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Towing with Grand Cherokee Diesel

68K views 316 replies 40 participants last post by  Bounty Hunter 
#1 ·
Used this forum when I was looking to buy a Jeep, so thought I would share my thoughts on my towing experience.

I have a 2014 Grand Cherokee Summit, which has the towing package. The truck just had it's second oil change at about 14,000.

I was towing a fishing boat, dual axle. I had taken it into a weigh station, so the weights were: 2,780 front axle, 3,720 back axle on truck, 4,360 boat trailer axle, for a total weight of 10,860. Note that this was also after I had dropped off 2 passengers and their luggage. My estimate, based on a previous weighing, is that the boat/trailer alone weighed about 4,900.

The thing to note is that although I was way below the towing capacity (4,900 vs 7,200) I was probably at (or above with the passengers) the GVW of 6,800 (6,500 without the additional passengers). So if you are pulling a heavier boat, closer to the max amount, you probably can't have many passengers or luggage).

We drove from southern Wis. to Lake of the Woods Canada. The total miles were 1,323. The driving time was 24 1/2 hours. This works out to be about 54 mph, on average. Most of the time was spent at about 65 mph (the max for trailer wheels). The truck calculated 17.6 miles per gallon (sounds right based on a quick manual calc) , which I was very happy with. (Does anyone else think the MPG calculation changes too much? I've had over a thousand miles on the MPG calc, then I drive a couple of miles, and then have the MPG change quite a bit, which would imply a ridiculous MPG the last couple of miles) The drive is fairly flat (one major hill in Duluth, water temp did rise, but stayed ok).

I spent a lot of the time with the cruise control on ( I know they say you shouldn't, but I think that is because it might have trouble finding the right gear. As you can see, not an issue). The truck did a nice job of changing gears when we came to minor hills. It automatically down shifted to keep the RPM's between 2,500 and 3,000 and then slowly shifted up as needed. I only had to manually change gears once or twice. I don't remember any major problems with it having trouble finding the right gear or going to really high RPMs.

There was no sway from the boat (probably because of the dual axle). I just have the normal tow package, no additional load leveling gear.

The ride was great. Very pleased with the truck on the trip and very happy with the truck overall. No problems (except getting used to the diesel/turbo lag when going from a stop ) to report so far.
 
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#3 ·
Towing a 4900# Airstream trailer, I consider this Jeep to be (more or less) an ideal towing vehicle. And I generally overload: the back of the Jeep is full, and I carry a RocketBox and BasketCase on top...

My overall towing MPG stat is probably around 17.0 MPG; I've seen as low as 15.5 and as high as 20.5 for various legs of different trips.

I wish the cooling system were better, but overall I like this Jeep for towing.

And Adaptive Cruise Control while towing in the mountains is priceless...
 
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#4 ·
Did you notice your temperture rising when you hit the hills. My coolant temperature guage seems to climb to the upper part of the third quadrant consistently when I hhit a hill or a good head wind. I'm only towing 2500lbs. Other members have seen the same thing. I feel the cooling system is undersized.
 
#5 ·
Add a bottle of motormax or water wetter to your coolant (does not hurt the system but makes water more adherent to hotter surfaces and makes the system more efficient). This makes a difference in 100% water system (like in a track car where coolant is banned) or 50/50 mixtures for normal cars. It should drop the temps by 10-20 degrees across the board.
 
#6 ·
We pulled a ~5000 lbs RV trailer in Utah between the Salt lake city and the national parks . The coolant temperature rose close to the orange area driving uphill, but we could manage that by reducing the speed and going to lower gear.
Initially we thought that this would harm the car, but based on the feed back that I got from this forum, it is OK to tow in such conditions.
We are planning to buy an RV trailer next year.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I certainly wouldn't use any additive in the coolant during the warranty period. Then again, that's me.....

Also, diesels work better HOT and the cooling system on our VM diesels appears to work very well. When towing our TT and climbing steep grades in hot weather, I've seen it climb up to the edge of the orange and stay there without causing issues. IIRC, the ECM would either put the Jeep in "limp mode" and/or shut it down if it was severely overheating. A simple check of the oil temps would give you peace of mind. As you know, we run synthetic oil in our engines and it can easily handle 300F temps. I've seen mine hit 260 on steep grades in the mountains with air temps in the mid 90's but it (and the coolant temp gauge) rapidly return to normal.
 
