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Old     (chadcis62)      Join Date: Feb 2011       02-01-2016, 11:38 AM Reply   
Looking into the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Eco Diesel engine, how well does it tow a ~22’ ~6000 lb. boat? (Have Malibu VLX) Really want to know how the Eco Diesel performs, but if you have the gasoline V6 or V8 you have towed with that info would be great to know as well.

Does SUV slip on a wet or worn ramps? Does the air suspension help level the ride? Would you recommend 4x4?

Thanks,

Last edited by chadcis62; 02-01-2016 at 11:39 AM. Reason: miss spelling
Old     (nailem)      Join Date: Apr 2011       02-01-2016, 6:58 PM Reply   
I can help a little. I do not have a jeep ecodiesel but I do have a 14' Ram ecodiesel. It is a 4x4 crew cab with 6.5 foot bed. I get 23-24 mpg mixed driving 20.5-21.5 mostly city and 28-30 highway, cruise set on 75. I have towed my 05 Centurion sv230 about 5000 miles. Across PA through Ohio (pretty flat) I can get 19-20 and from PA to SC I got 17-18. Cruise set between 68-72 mph. Shifting is minimal with the 8 speed. While towing it holds 7th most of the time. Will shift to 6 and sometimes 5th on really steep inclines. Even through WV I never had trouble holding 68 mph. Even when slowed up by trucks on long inclines I could get back to speed no problem.
I do have air suspension and love the self leveling. That's why I bought it. It works really well and I have no sag. Plus I can lower the truck, back under the tung and raise it up onto the hitch.

I have 40,000 miles and love the truck. I have had a couple of check engine lights. Both were caused by the DEF injection. First time they tried an update 2nd time fixed it by replacing parts. I have not researched the new ones but I imagine it has been taken care of.

Hope this helps.
Old     (davez71)      Join Date: Oct 2007       02-02-2016, 10:23 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by chadcis62 View Post
Looking into the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Eco Diesel engine, how well does it tow a ~22’ ~6000 lb. boat? (Have Malibu VLX) Really want to know how the Eco Diesel performs, but if you have the gasoline V6 or V8 you have towed with that info would be great to know as well.

Does SUV slip on a wet or worn ramps? Does the air suspension help level the ride? Would you recommend 4x4?

Thanks,
I currently have a Jeep GC Limited V6 4x4 that my wife drives. Jeep make a great vehicle and I would recommend one to anyone. They are very reliable and for the money are very luxurious. I have pulled a seadoo with mine and it did great. I pull my X23 with a Silverado 6.2L.

However I have a cousin with a GC Overland V8 4x4 and he has pulled his 26ft Cobalt with it. I by no means agree with him doing that but he does it when he really has to and he claims that it does pretty good. The hemi is a great engine and had the Jeep been my daily driver I would have gotten the Hemi.

The problem with the Jeep is the short wheelbase. Any boat that you put behind it will pull the Jeep around because its not a long as a Tahoe/Truck. you will feel the wind movement more drastic and when an 18-wheeler passes you will feel it.

If you are only pulling the boat a couple of miles each weekend to the launch ,I would say you would be more than fine or even a few tows each year but if you are towing your boat every weekend and long distances, I would look for another option for the safety of your family and others on the road....
Old     (lifetimewarranty)      Join Date: Oct 2008       02-02-2016, 11:46 AM Reply   
Without starting a big huge flame war those Diesels are riddled with issues. I nearly bought one but thankfully it was when they were first released and on heavy backorder so I didn't buy one. There are quite a few guys on the ecodiesel forums that are needing complete motor replacements...engines freezing up on the interstate or wherever...and guys basically not having their trucks for months at a time.

I actually was just googling those motors a few weeks ago looking to see if guys were tricking them out like the bigger diesels and ended up overwhelmed with the complaint threads on them...I was actually surprised as I thought that motor was initially developed by Cadillac (and fiat) for European Caddy's...Maybe whatever issues they had have been fixed???

Nailem, I'm glad you got a good one or so it seems. Those are great stats for a truck.
Old     (aricsx15)      Join Date: Jan 2014       02-02-2016, 12:48 PM Reply   
had a buddy who had a ED grand cherokee, and before he traded it in, we towed his roommates 2nd gen x star with it. The hitch rattled around like crazy, and seemed to kind of get tossed around by the boat when braking due to the short wheelbase. His was a Limited 4WD with the rear leveling air shocks, and it did help but did not keep it completely level. Got around 27mpg mixed unloaded with a heavy foot, but he got tired of the CELs and rattles so he dumped it. Had great towing power, just not as stable as a truck.

