Anyone towing with Grand Cherokee Limited 6 cylinder?

KateRalph

Hello!  We're new to the T@B Forum and happy to join the community!  Last summer was our first towing our T@B 320S with a Rav4 Sport 6 cyl with aftermarket tow hitch.  Tow capacity is allegedly 3500 lbs but we felt the Rav4 struggled with the load.  We had three instances when the transmission overheated.  Currently considering an upgrade to a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 6 cylinder with factory installed tow package, tow capacity 6200 lbs.  Would appreciate any thoughts/experiences anyone would care to share.  Thanks!

dragonsdofly

@KateRalph, there are some specific comments on the forum describing the tv you are referencing. Use the search function in the upper right on your screen. Type in a few key words, in your case "grand cherokee" or the full description you prefer, and any discussion mentionioning that tow vehicle will be listed. I'd bet there are quite a few comments, and some nuggets of wisdom to be found. And, welcome to the forum. Good people and great information to be had. Happy t@bbing!

OdoDave

We have a similar question, since we recently bought a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk with factory tow package, precisely so we could one day (soon?) get a T@B 400. I’ve seen a couple YouTube videos about towing with JGCs, but nothing specific to the T@B. Especially curious how the air suspension works with the additional weight. Thanks!

4ncar

@KateRalph & @OdoDave: I had a ‘14 Grand Cherokee Summit. Pulled my 320s very well.  One thing I miss, that my Colorado doesn’t have is the air suspension. It will automatically compensate for load and auto level; nice feature.

OdoDave

@4ncar Thank you, that’s what I thought re the air suspension, but just haven’t seen it in action yet (other than the Jeep lowering itself when we park). Is there anything you don’t miss from towing with your Jeep?

4ncar

@OdoDave: not one thing! Lol. I would still have it had i not put a million miles on it! Well, come to think of it... I don’t miss all the exhaust sensors that I had t replace, over time. I had the ecodiesel, so there were countless sensors in the exhaust system. Some were a royal pain to get out.

webers3

Not Grand Cherokee but towing 320s with 2019 6cyl Cherokee with tow package, tows great, most of the time don’t even feel like the T@B is behind, I am sure GC will be even better

TAOSMAC

I had a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 6 cylinder with air suspension that I purchased new. The day I picked up my 2021 T@B 400 the engine died after towing less than 100 miles. The Jeep had 88K miles and I was a stickler about maintenance. The Jeep engine was replaced at no cost under the original warranty. Prior to my 400, I had an Airstream 16 sport for 3 years. My experience towing the 400 and sport 16 with the Grand Cherokee I would give a C grade. The Jeep engine had to work hard in the hills and wind, averaging 9 -14 MPG. After my Jeep experience, I purchased a 2020 Tacoma 4WD 6 cylinder. I towed the 400 with the Tacoma for approximately 8K miles (averaging 9 to 12.5 MPG) last summer and fall and in my experience the Jeep towed better. Two weeks ago I sold the Tacoma and purchased a 2021 Ram Rebel Diesel. I'm hoping for a better and more efficient towing experience with the Ram.

dragonsdofly

@TAOSMAC, thanks for your input and a very hearty welcome yo the forum. Happy t@bbing!

4ncar

TAOSMAC said:

I had a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 6 cylinder with air suspension that I purchased new. The day I picked up my 2021 T@B 400 the engine died after towing less than 100 miles. The Jeep had 88K miles and I was a stickler about maintenance. The Jeep engine was replaced at no cost under the original warranty. Prior to my 400, I had an Airstream 16 sport for 3 years. My experience towing the 400 and sport 16 with the Grand Cherokee I would give a C grade. The Jeep engine had to work hard in the hills and wind, averaging 9 -14 MPG. After my Jeep experience, I purchased a 2020 Tacoma 4WD 6 cylinder. I towed the 400 with the Tacoma for approximately 8K miles (averaging 9 to 12.5 MPG) last summer and fall and in my experience the Jeep towed better. Two weeks ago I sold the Tacoma and purchased a 2021 Ram Rebel Diesel. I'm hoping for a better and more efficient towing experience with the Ram.

I had the same ecodiesel in my GC Summit. They have upped the torque spec from my version, but it was a beast. Granted, I was towing a 320s, but you should see a noticeable difference from any gasser you previously towed with.

ADRawli

We absolutely love our 2018 JGC Trailhawk.  It tows our 2019 400 BDL very well.  It levels itself when the load is put on the hitch.  I know this because as soon as the weight is lifted off the ball, the ball actually drops about a half inch or so.  Fun to watch.  The ride is very good, and there are almost no missing “luxuries” that were left off (auto hi-beams, crash avoidance, self-parking, radar controlled cruise, lane alignment, etc, etc, etc.). And... its a trail rated Jeep, so... after camp sets up... you have your ‘go anywhere’ options all in front of you.  

OdoDave

@ADRawli Thanks for that info! Did you need to get anything special like a weight distribution hitch? What are you using for brake control? - Dave

ADRawli

@OdoDave Nothing additional/special for weight distribution.  Both tongue weight and towing weight capacity specs (660/6600) for the 4x4 2018 are well above what is required to tow the 400, even for the 2019 which has a notoriously heavy tongue weight.  Tows just fine.  As for brake control, we splurged and bought the Tekonsha Prodigy RF, which did not require mounting anything to the dash of our brand new vehicle.  The remote controller stays in the center console unless we need it.  And, it has worked flawlessly after some minor tweaks on the day we picked up the trailer just to get it dialed in correctly.  The RV dealer helped us set that up.  

We’ve been very happily with our choice of tow vehicle.  Of course, there are lots of other options that would have worked just fine as well, but for us, the fact that this version of the JGC has significant off-road chops, at the end of the day, was icing on the cake. 

By the way... if you see any of the pics I’ve posted elsewhere on the forum of our rig set up... its almost as if our T@B and the Jeep are a matched set, especially when it comes to coloring and wheel style.  That was actually just kind of a happy coincidence, but the two do look very good together.  Good luck in your decisions.

OdoDave

@ADRawli Great info again, thank you! Will definitely look at that Tekonsha as I like the idea of not mounting it to the dash. And love the pics of your Jeep and T@b... our JGC is silver, so I'm hoping for one of the silver 400s with silver trim. 

tteam

We tow our 2020 320s Boondock Lite with a Grand Cherokee Limited with trailer tow package and 6 cyl.  We really like it.
mpg varies from about 12 to near 17.  Low end was in heavy rain and strong winds. The GC is four wheel drive, which we like when we are on the forest roads.