Couple questions about JT towing.

[Minty JL]

As a former master driver in the Army, thoughts to ponder in a serious manner.

1) over weight or above vehicle tow rating.......the state police and DOT will eat you alive if caught. Over weight/tow rating fines normally start out at $1000. And as soon as they find one violation they will dig for more. DOT will not and never has excepted excuse(s) like "I didn't know" "I'm new to tow" and so on.

2) in the event of an accident, regardless of who was at fault......the insurance companies will and can decline coverage and liability of the incident.

3) you mentioned kids.........why would you even humor the risk with your kids on board......I will not rant any further than that

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[Glad Jeeper]

So, my 2 cents for what it is worth. To answer the main question. A properly set weight distribution hitch (WDH) a must. Brake control a must (have to have with anything over 1000 lbs). Air bags a good idea. I would choose to not go over the max limits, but thats my decision. There is a safety percentage built into all these figures as well, from what I told when I had my 5th wheel and tow vehicle. I have seen many JT's towing all different sizes and weights some look great and correct and some look scary as hell and the driver looks so tense when I pass them that would not be very enjoyable.

I have towed many trailers and most recently a 5th wheel. There is also a comfort factor to live by, not comfort of the trailer but comfort and confidence of the driver. If it doesn't feel right then it probably isn't. Just got back from a RV show looking for what we want. We found 3 that we liked and would be on our short list. Here is where comfort comes in. One trailer we really liked, under 5500 lbs dry (not ship weight) but it was 28'. To long for me to pull behind the JT, I feel, I have seen JT's pull longer though. My 5th wheel was 40 so length in itself does not bother me. The longer the TT it will act differently of course.

We have choose to look at 25' and under, less than 5000 lbs, dual axles. We travel very light. Since we stay in full service parks we don't need full H2O tanks, empty grays and black before travel etc... So if we add 1000 lbs that would be pushing it but still keeping it below the tow rates.

 

[KevinC]

I tow a Winnebago Micro Mini 2106 with my Automatic JTR with factory tow package.

The micro mini weighs roughly 4000lb, give or take a few. You cannot trust the manufacturers information on weight. The only true way is take it to a scale fully loaded as you would be traveling.

The micro mini is 20ft length, 7ft width and rides on dual axles. This is the three reasons I went with this camper. The length and width size is much more enjoyable to tow with a Gladiator. The dual axle prevents a lot of the sway you get when pulling a camper on the interstate, without the need for a sway control bar.

I have installed a brake controller. I pack the truck light. I keep the weight of the camper evenly distributed. I tow the camper with all water tanks empty. I buy my food and drinks when I get to my destination. If I am under 5000lbs towing, I am comfortable in a JT.

KevinC

 

[Josh00333]

Nice set up Kevin!

That's exactly how you do your JT towing. Nice, smaller foot print, narrow, light weight weight rig.

27' long 8' wide full size trailers give me the shutters.

 

[MPMB]

It's not overweight. I have everything the max tow has (7650 lbs towing) at this point except wide axles. But I run 35s with an offset which are wider. Never take it above 55 mph. I get about 11 mpg doing it. Never had any issues. Towed 11k of the 20k on my truck.

wheel width is not the same as axle width.

Also, as mentioned before, ratings aren't based on what it can haul.

 

[Labswine]

I tow a 27' trailer that is right around 5,100 lbs with all we want or need to take with us. I have an automatic Overland with the factory tow package. I also have the BlueOx WDH/sway control set up and a Tenkonsha Primus brake controller. Pic of set up below.

I have no issues towing this set up. Yeah, sometimes it reminds me it's only a V-6 so I just down shift and keep on moving. Eventually I get back up to my comfortable towing speed which is not greater than 65 mph.

I just got back, today, from the Outer Banks, NC. My JT tows beautifully. The WDH is set up nicely and my truck feels just as planted as if I weren't towing anything.

I shift manually. Upshifts are at 2,500 RPMs. I can cruise at 65 MPH at right around 2,100 RPMs. If my speed in 7th drops, I'll bump back to 6th and run her up to 2,500 RPMs until I reach cruising speed again then back to 7th. I never see 8th gear. It feels like it's lugging in 8th at 65 MPH as the RPMs are around 1,600.

I TOTALLY agree with NOT towing at or over the max stated towing capacity.

 

[Blade1668]

I've got a Max-Tow and feel it's not a great towing vehicle in some areas. Pulling my 3500 lbs rated trailer empty I still a 4 MPG's hit. With my small 4wheeler I got 13.8 MPG's towing close to 1000 miles. That's just from N. AL. to Eastern part of KY and back. My T.T. is a 16ft Scamp dry weight around 3300-3500 lbs.
My LJ tows it fine and stops it too. Manual transmission with trailer brakes and W.D. hitch. I still get blown around on I-state driving with it but not as bad of MPG hit. When I had 31 MT tires on it.
Now a thing to watch is trailer tires size and load range many install under rated tires that are overloaded when you get your stuff in it. (Travel Trailers)

 

[RJinPV]

I tow a 27' trailer that is right around 5,100 lbs with all we want or need to take with us. I have an automatic Overland with the factory tow package. I also have the BlueOx WDH/sway control set up and a Tenkonsha Primus brake controller. Pic of set up below.

