Bigbear2

Greetings, a few months ago I bought a 2000 Cherokee with 128k miles. Good rubber, good body, seems to run great. I was wondering ... will the Cherokee be able to tow a trailer with two full size Harleys from Illinois to Idaho? or I may be pulling a 10foot popup type camper....just wonder how the typical jeep Cherokee tows?

gigemjeep

This should answer your question.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/towing-capacity-15471/

djb383

We've towed 2 bikes at 1500 lbs......u can definitely tell the load is back there. The XJ is a light duty tow vehicle at best. Slow down and allow extra stopping distance.

andrewmp6

I wouldn't tow anything that far with a jeep.Its a ton of hard miles plus the jeeps short wheel base can be a problem if you hit wind and the trailer starts driving you.I would rent a truck to keep the miles off my jeep if it was me.

831xj

Dude tow it you'll be fine.. Go with your best judgment
I've towed a ~3k give or take 100 lbs over mountains even on stock gears and 33s
4.56 helped tremendously but it's very doable to tow that much weight.
I would highly recommend checking and maintaining the cooling system.
And an aftermarket tranny cooler is a very easy install and a great upgrade!

did I mention no sway bars?

andrewmp6

Hes talking about towing 1300 miles plus tho.

blue_00xj

The newer sport xjs can tow up to 5,000 lbs suprisingly. Doesnt mean id tow at the max when the four door weighs under 4,000 lbs.

Turbo X_J

Describe "good", there is not much material to bolt a hitch to initially. Personally I bought a pickup just for towing, if what ever your towing comes loose it's going to land in your lap. Judgements can be renewed indefinitely.

831xj

he asked will it .. and it will tow it. Hard miles on the jeep is why a tranny cooler and a good condition cooling system are a must.

Firehawk068

You should be able to tow your motorcycles, or a popup camper with no problems at all..................A full size Harley weighs 800 lbs-ish, and the trailer you put them on, even if that weighs 800-1000lbs, you are still only at 2600 lbs.........A class-III hitch will get you up to 5000 lbs with the XJ.
Just put a tranny cooler on it, and you'll be just fine.

I towed another XJ, on a tow dolly, from Bailey to Denver behind mine, up and down the mountains and it did just fine..............

I have also strapped my rear receiver hitch to a tree, and used my front receiver hitch/winch to pull (3) 4-door JKs up a steep hill, and I didn't pull the hitch mounts off the frame, or rip my XJ in half............

I wouldn't even think twice about towing a popup camper behind my XJ.......

Just keep in mind the extra weight when it comes to stopping distance, and when you load the motorcycles, make sure at least 60% of the weight is forward of the axle on the trailer so it doesn't start swaying on the highway.........

Bigbear2

where do I get a tranny cooler and how hard are they to put on?

Anony

I have found good transmission coolers from wrecked trucks at the JY but often lack neccesary fittings hoses and connectors.

New kits normally come with all the necessary parts for an installation. (mounting, hoses & connectors)

Such as the B&M coolers. Some include a warm up valve orifice, that restricts flow until after the engine and transmission has warmed up.

http://bmracing.com/?wpsc_product_ca...engine-coolers

Installation is fairly simple, pull the nose, (depending on the size of the cooler) find an area in front of the radiator to mount the cooler, cut the transmission cooler line, route & splice in the new hoses.

B&M has several smaller "stacked plate" coolers (vary in thickness) that easily fit in a corner of a radiator. The air flows through these at an angle.

Each person needs to decide where to position and install their cooler. (OE coolers that came with tow packages were fairly small in size. These were usually mounted near the center away from the radiator, connected to the grill and nose.)

The instructions that come with the cooler may not be complete. Here is a link to a support document for correct mounting.

http://bmracing.com/wp-bnmcont/uploa...er_techdoc.pdf

JeepCoMJ

I tow other jeeps from xj t o MJ to KJ to TJ on a tow dolly with electric brakes very happily behind my xj.

Wasn't fun to tow KJ's but anything under 3500lbs tows just fine.

BruceB

Flush and refresh coolant.
Inspect serpentine belt for cracks, replace if needed.
Oil filter and oil change, and an extra setup for on the way.
Tires inspected and air pressure, check spare for dry rot and pressure, replace of needed.
Change out transmission fluid.
Bring along extra coolant, water, duct tape and tool kit and emergency roadside kit.
have a snack box in the cabin filled with one handed snacks.
Keep your speed around 55 to 60, will save the Jeep and on fuel.
add a transmission fluid cooler and temperature gauge
Don't drive exhausted

File a drive plan with family and friends and set check in times.

review all the posts above multiple times.

BlueRidgeMark

It's a six year old thread.