longhauler
Minnesota
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Joined: 08/28/2007
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Lar's wrote:96 GC Limited towed for years with no problems. I put extra bulbs in the tail light assembly and ran the wires underneath, worked great. I'll be pulling the tow bar this spring as I sold the Jeep to my son. Too bad it doesn't fit newer Jeeps. Used a brake system ??? out of Texas and never had a problem with battery going down. Good luck on hook up... a piece of cake.
Lar's actually if you have a blue ox base plate setup then this setup will work on our 98. Let me know if you would like to get rid of it along with your harness. thanks. Also interested in your brake system if you want to part with it. Just PM a price privately. Thanks.
Paul & Julie
1995 Coachmen M400Si Destiny DP
300 Cummins CTA 8.3
6 spd Allison
Spartan Raised Rail Chassis
Featherlite Trailer / 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.9
Harlequin Great Dane "Zoe"
Weimaraner "Zander"
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longhauler
Minnesota
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canttellu wrote:I have been towing a 2004 Grand Cherokee since 2004. not to answer your question, but as an FYI, I use a blue Ox tow bar, and a Brake Buddy for brakes. I installed separate sockets in the tail light housings for turn signals and brake lights. When the Brake Buddy energizes, all the rear lights light up. I just plug the Brake Buddy into the normal lighter socket turn the key enough to unlock the wheels, put the transfer case in neutral, and have never had any problems. The rig has been connected and towed for several days, once 7 days at a time, and never has bothered the battery in the jeep, and it's the original factory battery. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing.
Thanks Cannttellu. This is actually the information i have been looking for. I really appreciate the real world feedback. This is what makes this forum so great.
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longhauler
Minnesota
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deandec wrote:I have towed either a '99 or '05 Jeep GC for more than 7 years. We use a Brake Buddy and have wired both Jeep lighting systems using diodes in the tailight unit to prevent feedback. This to me is the "kiss" principle.
Thanks Dean. Our 98 was purchased used and the book by manual was liberated by the previous owner. Why people keep these I have no idea. I will check by buddies book by manual though. Thanks for the tips!
regards,
Paul
The only time a battery ran down was on the '05 because it does not require the ignition key to be set on ACC position and I did not understand that change. Now I just pull the key.
Your owners manual will prescribe a shift procedure for the Quadratrac tranny to be prepared for towing. It should be listed under "recreational towing".
Do not back up and enjoy....
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longhauler
Minnesota
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rebel462 wrote:I do the same as minisprint91, with my 2000 GC towed 3 years no problems.
Rebel
Thanks folks. I am getting the big picture here. Its not all that important to have the toad get charged when rolling down the road and having the additional cables and bulb kit works out pretty well. One can always just turn on the running lights and then start it up every couple hundred miles when you stop to fill up. Got it.
So which braking unit does everyone prefer? Any units out there they no one wants? Sold your rig recently and just don't need it? PM me. thanks.
I really appreciate all the help with this part of our project. We are looking forward to having the jeep with us as we travel this spring and summer.
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GBMcruisair
Bemidji,Mn, USA
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Joined: 07/21/2003
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I use the cable operated ReadyBrake and it seems to work very good. Find information on it here http://www.readybrake.com/. There is no battery drain with this system.
Kip & Judy
2000 Georgie Boy Pursuit, 2001 Cherokee toad
1951 Pontiac with 400cu GTO running gear
1964 Corvair Monza all original
 (3).jpg)
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Surfingfool
California
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Joined: 08/15/2007
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I bought my tow setup from here. I was able to pickup a 5k lb setup for my 2001 GC for a reasonable cost. My Brake Buddy came from Ebay. A long heavy duty power cable connects the rear light bar (on the rear luggage rack) to the rig. One one trip I did blow a fuse to the GC power outlet.
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OH One
Southeast
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Joined: 03/02/2004
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I pulled a 98 Grand Cherokee Ltd for 4 years with a Blue Ox system. The jeep has a vacant area on the taillights that can easily hold the new lights from the MH. One suggestion.. put a reflective tape or something easily seen on the top center of your steering wheel that you can see from your rear view camera in the MH. Then when you are towing you can see if the the steering wheel in the jeep is moving back and forth with the MH turns. I had the steering lock up once when I made a tight lock to lock turn and the jeep steering locked at the left most position. I was able to stop before doing any harm, but it could have been bad. Good luck with your jeep, it was the best driving and riding vehicle with more maintance items than a space shuttle. I sold it, just got tired of fixing it.
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longhauler
Minnesota
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Thanks for the feedback and suggestion. We have 256 thousand on it now and we don't plan on stopping driving it anytime soon. It came with the 5.9 (360 cid) engine in it and its been a good vehicle. But I know what you mean about repairs. We bought it with 140k on it and have had to rebuild the transfer case, both axles, and the usual stuff like the alternator, water pump, radiator, and a couple other items.
I added a set of adco sway bars and bilstein shocks to it along with the poly bushing kit for the bars and end links. These coupled with the aftermarket exhaust, k&n intake kit, performance computer upgrades and the new goodyear tires, make it run and handle like my vette. Its a lot of fun up here in the winter. I really recommend the 180 degree thermostat. It really cooled off the engine in the summer and that combined with a decent water pump keeps the temps way down. Before it used to run about 210-220 all the time.
I really like the tape idea on the steering wheel. Great suggestion. Still looking for the baseplate kit and a brake buddy, but we will get these and be ready to go by spring.
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jeepfreak
Hanover Ma.
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Joined: 09/02/2002
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I also tow a 2000 GC but use the Led magnetic lights . But I tow My CJ most of the time and didn't feel it was worth the work to hard wire the lights .
2007 Allegro 34wa Workhorse 8.1, Allison 6-speed. Bow Tie powered 79 CJ-7 TOAD ,when A/C IS needed 2000 Grand Cherokee Toad
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No Hurry-No Worry
Santa Rosa
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Joined: 09/11/2007
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We tow a 2001 GC and we love our set up. We use the Air Force One brake system. A little easier to install than the M&G. Uses proportional braking from the coach air system and has a self contained air powered break-away safety system. You never have to touch anything on the brakes and you can not see anything either. No boxes to put in or take out, no rods to attach, literally 3 minutes for complete hook up and 2.5 minutes to unhook. We used the separate wiring loom for the tail lights. No power drain on Jeep ever. Blue Ox tow bar and all Blue Ox baseplate and wiring. Very clean install. Hidden when not hooked up. It was not cheap but worth every penny for the 1) Safety 2) Ease of use 3) Piece of mind. Good luck with your decision.
2001 Monaco Executive
500 Hp w/tag axle
2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
Me,DW and Panther, the coolest cat in the world
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