I have no issues towing this set up. Yeah, sometimes it reminds me it's only a V-6 so I just down shift and keep on moving. Eventually I get back up to my comfortable towing speed which is not greater than 65 mph.

I just got back, today, from the Outer Banks, NC. My JT tows beautifully. The WDH is set up nicely and my truck feels just as planted as if I weren't towing anything.

I shift manually. Upshifts are at 2,500 RPMs. I can cruise at 65 MPH at right around 2,100 RPMs. If my speed in 7th drops, I'll bump back to 6th and run her up to 2,500 RPMs until I reach cruising speed again then back to 7th. I never see 8th gear. It feels like it's lugging in 8th at 65 MPH as the RPMs are around 1,600.

I TOTALLY agree with NOT towing at or over the max stated towing capacity.

That seems like to long trailer to just be 5,100 lbs loaded. I'll have to check the Sonic trailers out. What is the GVWR, and have you ever weighed it on a scale?

 

[bd100]

Upgrading components probably doesn't improve the vehicle tow rating in the eyes of the law or insurance. I think they go by the door sticker no matter how much you upgraded.

No matter what you do, be sure to check and set the brake controller correctly. With a different vehicle for a while I thought it was fine but had mine set too low, and once tried to stop and couldn't in time. Fortunately that was just for a turn and there was nothing to hit. Plus a few other close calls. Now it's set better and stops better.

Also the trailer brakes can overheat on a long downhill, so use as much engine braking as you can when coming off the mountain. It says a lot when you see a big RV in the campground with a mechanic working on the front brakes.

And learn how to load the trailer to avoid side-to-side sway. More weight in front, even if the storage closets are in back. Recognize what the sway is and what to do about it. If the trailer is swaying left to right and back, trigger the trailer brakes to stop the sway, and get off the road and move more cargo towards the front of the trailer. I recently saw a truck pulling a trailer through traffic as it was swaying a bunch. They just kept going. Don't do that.

In general, if you like to move around every day or two, a smaller and more nimble trailer makes more sense.

 

[RangersGladiator]

I didn’t read in the thread about tire but if so please disregard my recommendation. I believe the Overland like my HA come with P “passenger” tires. The other models come with LT “light truck” tires. I have towed many miles with different vehicles, trailer, and weights. Do yourself a favor and get LT tires. The sidewall is stiffer, they are rated for more weight and will provide a more stable platform. Good luck!

 

[Mjolnir]

I swapped for all those. Bought the cooling fan, alternator, regeared to 4.88 and all gladiators have dana 44 axles. I don't think you know what you're talking about. Even on stock 3.63 gears it towed fine.

If you think an altenator makes truck a hazard you don't know much about automobiles.

Theres no such thing as 3.63 gears Axles are all D44, sure, but there are two different types of D44's that come on these trucks, they are NOT all the same. Clearly shows you do not know what you are talking about. if that is your thinking/knowledge.

Doesn't matter what you changed out, from a legal standpoint you can NOT tow more than what the stock vehicle states. You are a liability on the road.

"Towed fine" until you need to stop in an emergency situation. Then its not "fine". Especially with added 35's: that is more rolling resistance as well as unsprung weight which limits your stopping ability even more. Did you lift? If so then you have no idea what your tow rating is as that completely changes it (lets be honest, no one knows their tow rating after lifting lol).

Man you sound like some poster from a year ago that insisted his towing capacity was 12k because his mopar phone app stated it was

 

[Summitsearcher]

Always love these threads. Great information I hope many take the sound advice and avoid potential dangers of not doing so. As a retired professional driver I’ve seen some ugly stuff.

 

[AmishMike]

and........nobody mentioned frontal area. This makes a huge difference in these 'lack of torque' monsters.

There are tons of threads about towing with a Gladiator. I tow a 16 ft SunLite and love it. 2480 lbs. dry. I feel the drag is worse than the weight, especially at highway speeds. Have towed this set up for ~8,000 miles and up to 95°F just being easy on the skinny pedal and listening to the truck.
You name it, I have towed it. Everything from a boat to an airplane, tankers, mobile home etc.. From a Toyota Hi-Lux to a long nosed Pete to double bin wagons.
This JT is my exception, normally I prefer a lot of truck. I don't like to get pushed around, whether by weight or wind. Longer wheelbases definitely help. Just because somebody else is towing heavy and getting away with it, doesn't mean that you should.
Towing a couple of times a month IS a lot. You can tow heavy 99% of the time, it is that 1% that will kill somebody. I will never forget the time I was hauling a 70% loaded tank and an RV failed to stop at a light and came out in front of me. At 40 mph I slammed on the brakes and my front tires turned to mush, then the surge came in from the tank. Thank god, my rig was mechanically sound; we all survived that day because of it.
You have one OH SHIT moment like that with your wife and kids in the truck and you will be lucky if your wife doesn't hang a for sale sign on the trailer and truck when you get home.

 

[AmishMike]

@ImBackBaby Just wondering, did you get the GCWR changed on your title?

 

[Mjolnir]

@ImBackBaby Just wondering, did you get the GCWR changed on your title?

Good question I will be waiting patiently for an answer for as well ?

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