2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 214WSD FF. What do you think ?

sleeman1 · 10-19-2013, 02:20 PM

Hello members of the club. Any opinions on this "combo" ? I am seriously thinking going with this set-up ? Anyone having experience with this ?

And secondly, what will be your choice of WD bars between the E2 or Equilizer ? Thanks in advance.

AirZone · 10-22-2013, 01:22 PM

I've been looking at the 2014 Grand Cherokee also. The stated towing capacity is 7200lbs with the 5.7 Hemi. I'm towing a 187FB Classic Cruiser with the Anderson sway control. Have a2010 Ram, but the wife says it's too hard to park, so back to an SUV.

webslave · 10-22-2013, 03:22 PM

I used to tow a 210WBS with a Hemi Commander (now have a 5er) and I have a friend that tows (make that towed; he just totaled the trailer last week...) a 244, I think it was, with the kitchen slide and IIRC it was right at 28' and he towed right at 6500 lbs with a virtually identical Hemi Commander (he liked mine).

No issues with towing, but, you have to bear in mind, that despite a very similar wheelbase and engine, the GC is a bit lighter than the Hemi Commander (6000 lbs plus) was. I still wouldn't anticipate any problems with the slightly smaller 214WSD, it is only slightly longer than my old 210WBS with almost identical gross trailer weights, in fact if IIRC the GVW on my old 210WBS was higher than the GVW on the new 214WSD. I towed right at 6,000 lbs with the 210 and the 214WSD's max is 6175 lbs according to the new specs.

As for the WD hitch, I've always been partial to the Equal-i-zer system. I like the bars they use and the ease with which the system is hooked up. Never had a problem with it and never any sway issues. My friend also used the Equal-i-zer with nary an issue (he totaled the trailer on a low gas station awning of all things; peeled the top right off). I put ~38,000 miles on the Commander and 210WBS combination and it was a sweet tow.

Rip5 · 11-07-2013, 05:26 AM

You should be fine with a new GC towing your 214. We tow our's with a GMC Acadia. It does good in most conditions, except steep hills. So for the time being we will likely tow the TT shorter distances to minimize any damage to the Acadia. Down the road, we will get a Tahoe(used) for towing the TT, and use the Acadia for towing the boat.

Eagle · 11-10-2013, 01:16 PM

My dealer recommended the 1,000 # bars. I inquired about going with the 1,200 # ones but was told they would be to stiff and have a rougher, harder ride.

sleeman1 · 11-10-2013, 02:33 PM

Thanks guys. Really appreciate... Other questions. Should i be "nervous" with the short Wheelbase of 115'' of the GC to tow this 25''' 214WSD ? Is a save driving could compensate ? And lastly, since the wheelbase is short on the GC, is an EXCELLENT WD bars could compensate this fact (like an equl-i-zer 10000-1000) ? Tons of questions.....

michaelk · 01-20-2014, 11:58 PM

I just picked up 2011 215WSK and towed it 200 miles with 2012 Mercedes ML Blue Tech. ML is basically the same car as GC with some tweaks in the body style. My trailer is 300lb lighter than new 214 but I had 40 gallons of fresh water in the trailer plus all my camping gear. I have Reese Pro Series WD hitch with trunnion bars rated for 600LB and single cam sway control that I used to use for pulling my old 16ft hybrid TT with GVWR of 3500lb. I wanted to test my old set up with the new trailer to see I had to upgrade to more sophisticated system.
Overall my TW did not have any issues controlling the trailer and I did not notice much difference in handling compared to my old trailer that was 1000lb lighter and 6ft shorter. The weather was not particularly windy but I passed a lot of semis and did not notice any sway. The biggest difference that I noticed was in vertical motion of the rig. On the wavy sections of the highway, both TW and TT would rock back and forth a bit and on the bumpy sections, the ride would be rougher than usual. I think the rocking issue could be due to the fact that 600LB bars are too flexible for the trailer or 320lb of water rocking in the tank. I definitely want to tow some more with empty tanks and play with the hitch set up before drawing any conclusions on the hitch upgrade. WD systems that you are considering should work great with your set up.

chiller · 02-16-2014, 06:26 AM

We had a Honda Ridgeline for our 210WBS,the Honda was rated at 5,000lbs. Trailer was about 4,100 loaded. Was a work out towing even with sway bar package,brake assist,tow package on truck. We traded in Honda for Toyota Tundra a full size truck with tow package. Now the wife does the driving because she feels much safer and in control.The tow ratings are misleading on the midsize trucks.Happy trails

michaelk · 02-18-2014, 08:02 AM

Took my trailer out second time for the long weekend. Total of about 400 miles along Pacific cost. Dialed in tongue weight to exactly 12% and adjusted WD to perfectly level both trailer and TW. That seem to eliminate any rocking issues but I had to work to stay in my lane when crossing open fields with moderate cross winds and had to slow down to 50mph when wind gusts picked up to 25-30mph, judging by the trees, around Gaviota beach. Based on this experience I will definitely upgrade sway control system and started seriously thinking about full size truck.

Rip5 · 05-19-2014, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rip5

You should be fine with a new GC towing your 214. We tow our's with a GMC Acadia. It does good in most conditions, except steep hills. So for the time being we will likely tow the TT shorter distances to minimize any damage to the Acadia. Down the road, we will get a Tahoe(used) for towing the TT, and use the Acadia for towing the boat.

Update: Sold the Acadia for a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 5.7L Hemi. The limited towing I have done so far shows the big difference from towing with the Acadia. I have to lower the bars a notch or two to fine tune. As the Jeep sits up higher than the Acadia. So far, very pleased with the Jeep.

mthiker33 · 06-03-2014, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleeman1

Hello members of the club. Any opinions on this "combo" ? I am seriously thinking going with this set-up ? Anyone having experience with this ?

And secondly, what will be your choice of WD bars between the E2 or Equilizer ? Thanks in advance.

We own a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with V6, factory tow pkg., 2WD and E2 weight distribution hitch. We tow a 2014 Funfinder 189FBS. The Jeep handles the approx. 4,000 lbs. very well although it will strain a bit on steep hills. Recent trip was about 800 miles from sea level to 4,600 ft. in Yosemite National Park. MPG was average 16.2. Not bad for towing. If you are going to do a lot of towing or you are pulling more weight than we do I would step up to the V8 Jeep. For our occasional outings the V6 is fine for us. Hope this helps.