My Experience Towing with the 3.6L Gladiator Mojave VA to PA

[Rburns1776]

Just wanted to share my experiences towing with my JT for those doing research. Towing was one of the reasons I went with a JT over a JL.

We regularly tow between 3500/4500 ilbs with ours through mountains in VA, WV, and PA to various ATV parks. As far as a mid sized truck goes, i'd say it performs adequately enough to live with so long as you arent doing it every day. I used to do the same trips in a 5.0l 2018 F150 for reference.

This past weekend we took a 300 mile round trip with our ATV's from Front Royal VA to Mountain Ridge ATV park in PA. Our trailer was around 3500/4000ilb with 2 adults in the Jeep and probably 200ish ilbs or so gear in the truck. Trailer was loaded trying to keep no more than 10/15% of trailer weight on the tongue, with the majority of the weight on or in front of the trailer axles. I use a very solid Gen-Y hitch and a Redarc Towpro elite brake controller. Squat isnt too bad at all and for this sized load i'd say the soft Mojave springs in the rear do a good job.

The trip consisted of grinding out miles on the highway, twisting mountain roads with decent grades and elevation changes, and a little bit of stop and go traffic. The truck performs well, accelerating up to highway speeds and merging with adequate performance, and maintaining highway speeds at about 2500rpm in 7th gear, rarely seeing 8th. We averaged about 11/12mpg. Engine breaking going downhill is great, and the Jeeps brakes had no issues / brake fade even after long downhills and sudden stops (Trailer brakes and a good brake controller are important). Engine, oil, trans temperatures all stayed reasonable which tells me cooling is more than adequate. Even after long uphill grades with the pedal to the floor there was barely any change. The only negative I have is it struggles with steep uphill grades, it will maintain speed but acceleration is abysmally slow and I found myself in the truck lane a couple times to let traffic by. Not a deal breaker for me, but if you are towing at elevation (IE: in the Midwest / Colorado / Montana) i'd imagine it'd become an issue.

My JT has a 2in AEV spacer lift and is on the factory Falken 33's. I also have a Diamonback HD bed cover thats definitely got some weight to it as well as winch / and all the other recovery gear / tools / etc etc I keep in the truck.

Here is a youtube video I made with some examples, as well as a quick run down of my setup and break controller:

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[Riding with Gladys]

Thanks for the post. I have about the same impression with my Mojave towing our camper at about 3000lbs. No lift but running toyo 35's.

 

[DailyMoparGuy]

Same conclusion I came to after my tow from Texas to Massachusetts…it did good with the 6x12 Uhaul in the flat stuff, maybe even great. The steep hills in WV, MD, and PA gave it some hell but it did it. I recall being in 2nd gear at 55 mph or so one time.

On multiple occasions, I went 70 mph up steep grades with the engine around 6.5k RPMs - temps were fine, speed held, no weird stuff like shuddering or anything. I was quite impressed. I think the JT is a fine vehicle to tow with recreationally unless you tow often in serious mountains/hills like eastern WV, MD, CO, northern NM, etc. I’d have a full-size if I towed often in regions like those.

Edit: Agreed on the engine braking. I don’t think I ever had to use my brakes to hold speed coming downhill. Very good. Disclaimer though, I don’t know how heavy my trailer was. Trailer was 1.9k lbs empty so I imagine between 3k and 4K lbs, nothing to write home about I suppose.

 

[Grumpy_Guy]

Just wanted to share my experiences towing with my JT for those doing research. Towing was one of the reasons I went with a JT over a JL.

We regularly tow between 3500/4500 ilbs with ours through mountains in VA, WV, and PA to various ATV parks. As far as a mid sized truck goes, i'd say it performs adequately enough to live with so long as you arent doing it every day. I used to do the same trips in a 5.0l 2018 F150 for reference.

