anyone tow with grand cherokee diesel?

[sragan]

Tow a Jay flight 19rd.



Son wants me to get a 2015 Grand Cherokee Diesel with tow package to tow with. I want to hear from others that tow with one, how does it pull, stop, sway. Do you use sway bars are anything else.



I have been towing with a 25 year old 4dr long bed 7.3 (440,000mi). Turning radius sucks but good otherwise. No sway bars, levelers or other add ons.



Any input would be appreciated.

[RogerR]

I pull with the Grand Cherokee with the V6 gas engine. I would like to get a V8 but the $$ to upgrade are to much right now. Not sure your Rv but mine is 3,500lbs loaded and is toward the upper limit I would tow with this engine. I did have the Jeep Liberty diesel and it towed great till the fuel injector locked open and the crank broke.
440,000 seems long in the tooth for long trips. I sometimes wish for the space and weight carry capacity of a pickup.

[sragan]

Thanks for the info. I see you used a load leveler hitch.
I am spoiled, my trailer is 6000lb and old truck is as long as my trailer, they think they are one piece on the highway.

[RogerR]

I use the Andersen WDH that includes built in sway as well as Weight Distribution and would not tow anything this big without it. Much better than my old bar and chain hitch, lighter and easier to attach.

[WeRJuliian]

We just bought another Grand Cherokee (our third ), so I went over all the fact and figures just a few days ago.



The one thing that makes a big difference, is that factory-installed towing package.
Go for the Class 4 towing package, which gets you a heavier hitch, load leveling rear suspension, a bigger alternator and transmission cooling, and it pushes the towing capacity (of our 3.6 V6) from 3500 to 6200 pounds.

Our 19XUD weighs a shade over 4000, loaded, so that gives a comfortable margin.

One thing to note... the factory package doesn't include a brake controller, so you'll need to fit your own. It's pre-wired, so that's only a 15 minutes job.

[sragan]

Thanks for the great information. Do you also use a weight distribution hitch or sway bars? I currently do not have to use either,

[WeRJuliian]

The GC is so new to us, that we've only towed around the block and back again, so I can't comment yet.
However, it does have load leveling rear suspension, and something called "Sway Damping" apparently it tweaks the brakes and throttle if it detects sway.
I'm not entirely sure that I'm happy about that, I prefer to think that I'M in control of the vehicle.. and I've no idea how effective that is, yet. Watch this space...

I've not found it necessary use a WDH or sway bar, previously.

[Hazman65]

I tow the rig in my signature block with a 2014 Grand Cherokee diesel. It has been amazing. I upgraded to light truck tires and new heavy duty brakes. I use a wdh and wouldn’t tow without one. I have towed through mountains in West Virginia during a pretty intense thunderstorm and it sat back there very stable. The dealer (Haylett Rv in Coldwater Mi) set it up for me and did a great job. We have been traveling with it for 4 years now with no stability or stopping issues at all. I have had a couple of panic stop situations and no problem stopping quickly.