#11 ·
A simple check of the oil temps would give you peace of mind. As you know, we run synthetic oil in our engines and it can easily handle 300F temps. I've seen mine hit 260 on steep grades in the mountains with air temps in the mid 90's but it (and the coolant temp gauge) rapidly return to normal.
Thanks for this info, Phil. I've never strained my JGC CRD and oil temps have only seen 190s, maybe low 200s. When I towed, the weather was cool and the mountains weren't that high, the passes not too long.


Also, agree with you about not using water wetter during the warranty period.
 
#9 ·
There have been plenty of people look at the honest temperature gauge and presume the deflection above the middle means that it's overheating, when, in fact, it is just telling you the temperature. It's not dumbed down to stay in the middle until it *has* overheated, like some others I've seen.

Just before the needle hits the red part of the gauge, your thermostat fully opens up and lets the coolant flow unrestricted. If the temperature continues to climb into the danger zone (note: not *near* the danger zone, but *in* the danger zone), the engine will defuel and temperatures will fall. People towing heavy loads with the RAM 1500s and the same engine see that on long steep grades. It's just not going to overheat.

Most people who worry about this are just barking at the moon.
 
#12 ·
This summer we used our 2014 diesel GC Limited to tow a 21 foot travel trailer, 5000 lbs fully loaded, all the way to and back from Alaska. We drove 11,000 miles round trip, when you add in all of the side trips from the Alaska Highway. An Anchorage Jeep dealer changed the oil, refilled the DEF and rotated the tires. That was it for maintenance. The Jeep was a joy to tow with, smooth, powerful, and trouble-free. I used the paddle shifters when pulling up and down steep grades (as steep as 11% for 11 miles on the road into Skagway). As everyone says, the temp gauge pushes to near the red zone on long steep inclines, but I have learned to ignore that because it has never overheated, even pulling the trailer over various Rocky Mountain passes in the summer of 2014. We met another couple using the diesel GC to pull a 24 foot travel trailer weighing closer to 6500 pounds, with no issues whatsoever. This car is a fabulous tow machine for our needs!

PS -- we got the infamous P20ee code about a month after we returned from Alaska, at 37,000 miles. The dealer downloaded the flash, and when the code came back a week later, they replaced the cat, no questions asked. We have since put on 2500 miles with no return of that code or any other problems.
 
#13 ·
I have a 14 I bought just after new years and now have 10k problem free miles. I recently bought a 26' SeaRay that with trailer & fuel about 6500lbs. Towed her about 130 miles 2 weeks ago. Florida is pretty flat but many overpasses. I got about 17mpg which is great but not as good as my 31+ non-towing. My oil temp was around 225-230 and trans temp never went over 199. Did not really pay attention to coolant when looking at oils, but don't think she was bad or it would have caught my eye. Tows the boat off the ramp with no problem and I am NOT 4wd. Just figured I would leave a comment on my experience.

PS I bought a 2005 Liberty CRD new in 2005 and towed about 5k with it for years. Never had a problem with that CRD for 8 years except EGR valves and a turbo hose(had a chip so my bad). Traded it in 1/13 for a used Hemi Ram but had to sell after 15months due to parking garage issues at work. Got a used Wrangler which I loved but it can't "legally" tow crap and with sue happy people, she had to go for the GC which I absolutely love.
 
#14 ·
Akinny: Not trying to put you on the spot, just trying to validate what you said. Here is your quote.

"Just before the needle hits the red part of the gauge, your thermostat fully opens up and lets the coolant flow unrestricted. If the temperature continues to climb into the danger zone (note: not *near* the danger zone, but *in* the danger zone), the engine will defuel and temperatures will fall."

