New tow vehicle

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New tow vehicle

Postby wincrasher » Sun Feb 16, 2014 9:22 am

Yesterday I made a deal to trade out my trusty Suburban. I was tired of driving that behemoth around town and putting gas in it.

I ended up getting a new Jeep Cherokee Limited with the V6 and 4wheel drive. It's rated to tow 4500 lbs, which is plenty of capacity to deal with my Cricket. Hopefully, highway mileage will be around 20 with the trailer attached (crossing fingers).
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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby jss06 » Sun Feb 16, 2014 9:45 am

Congrats on the Cherokee. I bought my TrailHawk V-6 and Tow Package back in November and absolutely love it. I just finished the towing break in this weekend and was able to finally get it up to highway speeds while towing. It pulls really smooth at speed even in strong winds.

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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby jss06 » Sun Feb 16, 2014 9:57 am

And in case you plan on running a brake controller:

http://www.hudsonhawk.net/th/klbcwire.pdf
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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby wincrasher » Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:22 am

Hey, I saw your posts about it. How did you swap the wires? Do they just pull out and stick back in, or is there more to it?
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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby jss06 » Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:56 am

You have to dismantle the male end of the plug. The white insert has to be removed first. Release the side tabs and push them forward. It should come out fairly easy.

Then you release the retaining clip on each wire with a small flat blade screwdriver (think eyeglass or jeweler size) as you pull on the wire. You only have to change the black and blue wires.

Reinsert the wire in the correct location until the retaining clip engages.

Install the white insert to lock it all together.
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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby wincrasher » Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:03 am

Sounds easy. Thanks!

Any idea of the MPG you are getting?
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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby jss06 » Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:55 am

wincrasher wrote:Sounds easy. Thanks!

Any idea of the MPG you are getting?


Into the wind I was getting 17~18 yesterday at 65 MPH pulling the trailer. But the TH gets worse mileage than the Limited.
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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby wincrasher » Sat Mar 01, 2014 11:28 pm

Well, I spoke too soon.

Had troubles with my dealer actually getting me the car I wanted. After 3 failed attempts, I gave up. These guys would just not make the phone calls necessary to locate, secure and have a car delivered. If it isn't on their lot, I guess they aren't interested in selling a car. So I took my cash elsewhere.

Ended up getting a 2014 Ford Escape Titanium 4WD. It has a Turbo 2.0L which has more torque than the Jeep. I think it will do just fine towing my Cricket. The better gas mileage should be nice as well as the cheaper price for the car and more equipment. These guys hustled, located the car and went and got it for me, all in one day.

Plus it's red!
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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby pchast » Sun Mar 02, 2014 11:31 pm

Good Call changing dealers....
Congratulations on the new car.
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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby wincrasher » Sat Mar 08, 2014 3:41 pm

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Untitled by MerrittR, on Flickr

All dressed up and nowhere to go!

Took my Cricket on a 25 mile loop to test out how it tows. The 2 liter turbo has plenty of power for this little trailer. Think I'll probably get about 20 mpg highway. Don't think I need to install my brake controller. Seemed to be more than adequate stopping power and control. I made a few really hard stops to see how she would react.

Road manners seem to be good. You just need to keep in mind that this is a short wheelbase vehicle, so as long as you pay attention, no problem. I especially like that hill climbing is no longer an issue - the transmission readily downshifts when necessary, unlike my last tow beast.

FWIW, my bike is on the roof on the far side of the kayak. Thought with these toys on top, it would be a windy problem, but apparently not.
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Re: New tow vehicle

Postby KCStudly » Sun Mar 09, 2014 11:52 pm

FYI, in my state if the trailer is equipped with brakes (even if not required to be by law), then by law they must be in use (i.e. the TV must also be capable and connected). I assume this is a similar requirement in other states.
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