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Post Info TOPIC: Jeep Grand Cherokee for towing


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Jeep Grand Cherokee for towing


Hi Guys,

Thinking of a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2014 3lt diesel to tow a 21ft Jayco Silverline, currently using a Holden Colorado 2.8lt diesel (Just a little bit underpowered).

Love to hear from people who are currently doing something similar.

No Jeep bashers please - its old

Interested in cruising speeds, fuel usage any problem ect.



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Ian Richards


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Is it a WK2 with the 8 speed gearbox?



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Yep a WK2 with the 8 speed

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Ian Richards


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Ok Ian, here's my 2 cent's worth.  

My 2016 model has towed a 2600kg ATM single axle offroad van for about 15,000 km's, including a round trip of Tassie.  It would weigh less than most 21' vans, but the car has done an excellent job to date.  

It sits in 7th gear on the flat, and goes as low as 5th on some of the long highway hills.  We usually sit on 90 - 100 kph depending on the highway.  We average about 17.5 l/100 at those speeds.  It really depends more on headwinds than terrain.  On the Newell into a headwind on one stretch we were getting about 22 l/100.  Conversely, in some slow, hilly country in Tasmania, we actually returned less than 17. - Just shows what the effect of a high van poking out into the airflow has.  Mountain ranges are definitely not an issue.  There is plenty of grunt left in reserve for passing slow traffic. Not a great deal of engine braking though.

The thing you may have to watch is the GVM of the car when hooked up. Our towball weight is about 280 kg (the effect of a heavyish single axle van).  When fully loaded and fuelled with people, dogs etc, the car is close to it's GVM.  A lighter towball weight will be beneficial.  It's amazing how all the little things you take can add up.  I had the car accurately weighed with race car scales and it was about 50 kg more than I estimated.  Despite what some may say here, you will definitely need a WDH with that size van.  It's mandated by Jeep for anything over 2,268kg, so you have to have one - end of story.  No insurance otherwise.

GCM shouldn't be a problem unless your van is very heavy.

No reliability issues yet, and it's going for it's 60,000 km service next week.  Just make sure you use the correct low ash oil, and get the filters replaced on schedule.  I haven't gone down the popular diesel engine path of putting in extra fuel filters - the GC has 2 filters that are finer than the add-on kits.  Jeep dealer servicing costs a small fortune, so find a good reliable diesel mechanic if you can.

It's also one of the most comfortable long distance touring vehicles I've had (and I have been averaging about 30,000 km per year over various highways and byways for 40 years).  Closest I've had in the past was a Ford Territory - also very competent in eating up the km's.

 

 



-- Edited by Nevd on Friday 18th of January 2019 12:12:48 PM

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great answer Nevd


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Thanks for the feed back

Much appreciated



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Ian Richards


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Hi Donk, I have a 2018 Limited without the air suspension and I pull a dual axle that usually comes in between 2700/2800 kg loaded. I cruise at  95kph as I find that the fuel consumption at that speed is usually around 16ltrs/100kms. I use a WDH because Jeep says that you need to, as yet I have never had a problem with the vehicle and there have been zero recalls. I pretty much agree with what Nevd said in terms of comfort and capability for long distance touring. i had to fill my water tanks to increase the weight on the towball as i only had 180kg the extra 40kg really made a difference with the stability. I have also been advised to turn off the eco mode when towing so that it kicks back earlier and doesnt hold it in the higher gears. i cant really comment on servicing cost as it is capped price and is now at 12 month/20000km which is not due until July. The 8 speed diesel is definately the way to go when you are towing apparently they had some issues with transmissions prior to changing over to the 8 speed. Just make sure that you get one that has the records to show that its been reguarly serviced.

Cheers 

BB



-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Friday 18th of January 2019 02:55:21 PM

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DavRo

2018 Grand Cherokee Limited - 2022 Concorde 2000



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Great response guys .

