Trailer/Tow question:

[RenaissanceMan]

Hope this is an appropriate forum for this question:

Anyone know if my '97 Grand Cherokee would be a sufficient tow vehicle to pull an E36 in an open trailer? I have the inline 6 and not the V8... Just curious if anyone else knew if this was reasonable...

[Richy Gonzalez]

I've seen the new GC with v8 tow Miatas on open trailers.

[Steve J.]

Howmuch does your trailer weigh? How much does your car weigh?

Just look up how much your hitch canpull, and thats your answer

[RenaissanceMan]

my car is about 3200 pounds... don't have a trailer yet, but am planning for the near future. also, i'd have to get a hitch installed on the grand cherokee, since there isn't one on there yet. i was mostly concerned with whether or not the inline 6 had enough power to deal with towing something as large as a car. i'll try posting in some jeep forums, too.

[CARWRECK86]

Well the hitch usually has a tow rating on how many pounds it can carry (GDW or something like that). Plus you can look up the tow capacity of the vehicle somewhere on the net (say edmunds).
But off hand i'd say you probably can. With a total tow load of your car and trailer (4500 lbs), i'd think your GC could tow the car. If you already have a trailer, then just try it out. see if the car can handle it just sitting still, then try driving short distances. hope it helps.

[Steve J.]

Get a trailex, they are well priced, very high quality and pretty light.

[RenaissanceMan]

just looked up the tow capacity online... according to edmunds, it's only 2000 lbs... i'm assuming i'd really be pushing it trying to pull a car + trailer!!!

EDIT: just found another source that lists capacity at 5000 lbs...

[Erik@EDGE]

edmunds is off, they are rated at like 7000lbs, IIRC, I used to have one. your biggest issue is that the wheelbase is so short, the trailer will throw you around. Short tows would be OK, but you will be stressing yourself and your truck.

[magnetic1]

Make SURE the trailer has good brakes.....

I've seen GC pull before... dunno how stable it would be though.... I myself am also looking for a trailer, but Im using a Yukon to tow... looked at Trailex, although the aluminum trailers they have are nice, they are also $$$

[Tommy R]

Adam,

Listen to Erik and Eric.

The "rated towing capacity" on your truck means squat. A max tow rating of 5000 lbs. is under ideal conditions and does not mean actually towing 5000 lbs. is practical.

A Grand Cherokee (my g/f just sold one) is not a good tow rig for nearly any car. It's not the power, although that, too, would be an issue. It's the brakes. It's the short wheelbase. It's the poor weight distribution when loaded. It's the (more than likely) lack of adequate tranny and oil coolers. You'll never use O/D, of course. And that I6 would struggle big time on anything resembling a hill. Maintaining speed over overpasses would even be a challenge!

My '95 GMC full size truck with a 350 did an adequate job of towing my 3000 lb. Camaro. Unless only very short trips were the gameplan, I wouldn't use anything smaller than that. And mine was an extracab, too. The added wheelbase is a good thing.

Your best bet? Get a hitch and tire trailer for the BMW or get a larger tow rig.

Oh yeah, lightweight trailers are very nice to have. And don't feel you need to go with aluminum, either. It's very (too) flexible.

Hope this helps,
Tommy

[Erik@EDGE]

Tommy is right on, get a tire trailer or consider a bigger truck...You can see what I opted for in my sig, i didn't want to ever worry about long tows to, say, Topeka...

[magnetic1]

Agreed w/ Tommy... that's the other thing I forgot to mention. The Maximum Tow Rating should not be used as an absolute guide. You should NEVER be towing at max capacity.

I forgot where I read it, but a suggestion of 2/3 the max capacity should really be the "maximum".

And also like Tommy said, power isnt so much of a factor when determining tow ratings. It's nice to have for hills, passing, etc, but in terms of tow ratings, it isnt a factor. Hell, a Ford Econoline van would make a good tow candidate since it has such a short rear overhang... which is why the Yukon has a higher tow rating than say a Yukon XL... the XL is bigger, heavier and longer... but the rear overhang is longer...

The GC can certainly tow... but whether it is a "good" tow vehicle is another can of worms.

[qwickm3]

I'm sorry but a grand cherokee with a 6 cylinder motor is going to only be good for pulling a jet ski or motorcycle. There is no way you should try and tow a car with it.

[RenaissanceMan]

hey guys-

thanks so much for the feedback. this is exactly the kind of info i needed in order to make a longer term decision. for now, if i end up needing to trailer a car, i'll just borrow or rent something much more appropriate. looks like the grand cherokee will ultimately be sold and replaced by something else.

[Tommy R]

Good decision, Adam. Happy we were all able to help....

Tommy

[snk328is]

Good thread, good read. I was wondering the same kind of things, except for the fact that I currently live in an apartment and I have no place to put a truck *and* a trailer. Looks like getting a tow hitch for the bimmer is much more cost effective...

