JourneysDone

Hey Joe, I'd like to know how you're doing with this? I seem to be pushing the 3500 lb limit too. DJ seems to pull fine (mine's a Crew) with my wife, two kids, trailer and gear. I towed approx 6 times this summer without incident. And didn't seem to struggle at all. longest trip was about 2.5 hours one way. Last week i blew a connecting rod and i'm looking to see if anyone else is experiencing engine issues with or without towing. I have been very careful about the total weight as well. I don't want to have engine/tranny problems every year only for the sake of a few camping trips. Anyone have any similar experience with towing near the max?

Yes, that is my understanding. I went through this early in the summer. Was supposed to have the tow prep pkg, but didn't. Does have the oil cooler and tranny cooler, so i ordered the wiring harness. I was told that was it. I had the wiring harness installed at the same time as the receiver and brake controller. Some of it did not go smoothly and i had to have it redone. Then i had to have the flash programming performed. After the flash, i had the brake controller installed and everything seemed to work. You may just need to have the flash performed after installing the wiring. Post an update, let us know how it turned out.

alain, I had the same problem in June. Couldn't get the wiring harness to power the 7 pin brake lights properly as the LEDs don't draw enough power. For those reading this thread from the USA, at least in Ontario, if not Canada, all camper/trailers are required to have e-brakes if built beyond a certain year. It is illegal to tow one equipped with the brakes, but not have them connected. My guy finally got the brake lights to work etc and i had him run a hotwire from the fuse box to the 7 pin to charge the battery in the trailer and to provide power while towing. The only issue i have with the 7 pin connector is that the running lights only come on, and stay on, after pressing the brake pedal. Not a problem so far as i only tow during daylight. I did have several problems with determining if my journey was even equipped with the tow prep package (turned out it wasn't based on the VIN), but the dealer showed me physically and on the build sheet that my Crew has the oil cooler, tranny cooler and power steering cooler installed. and assured me i was good for the 3500 lbs. I purchased the wiring harness for $113 from the dealer and also was not pleased to have to do this.

I bought a 12' pop up trailer in the spring, one year after buying my 2011 Journey crew. Thought i had the tow prep package installed, but turned out it didn't have the wiring harness. I was assured by the dealer that it did have an Oil cooler, Tranny cooler (and power steering cooler) 'though. So just before i picked up my new trailer, i purchased the wiring harness for the journey, and had a hitch place install the harness and receiver. Once completed, it took some tweaking to get the brake controller to work properly, along with the pig tail connector. Seems the LED brake lights cause some problems for the connector etc. That all got worked out and we happily towed the trailer (dry weight of 3100 lbs) this summer about 6 times. In the 2011, i have the EVIC, which allows me to monitor the tranny temp, coolant temp etc etc. The tranny ran at around 68ish degrees without towing, nearing 70 to 72 on the hottest days. While towing, temps ran around 76 and creeped up to nearly 80 at times, but always ran "in the green" and power seemed okay. (i've never towed anything before, so it was difficult for me to determine what was "normal" behaviour during towing). Anyway, a week ago, i'm on the highway when suddenly the journey starts to sputter and cough, like it's running out of gas. Lasted for a minute or so and then stalled. Still had accessory power, but no power steering or brakes. Took it to my local dealer who determined that it blew a connecting rod. Hoping it's not related to towing,and pretty certain it can't be proven, but wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem whether towing or not? I hope it's just a bad part. I've also had the battery problem twice in 16 months. the first time was the software upgrade programming issue, the second time (recently) they changed the battery out. So far, I love my journey, but am very concerned over these issues.