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Hi Ian, I have had 2 GC's a13 Laredo 5 speed and now a 15/16 overland both great for towing with a round the same fuel consumption. Great for towing up to around 3 ton and a bit. Now tow a boat close to 3.5 ton and 3.4 metres high. Power is still good, but the weight height and length at 10.4 metres pushes the car around a little. Fuel is hard to keep under 19.5 per hundred, was around 15-17 litres with my 24' Jayco full van at 2650 kg. I agree with the other reports that they are a great car. If you get air suspension you can't modify it so a good WDH really helps. With steel springs you can fit air bags or stronger springs/ shocks if you want, I just fitted air bags to the old GC. For comfort and features you can't beat it.


regards Russell

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R.Worthington


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All good replies. I'm a little less relevant to your enquiry Ian, but FWIW I have a 2013 WK2 GC with the Mercedes 5sp box. It's a great car and perfect for my van at 2150kg ATM, with average consumption under 16L/100 towing at 90-100.

Some while ago I noticed by looking closely at the recall lists, the early 8 speed's (late 2013 & 2014) seemed to have more recalls than any other years, either before or after. However I don't see recalls as a negative, they are proactive events to avert possible issues down the track. I respect that of Jeep as not all manufacturers are as transparent. Many of the recall items are very minor, but make sure they've been attended to - easy to find out by entering the car's VIN with Jeep.

I agree with Nevd's comments, including advice about using correct oil. Same goes for the correct coolant. As much service history as you can muster will be important to have, doubly so if the car has been towing big in the past. The scheduled fluid an filter changes are essential for transmission and drive train (front & rear diffs & transfer case). As I was buying used, I purposely chose a car without a tow bar and although it had an impeccable service history, I had every fluid and filter changed for good measure. I've since fitted a Provent 100 catch can (oil separator from the crank case vent) to protect the intercooler from oil contamination, worth doing on any turbo diesel vehicle.

As others have said, the GC is a great car, superbly equipped and beautiful to drive with heaps of grunt in the 3.0 CRD.



-- Edited by SouthernComfort on Saturday 19th of January 2019 08:41:43 AM



-- Edited by SouthernComfort on Saturday 19th of January 2019 08:43:28 AM

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Tony

"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato  

 The moral: Focus on the Facts

 



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Catch cans are more about catching people not oil from my experience,fitted one to my old car after clocking up big mileage.a few weeks later pulled the manifold off the car and found it was just sooty,I should have done that in the first place instead of buying the catch can,got sucked in by looking at pictures on the internet with there gummed up manifolds,thats my experience others may have a different experience but to me with my old challenger it was waste of time and money.



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A GOOD well sorted oil separator system works well . The trouble is the market is flooded with cheap crap . Plus the PCV & system needs maintence as they age also . The soot is possibly from EGR . Crank case pressure must be vented. Oil in inlet promotes detonation on petrol engines . Too much oil in diesels can be catastrophic with run away engine . I added a longer pipe above PCV to assist oil drain back . Some, even mechanics dont service the PCV system properly .

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Catch cans are more about catching people not oil from my experience,fitted one to my old car after clocking up big mileage.a few weeks later pulled the manifold off the car and found it was just sooty,I should have done that in the first place instead of buying the catch can,got sucked in by looking at pictures on the internet with there gummed up manifolds,thats my experience others may have a different experience but to me with my old challenger it was waste of time and money.

 

I'm not worried about soot in the manifold, it's about keeping oil out of the turbo - that definitely doesn't want gumming up. As pressure is released from the cc, oil comes through in small quantities which builds up over time. Checking the cc vent hose after several thousand k's you'd be surprised how much oil gets down there.

 

A GOOD well sorted oil separator system works well . The trouble is the market is flooded with cheap crap . Plus the PCV & system needs maintence as they age also . The soot is possibly from EGR . Crank case pressure must be vented. Oil in inlet promotes detonation on petrol engines . Too much oil in diesels can be catastrophic with run away engine . I added a longer pipe above PCV to assist oil drain back . Some, even mechanics dont service the PCV system properly . 

 

I've seen everything from home made devices to premium products, pays to get the right thing. Provent is a premium device but comes at a price. I agree PCV servicing is critical.



