Hi all,
I had an recent accident with my 2015 Jeep Wrangler, hitting dump truck, and Wrangler's engine caught fire and is totaled. It was hard hit but I am fine so do my dog Pebbles (took her to recover after a week and now back to herself :)
So I just got new 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk (comes with Jeep Active Drive II as standard). Will order Blue Ox baseplate and wiring harness. Now as for braking system, I am leaning toward SMI's Air Force One. I did topic search and seems seeing positive things from this system. Is there any other current system I should check as well?
Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Jamie
'96 U270 "Ms. Blue Jay"
We have -
M & G Engineering - Car Braking Systems: Home Page (http://m-gengineering.com/)
Seems to be simple and appears to work.
You will get lots of input on this.
If you do a Search for: towed braking system, you will get all kinds of threads to read. :D
I use the NSA Ready Brake System. It is simple to install and then works without any other fussing around when you tow. Just hook up and go. Breakaway system too.
NSA RV Products - Ready Brake and Ready Brute Home (http://www.readybrake.com)
They have tow bars with the Ready Brake built in.
RV Tow Bars (http://www.readybrake.com/store/c2/RV_Tow_Bars.html)
We really like ours, they are worth a look. No modification to the coach or toad (other than installing it). Lighting was not too hard.
+1 on the M&G system. Ties into the coaches air brakes & provides braking assistance while driving as well as break-away protection. Does not affect normal driving. Plug & play by connecting airline at the bumper. Installation is a little bit involved but not bad. Can be done yourself. 10+ years on our Toyota 4Runner with no problems.
I also have the ready brake system on my Toad. It is a surge brake system and does not require modifying the air system of your coach. I installed it myself and was rather easy, although it took me several hours to accomplish.
The air force one is probably a better brake system, but the ready brake meets the requirement for toad brake and was significantly less expensive.
We use the US Gear proportional braking system. It works for us. When we plug in the light harness into the Jeep the braking system is also hooked up and live.
Roland
M & G works very well and is a no-brainer to use.
I am completely pleased with the SMI Air Force One system. Just one additional connection, the air line, and you have great proportional breaking whenever the air brakes are applied. Just along for the ride with the reader alone, but really kicks in when you apply the foot break.
We also have the Air Force One system. Works well.
Keith
Another vote for Air Force One ^.^d
There is a issue with the active drive that requires some kind of accessory.
This is what I have. Very good system. M & G Engineering.
Jamie,
I purchased a 2016 Cherokee with also Active drive II system. If not already done make sure dealer installs the MOPAR "towed" wiring harness. I went through a bunch of hoopla with them. When all said and done the wiring harness about $150 which dealer try to charge me and i did not pay they did & Jeep paid for the $180 installation fee. Without it you can not flat tow a Jeep Cherokee. It does not get power to front wheels with out the MOPAR wiring harness.
As of this wring i don't have the part number etc but i can get it for you.
If you have the wiring harness installed you should have the switch inside of your arm rest compartment and a 10am fuse. You also need to have a wire to your engine battery from your coach batteries to charge your Cherokee batteries while towing it.
AL
I would not install M G if modifications have to be made under hood, like cutting and repositioning parts. On some newer models this is necessary. I have SMI Aire Force One. Very pleased.
Roy
Another vote for Air Force One, works well on my 6,500lb pickup easy install.
M&G had it on 2 jeeps never a problem. Some installations do require some cutting and parts relocation, not a big deal. Took me about an hour and a half on my Wrangler.
Roger, did you go with their tow bar?
Airfource1 for me. Has been on two coaches and works great.
I use a M & G system to tow a 2004 Grand Cherokee or a 2016 f150 XLT Super Cab 8 ft bed with a golf cart in bed. Works great for me.
Bill ^.^d ^.^d
I did not use their tow bar. I have a Roadmaster Stowmaster. I bought a used one for $200. It had towed a car to Florida and back. I used the Civic baseplates that came with it with some adaptation to fit on the Jeep. With a receiver Ready Brake and a dropped ball so that the tow bar is flat I can tow the jeep and have brakes with anything that has a 2" receiver. That has proved to be pretty handy. It works well for me.