This past weekend we took a 300 mile round trip with our ATV's from Front Royal VA to Mountain Ridge ATV park in PA. Our trailer was around 3500/4000ilb with 2 adults in the Jeep and probably 200ish ilbs or so gear in the truck. Trailer was loaded trying to keep no more than 10/15% of trailer weight on the tongue, with the majority of the weight on or in front of the trailer axles. I use a very solid Gen-Y hitch and a Redarc Towpro elite brake controller. Squat isnt too bad at all and for this sized load i'd say the soft Mojave springs in the rear do a good job.

The trip consisted of grinding out miles on the highway, twisting mountain roads with decent grades and elevation changes, and a little bit of stop and go traffic. The truck performs well, accelerating up to highway speeds and merging with adequate performance, and maintaining highway speeds at about 2500rpm in 7th gear, rarely seeing 8th. We averaged about 11/12mpg. Engine breaking going downhill is great, and the Jeeps brakes had no issues / brake fade even after long downhills and sudden stops (Trailer brakes and a good brake controller are important). Engine, oil, trans temperatures all stayed reasonable which tells me cooling is more than adequate. Even after long uphill grades with the pedal to the floor there was barely any change. The only negative I have is it struggles with steep uphill grades, it will maintain speed but acceleration is abysmally slow and I found myself in the truck lane a couple times to let traffic by. Not a deal breaker for me, but if you are towing at elevation (IE: in the Midwest / Colorado / Montana) i'd imagine it'd become an issue.

My JT has a 2in AEV spacer lift and is on the factory Falken 33's. I also have a Diamonback HD bed cover thats definitely got some weight to it as well as winch / and all the other recovery gear / tools / etc etc I keep in the truck.

Here is a youtube video I made with some examples, as well as a quick run down of my setup and break controller:

I towed my Casita travel trailer from Rice, TX (the factory where it was built) to Alaska last year.
The 17’ Casita weighed about 2700 lbs dry. I had added a TPMS to monitor the two trailer tires and the spare trailer tire. The hitch weight was around 300 lbs with 2 tanks of propane, full water tank, groceries, and booze. I also added wireless monitors to view the freezer and fridge temperatures as I drove.
My Gladiator eco diesel had Firestone air bags on the rear axle, a tekonshsa P3 brake controller, and a GARMIN GPS to complement the Car Play GPS.(I lost reliable T-Mobile phone service in British Columbia and onward to Alaska, and the same with Sirius radio))
I drove to Monument Valley, spent 2 days at Yellowstone (after the 2022 storm a lot of the roads were single lane!). I next visited Carson City, NV for the “Steam Up” event with numerous antique steam locomotives.
I then proceeded to Canada. While driving through Montana I experienced a pebble strike on my windshield With a crack from bottom to top of my windshield. I contacted a shop in Shelby as I drove. The shop arranged an after market replacement to be delivered the next day. My THIRD replacement (I had 2 replacements in Florida, I owned the Jeep for 11 months!) windshield arrived, it was installed, I was underway and I crossed the border into Canada at Coutts, Alberta. After my crossing I encountered a golf ball size hail storm!
Fortunately I pulled over and I sustained only a severely dented hood with no damage to my new windshield.
My drive through Arizona and Nevada in the 110 F heat didn’t cause my Gladiator to overheat! I generally did 62 Mph and I was getting 16-17 MPG.
The drive on the ALCAN road was awesome! It ranged from smooth pavement to dusty gravel to pot hole dirt with deep drop offs!
I saw numerous bison herds, moose, elk, horned sheep, and grizzly bears! There were snow capped mountains (in July), glaciers, waterfalls, picturesque lakes and streams.
I drove over 11,000 miles. I carried an oil filter, fuel filter, an the correct oil with spare bearings for the Jeep, tools, tire repair kit (un-used), and windshield repair kit (used on the return in Yukon).
I had an oil change in Anchorage, the shop used my oil and filters that I carried.
I had a 156 item check list I prepared. FYI, I am a CPL (Certified Professional Logistician) and I previously worked on several DoD programs, F-35, FBM subs, fire control And RADARs, etc.
I now have an R-POD 153 travel trailer that is 3100 lbs empty and I get 14-15 mpg towing it.

