Anyone have experience towing with a Grand Cherokee?

[Panik]

It's less about the bells and whistles, although that's a nice bonus. It's more about having a trailer that I don't have to worry about using now and into the future. I honestly may well be off base about this but here is an example:

Shortly after purchasing the trailer we had famiy coming over for the holidays and one of the honey-dos was to build a fire pit. I ended up purchasing a 1.5 ton pallet of fieldstone for the task. With the amount of flex (both across the frame and in the deck boards), and the fact that the crossmembers are 2x3x3/16th there was no way I felt comfortable with that concentrated amount of weight on the trailer. As a result we ended up paying an extra 75.00 delivery fee for what amounted to a 20min drive for the nursery.

The trailer tows nicely behind the jeep and functions adequately for the BX. However, I've got enough going on in my life that I would like not to have to worry about being able to put whatever I reasonably need to load on the trailer and go.

Basically it feels like the trailer is a light weight car hauler and was designed to hold a 3 or 4k car where the load is distributed very evenly with the highest downward forces being exerted at four points close to the frame rails. Not saying that it's a bad thing, just maybe I didn't think things out when I purchased originally. I guess what it boils down to is that I am willing to trade a little capacity in terms of load capacity and gas efficiency for some peace of mind that might come with a beefier trailer.

If it was just about the tractor alone it would be a non issue. It's also a bit about self reliance and having the tools to do all the fun stuff we have planned for the property. That and having gone to Gatlinburg and Fl in the last month I've had ample opportunity to see scary example of towing. I dunno......

 

[gladehound]

I know this is an old thread but I'll add to it since I have some experience towing with a 2011 Grand Cherokee with 5.7L and tow package. The vehicle tows surprisingly well and for anything under 7000 pounds I prefer it over my F250 diesel due to the better manuverability. I once towed 8000 pounds and it felt fine on back roads although I would have wanted the truck to tow this weight if I were on the highway. My 10,000 pound GVW equipment trailer is smooth as silk behind the grand cherokee. Only I have to watch the tongue weight and keep it under 700 pounds or the GC will bob. My truck didn't care how much tongue weight there was. Obviously, I have brakes on both trailer axles - wouldn't tow without good brakes.

 

[Beltzington]

Has anyone tried towing with a similar vehicle? Before I invest in a 7k lb trailer I sure would like to feel that I could end up using it.

Very nice Jeep, congratulations.
From my experience, I owned a 97 Grand Cherokee with the 5.9L V8, I bet it is very close to your Jeeps performance and ratings. I bought a 26' camper that was right around 6K a few hundred pounds below my tow capacity. The camper also had a load leveling hitch. Jeep didn't even work at acceleration, stopping was not bad with my electric trailer brakes. Pulling it was a whole other matter, hard cross wind, bad dips in the road or coming of an overpass where white knuckle events, I swear the camper was trying to pass me on multiple occasions. After that first trip I bought a Chevy 2500HD Diesel, still loved the Jeep. Goods Luck!

Oops, old thread but I'll leave this anyway for future searches.

 

[gladehound]

2 points - the first was raised by Beltzington and is that the inherent stabiliy of the trailer may be more of a limiting factor than the weight. My equipment trailer with deck between the wheels is very stable and not impacted by wind - this is very different than a travel trailer. Something to consider when towing with a small vehicle. Second point is that a new GC will tow far better than the 1997 version reference above and it is really a apples to oranges comparison. The new GC is ~1000 pounds heavier (25% heavier) and has nearly 10 inches more wheel base compared to the 1997 version. The new ones also have hydropneumatic load leveling shocks (with trailer package). Independent suspension. A lower center of gravity. Tighter steering. The vechicles are so different that I don't think any fair comparison can be made when it comes to towing with a 1997 vs a 2011 GC.