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Tony

"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato  

 The moral: Focus on the Facts

 



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I think you will find the huge percentage of diesil engined vehicles On the road with hundreds of thousands of kilometres on there clocks have managed it without the fabulous catch can .it was a waste of time and money on my vehicle,what percentage of vehicles would have them fitted in the real world hardly any..



-- Edited by Ron-D on Saturday 19th of January 2019 05:23:52 PM

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Ron-D wrote:

I think you will find the huge percentage of diesil engined vehicles On the road with hundreds of thousands of kilometres on there clocks have managed it without the fabulous catch can .it was a waste of time and money on my vehicle,what percentage of vehicles would have them fitted in the real world hardly any..



-- Edited by Ron-D on Saturday 19th of January 2019 05:23:52 PM


 No probs mate, we all have own own views. Yours and mine simply differ in this case.



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Tony

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Yeah Tony thats just my personal experience.



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Plenty of twin turbo Land Cruisers have had their turbos replaced due to oil leakage . Its actually one side that has oil leaking. Its the SAME side, turbo that has crankcase vented to . So tell me ? $4000 for turbo replacement or $100 for some type of oil seperater,catch can . Thats a saving of $3900 . Btw theres plenty of turbo diesels with carboned up EGR where the crankcase ventilation oil mixes forming restrictive EGR etc. https://youtu.be/8Pj6x7rMo3k



-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Sunday 20th of January 2019 10:57:30 AM

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It's a crazy design that exists in many vehicles, venting a crankcase to the intake never made any sense. The Provent 100 kit cost me around $350, still a lot cheaper than a new turbo though.

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Tony

"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato  

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Anyone going down the 'Catch Can' path need to be aware that there are poor quality Chinese REPLICAS of brand name cans being sold as the real deal. A prominent 4x4 & Diesel chain installed a replica Provent catch can to my Mazda BT50. After less than 500klm my front engine seals blew. Bloody oil sprayed everywhere. I contacted Western Filters in Sydney, who advised me that my catch can was in fact a Chinese knock-off, and that the pressure relief valve in these don't work at all. Hence blown seals. Beware !



-- Edited by Pariss on Monday 21st of January 2019 10:40:33 AM

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Bit off topic this catch can stuff. But if they are so good why not invluded in standard equipment. No new car has them to my knowledge and their engineers know much more than I do.

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Re. the matter of Chinese knock-off's, as with every other automotive component in existence the Chinese have indeed faked the Provent catch cans. To help in more detail, here's a link showing you how to tell the difference (mine came from Western Filters).

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/f170/beware-fake-provent-200-100-a-89242.html

Many cars do have a factory oil separator system built in, often a cruder application and inadequate. Why don't manufacturers build in the real deal? Cost!! 

 



-- Edited by SouthernComfort on Monday 21st of January 2019 04:20:36 PM

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Tony

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 The moral: Focus on the Facts

 



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A good well set up stops oil and exhaust soot mixing and becoming a bond like cement blocking intake etc. its the same with new direct injection petrol motors . The valve guides leak and a build up of oil restricts inlet . Yes WHY doesnt the manufacturer fix or know about this ? I guess these companies are run by economists . You ever tried to deal with upper management in these companies to get things done or approved ?? First you have to convince them . Their product is wrong .. GOOD luck !! All a catch can or oil separator does is stop oil going into inlet .. The hoses need to be atleast the size of original or larger . Sheesh Some bone heads connect vent to inlet between turbo and motor . Pressurising crankcase !! Then BLAME the product .  



-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Monday 21st of January 2019 04:23:41 PM

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https://youtu.be/dBAqxSXFyb4



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Have just got new gc. 1st was laredo 2014 4x4 petrol 8grs, now have limited 2019 liked safety features . 4x4 , petrol can tow comfortably starcraft 21` 2015 model dual axle . Fuel 18l/100km cruise comfortable at 95km . Recommend looking for later model if u can afford might surprise u. cant speak highly enough of jeep.

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Hi People,

Just an update on the Jeep, we did buy the grand Cherokee diesel 8 speed WK2 and must admit it is fantastic for towing.

