I bought a “great” 2001 automatic limited last year with 160k miles, turns out it had a cracked head, which has been repaired but the damage was done. Idle oil pressure is about 12-15 on a mechanical gauge.

im moving to Colorado from Brooklyn in October and the prices for moving a studio are more than I paid for the jeep! A U-Haul cargo trailer is $500-$1000 depending on size.

I’ve done 2000+ miles on it since and everything seems fine with the new Clearwater head...but would you guys have confidence in this thing towing a 5x8 or 6x12 to Colorado? Suspension is pretty old at this point too.

 

How much weight will be towing? Factory hitch or aftermarket? What exactly do you mean by a "repaired head"? Replacement head? Repaired cracked head?

The idle oil pressure you mention would not concern me, my 2000 has had that same oil pressure for the 100k that I have owned it. The weight of the trailer, and the hills/mountains you will be traveling over would be my main concern. If you have an aftermarket hitch, I believe the max towing is 2,000 lbs. There was a recent discussion about towing with a factory set up vs a aftermarket one. That may be useful thread to you. I'll see if I can find it.

 

Thank you jpz it’s a Clearwater head, replaced the cracked one. I don’t have a hitch, so would need an aftermarket one. I don’t think my one studio apartment of stuff could be more than 1500lbs (bed, desk top (no legs), dresser, small wood couch, some chairs, and boxes of stuff).

I wasn’t aware of the lower row rating on aftermarket hitches...U-Haul isn’t listing the weights of their cargo trailer on the quote page

 

Also, not sure if this makes a difference, but I was just going to have a hitch welded on, not use one of these bolt on aftermarket ones im seeing...if that does make a difference here

 

That's fine. Plenty of people on here who have run for years with 5 PSI at idle.

I'd be more concerned about your suspension and brakes. Make sure you have trailer brakes.

 

No, no, don't do that. The standard bolt-on is PLENTY strong. I have towed 4,000 pounds with mine many times, over some twisty, winding mountain roads. Frankly, I would trust is over any weld-on job.

Get the right trailer hitch, use the nut strips like the factory intended, and forget about messing up your XJ with a welding job on yoru uniframe.

 

Agree with Blueridge. The bolt on hitch is fine. I recently towed about 3,000 lbs with my XJ. Granted it was local towing for a weekend, I didn't feel as though it was struggling. Make sure you do not use OD, you don't want to cook the trans as it keeps shifting between 3rd and OD.

I can't find the thread that previously mentioned the difference between factory and aftermarket hitches. Maybe one of the more senior members can find it, or chime in. I believe it was one of them that brought up the difference.

 

"I'd be more concerned about your suspension and brakes. Make sure you have trailer brakes."

^^ I'm with Mark on this. Also make sure your cooling system is in 100% top shape. You may want to consider an auxiliary trans cooler also. For sure make certain you have a front stabilizer (sway) bar and that it's hooked up.

 

Yes indeed to all of the above!

 

You can see the empty weights here:
https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/5x8-U...ler-Rental/AO/

The 5x8 cargo trailer is 900lbs empty. The 6x12 cargo trailer is much heavier at 1920 lbs empty. U-haul also requires the curb weight of the tow vehicle to be at least 80% of the loaded weight of the trailer. With the Cherokee curb weight around 3000 lbs, they may not let you rent the 6x12.

 

Thanks guys, I think the 5x8 should be large enough, but I can’t find confirmation about it having trailer brakes.

Is OD keeping it in normal Drive, as opposed to dropping down to third? I read that helps to stay in the lower 3rd setting.

ill look into an external trans cooler, but I’ve never had any heating issues so far and it’s had a radiator flush this last December.

are there any well regarded hitches you would recommend, not going the welded way?

I plan to do a tune up on it before I got, oil, filter, and maybe/probably new pads upfront. I’ve replaced the bushings for the sway bar and those little rods (blanking on the name!) and lubed up the bearings up front as well.

 

I guess I am pretty worried about the transmission being damaged...how can you tell if it’s in good enough shape for a trip like this?

 

I don't think U-Haul junk has trailer brakes. Without them, don't even think about the larger trailer.

Exactly! Just drop into third in stead of 4th, and go. No problem. My commute route takes me over the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I have about an 11 mile stretch where it's a bit up and down, and a bit twisty, and the speed limit is 40. I just drop it into 3rd when I start up the road, and keep it there until I'm down the other side. I picked up a solid 2 MPG doing that because the transmission isn't constantly hunting up and down between 3rd and 4th. You will have no problem running in 3rd at 55-60, which is about all you want to do with that trailer anyhow.


A trans cooler is very cheap insurance against blowing an engine or a transmission. Not difficult to install, either. Hayden is a good brand. There are others.

Anything etrailer.com sells. Curt or Reese. Both solid.

Good stuff! Take some extra water along in case you have heating problems. IF you do, DON'T PUSH IT.

 

Well, if it's not slipping now, it's probably okay. When was the last time you changed the fluid? What color is it?

 

4.0L, right?

I have a 2004, 4.0L WJ, I have used it for towing around another Grand Cherokee.. hundreds of miles. On mine, it is perfectly okay to keep the RPMs up high at 3000-3500rpm all day long for practically any length of time. Drop it right down into 2nd gear if needed while going uphill too.

Keep the RPMs up (2000rpm - 3000rpm).