I saw a used 06 GC SRT-8 for sale today with custom exhaust and a class 3 2" receiver hitch. The hitch was rated for 5000lbs. Have any of you actually towed anything this heavy with a GC? The 5.7L Laredo is rated up to 7200 lbs. Why wouldn't the 6.1 be at least as capable? I have a boat that weighs about 5200 on the trailer and reallllly would like a GC SRT-8 but am afraid of the tow capacity. Any help will be appreciated.
They say it is the parking pin and that is why they only rate it at 3500 lbs. If you were to tow that much I would suggest applying the parking brake at every stop. And dont park on a 60 degree slope. Also make sure the hitch you build/buy to make work is strong enough to tow what you are attempting to tow. I built a custom hitch for mine way back in 06 and was probably one of the first to do so. It has worked fine and I have successfully towed 3500 lbs easily numerous times, and certainly believe it could go more....
They also have to account for someone accidently or otherwise flooring it at a red light too, right? :woot:
It's a fantastic tow vehicle, as long as you take the precautions that Dustin mentions above! I'm closer to 4000-4300 lbs with trailer/boat/equipment/gas, etc............
Thanks, No issues with trans temp or anything? In the summer I tow my boat about 4 days a week. It is a short trip but steep climbs. What hitch do you have? The one I saw was rated 5000lbs max. Anyone know of a stronger hitch that will fit?
With the power of the SRT I cant see any trans temp issues. If it became an issue you would just manually shift it to 4th gear so it would not have the opportunity to shift from 4th to 5th constantly, which would cause the temps to rise. The only way you are going to get a 5000 pound hitch on there, would mean you would have to cut your bumper a little and re-route your exhaust. Not hard but its not bolt on and go...I believe the Reese hitch for the regular Grand Cherokee fits pretty good, not sure what its rated at, but I am guessing 5000 or more
I've not towed anything above 5000#'s, but "kramsay1234" on the cherokee srt8 forum tows a rather large boat (clearly over 5000#'s) using a custom hitch he helped design. I use a class III hitch designed by Jeep for the Commander. It is a bolt on install, having to cut out a small amount of bumper above the exhaust tips to make the hitch fit. The cherokee site also has a number of different custom hitch designs and pics that may be of interest if you use the "search" feature. I have a dashhawk, and the engine coolant temps and transmission temps are not a big deal (actually very stable) with my towing (as long as the torque converter is locked (cruising/stable speeds), Pushing/pulling a trailer on steep inclines at slow speeds (steep driveway like mine) will bring up the transmission temps pretty quick, but the driveway is short, so not a big deal for me. If you're doing a lot of stop and go driving and/or long steep inclines with the trailer/boat, I'd strongly consider the Diablo Predator software fan bypass or GSM hardwire fan bypass to keep the fan running during the tow. I use a hardwire fan bypass, since my needs far preceded the Diablo Predator option that came out 6 months ago. P.
Thanks for the input. It looks like it will work. I can't imagine why not considering the 5.7 Durango I had pulled it great. Anyone want to trade a GC for a QC SRT-10??
Do you have pictures of what the cut out looks like (rear and underneath)? I may go with this route. Also, is the Commander hitch the one with the 2" opening, or the smaller 1 1/4" opening? BTW, I bought that Mopar hitch setup for the GCSRT8, and it's not gonna work with the Borla S. That hitch is brand new and for sale, to anyone interested. Again, doesn't work for Borla S. The backing plate of the hitch receiver will hit the tops of the tips, about a foot in fromt the back of the truck.
The receiver is the 2" opening (class III-up to 5000#). I've seen your pics of the Borla S, and I don't see why it couldn't work. There are some recent pics I saw from someone else who did exactly what I did. I believe it was on the Cherokee site. I'll see if I can find it.
OK: Found one of the links. The bumper cut is really!!!!!!! rough. Mine looks mucho better than that, but it gives you an idea. It also looks much better with the rubber hitch cover on that comes with the hitch kit. He also states that the exhaust hanger needs to be re-welded, which isn't true. Personally, I used nylon straps to attach the rubber exhaust isolators to the hitch. Approaching two years without a problem. PM me if you want pics of my install. http://www.cherokeesrt8.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9210&highlight=tow+hitch TXBLU also did a nice job with his custom hitch, if you want another alternative http://www.cherokeesrt8.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1971 Dustin (hotscott) has done a hitch as well, though I can't remember what it looks like. Dustin?
Mine is only a 1.25 receiver. I went that route because you cant even tell I have it installed and can easily haul 3500 pounds with it. My hitch is a VERY strong version of the Curt hitch. Curt actually used my hitch design when they designed theirs. The difference between the 2 is the strength. Mine is much stronger, and built a ton better. But the goal Curt had was to just create a hitch, which was simple to build, (mine is more thoroughly built compared to the Curt) because at the time nothing was available. They rate theirs at 2000 pounds. Which I believe is a good estimation. I will see if I can get some pics of it for you
I just want to see a picture of what the final product looks like. Would like to get an idea of how much of the rear bumper I'm going to have to hack away. Also, I noticed on the Mopar GCSRT8 hitch, there are those metal dowel things that stick out, and if I'm not mistaken, they hold the center exhaust hangers. I'm assuming the Commander hitch does not have that. How does the exhaust hang if that's the case?
PM me your email address, and I'll email you some pics. The exhaust hanger was a pretty easy solution, and will be obvious once you see the pic
I did a quick sweep through Google and came up with these products... Can anyone comment on each? I am guessing these are the ones I've seen that squeeze in between and above the exhaust tips? Humphreys (Class 1, 2000#) http://www.humphreystrailerhitch.co...03&NEXTPAGE=Detail-F.htm&CLIENT=HUMPHREYHITCH Curt (Class 1, 2000#) http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/products/Receiver_Hitch,CT11103