Was a little bit unsure as we have gone from a Colorado which drives like a truck to the jeep which is far more car like, but it towed far better than the Colorado.

Fuel usage is down and still has plenty of grunt at 95km/hr, it never seems to struggle.

The other advantage is the Colorado only got 400km,s due to it's tank size which meant we needed to plan our trips via fuel stops, but the jeep has a lot larger tank so we can now get over 700km range.

Turning circle on the jeep is so much better and we can manoeuvre the van into tighter spots. 

Never looked at Jeeps before but I must admit I'm a Jeep man now.



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Ian Richards


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The Belmont Bear wrote:

Hi Donk, I have a 2018 Limited without the air suspension and I pull a dual axle that usually comes in between 2700/2800 kg loaded. I cruise at  95kph as I find that the fuel consumption at that speed is usually around 16ltrs/100kms. I use a WDH because Jeep says that you need to, as yet I have never had a problem with the vehicle and there have been zero recalls. I pretty much agree with what Nevd said in terms of comfort and capability for long distance touring. i had to fill my water tanks to increase the weight on the towball as i only had 180kg the extra 40kg really made a difference with the stability. I have also been advised to turn off the eco mode when towing so that it kicks back earlier and doesnt hold it in the higher gears. i cant really comment on servicing cost as it is capped price and is now at 12 month/20000km which is not due until July. The 8 speed diesel is definately the way to go when you are towing apparently they had some issues with transmissions prior to changing over to the 8 speed. Just make sure that you get one that has the records to show that its been reguarly serviced.

Cheers 

BB



-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Friday 18th of January 2019 02:55:21 PM


 Hi, have you had a caravan camera connected to the Jeep?

Looking for info of how it is done.



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special towed by Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, Epever 80A charger and 3x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".



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Hi DickO,

We have one - it's hard wired and connected to the Jeep by a plug that came with the kit. The internal lead to the screen just lies across the dash and the screen mount onto the dash via a special mount. Just mount the screen and plug it in as required. It's a permanent rear view unit, not just for reversing.

Got an auto electrician to do it when he installed the trailer brake controller.

Ours is Polaris, but many people swear by the Safety Dave unit.

Nev

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Nevd wrote:

Hi DickO,

We have one - it's hard wired and connected to the Jeep by a plug that came with the kit. The internal lead to the screen just lies across the dash and the screen mount onto the dash via a special mount. Just mount the screen and plug it in as required. It's a permanent rear view unit, not just for reversing.

Got an auto electrician to do it when he installed the trailer brake controller.

Ours is Polaris, but many people swear by the Safety Dave unit.

Nev


 Hi Nevd, is it integrated to the dash display or is it a separate display?



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special towed by Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, Epever 80A charger and 3x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".



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Dicko I had the Safety Dave wiring on the Jeep done by an auto electrician after we bought it. I got them to fit  Waza cable connections,  they ran the cabling from the socket mounted near the 12 pin plug through the door sills etc. and brought it out of the drivers side door pillar so it protrudes about 150mm onto the dash. When towing I connect the monitor to the cable by lining up the arrows and then just attach it to the the windscreen next to the instrument panel using the adjustable bracket with the suction cap. You can opt for a screen that fits on your rear view mirror but I prefer where it is because its easy to see without taking your eyes off the road.. If you go for the Safety Dave I recommend that you spend the extra $ and get a Waza cable kit (the flexible cord with fittings for both the car and the van). 

BB



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DavRo

2018 Grand Cherokee Limited - 2022 Concorde 2000



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jeepnudger wrote:

Have just got new gc. 1st was laredo 2014 4x4 petrol 8grs, now have limited 2019 liked safety features . 4x4 , petrol can tow comfortably starcraft 21` 2015 model dual axle . Fuel 18l/100km cruise comfortable at 95km . Recommend looking for later model if u can afford might surprise u. cant speak highly enough of jeep.


Hi jeepnudger, do you have a caravan camera connected and integrated in the jeep? 



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special towed by Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, Epever 80A charger and 3x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".

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