[quote author=tslon link=board=20;threadid=1513;start=msg10688#msg1068 8 date=1068217385]
I saw that response but he was using a manual trasmission which is not recommended for towing at those loads. I have seen posts about 2720's nothing specific about 3023's (which I am in the same boat with you based on my wifes decision). My Jeep is an automatic with 3.55 gear ratio and not the 3.07.
[/quote]
The automatic/3.55 combination is definitely better than the manual/3.07 combination I had...if and only if you have a heavy duty transmission cooler. As HappyTrails has reported elsewhere on this forum about his discussions with transmission shops, the Cherokee's automatic transmission has a noticeably higher incidence of failure than most SUVs when regularly used for towing. It's simply not a very strong transmission. Keeping the transmission fluid as cool as possible...and using synthetic transmission fluid (along with regular servicing...every 15,000 miles would be best) will greatly help improve the transmission's longevity.
Quote:
|
The Trailmanor specs for the 3023 is listed as 2.5 ft longer and only 50lbs more than the 2720SL. That's where the question lies. Does this really make that much difference in towing and will it affect the Jeep?
|
Answer, yes the extra length **can** make a significant difference in towing.
First, although TM's specs don't show much difference in empty weight, in real world towing there will be a substantially greater difference simply because the extra storage space on the 3023 will allow/encourage you to load it more heavily. A typically loaded 3023 is often 200 to 300 lbs heavier than a typically loaded 2720.
Secondly, the Cherokee is a very short wheelbase vehicle...only 100 inches. That can present serious control issues under two situations: crosswinds, especially when meeting/passing semis; and sharply curving descents on mountain roads. In either of these situations, the trailer tends to pivot the tow vehicle around its rear wheels. Short wheelbase tow vehicles have less leverage to resist that trailer induced pivoting. A longer trailer is heavier and has substantially greater side area for the wind to act on and will exert a much greater pivoting leverage on the tow vehicle. After around 5000 miles of towing a 2720 with a Cherokee I gradually concluded that it simply didn't have very much margin of control even with a 20 foot trailer. No close calls, mind you, but just a repeated sense that
any emergency maneuver could have resulted in a complete loss of control. The margin of control would be substantially less with a 23 foot long 3023.
All things considered, I would not recommend towing a 3023 with a Cherokee. You may not have any problems on flat terrain as long as you never have to brake hard or make a sudden, sharp turn. But if you ever want to tow on steep mountain roads (the descents are worse than the climbs)...or ever do any emergency maneuvering, things could get very dicey very fast.
It's probably worth considering the reaction of the most experienced tech at the hitch shop that does hitch setups for the local TrailManor dealer. I was having trouble getting the Cherokee level with my TM hooked up so the TM dealer suggested I call this hitch shop. Even at a shop that knows the TM ease of towability...and in a town where both Cherokees and camping/travel trailers are ubiquitous...the guy was almost incredulous that I was trying to tow a 20 foot trailer with a Cherokee. He said that the Cherokee, while fun and a very capable offroad SUV, simply didn't have, in his opinion, enough wheel base or enough brakes to be pulling a 20 foot, 3700 lb trailer. He continued by saying I was probably the only person in this town of 400,000 who was even trying to do this. That conversation was in the middle of last summer...by the end of the summer I was increasingly seeing the wisdom of his thoughts. 3 weeks ago I traded the Cherokee in for a pickup with a 130 inch wheebase, a 240 hp V8, a 3.91 axle ratio, and a towing package.