Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Happy Superbowl Sunday!!!
I sold my 1/2 ton truck and now have a 6cyl 2wd Jeep Cherokee. It has a tow rating of 4500 pounds. A 6x12 is roughly 1500 leaving plenty of room to build it out. But will it be a fun tow? To plan is to have a single queen bed, small kitchen and A/C so we can load our mountian bikes and go ride for 3 or 4 days.
(I've owned pop-ups, hybrids, 34 ft bumper pull, gooseneck, and too many boats to count, so I have plenty of experience towing)

I don’t have a new Cherokee but I can speak from experience with the 2008 Liberty, which was its predecessor. You may want to take what I say with a grain of salt, considering that the Cherokee has a 9 speed transmission, which is very different than the 4 speed in my V6 Liberty. I have a 5000 lb row rating with the tow package (would be 2000 lb max without it).

I have towed double axle 6x12 u-haul trailers with my Liberty in the past and it wasn’t the most fun towing experience. However, it is doable. In the Liberty that means pressing the Tow/Haul button which locks out 4th gear. On the interstate it would cruise at 3000 rpm and still lose speed up hills because the V6 is underpowered to begin with. It is a big difference from a V8 pickup truck for sure.

My trailer now is somewhere around 2000-2500 lbs (estimated, still have to weigh it), and it’s a 6x8 built on a military platform. It tows better than the 6x12 but I am still considering gearing my Jeep lower to increase the power (and compensate for the slightly larger tires that i have on it). It tows fine on the flat, but is a bit of a dog in the mountains. With a lighter trailer it would probably be fine.

Maybe I can over some insight..
I have a Cherokee Trailhawk with a V6 and I two two trailers with it.
My tear drop in the picture below. Its 5 1/2" wide, 5' tall and 12' long. Weight in at about 2000# and I can tow it all day long at 65 and get about 16 mpg with no real issues.
My other trailer is a Lance 1575, 7' wide, 9'+ tall and 15' long with a weight of about 3500#. It will do 60 all day long. Push it to 70 and it will have to work pretty good. Where it struggles is big long climbs and head winds (25+ mph), of which we have plenty of out here in the west. I just don't like it when the engine has to run between 3500/4000 rpm for longer stretches of time. Depending on how tall your trailer is and whether its a v-nose can make a big difference.
Hope this helps.

Thank you Wolfgang! That gave me some good Insight.

I have a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a V8 in it and the tow package. I don't use it for towing but did tow my cargo trailer back home after I bought it. The trailer was 2,150 pounds and the ride was not enjoyable. It did it but it was a struggle. The transmission was down shifting and upshifting non stop on ANY size hill.

Chasein70, Howdy;

Welcome to the madness!!!!!

Most vehicles that have a "Tow Package", also have a Shift/Haul and Regular mode
for the transmission. In my truck it's a button on the shift lever. On some it may be
on the dash somewhere convenient to the driver. Did you have it in the towing mode
when you experienced those problems? There are also fuses that need to be in place
and a break controller for proper operation of the trailer's breaking system. When all
the above mentioned items are engaged and operating correctly you really shouldn't
have any or a majority of the difficulties that you mentioned. Then there is the old
adage, " When all else fails read the owner's manual." Truly, the information is in there
and should be helpful.

hank

No brake controller on my Jeep but that wasn't a problem. The Jeep was in tow/haul mode. With the cruise control on it would drop down in MPH's on a hill and couldn't maintain 60 then it downshifted twice. I have a brand new Chevy Silverado for my real tow vehicle when I head out. V8 355hp and 8 speed trans with the tow package, brake control and sway control.

The Jeep has 180,000 on it. I think it's just tired. For the time being I drive it 110 miles every day back and forth to work. If it so much as farts it's off to the junkyard. It's already saved me 28,000 on my truck.

Chasein70, Howdy;

Chasein70 wrote:No brake controller on my Jeep but that wasn't a problem. The Jeep was in tow/haul mode. With the cruise control on it would drop down in MPH's on a hill and couldn't maintain 60 then it downshifted twice. I have a brand new Chevy Silverado for my real tow vehicle when I head out. V8 355hp and 8 speed trans with the tow package, brake control and sway control.

The Jeep has 180,000 on it. I think it's just tired. For the time being I drive it 110 miles every day back and forth to work. If it so much as farts it's off to the junkyard. It's already saved me 28,000 on my truck.

Your mind's made up, nothing to help with ...

hank

lfhoward wrote:I have towed double axle 6x12 u-haul trailers with my Liberty in the past and it wasn’t the most fun towing experience. .

I have to second that opinion. Not fun and mine is a V8