We love our 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland. With the air ride suspension it really rides nice. Anyone who says that Jeeps don't ride very nice has never driven this model. 4 down is a piece of cake.
Keith
Keith, Gloria & Charlie(Spoiled Rotten Boston Terrier)
2010 Damon Astoria 3470
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland
USAF 1968-1976 Viet Nam Veteran
We have a 2005 Wrangler, 6-speed manual, 4X4, soft-top that we tow 4-down. Great toad except it is noisy (wind) on highways and like others said, gets very low gas mileage: maybe 16 mpg on the highway. I love the jeep; my wife is not so fond of the Jeep. She says that I am too much of a daredevil when we take it off-road. It is short, narrow and light weight. When at home, I drive it a lot for running short errands; it turns very sharply and it is easy to park. By the way, I am in my late 60's, but just a kid at heart.
I tow a Jeep GC with a 40' 330 hp Cat, done it for over 30k miles. You won't know it's there. Mpg doesn't differ towing or not. Why are you worried about being under 5k lbs? Your rig has a 10k hitch. Try the M&G brake system works great.
Mike & Peg
Aint' life grand!!
'05 Discovery 39S
'04 Grand Cherokee Freedom, M&G, Roadmaster Sterling
http://discovery-on-the-road.blogspot.com/
Zeus the Wonder Dog
"makes you wonder doesn't he"
I am also considering prchasing a jeep as a toad. In all the responses they make no reference to whether you also must have a "brake buddy" when towing. I have a class C 26'.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
General consensus in here is that an auxiliary braking system is a MUST. Especially with a smaller Class C........
Kennyg wrote: I am also considering prchasing a jeep as a toad. In all the responses they make no reference to whether you also must have a "brake buddy" when towing. I have a class C 26'.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Paul & Sandra
New Bedford, MA
2003 Monaco Executive M43 DS2
I use the Ready Brake tow bar system from Midnight Auto. Very simple to install and has been trouble free for over 5 years and many thousands of miles. I would not want to depend on my MH's brakes when descending some mountains. Best to be safe.
Kennyg wrote: I am also considering prchasing a jeep as a toad. In all the responses they make no reference to whether you also must have a "brake buddy" when towing. I have a class C 26'.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
While a braking system of some kind is a GOOD IDEA, it is not required by law in many (if not MOST) states.
IMO, if it was really all that necessary for safety, the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety would be all over it, conducting tests and lobbying for laws to be passed, just like they have done with many other issues in the past.
Since NO government or private safety advocates are on it, I can only conclude that the issue doesn't have enough risk to make it worth the trouble. Surely NHTSA or IIHS would be on it like a chicken on a nightcrawler if there was a safety issue involved!
Many thousands of vehicles were towed behind recreational vehicles for millions of accident-free miles before the braking systems were invented. An unknown number are still towed without braking systems, accident free.
A good idea? Oh, yes, certainly!
Required by law? Probably not. In fact, some states have a "Performance Standard" for braking. If you can stop in a certain distance (often 40 or 45 feet) from a certain speed (often 20 MPH), your brakes meet the requirements to be legal.
Keep in mind that TRAILER towing laws often do not apply to towed motor vehicles, although they are often quoted as justification for towed vehicle braking systems.
There have been enough problems reported with the "Brake Buddy" systems that I personally would never buy one, or any of the other electric boxes that are available. IMO, the ONLY logical systems are the ReadyBrute/ReadyBrake systems available from Night Shift Auto NSA). They are relatively inexpensive, simple, mechanical, fairly easy to install, and they simply work and keep on working. I have rarely seen a trouble report about them. I can remember ONE such report, a cable frayed and broke.
CM1, USN (RET)
2002 Fleetwood Southwind 32V, Ford V10
Toad: 2006 Jeep Rubicon LJ
Other toad: '06 PT Cruiser, Kar Kaddy dolly
Toy: 1977 Dodge W100 CC SWB, 3/4 ton axles & springs
"When seconds count, help is only minutes away!"
RRTom wrote: We are considering buying a Jeep to replace our Saturn Vue as a toad. The reason being that we would like to be able to do some easy off roading in the desert. Sand roads, etc. but definitely no rock climbing or anything like that. The Jeep would also have to serve as a commute vehicle for a few years. No freeway, just surface streets.
We would be towing with a 40' MH with a cat 350 and would need to stay under 5000 lbs, preferably way under.
Given all of the above, what models of Jeep should we consider?
Thanks for any responses.
We were in a similar situation. I retired last year but DW still has a couple years to go, so the Jeep would be her commute car. She wanted creature comforts (heated power seats, leather, satellite radio etc), and room to haul the grandkids. We ended up going with the GC with a V6. Very easy to tow,too soon for a milage comparison, but I hardly notice it's there.
We are looking to move up from our Samurai to a Wrangler and they seem huge and ride like a car comparatively. Just finding one with reasonable mileage and that hasn't been abused/modified is a challenge though.
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Rick n Andi
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