We are on our third MG system two of which have been on Subaru Outbacks and one on a Chrysler Town and Country. The two Subaru's were installed at MG in Athens Texas with minimal underhood alteration. The Chrysler was installed by a dealer in Florida also with minimal alteration. We chose MG because it is IMHO the simplest and most reliable system.
Ditto for AF1. Completely satisfied
Ditto for M & G
2 Mazda pickup's, same units on different pickup's
1 Avalanche
Thanks to all, great info here. AF1 do have notification system where it notify the driver that toad brakes are being applied or not. Do other systems do that too?
ReadyBrake does too. There is a small LED indicator on the dash that comes on when the brakes are applied. There are spare wires from the engine area to the dash area on the driver's side. Easy to hook up.
"Jamie,
I purchased a 2016 Cherokee with also Active drive II system. If not already done make sure dealer installs the MOPAR "towed" wiring harness. I went through a bunch of hoopla with them. When all said and done the wiring harness about $150 which dealer try to charge me and i did not pay they did & Jeep paid for the $180 installation fee. Without it you can not flat tow a Jeep Cherokee. It does not get power to front wheels with out the MOPAR wiring harness.
As of this wring i don't have the part number etc but i can get it for you.
If you have the wiring harness installed you should have the switch inside of your arm rest compartment and a 10am fuse. You also need to have a wire to your engine battery from your coach batteries to charge your Cherokee batteries while towing it.
AL"
Hi Al,
That is new to me. My dealer will install the "Trailer Tow Group" on my Cherokee which includes:
7-and 4-Pin Wiring Harness
Auxiliary Transmission Oil Cooler
Class III Receiver Hitch
Trailhawk Off-Road Accessory Kit
Trailer Tow Wiring Harness
Does it cover on what you said/suggested? Or it is a separate thing?
Thanks!
Jamie
Jamie, that sounds more like a package to allow you to tow WITH your Jeep, not tow it.
Len
MG does not have the complication of a warning light because the 1/4" airline from the coach to the towed, even if totally severed, does not release enough air to affect the coach braking system while the engine is running. Therefore no need for the additional wiring and installation of a warning light in the coach. A simpler system. If a leak occurs you will notice it by the coaches air system's rapid leak down when the engine is off.
I have heard of sometimes frequent and annoying false warnings from the other systems.
Jamie,
It is not for it to tow but for it to be towed. There are discussions about this on FMCA also. Good folks from FMCA was in talks with FCA US LLC.
You can not tow a 2014-17 Jeep Cherokee without the (after thought) "Upps we didn't think of that while manufacturing" wiring kit.
I will scan the information and post it here sometime soon.
In the mean time you can look in to it by calling your dealer and/or FCA about "S13 (Customer Satisfaction Notification) for flat tow wobbling issue"
You may need the wiring kit in the attached picture. I had found out about this during my research to buy a new "Jeep" that can be towed behind my RV. FCA & the Dealer have a funny position about this "well everyone don't need to tow it behind a RV" While they advertised it (at the time on jeep.com) as one of its features. So i made sure and included as a condition that it will be done for my Cherokee during the purchase. Even then they danced and wiggled their way out of it for the installation cost of $180. I made a call and FCA opened up a case. They told me to go ahead and pay it with my credit card and send them the copy. I did that and two weeks later they send me a check. So it is all good for me and I like our Cherokee a lot. I thought i was going to buy a Grand Cherokee for sometime but after doing my home work, for the things that i wanted to do with a new "jeep" the Cherokee was the best choice for us. It was 10K less than GC, 700lbs lighter, gets better fuel millage and it gets up and goes a bit better than GC too
On a side note maybe this should be a separate topic for the forum.
Air Force One is the best choice since it doesn't ativate the towed brakes when using the retarder. Also bought a Demco tow bar and it is the best one I've ever had after 15 years of full-timing!