I'm looking into buying a tow vehicle. I test drove a '99 Jeep Cherokee sport 4dr. It has the 4.0 straight 6 w/ auto /2 wheel drive /Air.

Is this strong/heavy enough to trailer tow my Fiero ? It's in great shape & need to know what the forum thinks about it.

Thank you for ANY comments .

*** UPDATED 5-4, Thanks for the many messages from the forum. There are alot of smart guys in here *** Thanks, Dave

[This message has been edited by Fierodave2001 (edited 05-04-2001).]

I have an '89 Dodge Raider (read Mitsubishi Montero)......it has 182K miles on it's 3.0L V-6 and tows just fine. I have towed a few Fieros over the Rockies (Vail pass is 10,000 feet!) and it made it OK, although not very fast.

I think you won't have any problems towing with a 4.0L, especially with such a low altitide as Florida.

Okay, thanks for your reply. I can see a trip to PA soon, up 95, I don't think there are many mountains as tall as you've seen, holy cow.

I'm also going to look into finding an enclosed trailer. What kind of trailer were you using ? Open,closed ?

I'm leaning towards getting it. It has 32k miles, and is very clean, under hood & all.
The dealer said he would replace the Firestone wilderness 15' tires, which look new,(the 15' are not recalled) with a new set of my choice. It's at a Ford dealer used car lot.

It's been over six years since I had car payments, That will take some time to get used to.

Did your vehicle have an auto trans ? Is that the perfered way to go, or is manual better ?

Sorry for all the questions. Dave

Myself, I towed my boat and race cars. I def prefer an automatic, maybe add a shift kit. towing is hell on clutches. if it dont have it an extra oil cooler for trans is a must too.

I was actually just using a dolly.......I probably wouldn't have made it over the mountains with a trailer. I still think that Jeep will be fine with a trailer, since you won't be dealing with extreme altitudes.

Mine is a 5-sp. stick, but an auto. should be just fine. You may want an external oil cooler to prolong your trannies life. I would also use a premium tranny fluid......one that is suited for towing/high temps.

I have a 93 Grand Cherokee with the 4.0 I-6, 4x4 and tow package. I pulled a 8000lbs bobcat for about 40 miles with no problems, I didn't get over 50mph, but it did pull it. I also pull my jet skis all over with no problems.

I would think the one your looking at should be able to pull it, It would help to have the factory installed tow package, but it being 2 wheel drive I doubt it has it. Just stick a good quality class 4 hitch on it, and you should be fine.

------------------
-Brian, Toolmaker
Lincoln, NE
85' SC & 87' GT-Galaxy silver mettalic, Eibach springs, RSM side scoops & chin spoiler, Mr Mikes leather, 70hp NOS, & much more.

Thanks mrfiero
external oil cooler/ premium tranny fluid

Thanks rogergarrison
Shift kit / oil cooler

Thanks sluppy123
Correct, no factory tow package. 8000 lbs, good lord, Fiero & trailer S/B 3500 lbs or so. (Hope I can get up to a good speed)

I'm sure the dealer would make a deal to add the class 4 hitch. I want cruise control added. (cheaper to install myself)

It does have all the gauges already.

Thanks for the info guys

My grandfather recently modified his '85 Grand Marquis to tow one of those trailer-camper things.

Stuff he did:
The taillight wiring thing (the plug in the back so the trailer lights work).
Air brakes (good if the trailer doesn't have it's own brakes)
Tranny cooler (a must if you want it to live)
Professionally installed hitch.

If you're going to be towing a lot, there is absolutely no substitute for getting the best equipment. God forbid you get into an accident avoidance situation, having the ability to stop quickly is invaluable. I'm sure my Town Car could pull my Fiero easily... I just wouldn't count on it to stop them both anytime soon.

------------------
85 GT (to be modified...)
--Um, no the paint isn't oxidized, that's the ultra-rare Whirlpool White textured finish... yeah.
89 Lincoln Town Car (has Fiero Envy)
--Hey! Can I have an anti-sway bar too?

