Towing with a Jeep Grand Cherokee

[rangerbob1967]

Would it be possible to tow a 23ft hybrid trailer with a Grand Cherokee? 6 cylinder version? The jeep people tell me it will tow 5K but then again they are in the bidness of selling Jeeps too.

[Chuck_S]

The answer is No. Sure you can get it home. Sure you can pull it. But you will be very unhappy and you may damage the truck.

5000 pounds is the maximum towing capacity, not a planning number. It assumes the truck is empty other than a 150 pound driver. Add your family, dogs, and camping gear and that rating is probably much closer to 4000 pounds.

I know of no 23' hybrids that weigh less than 5000 pounds loaded. Their empty weight doesn't count.

There are a zillion towing "rules" with some requiring a degree in advanced mathematics. I have two very simple rules: The 1000 Pound Rule and the One Ton Rule. Yeah, I made 'em up but the results are as good as the fancy formulas. Simply stated I want at least 1000 pounds more maximum towing capacity than the trailer weighs fully loaded. And for peace of mind I really want an extra ton! You won't be happy towing a 5000 pound trailer with a 6000 pound max-rated truck. You won't hurt it, but you won't like it.

I pulled my 5000 pound Roo 23SS with my 5500 pound rated V6 Explorer for two seasons. I flogged the poor beast up every hill and into the wind. The engine and transmission were never happy. I replaced the Explorer with a V8 Expedition with the HD Tow option, 9000 pounds max towing. Happy towing for this camper. 6000 pounds standard, 9000 pounds with HD Tow. For a 5000 pound trailer. HD Towing package on my Expedition cost me $350 when factory installed.

We all tend to get defensive with someone criticizes our choice of anything. 😉 If you decide to ignore the laws of physics and pull a 23-footer with a country club SUV at least get a transmission temperature gauge and monitor it closely.

-- Chuck

[ChooChooMan74]

It should tow it but may be a bit of a struggle. Weight is not the issue. It is the wind resistance of a giant sail behind you. The more streamline of a trailer you can find, the better you'll be.

[chevyman2]

Yes, years and gears makes all the diff. Now think of this. WILL it tow your HTT? I will bet that it will, and probably all day long on flatgrounds. Should it tow that HTT? Probably not. But, I towed my 32' TT with my 4.7 powered Jeep GC. It did a fine job. HOWEVER, I always knew it was there. It sure does tow my PUP lots better.

[mrkoje]

http://www.jeep.com/en/jeep_capabilities/towing/#GrandCherokeeTab,http://www.jeep.com/en/jeep_capabilities/towing/#GrandCherokeeTab,

[bikendan]

i have a 23' HTT and there's no way i'd tow it with a 6 cyl. engine, unless it was the F-150 Ecoboost or the newer Dodge Penstar v-6 engine.

you need to post what HTT you're looking to tow and provide more info on the Jeep, that just it having a 6 cyl. engine.
like, what year GC, what rear end ratio, size of engine, factory tow package or not.

[rexlion]

What year is your GC? The big thing to watch out for is probably the hitch weight. If your GC has 5000 lb tow rating, the hitch rating is probably 500. I had a 2005 Rockwood 23 footer, and althoughI never weighed the tongue (I should have) it was heavy enough with full tanks to bend the left rear spring on my Mountaineer (6000/600 rating). It has a lot to do with where your water tanks are; the Rockwood's fresh tank was right up front, and added to 2 propane tanks, battery, and stuff in overheads above the front bed, it really added up. The overall trailer weight was fine at about 4K loaded, but heavy on the tongue.

The newer GC in particular should handle quite well IMO, but the wheelbase is short enough to make anti-sway desirable with a trailer of that size. Equalizer, Reese Dual Cam, Anderson No-Sway are some hitches to consider.

[sch911]

Assuming your talking about the latest generation 2011/12/13. It'll tow that 5K without breaking a sweat. During development we towed much more than that out west, in the summer, up mountain grades.

[PAThwacker]

I have a v8 trailblazer capable of towing our 5000lb gross htt, however i use a 3/4 ton sub to carry my family, gear, and tow.