Where in our owners manual does it discuss the operation of the thermostat? In all the vehicles I have owned, once you hit the rating of the thermostat, 180,190etc it opens fully to cool the engine. Say when we are traveling in our ecodiesels on the freeway for hours on a hot day. I assume (that bad word) we are at operational temperatures and the thermostat opens and closes to keep it at the operational temperature. At this point my gauge hangs out in the middle of the gauge. But start to go up hill or hit a headwind and the needle climbs. That tells me the cooling system is not handling the increased heat. Now what you say. Which I would like to see it, because I like what you said. The thermostat does not open fully until it gets to the danger point (orange area). You would think that if that happened, when you hit the orange area the thermostat would open up fully and you should see at least a slight dropoff in the needle. Which I don't until I level out or go down hill. The bottom line of all this is I want to feel comfortable that there is not an issue approaching redline with my light tow. No disrespect here, just want to validate what you say is backed up by Jeep engineering or some documentation. I have towed with many vehicles and never seen the coolant temperature react to load like our does. It's only 2500lbs. And even driving with out towing go up hill or hit a headwind and the gauge climbs. Maybe the gauge needs to be re calibrated. Thank You
 
#15 ·
It's not in any manual. I read it somewhere on the RAM 1500 Ecodiesel forums. Guys there tow a lot more frequently, so there are lots of threads about coolant temp versus thermostat. If I recall correctly, it begins to open around 210F, but doesn't fully open until 225F or so. It's not simply on or off, which is why you don't see the needle bounce as the thermostat fully opens. The RAM 1500 Ecodiesel has a digital readout for coolant temp and our Jeeps just have a needle.

I have never seen anyone report an Ecodiesel overheating here or on the RAM 1500 Ecodiesel forums. The engine reduces fuel levels automatically before that can happen.

The operation of the coolant temp needle causes some to worry since it's not like their prior vehicles, but you're not overheated until it throws a flashing coolant temp light at you. That's in the manual (not sure where, but I remember reading it).
 
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#16 ·
Akinney: Thanks for the response. I too have looked all over the net and have seen that some of the guys on the RAM site have said fully open at 228degF. I'm trying to validate that number buy asking engineering at Jeep. I sent them the part number. Also sent the same question to a vendor that sells the thermostat. I will let you know what I find out. Wish we had a gauge like the Rams. Akinney how about this theory. If it is true like you said that it opens up fully at 225-228. Then maybe our temperature gauge which is the same for the 5.7 and 3.6 gas engines is not calibrated for our ecodiesel thermostat. So when it gets hot to the point where it opens fully it's at the high side of our guage, where on the gas engines when they open fully at the lower temperature the neddle is dead center or just below center. Just hate depending on a idiot light to tell me it got too hot. I will let you know what I find out. And it is comforting that no one on the RAM site or the Jeep ecodiesel site have had an over heating issue. Mike
 
#17 ·
Akinney. You are correct! I finally hunted down the engineering data on that thermostat.
Opens at 208degF fully open at 225deg F. Temperature gauge for gas engines and ecodiesel are the same. So when gas engine is loaded at operating temperature (different thermostat probably a 190 deg), the needle is left of center. With us being loaded at 225deg puts us right of center. Does that make sense? Mike
 
#18 ·
So does that mean that we should be installing a lower opening temp thermostat to cater for the over temp while towing. I have a digital temp gauge and often towing with the outside temp around 36-38 C the temp readout will go to 113-115 degrees C. Have had the red light on a couple of times.
 
#21 ·
I should also add that if you want the effects of sport mode without biasing your torque to the rear (for those with 4WD) and turning down stability/traction control, just turn off eco mode. You'll get earlier shifts, which helps with coolant/oil temps under load.
 
#25 ·
mbaessler,
I do not believe we need any additional cooling mods. The diesel is meant to run hot and we have over 20k towing our TT without any cooling or engine/tranny oil temp issues.
 
#26 ·
mbaessler,

I do not believe we need any additional cooling mods. The diesel is meant to run hot and we have over 20k towing our TT without any cooling or engine/tranny oil temp issues.


I know the engine is a high temperature engine. I just doubt it would hurt the engine if one wanted the fluids to run at lower temperatures. So the operating temp would be closer to standard daily driving. Which means when you get on steep grades you are having less total stress which means your components in theory should last longer.
 
