2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

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2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

November 03, 2012, 10:09:38 am

Just took delivery of our new 2013 Cherokee. Tow bar base plate scheduled for install on Friday. When reading through owners manual, it appears I will need to disconnect the neg. battery cable. Not sure I want to do that! What do all you Jeep dingy folks do when towing regarding the jeep battery?

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #1 – November 03, 2012, 10:47:41 am

Howdy Bill and Tom,

Here's a link to what I use on our 2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Ruby: Amazon.com: Moroso 74103 Battery Terminal Disconnect Switch: Automotive

We're required to disconnect our negative post also.. We've been using since May, 2010. Works great, easy install, easy to use, and offers some theft protection when removed. This disconnect is also available at almost all Walmarts.. I carry a spare in case(when) I lose the screw in bolt!!

Good Luck, Dave A

As an Amazon Associate Foretravel Owners' Forum earns from qualifying purchases.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #2 – November 03, 2012, 10:54:23 am

Dave, do you loose all your electronic settings after the disconnect? Like radio, etc.. I really don't want to have to reset them every time I tow.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #3 – November 03, 2012, 11:05:36 am

In our 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport (kind of like the Sahara) we do not have to disconnect anything at all. We did have an extra little bulb installed in the tail lights that is directly wired into the electrical connection that plugs from the coach to the the tow car in the front ( the curly 6-pin plug wire). This runs off of the COACH electric and activates the tail lights and turn signals. I do not know why your set-up is different, but I'll bet that you have a lot more fancy gizmos in your car than we do that will drain power. Are you able to just pull a fuse instead of completely disconnecting? When we did that in our Terrain we did not lose settings anywhere.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #4 – November 03, 2012, 11:06:20 am

Everything stays just fine...That is, time, radio presets, etc. We have Sirius and all the presets are there. After, re-connection, the radio is off (as you would expect), and defaults to am. The only thing I have to do, is set the navigation audio prompt volume..Us old guys need it turned up..LOL
I had a service manager explain to me, that the main reason to disconnect, is to keep from confusing the ESC system..It kind of makes sense to me..
Also, we use a Brake Buddy system , so I ran a separate, fused line directly from the battery (in front of the disconnect) to provide constant power.
Good Luck, Dave and Nancy A

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #5 – November 03, 2012, 11:14:23 am

Ah yes the brake buddy as that was going to be my next question. We use the brake buddy as well. So I will need to figure out how to get power to that 12v plug as well.

Damn what happened to the good ol days?

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #6 – November 03, 2012, 12:22:43 pm

We have a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overlander. We do not disconnect the battery. We use Air Force One as our supplemental braking system.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #7 – November 03, 2012, 02:46:38 pm

I also have a 2011 Grand Cherokee and I just looked in the user manual for 2012. Both do not need to have battery disconnected. I looked up the 2013 and you are right it has an addition to the exact same instructions as 2011,1012, but added to disconnect the negative on battery. I know that advise is only worth what you paid and this is free. But I believe that the direction are for people that use an enormous amount of juice during towing. Personally I would try towing without the disconnect and see what happens. I have towed over 25000miles and over a total of 12 hours and never had a problem. Start with short trips, I think this is Corporate cover their you know whats. Hope this helps a little. By the way I also use the SMI airforce One on my jeep, plug and go air operated no mess or fuss with break away.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #8 – November 03, 2012, 02:55:39 pm

Thanks for the info. I did go to jeep.com and pull the 2011, 2012 and the 2013 and all three say to disconnect the battery. We may try without disconnecting on our trip to Nac for roof painting next weekend.

We do use the brake buddy that needs 12v. And we may look at the SMI.

Thanks!

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #9 – November 03, 2012, 03:37:52 pm

This is purely a "for-what-it's-worth" comment, but we tow a Dodge pickup without disconnecting the battery. With the tow'd connections we included a small trickle-charger which keeps the pickup battery topped. Down-side is you need the inverter "on".

