I now have close to 15,000 miles on my Ecodiesel. I've consolidated some information I posted in other threads/forums for easier viewing.
I posted this one early in January:
I think I finally have the Propride hitch and Direclink brake controller dialed in. It was a bit of a wrestling match with the Air Suspension, but I followed JamuJoes advice to overcome the Jeep's "Hal 9000." With the 2014 you disable the Air Suspension through the Uconnect soft keys by placing it in "tire jack mode."
Everything else is pretty much the same as the 2012 model.
Here are my stats after weighing, tweaking, weighing again, etc...
GAWR Front 3200lb Actual w/trailer 3140lb
GAWR Rear 3700lb Actual w/trailer 3700lb
28' FB Classic attached to jeep 6600lb
Max combined 6800lb + 7200lb = 14000lb
Actual combined = 13440
Jeep loading (driver and 1 passenger, full fuel, 1/2 tank DEF, no cargo)
Trailer loading (full propane tanks, full fresh water tank (54 gal), empty gray and black water tanks, full refer, cargo for 5 days dry camping).
Here's a recap of my towing experience to and from Las Vegas:
- Engine performance
-- It out pulls my 2011 Grand Cherokee Hemi
-- Oil and Coolant temps were a concern on long uphill pulls. Slowing from
55 mph to 50 stabilized oil temp at 257 and coolant temp never went into the
red zone
-- fuel consumption averaged 19.5 mpg Las Vegas to Pasadena and 18.4 mpg
on return trip
- Transmission performance
--Smooth and appropriate shifts. Transmission temp hovered around 195 and
never climbed above 203
- Direclink brake controller worked extremely well with my electric/hydraulic
brake system.
- Propride hitch worked as advertised. Big rigs passing me at 75 mph while I was
doing 55 were no problem.
I posted this after completing my second trip with the Airstream last week:
Sandpoint, ID to Las Vegas via Hwy200 and 93 (lots of winding roads, hills, mountain passes, etc..) with some city driving in Vegas
- no trailer, OAT 30-70 F, speed 70-75 mph when possible
- 1292 miles, 46.2 gal DSL, avg. mpg 28.0
- ECO mode on, Transmission Oil Temp mostly 195, Engine Oil mostly 203
Las Vegas to Sandpoint via the same route in reverse
- with 6600 lb Airstream in tow, speed 60 mph when possible
- 925 miles, 56.6 gal DSL, avg. mpg 16.3
-ECO mode off, Trans Oil Temp max 199, Engine Oil Temp max 256
The highest pass I went over was 7800 Ft. On grades I spent a lot of time in 7th gear, less time in 6th, and the steepest grades were in 5th gear at 45 mph. I've towed the Airstream over the same route with my 2004 Duramax and averaged 12 mpg with a minimum speed of 55 mph for comparison.