Here is my opinion:
I have towed all types of car trailers(open,
enclosed-you name it)for more than 25 years
and have learned a few things.
1.the towing vehicle MUST outweight the trailer!-the only exception being a 5th
wheel.
2.carefully inspect the combined GVW for
the truck and trailer-any inclosed trailer
and fiero will far exceed ANY jeeps ability
to tow it!
3.unless you buy a pickup truck with a HD
automatic trans-you should buy a manual or
you will go thru automatic trransmissions like popcorn.
4.DO NOT listen to the salesmans BS about
how much their midsize SUV can pull-its just
that-BS
5.If you want to pull a 20ft enclosed trailer
you NEED either a 3/4T suburban or excursion
or 3/4T pu truck!!!anything less and your
gonna be sorry.
6.you say holy$hit!,I can't afford that!there
is a reason it costs so much-it can do the
job!remember,if you want to cruise the freeways at normal speeds(70MPH),this is what
is required to do the job.IMHO.

The only thing I would add to all this is to make sure the trailer has working brakes. I towed a Fiero on a rented double-axle open trailer up and down some hills in Tennessee. I estimate the weight of the car/trailer at 4700 lbs. The trailer "theoretically" had brakes that responded to deceleration of the tow vehicle. (Inertia of the trailer against a slowing tow vehicle applied pressure, through the hitch, to a hydraulic circuit that applied the brakes.) A fairly convoluted setup, IMHO.
Brakes on my tow vehicle, a 99 F-150, got really HOT. Once I got out of the hills, I had no trouble whatsoever. Stopped fine. Could accelerate uphill on the interstate at 75 mph.

Be safe.

------------------
Raydar - aka Steve

88 T-top Formula
88 soon-to-be-V6 coupe

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 05-03-2001).]

gotta agree with elfiero, you get up into pennsylvania and you are gonna be hitting some serious hills, even on I-95.

check the car companines web sites and look for tow capabilities on places like consumer reports or other 3rd party spec people.

the dealer will only tell you one thing: whatever it takes to get you to buy what he has onhand And the dealer will be more than happy to tell you something in person that will void your warrenty, and leave you sitting on the side of the road with a toasted drivetrain, or worse. Then when you take it back for your warrenty repairs they'll say, "you were towing WHAT! with it?! - SORRY this is not covered!!!"

If you are serious about pulling a Fiero around cross country I would consider a full size pickup, maybe with a crew cab, or maybe a full size van with a tow package.

and like elfiero said, dont try to get away with a F150 or half ton truck or van, you need the big V8 and the suspension to go with it.

If this is something you are going to be doing often, something like a panel truck would be cool, the fiero is not that big of a car. The box on a cab-over could be modified to the formfactor of the Fiero, a semicustom Fiero hauler. Then you dont have to mess with a trailer at all.

elfiero,

Thanks, this is good, I am just in the beginning stages of this idea. The Cherokee
sport is larger than a just a "jeep", it's the 4 dr version, rear lift door, fold down rear seat.

Sort of looks like the "Blazer" style.

I'm not sure what the weight of a Fiero is. I would guess a open trailer would be 500 / 800 lbs ??

I'd love to have an enclosed trailer, but I see your point. The extra weight would need
the full size 3/4 vehicle.

The three or four times I'd be towing, would not warrent the huge expence of buying a large enclosed trailer at this point.

I could still rent an open trailer and truck for those times. I do like the look of it, but this is still the investigate stage.

Rayday,

The trailer you speak of sounds like the one I rented from U-haul, they told me if the trailer came disconnected from the tow vehicle, then the brakes on the trailer would engage. - I like your explanation better. I now see the 4700 lbs est, yep that's alot

Ken,

Yes I agree, the dealer will do anything to get me to drive off the lot into his pocket.

I work retail, and know that "game". One thing I need to consider is the fact of no storage for a big "towing rig" here at the house. Yes, could rent space, but the cost for the limited use far outweighs anything but buying just somthing that can handle a rented trialer.

