Towing

[Corey]

I am considering a 4.0 Liter Jeep Cherokee for towing a 17 Ft. Lund(2500 lbs for boat and trailer). Will this be enough or will I have to put a tranny cooler on?

[mk]

I've had several Jeeps over the past 20 years and would highly recommend a trans cooler. I know what Jeeps rate their vehicles at and will tell you that 2,500 lbs is about the max that the Jeep with 4.0 will tow comfortably in hills. On flat ground you might be OK, but in the summer and in hilly situations, you might burn up a transmission. My new boat is about 4,000 lbs inc. trailer and I towed it a few times. The Jeep was not happy with me. You could feel the trans. heat through the floorboard (and I had a large cooler installed) and the vehicle overheated frequently. This was a 98 Grand Cherokee with 4.0 liter and automatic trans. According to Jeep, the Grand Cherokee sholuld have had no problem but reality is another issue. I've since sold the Jeep to a friend and bought a 2002 Chev. Trailblazer with the new 270 HP, 4.2 liter in-line six. This thing pulls great and comes with tow package/cooler standard. Good luck.

[Tom Franjesh]

I just bought a new Trailblazer too. I love it. Great power, smooth ride and comfortable. Not to big, not to small.

Tom

[Schnauzer]

A 4.0 liter Jeep will pull a 17 foot Lund without a problem. It's not like you'll forget you have a boat back there, but it will do the job. My brother used his 4.0 Cherokee to pull his 17.5 foot Lund back in the late 80's and he never had a problem. I used his rig myself on several occasions on long hauls with no problems.

[erie angler]

I tow an 1850 Lund Tyee with a 1995 Jeep-I have no problem towing the boat. If I am pulling it out of a steep ramp I use the 4 wheel drive.

[Eyez]

I pull a Warrior 166 with a 1989 cherokee 4.0 with 180,000 miles on it, and it works great. When the jeep was younger, it spent quite a bit of time pulling a Warrior 190, and it handled that ok, but it wasn't ideal. I've also pulled an 1800 fisherman with my Jeep, and it didn't like the 30mph wind I was going into, but I managed to go about 60 mph. Normally, pulling my little warrior, I get about 14 mpg, and 19-20 when I'm not towing. Pulling the 1800 fisherman into the wind that time, I got 11 mpg.

Definitely put a tranny cooler on it. Jeeps run a little hot when you're towing, and your tranny won't last long otherwise.


Eyez

[Phil T.]

Jeep may have the best off road 4X4 system in the US, but Jeeps don't have frames. They are unibody construction, no ladder frame to attach a real frame-mounted hitch to.
I've seen a receiver tear out from under a Jeep on a poor launch ramp. Consider something else.

[Eyez]

I disagree. I have a class III receiver bolted on my Jeep, and I have personally witnessed this jeep, with a 3/4 ton chevy truck hooked on to the front of it, pull the above mentioned warrior 190 out of a boat ramp that had become silted in with 6-10 inches of sand due to wave action. If you manage to rip the receiver off your Jeep, it was because it is too light of a hitch, it was mounted improperly, Or you're trying to pull way to much. Yeah, a hitch bolted to a full frame would probably be stronger, but I don't think that a 17 foot lund is a heavy enough trailing weight to worry about it. I don't. I honestly think that Jeeps of any model or year are about the toughest 4WD vehicles made.


Eyez

[GregK]

Put a trans cooler on anything that is towing.

[GetReel]

Have to agree with Greg. On any automatic tranny towing a boat; a tranny cooler is a smart thing. You'll be far better off no matter what you use to tow the boat with. Cooler is better!

[Craig Shaver]

This is a no-brainer if you have a lot of experience towing. Install the tranny cooler. You can get a good-un and install it yourself for less than $100.

[Virgil]

Had a jeep 4.0 I rebuilt the tranny have a 18ft. lund i tow was in a 30 mph wind the other day it started blowing oil out the tranny ended up with a 160.00 tow bill for 20 miles. im now pulling with a suburan
no problem. Virg my .02 worth

[Otter]

I tow a Ranger 617 from Arkansas to Minnesota each vacation with a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd. I don't pass any Ferraris going up hill, but it goes pretty well on reasonably level terrain.

[Craig Shaver]

Otter,were you up in Minnesota in July? Reason I ask was that I talked to a guy with a Ranger 617 at a gas station. Boat was green if I remember correctly. Had Arkansas plates. Caught my eye because I have a Ranger 681. We compared notes for a while.

[snaggletooth]

Hi,

I have been pulling my new 16 foot Crestliner Fishawk all summer long, nearly every weekend, with a 1995 Dodge Intrepid. Estimated weight of the boat, motor, trailer, 3 batteries, & some gas is 2100 lbs. Pulled it to LOTW and back from Milwaukee, WI, 1300 miles round trip, no problems. Didn't race anybody up hills, but then, I wasn't holding up traffic either. Maintain speed between 65 to 70 mph on the slab, hill or no hill. Also made 2 round trips to N. Wisconsin, no problems either. Engine temp rises about 20 deg. while underway, then stays constant, rain or shine.

I am sure that an emergency stop for a deer would be a dicey situation. Currently saving up for a better tow vehicle. Haven't decided yet.
I'd rather not buy a truck.

Chuck C.