,500 lbs with the 2014 GC, even though it is rated to 7,200 lbs. It will tow it like a champ, but it won't hold it back going downhill.

That's my experience with 4 Grand Cherokees, and different trailers. If that isn't a valid opinion, I don't know what is.

Does your 2013 GC have the new 8 speed transmission? I'm not sure if 2014 was the first year it was offered.

We just stopped towing our 21 ft Cherokee lite (dry weight 3700 lbs) with our 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee V6 because we were having a lot of problems with performance. We crawled up hills with the motor screaming and couldn't maintain speed even on highways like we wanted. Just because something sounds like it should work, doesn't mean it really will. We have upgraded to a Chevy Tahoe and now don't even know the trailer is behind us. If you haven't bought either TT or TV yet, I would opt for some more towing power than a Jeep.