Trailer Hitch and Trailer Wiring Harness Recommendation for 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee  

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Helpful Expert Reply:

For your 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee, I'd recommend the Draw-Tite Class III hitch, part # 75338 which is a fit for a V8 equipped Grand Cherokee as long as it's NOT and SRT8. None of our vendors offer a hitch fit for SRT 8 models as the rear bumper/fascia is different. The hitch has a 750 lb tongue weight/ 5000 lb towing capacity which goes up to 750/7500 if weight distribution is used. This is the highest weight-rated hitch we offer for your 2005 Grand Cherokee.

If your Grand Cherokee has the factory tow package, the # 20135 you'd looked at would work great for you. If it doesn't have the factory tow package, you'd use # 118394 to provide a 4 pole trailer connector.

If your trailer has a 7-way and brakes, you'll need to install a 7-way trailer connector and a brake controller to actuate the trailer brakes. The easiest way to do this would be to use our # ETBC7L 7-way upgrade kit and the Curt # C51180 Echo wireless brake controller.

The Echo would allow you to control the trailer brakes from the vehicle cab using your smart phone. The # ETBC7L kit includes an adapter to upgrade the 4 pole provided by the # 118394 to a 7-way. The adapter plugs into the 4 pole, and you'll ground the white wire to the vehicle frame, and use the provided wire, hardware and circuit breaker to run a circuit to the positive battery terminal.

The brake controller isn't quite a plug and play install, but its pretty simple and straightforward. I'll link to videos showing how the # 118394 installs, plus demonstration videos for the Echo and the # ETBC7L kit.

expert reply by: Mike L

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