2023 JT Willys Aftermarket “Max Tow Package”

[Ogre_FL]

what do I need to add to my Willys in order to safely tow a 7800lbs (fully loaded) travel trailer?

Just add this Jeep accessory package.

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[ShadowsPapa]

If I recall, not only are the MaxTow axles 1.5" per side wider, but they're also just a bit more 'beefy' than the regular DANA 44s used in the rest of the line. Also, you will be wanting that 4.1 gear ratio vs. the regular 3.73 to help with moving that weight up mountains and other places.

3/4" per side 1.50" total and NO, not more beefy. That was a myth perpetuated by the auto blogs and rags that misinterpreted things.

I posted several quotes on that bunk in other threads over the months, snippets and so on. The tube walls are all the same thickness. The problem came when those "auto blogs" took the comparisons to Wrangler incorrectly.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Before I start, I understand that putting additional equipment on my Willys will not legally change anything about the official published FCA Payload and Towing Capacities. With that being said, what do I need to add to my Willys in order to safely tow a 7800lbs (fully loaded) travel trailer? Does the additional 1.5” on the axels really make a difference? To my understanding the 3:73 gear ratio that comes on my Willys can tow plenty, it just maybe not be ideal for long periods up and down slopes and mountains. Do I need stiffer rear spring coils? 240 alternator? 850 watt cooling fan? Also, I have already purchased and installed the Mopar Class IV receiver. I appreciate all of the help!

Don't even think about it. You bought the wrong truck to tow that much trailer. NO GLADIATOR should ever be on the highway with that, and I don't care what you believe or have talked yourself into believing you can do. Even a true max tow would be risky at that.
You can't do it - just stick to that rule.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I learned about weights of campers, is the advertised weight is base model no options,

Yes.
Anyone thinking of "building a max tow" doesn't really understand the whole package, and the testing those things go through. It's not about getting it moving, it's about controlling it.
Braking, tire size and more - not just springs and gear ratios.
One would need to literally look at every single difference, tires and all, to get close. But a clever lawyer will see right through it with dollar signs in their eyes if anything bad happens.
If one is looking at anything over 7,000 pounds, they have the wrong truck.
Trading would actually be cheaper in the end
And then there's the civil liability - attorneys digging into details if you have an accident and hurt someone. You can't change the laws of physics.

There's a lot of youtube videos involving towing campers that prove that.

And he's leaving out the frontage and more.

But you nailed it - the weight is the base model. Update anything about that camper and suddenly those numbers are as worthless as the nipples on a bull.

 

[BoomerSooner1994]

I traded in the Willys for a Max Tow Sport S! Thanks guys for all of y’all’s help!

 

[Jaxmax]

Wait, at 9:30 you asked the question , just about everyone says no, not even with a Max Tow equipped Gladiator and by three you have a deal for a Max Tow Gladiator, man you are quick.
My wife would be shoveling dirt on top of me in a hole in the back yard if I did that , and she had me did a big hole last week for no reason, now I am thinking the 22WMR rifle was a bad choice.
Enjoy, go slow and easy….Jack

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I traded in the Willys for a Max Tow Sport S! Thanks guys for all of y’all’s help!

LOL, sorry, but bad move, really bad move. You STILL can't safely or even reasonably tow over 7600 pounds.
Bad move. You should have bought a real truck with a tow rating of at least 9,000 pounds to tow 7500.
Do you know what the RV people say? Tow only to 90% of your rating.
You were talking 7800 pounds,
you need a TRUCK that's capable of 8500 pounds to reasonably tow 7600 pounds.
A max tow - just to keep it simple, say a tow rating of 7600 pounds, the MAXIMUM you should be on the highway with unless you don't care about the safety of others is under 7,000 pounds.

So you clearly aren't thinking about towing safely at all, or engineering and so on (unless you are smarter than Jeep engineers??) or you've decided to get a camper that fully loaded with batteries, water, camping gear and other stuff is only 7,000 pounds or LESS.

Max tow isn't going to help you with the numbers you were talking about earlier. So something is amiss or you really don't care.
That's going to sound harsh as hell, but it's all I can come up with as even max tow won't do the numbers you quoted earlier.

