Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel TV with 27' Airstream.

[Zybane]

Wow, ya that tongue weight is getting up there for a SUV. 1,175 would be a bit much.

So basically I couldn't put anything in the Jeep and I would need to go with a reinforced OEM hitch. That starts to limit me on what I would like to do off-road. That really puts a damper on things when that would be my only vehicle. Even to fit a bicycle I would need to either store it in the Jeep or find some way to mount it on the back of the trailer.

So now I am looking into options with a large pickup truck that could not only easily tow the trailer, but some more toys. Sell the Jeep and get:

F350 single rear wheel diesel, 4x4 King Ranch with the 8' bed:

Payload: 3,610
Max Trailer: 15,500

So towing the AS would be no problem. Say a fully loaded tongue weight on the trailer of 1,300.

Plus 500 lbs off-road equipment. 500 lbs of storage inside the cab and in bed. That leaves me 1,300 pound for:

4x4 off-road ATV and smaller/light street motorcycle like a Ducati both back there.

So the truck could do moderate off-road and get me to the hard stuff and then use the bad-ass ATV from there. Plus I would have an awesome street motorcycle to tour around in. Plus room for the bicycle, generators, extra supplies/fuel/water etc if I get real creative with the interior and cargo bed.

I could probably find somewhere to mount the lightweight aluminum ramps for the toys somewhere on the hitch or air-stream itself. Would kinda be a toy-hauler air stream setup. Anyone see any issues with the setup?

[Tink143]

We tow our 2015 EB 25' with a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel Overland and it Loves to pull. Super smooth and 18 miles a gallon towing! I am not the numbers person but will strongly advise an Andersen WD hitch. These things are a beautiful piece of engineering! Look up Andersen hitches, watch the videos and just get it. Our AS dealer recommended it via a AS customer who couldn't believe how simple and effective it is. True that! I hook up the hitch all by myself often and am a 5'3" woman... Their wheel levelers are also super sweet. The Dealer installed the Andersen hitch & the Electronic brake upon delivery of our Airstream....which means they explained how it all works until we could do it ourselves. Enjoy the adventure!

[AWCHIEF]

Zybane, do not take every thing you read here as gospel. Some is nothing more than kitchen table engineering and uninformed opinion presented as fact. The trick is sorting all that out. After you have been around here for awhile you will be able to better do that. Do some additional research here and other sources and you will find many happy actual owners of the GC diesel that tow all sorts of trailers safely and without fancy designer hitches. Good luck on what ever you decide to do.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Zybane

That is true for the gas engines models. The Diesel get's the original German made ZF with higher TQ rating.

Both the HEMI and the VM Motori get the 8HP70 higher-torque version (at least in the RAM). Early units came from Germany but according to several sources now they're made in Kokomo, Indiana.


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[AWCHIEF]

845RE / 8R70: ZF 8-Speed Automatic Transmission for Chrysler cars

[Bigventure]

I have been towing my 2013 25' International all over with my 2014 Jeep Eco Diesel. I use a Reese Dual Cam hitch and factory hitch.

First off the trailer weights less than you think. My trailer loaded with water and propane and ready to roll is 5500. The tag says 7300.

Second tongue weight is transferred with the hitch to the front wheels. So the SUV doesn't see all the tongue weight in the rear.

As long as you don't exceed the axel limits your fine. I raise the tire pressures up to max load rating to keep sidewall flex low.

It a great combo and get 16 mpg towing and 30 hi way not towing.

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by Tink143

We tow our 2015 EB 25' with a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel Overland and it Loves to pull. Super smooth and 18 miles a gallon towing! I am not the numbers person but will strongly advise an Andersen WD hitch. These things are a beautiful piece of engineering! Look up Andersen hitches, watch the videos and just get it. Our AS dealer recommended it via a AS customer who couldn't believe how simple and effective it is. True that! I hook up the hitch all by myself often and am a 5'3" woman... Their wheel levelers are also super sweet. The Dealer installed the Andersen hitch & the Electronic brake upon delivery of our Airstream....which means they explained how it all works until we could do it ourselves. Enjoy the adventure!

Before recommending that Andersen hitch to others, take it to the scales to see if it is able to restore (distribute) the original weight to your front axle.

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by dkottum

Before recommending that Andersen hitch to others, take it to the scales to see if it is able to restore (distribute) the original weight to your front axle.

doug(cheryl), It will, as many legitimate users have attested too.

[kmlacroix]

Doug(cheryl) the Anderson is not compatible for some atwood couplers. My sport has one of the models affected.

NOTE: Currently the Atwood 88007, 88010, 88555 and 88600 couplers are not compatible with the Andersen WD Hitch (all other Atwood couplers are fine).

[JandD]

L


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[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by JandD

L


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Confused?

[Road Geezer]

I used to tow a 2011 27' FC with a Suburban 1500. All the vehicle ratings and trailer specs were fine; I was within all the limits, although at the upper end of my TV's tow capacity. Everything worked fine, towed over mountains and across the country. The only problem was that I was always managing the engine in any but the smoothest terrain. And many times that made towing a pain, stressful.

Looked around for a couple years, talked with a LOT of AS owners and finally settled on overkill. Just bought a 2015 Chevy 2500 diesel. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't experienced it. Towing now is such a breeze, the trips are relaxing.

I'd recommend you look at a TV where the weight of your AS is not at the upper range of its capacity. I passed on the small block diesels simply because of that. With only 2k miles on the odo so far, mileage is still settling in; but I find, traffic permitting, that I can set the auto pilot and leave it in in virtually any terrain. When on level, I'm cruising at 1500 to 1700 RPM, and grade sometimes causes a downshift to 2000+, but nothing like what I had to do with my Sub.

My $.02.

Paul

[Mike1997]

Wow....all this talk (pro and con) about towing Airstreams with a diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee is enough to make your head spin

Glad I decided to do the opposite and simply bought a diesel Airstream to flat tow the diesel Grand Cherokee. Never know it back there till I see it in the camera!! Btw...when flat towing the Jeep, the odometer is not turning either

Happy travels everyone!!

[my3sonsdad]

I bet you don’t get an average of 16/27 mpg though