Hey guys,

So, over the long holiday weekend we loaded up our small pop up camper and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park. My 1999 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 4.0L 4" lift on 31's Auto and 3.55 gears had the hardest time pulling the only 1,000 pound camper. I had it floored going up Vail Pass and was only going 25 MPH and barely able to hold that. I packed the bearings on the camper before leaving so I can rule out the camper as an issue.

The Jeep wouldn't downshift either...felt like it was stuck in 2nd gear.

I'm thinking it's a plugged Cat but would appreciate any ideas.

Also...another oddity, my turning signal will get stuck in the on position...won't flash. Flasher maybe?

Thanks again!

 

190 hp in a 3,000 lb. vehicle doesn't leave much for pulling anything else.

 

Dude it don't take much weight in a trailer to slow down an xj. Its rough going to the mountains here with a.small trailer. And they are no way near the size of vail pass. She don't have the power.

 

I don't know the answer but I tow 1000-2000lbs very often and have no problems. Make sure you have the selector in 3 and not D when you are towing.

 

Tall tires, their extra weight, extra weight of the lift kit and the motor tune/condition will kill any performance just about every time. Is the 1000 lbs according to the trailer brochure or the actual towed weight according to certified public scales?

 

Tall tires, their extra weight, extra weight of the lift kit and the motor tune/condition will kill any performance just about every time. Is the 1000 lbs according to the trailer brochure or the actual towed weight according to certified public scales? Only place it can downshift to (from 2nd) is 1st.

 

Weight is estimated based on camper manual saying 950lbs plus our extras. I expected some slow down based on stock gearing and tire size...but wow! I previously had a stock 94 Cherokee (235/75/15) that I used to tow a 3,000 lb moving trailer and it was able to hold 45MPH all the way through the hills.

Thanks anyways guys.

 

Probably. It's a "module", square cube near the headlight switch. Easiest way to get at it is to pull the knee panel.

 

I'm guessing it's using the stock gears and the 31" tires where you loosing your pulling power. I see you have converted the vehicle to E85 also. This only has about 2/3rds the power of normal gasoline, so that also may be a problem.

 

Thanks Radi for the helpful info! I'll take a look there for the flasher.