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Old 07-30-2015, 04:25 PM   #1
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Utica , New York
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2015 Grand Cherokee Overland - Tow 19' AS?

My husband and I just bought our first 19' 2015 Airstream Flying Cloud. We are so very excited to pick it up next week. We're hearing mixed reviews about towing with our 2015 Grand Cherokee Overland. It has a GVRW of 6200lb and the 19' FC limit for GVWR is 4500lb. Our friends are telling us we'll burn out our engine but others have told me we have all we need. Please - I need advice from those of you with personal experience using a Grand Cherokee as a tow vehicle. Do we need to start shopping for a trade in?
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Old 07-30-2015, 04:32 PM   #2
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The jeep grand cherokee is an excellent vehicle in both the V6 and V8 versions. As I type this I am on the top of 6000 ft Maras Pass in Montana, towing my FC 20' with my 2012 Grand Cherokee V8 Overland, but the 6 would be fine too.

You will have no problems towing your new Airstream at all. I hope you enjoy it.
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Old 07-30-2015, 05:39 PM   #3
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22, what engine do you have? Diesel or Hemi, no problem. My 2011 Overland with the 5.7 Hemi. I comfortable and safely tow a 2006 23 Safari.
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Old 07-30-2015, 07:19 PM   #4
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We have towed our 2002 19' Bambi with three different models of Jeep Grand Cherokee, all with V8s. Our present Grand Cherokee is a 2011 Overland (5.7 liter Hemi, air suspension, etc.) and it tows the trailer with great ease, including in the mountains.

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Old 07-31-2015, 05:02 AM   #5
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Thanks for the great feedback. The engine is a 6 cly, 3.6 L flex-fuel. I'm wishing we bought the V8 and hoping the V6 is sufficient.
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Old 07-31-2015, 11:02 AM   #6
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Tow Vehicle for 19' Flying Cloud

We tow our 19' Flying Cloud with a 6 cylinder Acura MDX with no problems. We do have a transmission cooler which I would recommend if you do not have one, otherwise you should be fine.
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Old 07-31-2015, 12:37 PM   #7
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I tow my 2008 19 Bambi using a 2008 Jeep Commander with a 4.7L V8, I have pulled it from the Gulf Coast of Texas to the mountains of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. In the high mountains north of Durango is tbe only time I wish I had a little more power. The V6 will have a little less power than the 4.7L. A good weight distrubution hitch is a must. I just purchased a 2015 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, it get as good a gas mileage towing the Bambi as the Commander gets unloaded. The commander will get 11 to 14 pulling the trailer and the ram is getting 17 to 19 pulling the trailer. I was only getting around 250 miles to the tank with a reserve in the Jeep and now the Ram will get me 400 miles with a reserve
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Old 08-01-2015, 06:12 AM   #8
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2016 19' Flying Cloud
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We just picked up our 2016 19'FC last week. Went camping about 200 miles north of us to lower Michigan area. Tow vehicle is our 2015 Grand Cherokee Laredo Ltd.with same rating you have.
Averaged about 15mpg. You couldn't even tell we were towing anything behind us. Only thing we noticed was the sway bars installed with hitch were noisy on slow turns and hills. Lubricant helped some. Also, everything in this amazing trailer worked perfectly!!! We are pleased way beyond our expectations.
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Old 08-01-2015, 06:18 AM   #9
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We tow our 22FB with our 2014 V6 Durango. Same engine as you Jeep and it does great! We've never felt unsafe and it's been a very good tow vehicle. Plus, last time we were out on a trip we averaged 13.5-14MPG.
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Old 08-01-2015, 01:17 PM   #10
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Based on the Chrysler V6 ratings you should be OK. You can't destroy it in a single trip, so you can decide when you get home!. You do need to get a transmission cooler ...recommend 20-22,000 BTUs, but your 19 footer is not going to challenge your TV.
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Old 08-01-2015, 02:06 PM   #11
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2014 Grand Cherokee Limited, V8

We have towed our 19' Bambi with our Jeep for two seasons now, with no problems. My advice would be to keep an eye on the engine and transmission temps. I try to keep the trans below 200 degrees (although the max is higher) and have had no problems. Sometimes on steep hills I will be doing 30mph in the slow lane, but that is not a problem for us. Another point is to stay ahead of the need to brake on downhill runs. I use the sport mode and downshift as needed to maintain a good speed. We once owned a diesel pusher motorhome and the "rule" I heard from others was to go down the hill at the same speed you went up. I found that a good rule to follow.

George
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Old 08-01-2015, 02:29 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghatfield View Post
We have towed our 19' Bambi with our Jeep for two seasons now, with no problems. My advice would be to keep an eye on the engine and transmission temps. I try to keep the trans below 200 degrees (although the max is higher) and have had no problems. Sometimes on steep hills I will be doing 30mph in the slow lane, but that is not a problem for us. Another point is to stay ahead of the need to brake on downhill runs. I use the sport mode and downshift as needed to maintain a good speed. We once owned a diesel pusher motorhome and the "rule" I heard from others was to go down the hill at the same speed you went up. I found that a good rule to follow.

George
Why aren't you using the Tow/Haul mode on your Jeep GC? It does wonders for keeping the tranny cool and selecting the proper gear both uphill and downhill. It automatically downshifts to maintain downhill speeds when activated. I have been down 6 to 7% 10 mile grades towing my FC 20 and only touched the brake pedal three times. The automatic downshift did the rest.
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Old 08-01-2015, 10:25 PM   #13
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2006 19' Safari SE
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No tow/haul mode in my 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Why not use the tow/haul mode? Simple answer, they discontinued this sometime back... not sure when, but my 2014 does not have it. Here is a quote from my 2014 manual...

"Towing Tips

Automatic Transmission
The DRIVE range can be selected when towing. The transmission controls include an adaptive drive strategy to avoid frequent shifting when towing. However, if frequent shifting does occur while in DRIVE, you can use
the AutoStick® shift control to manually select a lower gear.
NOTE: Using a lower"

George
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Old 08-02-2015, 08:17 AM   #14
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Oops, interesting. My 2012 Jeep GC Overland has the tow/haul mode with the setup that came with it. I am surprised that the 2104 you have does not. The tow/haul on mine is a great addition and I assumed it was standard on all from the 2011 model change and up.
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Old 08-02-2015, 11:43 AM   #15
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The tow/haul mode was also on prior models of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. It went away when the transmission was changed from the one that had been used for years (with modifications) to the one used now. The new transmission is based on a ZF transmission. ZF is a German company (ZF Friedrichshafen AG - ZF Friedrichshafen AG) which has designed and/or supplied transmissions for many companies.

Tim
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Old 08-30-2015, 05:25 PM   #16
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The platform and powertrain are proven reliable and capable for the task.
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