Community Forums

hewebb · 12-02-2019, 03:39 AM

I am looking at/for a 2014/15/16 Jeep Trailhawk to tow behind our MH. It is about the weight I feel comfortable with. Also I need a four wheel drive for other reasons.

I have not read any post about towing this vehicle and am wondering if any of you tow one. Any input will be appreciated.

Jssr · 12-02-2019, 05:48 AM

We have owned 1 Cherokee Limited and 1 Trailhawk in addition to our current 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk. Have towed all three behind 2 different motorhomes with Ford F53 chassis. You will have no problem towing the Jeep behind your Dutch Star. Just a couple of suggestions....If you can find one, get the 6 cylinder. Our first Trailhawk (2016) was a 4 cylinder and it was a slug when mated with the 9 speed transmission. We traded it in for the current 2019 model. Read the reviews. They are easy to set up and easy to tow. The steering wheel is not locked so it will save your battery when towing. Also, there is something called the Cherokee "death wobble" (or something to that effect) that was corrected with the addition of a wiring harness. Not sure how this wiring harness affects your battery but we have towed our new one with no notable difference. We never experienced this "death wobble" with any of our Jeeps in over 28000 miles of towing. The Cherokee is "Trail Rated" but very SUV like. If you need something a little more rugged, I would take a look at the Wrangler. Just my .02.

LarryinID · 12-02-2019, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jssr

We have owned 1 Cherokee Limited and 1 Trailhawk in addition to our current 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk. Have towed all three behind 2 different motorhomes with Ford F53 chassis. You will have no problem towing the Jeep behind your Dutch Star. Just a couple of suggestions....If you can find one, get the 6 cylinder. Our first Trailhawk (2016) was a 4 cylinder and it was a slug when mated with the 9 speed transmission. We traded it in for the current 2019 model. Read the reviews. They are easy to set up and easy to tow. The steering wheel is not locked so it will save your battery when towing. Also, there is something called the Cherokee "death wobble" (or something to that effect) that was corrected with the addition of a wiring harness. Not sure how this wiring harness affects your battery but we have towed our new one with no notable difference. We never experienced this "death wobble" with any of our Jeeps in over 28000 miles of towing. The Cherokee is "Trail Rated" but very SUV like. If you need something a little more rugged, I would take a look at the Wrangler. Just my .02.

All Cherokees prior to the 2019 model are subject to the death wobble. The wiring harness fix can be expensive to get installed.

My dealer didn’t realize Jeep had fixed it for the 2019 models. I got them to install it free when I bought my 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk. I learned about the fix before I was able to get a baseplate installed. I never used the wiring “fix” and have no wobble.

BTW “ Trailhawk” is a sub model of severall Jeep models including Cherokee, Compass, and Grand Cherokee.

LarryinID · 12-02-2019, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarryinID

All Cherokees prior to the 2019 model are subject to the death wobble. The wiring harness fix can be expensive to get installed.

My dealer didn’t realize Jeep had fixed it for the 2019 models. I got them to install it free when I bought my 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk. I learned about the fix before I was able to get a baseplate installed. I never used the wiring “fix” and have no wobble.

BTW “ Trailhawk” is a sub model of severall Jeep models including Cherokee, Compass, and Grand Cherokee.

I tried to get Jeep to tell me what they did to eliminate the death wobble. They refused. It is a mechanical fix. Changes to the steering geometry such as linkages, bushings, and dampers.

gatorb8 · 12-02-2019, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hewebb

I am looking at/for a 2014/15/16 Jeep Trailhawk to tow behind our MH. It is about the weight I feel comfortable with. Also I need a four wheel drive for other reasons.

I have not read any post about towing this vehicle and am wondering if any of you tow one. Any input will be appreciated.

that vintage cherokee had serious transmission issues and a class action law suit. You may consider extended warranty if you purchase. Also, some had broken frames with some early baseplate designs and aluminum frames. Do some research!

UTTransplant · 12-02-2019, 07:23 AM

I have a 2018 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. We flat tow is with a Blue Ox baseplate and Air Force 1 braking system. 18,000 miles towing so far with 53,000 miles total on the odometer(yes, we do a lot of driving!). We like the airbag suspension that can raise to 11” while still giving us a really comfortable SUV when driving around on regular roads. We have comfortable done a number of Class II 4WD roads, though this is not a rock climber - everything is stock. No death wobble on ours.

