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Old 01-26-2013, 09:11 PM   #1
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Location: Australia
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Default Excessive bouncing Funfinder 244RBS Jeep Grand Cherokee

When travelling fully loaded we find 60MPH can only be achieved for short periods on perfect roads. The set up feels safer and more comfortable at 50MPH.
We find on secondary roads that has dips in the road the Funfinder causes the Jeep to bounce severly making the ride uncomfortable and a worry about breaking something.

We have a 1200lb Reece WDH. Hitch weight 650lbs.
Jeep fully loaded inc Hitch weight 6000lbs
Funfinder 6100lbs inc Hitch weight.

The fixes we are considering are doing the work ourselves:
1/ Airbags by Air Lift, part 60811 $88.00
2/ Load adjusting shocks by Munroe part 58646 $93.00
Both are considered bandaids with the shocks putting extra load on the shock mounts they were not designed for.
The air bags may have short life and leak.

A more expensive fix, replace suspension with heavy duty springs and shocks cost $500.00 big job or pay someone to install and been quoted $1800.00 which is too much.

Has anyone any comments on the options.
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244RBS Funfinder 2012
Jeep Grand Cherokee 3 ltr CRD
Australia
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Old 01-29-2013, 06:25 PM   #2
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I'm just guessing you're at the limits of that Grand Cherokee? Unless you have the 5.7L V8?

"The Jeep Grand Cherokee offers trailer tow capability of up to 5,000 pounds on models equipped with the Pentastar® V6 engine or the 6.4L Apache V8 engine+. Equip your Grand Cherokee with the legendary 5.7L V8 engine and you're ready for loads of up to 7,400 pounds+."

Unfortunately I can't offer better advice or suggestions. I'm guessing you have a good brake controller. Might review supersprings website. I have them on my Titan. http://supersprings.com/index.asp
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Old 01-30-2013, 02:30 PM   #3
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Instead of the air bags and shocks, you might want to look into the Timbren SES system. As opposed to the air bags which require maintenance (airing up for loaded, airing down for unloaded and finding the right "air pressure" for a changing load; your trailer won't weigh the same each trip nor will the weight distribution be a constant), and shocks that may or may not help. Air bags and the shocks will also affect the unloaded ride of your GC when not towing.

The Timbrens replace the urethane spring bumpers with a polymer that has "progressive" support; the more you load them, the more suspension help they provide. I run them on my truck, ran them on my Commander (when I had it) for the extra control they provide. The beauty of the Timbrens is that when the vehicle isn't loaded, they don't come into play at all as they ride off the axle until loading brings them into play. They help with sag, off camber tilting and rebound control. I won't own a tow vehicle without them. They take mere minutes to install and once installed, you can forget about them. No maintenance, no adjustments, just help when the load needs it and it won't affect the stock ride of the vehicle when no load is present.

Timbren Site



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Old 05-20-2013, 07:21 AM   #4
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What year is the grand cherokee?

We have towed our FF189 (which starts about 1,000 pounds lighter than yours) with both an '04 (4.7L V and our 2011 (5.7 Hemi). For both we used a 1,200 # equalizer hitch and towed at 65mph. The '04 is a completely different vehicle, and we experinced some bounce (much softer suspension, and solid axles all around). In the 2011 i can't even tell we're towing anthing hardly except when we go through really deep dips in the road. Perhaps your weight distribution hitch isn't properly setup? Do you know your tongue weight?
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Old 05-25-2013, 09:57 PM   #5
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Default All Good Now

The rig tows much better now,
This is what worked for me.
The Munroe load shocks lifted the Jeep 2006 3 ltr CRD by 2 inches, and that looked a bit weird back up front down.
We then replaced the front struts with Munroe and put in heavy duty springs front and back.
That levelled the Jeep.

When we connect the Funfinder 244rbs to the Jeep hitch the tow bar drops less than a inch. (hitch weight 675lbs Gross caravan weight including hitch weight 6300lbs.
We readjusted the WDH and off on a 400 mile holiday to a Dam.

The Funfinder is much more stable nearly all bounce is eliminated and
cruising speeds of 50 to 55mph is nice and comfortable with a feeling of being in full control. No bouncing and no swaying.
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244RBS Funfinder 2012
Jeep Grand Cherokee 3 ltr CRD
Australia
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