Another thing I've thought of, is a truck company with whats called "Pods". Basically you load "whatever" into the "pod", and they will ship it wherever you want and back. A little extreme, but saves the miles from the Fiero and the tow vehicle.

Okay, enough for now. Thanks to all, I see there is alot more to worry about than I knew !! Wow.

Towing vehicle? Why not use a Fiero to tow with? If you look closely at this grainy picture, you will see that it actually has a trailer hitch - !

Ummm... and, uh, one time I, uh, moved my entire household using my Fiero, halfway across the continent, and over a mountain pass, at that. And of course, this Fiero's an automatic... it's a towing vehicle, right ?

Well, all right, so I maybe used the Fiero to drive over to a telephone booth, to call the moving company...

Tow with a Fiero uh .. no,

The idea was to tow on a trailer - all wheels
off the ground. This to keep the mileage down.

Unless the towing fiero has a northstar V8, and another 4000 lbs tucked away somewhere, it would never work.

I just recently returned from towing a trailered Fiero from Ashland Ky. to Fl. all through the mountains of West Virginia & Virginia. (In a snow storm, no less)

I had rented a 15 foot truck/ trailer combo from Penske for $55 per day & 12cents per mile.

Round trip = $165 + $240 mileage (2,000 miles)

Made it just fine.

Here's a tow vehicle for you.
http://poseur.4x4.org/futuresuv.html

Yes, renting is always an option. I rented from U-haul a 17' box truck, and trailer with a one way rate, (no per mile)from the Daytona show back to Punta Gorda fl (whoopee 230 some miles) (2000, wow)

The cost was not to bad. Would sure beat monthly payments.

Will see, definitely am thank for the all the information that's been given today.

Without it, i'd most likly be on the side on the road with a burned up trans and wondering why my "new" Cherokee Sport died.

It's funny, I've been half heartly looking for a tow vehicle for awhile, when I drove past the lot yesterday and saw it, I kind of fell in "like" with it. We will see what they offer on trade in for my blue 95 Ford Contour 4dr/4cyl/54K, is in good shape/garage kept.

As we all know, money talks, BS walks.

A regular XJ with a 4.0 is rated to tow 5000lbs with the right hitch. That is a little bit of a stretch with its fairly light weight and short wheelbase.

Steve, that was great. What a SUV Love the air horns !

Alpha, what is an "XJ" ? is that's a name or type of a Cherokee?

5000 lbs, that's good, but I agree, that would be a lot for it.

Fierodave2001, Steve is right, with a little modification you could put that pretty blue 87 inside.
Love the car!
Coy

I'm personally kinda partial to my 96 F250 w/460 for towing. But from what I have seen and heard those Jeeps do a good job. If you do buy instead of rent, do consider the trailer brakes. Helps to keep from over heating and prolongs the life of the brakes. had a 95 S10 and the bass boat wore out 2 sets of pads in the three years I had the truck.

10-4 on the trailer brakes. Thanks

From what I read here, sounds like renting a truck / trailer for the long haul trips outside of Florida would be the way to go.

Why beat up a "new" Cherokee for a long trip?

It might be a little cheeper per trip in fuel, but in to long run, more expenive to
repair.

Thanks again to everyone. Fiero people are the best !

>From what I read here, sounds like renting a truck / trailer for the long haul trips outside of Florida would be the way to go

I would hear a plow harness & pull the car myself before I would ever deal with U Haul again. Most Penskes will work with you. At least the one here does, and the deals can't be matched by U Haul. They also give me a $100 per day flat rate (no milage charge) if I want it.

Yes, I wanted to work with Penskee, just my luck, the week I tried to rent the truck/trailer combo, they were all out.(of trailers)

My fault, I waited to long to approach them. In fact, all the rentals in this area were out of them for that weekend.

The Penskee dealer hear is a nice guy, and tried to work out somthing, but I ran out of time, and drove to Daytona. Lucky, there, I found an rental for the trip back.

[This message has been edited by Fierodave2001 (edited 05-04-2001).]