Domo · 12-02-2019, 07:32 AM

We flat tow a 2017 with wiring modification.

Easy to tow, great to drive in, goes off road, never stuck in sand, snow or mud.

We fulltime and carry out kayaks on top - or mount the bikes on the rear carrier.

No regrets.

123Bill · 12-02-2019, 08:10 AM

I have experienced the "death wabble with a Ford C-max and don't recommend anyone taking a chance of it happening to you. I have since purchased a 2018 Jeep Trailhawk and have towed it about 20,000 miles. The Jeep tows very well but I did install the famous Jeep "wiring harness" when the car was new. The harness cost $500 to get installed by the dealer and allows the Jeep's power steering pump to be energized during towing. This works well but has a few undesirable complications. First the instructions for using the wiring harness required flipping a toggle switch on the console and opening the hood and removing/replacing an inline fuse every time you connect and disconnect the car. I quickly installed a second in-line toggle switch under the hood so I did not need to pull the fuse all the time. Also, since both the power steering pump and my Break Buddy require power during towing I decided to install a battery charging line from my coach to thee Jeep. This set-up has worked well and has had no problems. I love thee jeep and have learned how to tow. However, I wish it did not require the extra difficulty of the "wiring harness".

hewebb · 12-03-2019, 04:22 AM

Thanks to all of you for the information.
We drove the Trailhawk last evening and decided to pass on it.. My wife rode in the back seat and said it was a rough ride. Because we travel with friends that will ride back there we decided the Trailhawk would not be comfortable for them. We will look at Grand Cherokee models now.

LarryinID · 12-03-2019, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hewebb

Thanks to all of you for the information.
We drove the Trailhawk last evening and decided to pass on it.. My wife rode in the back seat and said it was a rough ride. Because we travel with friends that will ride back there we decided the Trailhawk would not be comfortable for them. We will look at Grand Cherokee models now.

Once again, Trailhawk is a sub model optimized for travel on rough roads. It has tighter suspension, more road clearance, and more angled front and rear. There are at least two other Cherokee models.

The Grand Cherokee is a bigger and significantly heavier machine. That will affect towing. The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk will likely ride as harshly as the Cherokee Trailhawk.

LarryinID · 12-03-2019, 09:57 AM

There are 9 Cherokee 4x4 models and 6 FWD: https://www.jeep.com/compare/quick-c...08&variation=1

LDMcL · 12-03-2019, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarryinID

There are 9 Cherokee 4x4 models and 6 FWD: https://www.jeep.com/compare/quick-c...08&variation=1

The Active Drive II 4X4 transmission is the only one that has a neutral mode and is approved for towing behind a motor home. It is not available on models.

Also according to the 2019 Cherokee website, the Mopar Flat Towing Wiring Kit is still required.

As an aside, I own a 2015 Cherokee Trailhawk. For nearly 4 years, I though I had dodged the dreaded wobble. Late in 2018, I had a couple of experiences with it crossing railway tracks. I acknowledged that this situation would not improve and, in 2019, purchased the wiring kit and installed it one afternoon in a campground. No problems since then.

Scott and Ed · 12-03-2019, 12:24 PM

John, did your new Trailhawk come factory equipped with the new wiring harness, or did you have to add it after purchase? I agree with your assessment of the differences between the 4 and 6 cylinder models. Any issues with acquiring base plates? We are considering a move from dolly towing to 4 down, and are looking for the simplest vehicle to go with. We are Maine residents and would like to have a vehicle with a 4 wheel drive option. We have test driven the 2020 Trailhawk and were pleased. Any input you have is appreciated.

Jssr · 12-03-2019, 02:40 PM

Scott & Ed.....I don't see anything in the owners manual regarding the wiring harness. I did ask the salesman and he had no idea what I was talking about. I also asked the service advisor who said that he understood that Jeep corrected the problem for 2019. So I guess the next step would be a call to Jeep Customer Service. We have not installed the harness and the veh. tows fine. I follow the instructions in the manual to the letter each time I flat tow and have had -0- problems with my Jeeps. Just my experience....The base plates are available from Blue Ox and require that a notch be cut in each one in order to fit properly. We love the Trailhawk and the setup.