Looking at Cherokee North and Limited for wife..V6 with towing package(does towing package work with trailer brakes)(Trailer has no brakes maybe looking at installing some)
Will be towing double snowmobile trailer(2400lbs) and four passengers. Long drives up to 12 hrs can encounter snow storms.
I don't off-road does active drive change anything?
Personally my opinion:
I would get AD2 only because it has the off road suspension. It will also ride an inch or two higher. There are several other things but I will leave it at that.
Snow mode will help you in snow situations along with the stability control system.
Now for the towing:
You need trailer brakes at that weight even if they are not required in your province of Canada. But local laws will determine the max. weight that can be towed without brakes.
Without brakes your front rotors will warp and brake pads will wear out faster. The stability of the vehicle and trailer could come into question, especially in emergency situations.
Snow storms and pulling a trailer can be a nightmare by themselves.
I know my '14 Cherokee has the wiring included for the brake controller. The controller you have to purchase separate but is plug and play hookup.
There are numerous threads on this subject of controllers.
Your dealer can explain if there has been any changes to the Tow group for the year you are looking at.
Good Luck and sounds like a lot of fun snowmobiling in the back country.
don't know if this helps - I have the ADI but my driving is mostly highway commuting & only very rare light off roading, & even then, only on well maintained easy trails. it works great in snow storms, & I also have high performance winter tires, which help a great deal
Ok let me get this straight... the Jeep is for your wife, but you'll tow 2 snowmobiles on 12 hour drives, so... it's going to be your toy after all
Just kidding. Ok so you're in the Montreal area. Will most of the driving be done in the big city, with the odd snowmobile trips during the winter ?
AD2 brings one inch more ground clearence, but also 4Lo (and Neutral), while AD1 does not. AD1 is very capable though. If you've had 4WD vehicules before and liked using 4Lo - or needed to use 4Lo - then AD2 might be worth looking into. If you were towing a heavy boat, I might have suggested AD2 because 4Lo can be required to pull them out of the water, but snowmobiles is a differnt story.
Ride quality/comfort seems to be equivalent with either system.
Gas mileage difference is likely very small.
There is a premium to pay for AD2.
So where is your snowmobile playground ? Gaspésie ?
Live in Laval...but my play ground is everywhere thats North...Saguenay is a plus and will be heading out to beautiful gaspesie this winter for the first time
I agree with the previous comment about adding trailer brakes on that load. The KL weighs in around 4k lbs, adding 2.4klb w/o brakes is really going to strain the KL's safety margin, especially in the mountains.
As an example, I tow a custom rock crawling trailer @ 1.5klb with my heavily modified Chevy Tahoe (6.6k lb). The Tahoe has a swapped 3/4 ton rear axle, 3/4 ton calipers w/Hawk HD pads and I converted from vacuum to hydraulic....quite a bit more robust setup than a stock KL. Unless I shift the trans into low gear, I can easily smoke my pads on long mountain descents...and this trailer has brakes.
Regarding the 2sp transfer case, you really only need it during technical climbs up rocks. I haven't yet wheeled a KL, but I would bet with that 9spd transmission, first gear is so short you'd be fine with the 1sp t-case. Plus when you add the Trailer Package, you received a numerically higher rear end, which further helps put power to pavement. However, if you like gadgets and that 1" increase in ground clearance is important b/c you do plan to play in the rocks, then it's a great choice!!
My disclaimer is that we have not yet picked up our KL, so take my advice w/a grain of salt. However, I literally have thousands of miles of experience 4x4'ing in almost every state in the US and I modified my 4x4 w/my own two hands
Got informed on the towing controller not on tow packaged an add cost 275$ it will be added on my purchase.. Thank you for the input much appreciated..
I would choose ADII in a NY minute! Well worth the price of admission. You might want to start mountain/trail biking in warmer months. You are never to old to trail bike and Trek bicycles are not that expensive to start with.
What shall we have? An '82 Margaux! Is it any good? Good....?, It will make you believe in God!
Does anyone know if it is possible to switch out active drive systems? I have a 15' Latitude equipped with AD1...in hindsight I feel AD2 is better suited for my life style. Unfortunately I had to buy quick and didn't do my research.
Does anyone know if it is possible to switch out active drive systems? I have a 15' Latitude equipped with AD1...in hindsight I feel AD2 is better suited for my life style. Unfortunately I had to buy quick and didn't do my research.
