98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

Hi,
Test drove this jeep today and it seemed to be a little sloppy in the front
end. Tended to drift a bit. This was a V8 with the full time 4x drive with
110K miles. Is this typical for these vehicles? Any problems that are known
to this year/model? I want to use it mostly for trailering a boat (not yet
purchased) in the 17-20' range. Opinions are welcome. TIA
TomC

Re: 98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

TomC did pass the time by typing:
> Hi,
> Test drove this jeep today and it seemed to be a little sloppy in the front
> end. Tended to drift a bit. This was a V8 with the full time 4x drive with
> 110K miles. Is this typical for these vehicles? Any problems that are known
> to this year/model? I want to use it mostly for trailering a boat (not yet
> purchased) in the 17-20' range. Opinions are welcome. TIA

Frankly, if your going to trailer a boat you should get a truck or a
full sized SUV. It's not horsepower but rather mass and wheelbase.
Although with a Class III or IV load leveling hitch you will probably
be fine. Backing a trailer of any size with a short wheelbase takes
a LOT of practice. Durn things are twitchy and swing fast. :)

The slop could be a worn steering damper, bushings, or simply the tires.


--
-- DougW -- 93 ZJ 4.0 http://members.cox.net/wilsond
HESCO Supercharger - 300W IASCA Stereo - Edelbrock IAS Shocks
Gibson Exhaust - rear DCpower - custom gauge install - Stillen Rotors
Banks Header - and BEER, in the fridge!

Re: 98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

TomC did pass the time by typing:
> Hi,
> Test drove this jeep today and it seemed to be a little sloppy in the front
> end. Tended to drift a bit. This was a V8 with the full time 4x drive with
> 110K miles. Is this typical for these vehicles? Any problems that are known
> to this year/model? I want to use it mostly for trailering a boat (not yet
> purchased) in the 17-20' range. Opinions are welcome. TIA

Frankly, if your going to trailer a boat you should get a truck or a
full sized SUV. It's not horsepower but rather mass and wheelbase.
Although with a Class III or IV load leveling hitch you will probably
be fine. Backing a trailer of any size with a short wheelbase takes
a LOT of practice. Durn things are twitchy and swing fast. :)

The slop could be a worn steering damper, bushings, or simply the tires.


--
-- DougW -- 93 ZJ 4.0 http://members.cox.net/wilsond
HESCO Supercharger - 300W IASCA Stereo - Edelbrock IAS Shocks
Gibson Exhaust - rear DCpower - custom gauge install - Stillen Rotors
Banks Header - and BEER, in the fridge!

Re: 98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

TomC did pass the time by typing:
> Hi,
> Test drove this jeep today and it seemed to be a little sloppy in the front
> end. Tended to drift a bit. This was a V8 with the full time 4x drive with
> 110K miles. Is this typical for these vehicles? Any problems that are known
> to this year/model? I want to use it mostly for trailering a boat (not yet
> purchased) in the 17-20' range. Opinions are welcome. TIA

Frankly, if your going to trailer a boat you should get a truck or a
full sized SUV. It's not horsepower but rather mass and wheelbase.
Although with a Class III or IV load leveling hitch you will probably
be fine. Backing a trailer of any size with a short wheelbase takes
a LOT of practice. Durn things are twitchy and swing fast. :)

The slop could be a worn steering damper, bushings, or simply the tires.


--
-- DougW -- 93 ZJ 4.0 http://members.cox.net/wilsond
HESCO Supercharger - 300W IASCA Stereo - Edelbrock IAS Shocks
Gibson Exhaust - rear DCpower - custom gauge install - Stillen Rotors
Banks Header - and BEER, in the fridge!

Re: 98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

Ditto. Something like this truck:
http://www.----------.com/trucktrailercliff.jpg
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:--------------------

DougW wrote:
>
>
> Frankly, if your going to trailer a boat you should get a truck or a
> full sized SUV. It's not horsepower but rather mass and wheelbase.
> Although with a Class III or IV load leveling hitch you will probably
> be fine. Backing a trailer of any size with a short wheelbase takes
> a LOT of practice. Durn things are twitchy and swing fast. :)
>
> The slop could be a worn steering damper, bushings, or simply the tires.
>
> --
> -- DougW -- 93 ZJ 4.0 http://members.cox.net/wilsond
> HESCO Supercharger - 300W IASCA Stereo - Edelbrock IAS Shocks
> Gibson Exhaust - rear DCpower - custom gauge install - Stillen Rotors
> Banks Header - and BEER, in the fridge!

Re: 98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

Ditto. Something like this truck:
http://www.----------.com/trucktrailercliff.jpg
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:--------------------

DougW wrote:
>
>
> Frankly, if your going to trailer a boat you should get a truck or a
> full sized SUV. It's not horsepower but rather mass and wheelbase.
> Although with a Class III or IV load leveling hitch you will probably
> be fine. Backing a trailer of any size with a short wheelbase takes
> a LOT of practice. Durn things are twitchy and swing fast. :)
>
> The slop could be a worn steering damper, bushings, or simply the tires.
>
> --
> -- DougW -- 93 ZJ 4.0 http://members.cox.net/wilsond
> HESCO Supercharger - 300W IASCA Stereo - Edelbrock IAS Shocks
> Gibson Exhaust - rear DCpower - custom gauge install - Stillen Rotors
> Banks Header - and BEER, in the fridge!

Re: 98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

Ditto. Something like this truck:
http://www.----------.com/trucktrailercliff.jpg
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:--------------------

DougW wrote:
>
>
> Frankly, if your going to trailer a boat you should get a truck or a
> full sized SUV. It's not horsepower but rather mass and wheelbase.
> Although with a Class III or IV load leveling hitch you will probably
> be fine. Backing a trailer of any size with a short wheelbase takes
> a LOT of practice. Durn things are twitchy and swing fast. :)
>
> The slop could be a worn steering damper, bushings, or simply the tires.
>
> --
> -- DougW -- 93 ZJ 4.0 http://members.cox.net/wilsond
> HESCO Supercharger - 300W IASCA Stereo - Edelbrock IAS Shocks
> Gibson Exhaust - rear DCpower - custom gauge install - Stillen Rotors
> Banks Header - and BEER, in the fridge!

Re: 98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

I've towed a travel trailer at 4000# with a 97 GC . Longest trip was
6,000 miles. Backing up does take some practice. I always recomend
trailer brakes. You must properly balance the traler and get the hitch
weight right or the trailer can sway-dangerously.

For the drift I'd check the track bar and the ball joints. Seems like
the track bar lasts about 100K and costs about $150.

Re: 98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

I've towed a travel trailer at 4000# with a 97 GC . Longest trip was
6,000 miles. Backing up does take some practice. I always recomend
trailer brakes. You must properly balance the traler and get the hitch
weight right or the trailer can sway-dangerously.

For the drift I'd check the track bar and the ball joints. Seems like
the track bar lasts about 100K and costs about $150.

Re: 98 Grand Cherokee Test Drive?
 

I've towed a travel trailer at 4000# with a 97 GC . Longest trip was
6,000 miles. Backing up does take some practice. I always recomend
trailer brakes. You must properly balance the traler and get the hitch
weight right or the trailer can sway-dangerously.

For the drift I'd check the track bar and the ball joints. Seems like
the track bar lasts about 100K and costs about $150.