[G.T.]

Originally posted by qwickm3
I'm sorry but a grand cherokee with a 6 cylinder motor is going to only be good for pulling a jet ski or motorcycle. There is no way you should try and tow a car with it.

I beg to differ.

I used to tow my GTI with my (5-speed) Jeep Wrangler and it worked just fine. Even with the short wheelbase, it wasn't too twitchy that it was unmanageable.

IMHO, the 4.0 six has sufficient torque to pull the car. Granted, the IT-spec car weighs only 1850 lbs., but I'd place brakes over power if I were to tow anything heavier. If you have an automatic, I'd worry even less about power.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd try to make do with what's available. I'd love to tow with an F-350 Powerstroke, but I don't have one!

[qwickm3]

An 1850 pound GTI is one thing. A 3200 pound e36 is a whole nother story. And towing with that wrangler has got to be putting a hurtin on that transmission. The cost of buying the right vehicle for the job may out weigh the cost of fixing the wrong one.

[G.T.]

While I don't discount the 1350-lbs. difference, I think the tranny will hold up just fine. I put over 160K trouble-free miles before I got rid of the Jeep, and it would go on 6-hour tows without missing a beat. Other than routine maintenance, the Jeep required absolutely no repairs at all, tranny or otherwise.

The bottom line is that I chose to spend the money I had to go racing instead of spending it on a new tow vehicle. If it's what I have at the time, then it's what I would use. I could have a nice tow vehicle and not race, or I could use my existing truck and actually get seat time.

I guess that's the key difference between an someone who races a 20-year old VW and someone who races an E36 M3...the budget. It's all about what's affordable.

[Tommy R]

Originally posted by GTI Cup
I guess that's the key difference between an someone who races a 20-year old VW and someone who races an E36 M3...the budget. It's all about what's affordable.

But, it has to also be about what's safe. Towing a 3000+ lb. vehicle behind a Grand Cherokee is not smart. Having towed a similar weight vehicle all over the country with a much heavier duty truck, I feel perfectly within my rights saying so.

Remember, that 1900 lb. VW also doesn't need the same type (i.e. weight) trailer as a 3200 lb. car. That's not a trivial concern.

I understand where you're coming from, but I humbly, though strongly, disagree with you in this case.

Tommy

[Steve J.]

Just pickup a decent Bronco

Also trailex makes great trailers, thier flex is not noticeable, and they are of the highest quality for opened trailers.

[G.T.]

I'm in total agreement with the safety issue, Tommy. Half-a-ton is quite a bit more...certainly not a negligible number.

Still, the question Adam had asked was if the GC was sufficient to do the job. Based on my experience, I suggested that the GC was indeed capable, albeit not the best, most reasonable choice.

[Geo31]

Originally posted by 95m3racer
Howmuch does your trailer weigh? How much does your car weigh?

Just look up how much your hitch canpull, and thats your answer

Um.... NO.

I would suggest looking it up in your owner's manual.

My Durango is only rated for 4350 lbs despite a hitch and chassis rated as high as 7500 lbs for the configuration with the bigger engine and short ratio rear end.

[Geo31]

Guys, there is just so much BS and misunderstanding about towing capacity it isn't even funny. I can't say I fully understand it, but I know MOST people don't. When I was searching for a tow beast I got all sorts of horsepucky from people about what could tow what.

The bottom line is consult your owner's manual. Towing capacity figures hp, torque, chassis, and other factors in the mix. Those other factors include oil and tranny fluid coolers, rear end ratios, and more.

If nothing else, contact Jeep and find someone who really knows what they are talking about.

FWIW, I would guess Edmunds is spot on. You don't have a factory towing package, so you probably don't have the fluid cooling that you should have and you probably have a taller rear end that is optimal.

Now, that's not to say you couldn't tow something heavier. Hell, I used a CRX to tow a double wide snowmobile trailer with a heavy homemade cover that I used to haul my racing kart around in my first year. Of course, two years after I started doing that (and a year after getting a smaller trailer), the cam snapped in two. Is it because of towing the heavy trailer (the CRX was not rating for any towing)? That's a question I keep asking myself.

[VahramHS]

If your Cherokee is rated to tow 5,000 pounds then I bet it can. You are going to stress the hell out of the drivetrain though because most trailers and your car are going to come out to weigh about 5,000 pounds. Your I6 has enough powe to pull the weight but your chassis is not going to like it. I tow my M3 to the track all the time with the truck listed below. My trailer and car weighs around 5,000 pounds plus another 1,000 pounds of tools, tires, etc in the bed and my truck is not even breaking a sweat. I still get 16mpg while towing my car. I say if you can, get something as beefy as possible so towing something large will never be a problem. Go diesel if you can afford it.