 

[Orange01z28]

Max Tow or not, I wouldn't want to tow that with a Gladiator

In fact, I wouldn't really want to tow it with a 1/2 ton truck, i'd be looking at a 3/4 ton, 2500 type

Every time my wife wants a boat or a camper I remind her that she'll have to start driving a big truck as her DD

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Max Tow or not, I wouldn't want to tow that with a Gladiator

In fact, I wouldn't really want to tow it with a 1/2 ton truck, i'd be looking at a 3/4 ton, 2500 type

Every time my wife wants a boat or a camper I remind her that she'll have to start driving a big truck as her DD

I figured that after towing for years with my Ford F250, and then my Silverado 1500 4x4, 6,500-7,000 would be my max with the Chevy just knowing what It did and how it handled with between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds. And that's a longer wider truck! A lot bigger footprint and low COG.
I wouldn't put my Chevy I had ahead of almost 8,000 pounds.
Someone's likely to get hurt, or the truck destroyed.
And then if he even considers different tires - he's going to make things even worse.
It's rated STOCK with stock tires and stock height and stock curb weight.

 

[Orange01z28]

Jeep is claiming a 2023 Wagoneer can get up to 8790 lbs and a 2023 Tahoe to 7900 lbs. That's as "truck" as my wife would drive and I can't afford to have a Jeep and a truck.

Even those seem like high capacities but they're really not when you factor in how much more a travel trailer or boat weighs in the real world compared to advertised

Then you look at a Ram 2500 and you're at 10,520 to 15,530 lbs. Honestly I'd require that much capacity unless I know i'm only towing something tiny

The trailer at the beginning of this thread needs a 3/4 to pull it

 

[rharr]

Before I start, I understand that putting additional equipment on my Willys will not legally change anything about the official published FCA Payload and Towing Capacities. With that being said, what do I need to add to my Willys in order to safely tow a 7800lbs (fully loaded) travel trailer? Does the additional 1.5” on the axels really make a difference? To my understanding the 3:73 gear ratio that comes on my Willys can tow plenty, it just maybe not be ideal for long periods up and down slopes and mountains. Do I need stiffer rear spring coils? 240 alternator? 850 watt cooling fan? Also, I have already purchased and installed the Mopar Class IV receiver. I appreciate all of the help!

Buy a full size truck

 

[Rahkmalla]

People who tow regularly follow the 80% rule: never exceed 80 of your legal tow cap for recurring or long distance moves.

That being said, i am a firm believer that a properly modified vehicle can meat it's tow cap if done right.

For example: say you have a willys (like you do) and you want to tow 6k lbs. 7700x.80=6160. If you were to fully (and i mean fully) recreate the max tow package in a willys, i would now feel comfortable pulling the legal cap of 6k

 

[ShadowsPapa]

How is that a legal cap??

 

[Mjolnir]

People who tow regularly follow the 80% rule: never exceed 80 of your legal tow cap for recurring or long distance moves.

That being said, i am a firm believer that a properly modified vehicle can meat it's tow cap if done right.

For example: say you have a willys (like you do) and you want to tow 6k lbs. 7700x.80=6160. If you were to fully (and i mean fully) recreate the max tow package in a willys, i would now feel comfortable pulling the legal cap of 6k

This is one of the most uneducated posts i have ever seen. the 80 rule is based off your max cap. You mathed wrong.

6000x.80=4800. So he should NOT tow anything above 4800lbs.

OP, you need a full size truck there is literally nothing you can do to tow that thing legally, correctly, or efficiently. If you REALLY want to keep the JT and keep the trailer, then your only option is to leave the trailer in your driveway and pretend you brought it somewhere with the JT.

 

[Arcticelf]

buy one of these:
https://www.davis4x4.com/vehicle-de...-sold--truck-543a7a8f60ded941b82cd0b969ff83d4

Then put the gladiator on it, and tow the trailer behind it.

Just please don't be that guy dragging way to heavy a trailer behind way to small a truck.

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