Couldnt detect wheel spin due to the AWD, but it pulled it out just fine on the wet, mud covered ramp.
Old     (chadcis62)      Join Date: Feb 2011       02-02-2016, 2:24 PM Reply   
Thanks for the feedback.
Found this while looking into my question and I think these guys did a pretty good test and level of expectation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRo4uNWCy5E

Seems like its always going to be a tall order to tow a Wake Board Boat with a Mid-Sized SUV.
Old     (nailem)      Join Date: Apr 2011       02-02-2016, 5:26 PM Reply   
Also not to start a big battle over the motor but what you read on forums is a very and I mean very small percentage of owners and most people with problems will flock to forums to ask questions or complain.
My buddy has a 2013 Ford non ecoboost and the motor wrapped, had to be replaced. Many more stories like this. Does that mean the motor is junk or is it simply the truth of manufacturing and anything mechanical?

I would say that the largest majority of ecodiesel owners are problem free and happy.
Old     (Sivs1)      Join Date: Nov 2015       02-02-2016, 6:22 PM Reply   
I traded in my ram 2500 Cummings for a 1500 and was all set to get the ED, went with hemi instead as I travel mountain roads daily. ED seemed to be gutless when trying to start up hill and get to free way speeds. I wouldn't tow with a GC if I could avoid it.
Old     (rallyart)      Join Date: Nov 2006       02-02-2016, 7:09 PM Reply   
There are some things that help in the size you are looking at. Air suspension is great and improves everything if you are towing and using it as a city vehicle. AWD instead of 4WD gives you better stability and simpler, better control for most uses. 4WD is better if you regularly offroad. With those two and a properly loaded vehicle and trailer you don't have to worry about stability. Power is the decision that you have to make on your own. More is always more fun but you need to justify it on balance. Having a smaller vehicle that can tow well enough means you don't have to sacrifice parking at Walmart or the office to occasionally tow your boat. The brakes on the Grand Cherokee tend to wear quickly.

I've towed my 215 for many years with my Saab 9.7x and never had an issue with stability. It's a lighter load than a VLX but similar length. Mine is a 300 hp inline 6 gas engine.
Old     (sprocketeer)      Join Date: Nov 2012       02-04-2016, 9:31 PM Reply   
I purchased a 2015 JGC Eco Diesel last April and it has about 11K miles on it now. My wife is the main driver of the vehicle and she just didn't want to drive a full-size truck/suv. We use it to tow our Supreme S21 which is probably between 5500 and 6000lbs loaded. We upgraded from a 2007 Toyota Sequoia.
I did lots of research and found many reports of problems mostly related to the CEL and issues with the DEF system. I closely monitored the issues and also spoke to a service manager at a local dealer. I was seeing definite improvements and decided to give it a try. I elected to lease the vehicle just in case it turned out badly, that way I would always be covered with a warranty and I can just give it back at the end of the lease. So far we only have had 1 real issue, the first time I hooked it up to my boat to give it a test run, it immediately blew a rear shock and leaked all over my driveway. The dealer had it fixed in a single day and I haven't had any issues since.
The JGC was a huge improvement over our Sequoia! Tons of torque and the gas mileage is awesome. Average mixed mileage is 25-26 and towing is 15. I have zero issues on a wet boat ramp. My setup stays really close to level while hooked up to the boat. This winter, it has been fantastic in the Utah snow (we have had plenty).
The downsides for me is I wish it had better brakes and the hitch does seems to have slop in it so it does bang around. I found a device to put on the hitch that fixed that issue. It also seems to get hot quickly while under a heavy load. I was fairly worried a couple of times on a long trip but it never went into a "limp-mode" or had any other issues related to getting hot. All things considered to this point, I have been happy with the Eco-diesel. It was the best compromise I could find and has worked well for us.

Last edited by sprocketeer; 02-04-2016 at 9:36 PM.
Old     (lakeski)      Join Date: Dec 2006       02-09-2016, 4:48 PM Reply   
We tow with a 2014 V-6 Durango which we bought because it has a 3rd row seat that was n/a in the JGC.

No problems on this ramp which features gravel on top a cement slab for a few feet near the lake and a dirt road under the Durango. No excessive wheel spin, just a solid grip and great ability pulling a lot of weight up a difficult boat ramp.
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