Can I Increase Engine Horsepower

[Chartermain]

I have a '93 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the in line six (195 HP I believe) that I was told by the dealer would be completely capable of towing my boat and trailer (boat is 2900 lbs and trailer is tandem axle). It does tow it but not well up hills of any significant length. Is it possible to increase the horsepower of this six cylinder to about 240 - 250 HP? Any thoughts anyone?
I will be buying another vehicle shortly but since I won't get much on trade in for the '93 and it is in good condition, I thought I would keep it and use it for hunting, fishing purposes.

[towtrucks]

The dealer would have told you that you could tow a houseboat if it meant the sell of the truck.
That boat you are pulling weighs as much if not more than your truck, and that's really not safe, even if you have good trailer brakes.
Consider getting a 3/4 ton truck with a V-8. And be sure to add a decent size cooler for the transmission.

[Chartermain]

Thx towtrucks. I am planning to buy a Dodge Ram Quad Cab with one of the V8's. I had a leased 99 Grand Cherokee with a 240 HP V8 and tore the rear end out because the marina where I stored my boat backed the trailer into a boat cradle and bent the spindle on the axle. By the time I realized why the trailer was weaving back and forth, I had stripped the trailer tire of tread and badly damaged the rear gears on the cherokee. Aside from that the 99 seemed to tow the trailer and boat with no problem up hills. Both the 93 and 99 have factory towing packages on them including a transmission cooler.

[thecarguy]

look at the chevy/GMC heavy duties. You may want the dodge but it dosent hurt to look arround when spending that much money. Personally i think the rear seats in the GM's is larger and more comfortable than the dodge and i know for a fact the gm's come with a tranny cooler but the dodge may have one too but im not sure. I hate ford but look at one of those too. REMEMBER: IT DOSENT HURT TO SHOP ARROUND.

[danny]

IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO STOP THAN TO GO WHEN PULLING A TRAILER, not saying it isn't important to be able to pull a trailer but as a person who pulls trailers regularly(construction) i have found that it is really important to be able to stop and if the trailer is heavier than the tow vehicle it can push the tow vehicle into/through an intersection while trying to stop.

[thecarguy]

just for argument sake: whats the use in stopping when you cant get going in the first place?

[danny]

Originally posted by thecarguy
just for argument sake: whats the use in stopping when you cant get going in the first place?

good point, no argument here lol

[thecarguy]

my shop teachers and people ive worked for always tell me: "the most important things you need is to be able to stop, steer and that the wheels dont fall off" but i always ask..."whats the point if you cant start or go in the first place? And thats when i get laughs form other kids in the class or got yelled at by a teacher/boss.

[Chase_N_ok]

a small cheap truck i found good for towing is a 2000 ford ranger with a 4.0 liter V-6 and tow package, only 170 hp stock but about 240 lb/ft of torque, if u get the tow package it comes with a 3.83 positrack rear end and heavy duty breaks and a transmission cooler, we use it every year to pull a 2000 lb pop up trailor to colorado and back along with around 600 lbs of gear in the bed, and it goes up the mountains better than my friend's chevy 1/2 ton with a 350. stops just as good if not better even though the chevy had a lighter load. We also used it to tow my car 100 miles about a month ago. and it towed the 2600 lb car along with the 1500 lb trailor @ 70 mph on the interstate with no problems. even on hill it did pretty good. just letting you know about some other cheaper options that work pretty **** good. btw the ranger has a factory tow rating of 6500 lbs if you get it with the automatic and tow package