I am going to be towing a 6x16' open tandem trailer from MI to OR with my Cherokee. Should I put a tranny cooler on and trailer brakes? Has anyone towed anything that big before? If so how did it go? The trailer will be loaded with my household stuff (clothes, mattresses, etc... ) so it won't be extremely heavy. So yeah, any help would be great.

 

unless the brakes are completely shot on your cherokee, i wouldn't think you'd need trailer brakes. especially with only household items. as for the tranny cooler, i've got no advice

 

It wouldn't hurt to do it

 

Make sure you electric fan works, then go for it =)

You can manually turn it on by turning on your A/C.

 

tranny coolers are easy peasy, it wouldnt hurt but i doubt it would be necessary even at highway speeds.

 

Ok thanks. Sounds like I'll just do the t cooler and skip the trailer brakes.

 

Does the trailer already have trailer brakes? Most two axle trailers do have brakes on at least one axle. If the trailer has brakes all you need is to do is wire in a trailer brake controller, easy to do and trailer brakes will help.

 

It does already have breaks.

 

If you are new to towing - starting with a Cherokee and a 16' trailer is not the way to go. Be careful. My 16' trailer weighs over 1000 lbs empty. 5000 lbs when I put my cherokee on it. Pullinng it with an Excursion (or any 3/4 Ton truck) is no problem. Pulling it with my wife's Expedition is ok if the load is light (or empty). Pulling is with my Cherokee is scary. Actually to be specific it is not the pulling that is scary but the stopping. Definitely make sure the trailer has brakes (elec or surge) and that they are adjusted correctly. The Cherokee is a relatively light weight vehicle. Having a trailer that size get out of control behind you (swaying back and forth) or having to stop it in a panic situation can spell disaster. It will push that Cherokee around like a toy. Your engine and tranny can handle the job, but the size, weight and brakes of the cherokee will not.

My 2cents - be careful.

 

Ok thanks for the advice. I was wondering about the size ratio myself. I have pulled lots of trailers, but behind trucks. Not a Cherokee. It will be an interesting experience. So are you saying a tranny cooler isn't exactly nessisary?

 

x2 on what dragon said. I recomend a tranny cooler, I killed my trans by pulling another jeep across the appalachian mountains. Make sure your fans work too. AW4 are strong but as with any auto, heat kills them and with a long trip across the country and thru mountains its insurance. Be careful pulling with a XJ, stopping is not fun

 

Stopping is not fun in an XJ in normal conditions lol

 

I've towed 3k with my old XJ.. Tranny Cooler is nice to have I would recomend it.. In fact I think it's a good idea wether your towing or not. Like so manny have said already breaking is the issue as you will get pushed by the trailer/trailer load.. I never had any issues, just braked earlier and drove slower then if I wasn't towing..

 

I called auto zone about a transmission cooler and they need to know if the jeep has super cool or not... I have no idea! Does it?

 

Not sure what they mean with the super cool, but any one of the "universal type" trans coolers will work. They are super simple to install. I think I had mine on in less than an hour. I got the biggest one they had and it works fine. There are write ups all over the internet.

I noticed a 15 degree drop in temp when I installed that cooler. When I towed without it I would see the temp guage in the 220's and 230's if I was pushing it. Now it never gets above 210 no matter how hard I beat it

Do you know how heavy the trailer is? I have an 1800lb camper I pull with the XJ. It doesent have brakes just because its too old. Power to weight its fine. I can accellerate without any issues, and none of the mountains in PA give me any trouble.

The issues you are going to have are braking and handling. If I am somewhere that I need to do a lot of braking it can get a little scary. I have had a few close calls where I was standing on the brakes and the jeep/camper werent slowing down as fast as I would like. Its always stopped, just not as nice as well as I would have liked. Downshifting can be very helpful

At highway speeds things like wind and tractor trailers can get a little stressful as well. I always assumed it was the wheel base but my little popup can get the XJ rocking back and forth pretty good.

I have put lot of miles on this thing with the trailer, and it has always been fine. Its just not as smooth as some of the bigger trucks when you are towing.

BTW the jeep manual says to use trailer brakes on anything over 100lbs