YES--there is a way to switch to AD II----Its called switching vehicles and getting one with AD2--- Advice for anybody buying a KL and think you might need ADII--BUY it the first time--lets see, how many KLs have I owned? Lost count:grin:
I will repeat myself on this post. If you think you might need the ADII---buy it as you don't have to use it and that is much better than not getting it and not able to use it if you do need it.
I drove Cherokee's both with and without ADII before I purchased. I opted for ADII because I felt the ADII Jeep handled corners better than the ADI model. I know this though this seems illogical since it sits an inch higher, but the ADII corners with noticeably less lean. The stiffer springs do make for a firmer ride but it's not uncomfortable.
I occasional do off-pavement stuff but mostly I like the ADII for the handling. It also seems to help with control while trailer towing. I have the towing package and sometimes tow a utility trailer that if loaded with topsoil, is probably around 2500 lbs.
IME:
I bought my wife the KLTH with the AD2 and I don't think I would look back. I believe in "overbuilding" and "it's better the have it and not need than need it and not have it." Now, my wife's driving habits would be covered by a FWD Honda Accord 99.5% of the time and she has even strongly considered getting rid of her TH for such a vehicle but in a crossover SUV platform, since she also likes 'ground clearance' which, by her definition, means she sits higher in the seat and can see better. She came from a 2012 fully loaded Kia Optima with the 2.0T that she absolutely loved but not being able to park without dragging the bumper on the curb was annoying and not being able to see over concrete barriers when driving had her scared to death. The KLTH fit the requirements for which she was looking, the drive train I was wanting plus it had all the electronic gadgetry she desired, for which we paid extra and she does not use most of the time. Oh well. She has recently shopped around to trade, or, I should say, I have shopped for her as she hates car shopping, but nothing excites her enough to get rid of her paid-for 50k mile KLTH to get get back into a another payment and learn a new vehicle all over again. She used to sell Real Estate part-time although that 2nd job has died down as she is getting burnt out on it, and on occasions, having the AD2 has got her out of sticky situations when she was out in the country going across pastures and such and she never even realized it. That would be the .5% of the time she needed it. It did fail her once, stranding her in a rather large mud puddle. For whatever reason it would not go. Based on her telling of the tale, I could not understand if the BLS was hindering her of if there was something else going on but fortunately, the client she was with was a Chrysler Tech., got in the driver's seat and the Jeep pulled itself right out so I'm thinking it might have been driver error.
All I drive are 4WD vehicles, many 4WD vehicles (trading off vehicles is a weakness as I like shiny things), regardless of 'need' and have for the past 20 years so I can can definitively say the AD2 system is probably the best AWD/4WD non-user input system I have ever experienced. Taking it though the BLM roads in the CO mountains sold me on the tech. Even though she is completely ignorant on the technicalities of how 4WD systems work and doesn't care to learn, the AD2 system has worked regardless of her lack of education on the subject, making her 'think' she doesn't need the smart tech when in fact it was carrying her through. The frequent deluges we get in Texas and the rare ice storm we get in the winter have not even taxed the vehicle, actually performing better than my Rubicon, I say reluctantly. This is abundantly apparent when hitting water on the road. In my Rubi you have to get a death grip on the wheel to hold it in place as it will jerk violently to the side of the water, interrupting your forward momentum. The KLTH just seems to push through correcting itself for you.
Would I go with an AD1 system? Well, I don't have any seat-time between the two systems so I don't have a dog in the fight but I can say the KLTH with the AD2, ground clearance and approach and departure angles has worked well for her and with the latest round of software updates, the transmission has got to an acceptable state quelling the disgust she once had with the vehicle.
With all that being said, if I let her she would park the KLTH and drive our '15 Expedition EL AWD/4WD all the time. It's a dedicated family hauler/weekend driver/long distance driver with low miles and we try to keep it that way. She doesn't hate the KLTH but it's hard to beat the room of the Expy EL and the power of twin turbos although on my last distance trip, the power of the truck overcame my weak ability to keep the speed in check and now I'm paying a significant sum to the City of Sulphur Springs to keep a ticket off my record. I've even considered taking over the KLTH and sacrificing my Rubi for what she might want but as I'm trying to talk myself into a new Power Wagon, that's probably not going to work for me for long.
And... if you want to use your KL as a 4 wheel down toad, ADII is a must!
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