#28 ·
Scsigman,

When towing on grades, even in hot weather, both oil (tranny and engine) temps are always within spec and I've seen the coolant temp nudge the hot (red) band but it has never gone into it. We live in TX, so I definitely have real world "hot weather" experience LOL !

So I've never seen or felt the need for additional cooling for my ED motor and I'm a pretty anal guy LOL !
 
#30 ·
We've towed in 115F temps in AZ, several grades in TX in 100F temps (we do have a few, with the El Paso Bypass 375 probably the worst at 8% for several miles!) and in Southern Colorado and Northern NM and AZ. I've also had occasion to tow at 70+ to get out of some bad weather. Note that we removed the stock 65mph max LRC tires and installed Load Range D, M speed rated tires on our TT. I would recommend anyone towing a TT to do this.

Our max TT weight is usually around 5k, giving us plenty of "spare capacity" with our JGC Diesel towing at 7200lb and 1090 payload.
 
#31 ·
We've towed in 115F temps in AZ, several grades in TX in 100F temps (we do have a few, with the El Paso Bypass 375 probably the worst at 8% for several miles!) and in Southern Colorado and Northern NM and AZ. I've also had occasion to tow at 70+ to get out of some bad weather. Note that we removed the stock 65mph max LRC tires and installed Load Range D, M speed rated tires on our TT. I would recommend anyone towing a TT to do this.



Our max TT weight is usually around 5k, giving us plenty of "spare capacity" with our JGC Diesel towing at 7200lb and 1090 payload.


The main reason I am looking at doing this is because I am towing from eastern pa to Moab next summer. Cherokee towing a Cherokee.
 
#32 ·
Are you towing the Jeep 4 down or on a flat bed trailer?

4 down won't be an issue and the flat bed shouldn't be an issue provided it is loaded correctly (tongue weight) and/or you are below the 7200lbs:thumbsup:.
 
#35 ·
I've got an 18' aluminum double-axle flat bed car hauler with a 7K GTWR. The trailer itself weighs 1,200 lb. If you are using a steel / wood deck trailer (most common), I would think the weight would be close to 2,000 lb or maybe more. You will be wise to weigh the trailer (and the Jeep) before you commit to this. A typical Jeep Grand Cherokee weight would be around 5,000 lb (5,400 lb for diesel). The tongue weight and gross trailer weight will be very close or over the limit.

You definitely want 10% of the gross trailer weight on the tongue, but not much more.
 
#45 ·
I think your going to be over weight. I towed a BMW coupe on a flat bed and it was close to 7k.
Unless the trailer was a two car or heavy duty towing an open trailer with a BMW on it shouldn't be near 7k lbs unless you had loaded it with other stuff like a tire rack or gear. Most open trailers are 1,500-2,000 lbs empty and the heaviest BMW 3 series based coupe sold ever is the F32 (435i xDrive) at 4,200 lbs.
 
#37 · (Edited)
Decided to put it here also, hope you find it interesting.
Guys I have written before about how our ecodiesels coolant temperature rises close to the orange when you tow and are under any load including a head wind. We know our thermostat opens at 208 and if fully open at 225deg. So the thermostat is set a lot hotter for the diesel than the gas 3.6 and 5.7L(200deg) design. Also the gauges for the gas engines and the ecodiesel are the same and the calibration is the same so naturally the needle will run a little higher. But I feel under load our cooling system is undersized. I started a thread on the gas engine side of the forum to find out what the 3.6 and 5.7L guys are seeing coolant temperature gauge wise when under load. I will report those findings. A guy with a 5.7L said his needle hardly moves while towing. He also mentioned that Ecodiesel cooling capacities are less than the 5.7L. I verified this. Here is the data. 3.6L 10 Quarts, 3.0L Ecodiesel 12.2 quarts, 5.7L 16 Quarts of coolant. I wonder if FCA should of put in the 5.7L radiator. Since we put out more torque and the diesel is set to run hotter. So what do you guys think. I personally tow 2500lb trailer and feel under load I should not be touching close to the orange. Even oil temp jumps to about 255deg. I feel our coolant system is undersized. I wonder if a 5.7L radiator will drop in place of ours. Like to hear opinions of what I have found our so far. Mike
 
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