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #10 – November 03, 2012, 03:57:23 pm

Here's another "for-what-it's-worth" comment. If you go with the US Gear Unified Tow Brake, it includes a 12V line that keeps the towed battery charged and provides proportional and progressive braking and cockpit adjustment of braking force when needed. Alternatively, the Toad-Charge (you can view it here Toad-Charge ) will keep the battery charged no matter what brake system you use. It is made by the same folks that make the Trick-L-Start system that keeps Coach chassis batteries charged when plugged into AC. You can also view it at bestconverter.com. They may or may not have the best prices on these items and I referenced them only because I have purchased items from them and it is a site I can easily remember.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #11 – November 03, 2012, 06:54:33 pm

Not to be argumentative but the 2011, 2012 manuals do not I repeat do not require the disconnect. I have the PDF,s of both on my task bar this very minute and it is not required, yours does say to disconnect. Your choice, but I have used mine litterally a hundred times and never had a problem. I can't see any difference with the vehicles so go tell why the new requirement.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #12 – November 03, 2012, 06:54:52 pm

Quote from: Monti – November 03, 2012, 03:57:23 pm

Here's another "for-what-it's-worth" comment. If you go with the US Gear Unified Tow Brake, it includes a 12V line that keeps the towed battery charged and provides proportional and progressive braking and cockpit adjustment of braking force when needed.

Randy at Spillar is also well-versed in US Gear UTB installation. He did ours in 2004 and is one of the few in the central TX area on US Gear's list of approved installers.

Michelle

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #13 – November 03, 2012, 06:58:31 pm

Love my US Gear braking system.

Roland

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #14 – November 03, 2012, 11:52:21 pm

We do NOT disconnect Jeep battery when towing our 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland V8 and have not read that we should in the manuals that came with Jeep, but they could have changed something. I wonder why they make that point. We are on the road for one year with our Jeep.

Our Jeep's battery is not easily accessible in its under passenger seat hidden compartment, so I don't know what they could be talking about. No way to disconnect our battery for towing.

We find Blue Ox baseplate to be almost invisible when driving around town.

We also recommend Tow Daddy rear wiring as it does no change to OEM wiring or lights and is a great new product that everyone should know about.
Tow Daddy - The Best Designed RV Products on the Planet

We use LSL Toad Charge to keep Jeep battery under charge.
TOAD-CHARGE Dinghy Vehicle Battery Charger/Maintainer

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #15 – November 04, 2012, 12:33:30 am

We also just bought a 2013 grand cherokee but have not rigged it for towing yet since we tow a jeep liberty. I did not see in the recreational towing section of the manual where they require battery disconnect. The battery is accesible by moving the front seat all the way forward and up, and acessed from the back of the front seat. What bothers me is that it appears that the battery is propieatary to Mopar and only available through them. I have not found any aftermarket source for the battery. If you look at the battery it has a special vent tube attached to the battery itself since it is in a closed compartment. There are terminals located under the hood in case a jump is necessary. I do plan to tow it eventually.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #16 – November 04, 2012, 09:33:54 am

For our 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland:

We use an air cylinder to press Jeep's brake pedal and have a break-away air tank. Braking air comes from motorhome.

We have Mopar rock-rails installed for rock protection, etc.

Lots of space under rear seat for storing things. Behind rear seat is OEM full-width nitrogen tank that is used by air compressor to raise and lower suspension.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #17 – November 04, 2012, 01:23:53 pm

We use the Blue OX towing system with our 2012 Wrangler and just like above , it is simple plug and go. I noticed this comment on the Blue Ox site:

Due to a tail light bulb out indicator in the wiring system, Jeep Grand Cherokee's must be wired with a BX8869 wiring kit. The BX8811 wiring kit can not be used.

I wonder if the recommendation to unplug is due to the electronics. I would make a call in to Blue Ox and just ask to get the complete story.

Hope you enjoy your new Jeep, we really do.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #18 – November 04, 2012, 03:53:03 pm

Thanks for the info. I will call Blue Ox on Monday and see what they say. I will also ask my dealer to contact his jeep rep to see they can explain why. I'm leaning towards it being more legal then electrical!

I will post what I hear from all parties I contact.

Re: 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee towing

Reply #19 – November 04, 2012, 04:55:55 pm

Tow Daddy takes care of all the tail light problems.

No reason to use Blue Ox tail light connections. I would NEVER want to cut a hole in my tail light assembly, especially where there are plug-n-play options like Tow Daddy or diodes.

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