 

[Belcher24256]

Just wanted to share my experiences towing with my JT for those doing research. Towing was one of the reasons I went with a JT over a JL.

We regularly tow between 3500/4500 ilbs with ours through mountains in VA, WV, and PA to various ATV parks. As far as a mid sized truck goes, i'd say it performs adequately enough to live with so long as you arent doing it every day. I used to do the same trips in a 5.0l 2018 F150 for reference.

This past weekend we took a 300 mile round trip with our ATV's from Front Royal VA to Mountain Ridge ATV park in PA. Our trailer was around 3500/4000ilb with 2 adults in the Jeep and probably 200ish ilbs or so gear in the truck. Trailer was loaded trying to keep no more than 10/15% of trailer weight on the tongue, with the majority of the weight on or in front of the trailer axles. I use a very solid Gen-Y hitch and a Redarc Towpro elite brake controller. Squat isnt too bad at all and for this sized load i'd say the soft Mojave springs in the rear do a good job.

The trip consisted of grinding out miles on the highway, twisting mountain roads with decent grades and elevation changes, and a little bit of stop and go traffic. The truck performs well, accelerating up to highway speeds and merging with adequate performance, and maintaining highway speeds at about 2500rpm in 7th gear, rarely seeing 8th. We averaged about 11/12mpg. Engine breaking going downhill is great, and the Jeeps brakes had no issues / brake fade even after long downhills and sudden stops (Trailer brakes and a good brake controller are important). Engine, oil, trans temperatures all stayed reasonable which tells me cooling is more than adequate. Even after long uphill grades with the pedal to the floor there was barely any change. The only negative I have is it struggles with steep uphill grades, it will maintain speed but acceleration is abysmally slow and I found myself in the truck lane a couple times to let traffic by. Not a deal breaker for me, but if you are towing at elevation (IE: in the Midwest / Colorado / Montana) i'd imagine it'd become an issue.

My JT has a 2in AEV spacer lift and is on the factory Falken 33's. I also have a Diamonback HD bed cover thats definitely got some weight to it as well as winch / and all the other recovery gear / tools / etc etc I keep in the truck.

Here is a youtube video I made with some examples, as well as a quick run down of my setup and break controller:

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Belcher24256]

I towed my Casita travel trailer from Rice, TX (the factory where it was built) to Alaska last year.
The 17’ Casita weighed about 2700 lbs dry. I had added a TPMS to monitor the two trailer tires and the spare trailer tire. The hitch weight was around 300 lbs with 2 tanks of propane, full water tank, groceries, and booze. I also added wireless monitors to view the freezer and fridge temperatures as I drove.
My Gladiator eco diesel had Firestone air bags on the rear axle, a tekonshsa P3 brake controller, and a GARMIN GPS to complement the Car Play GPS.(I lost reliable T-Mobile phone service in British Columbia and onward to Alaska, and the same with Sirius radio))
I drove to Monument Valley, spent 2 days at Yellowstone (after the 2022 storm a lot of the roads were single lane!). I next visited Carson City, NV for the “Steam Up” event with numerous antique steam locomotives.
I then proceeded to Canada. While driving through Montana I experienced a pebble strike on my windshield With a crack from bottom to top of my windshield. I contacted a shop in Shelby as I drove. The shop arranged an after market replacement to be delivered the next day. My THIRD replacement (I had 2 replacements in Florida, I owned the Jeep for 11 months!) windshield arrived, it was installed, I was underway and I crossed the border into Canada at Coutts, Alberta. After my crossing I encountered a golf ball size hail storm!
Fortunately I pulled over and I sustained only a severely dented hood with no damage to my new windshield.
My drive through Arizona and Nevada in the 110 F heat didn’t cause my Gladiator to overheat! I generally did 62 Mph and I was getting 16-17 MPG.
The drive on the ALCAN road was awesome! It ranged from smooth pavement to dusty gravel to pot hole dirt with deep drop offs!
I saw numerous bison herds, moose, elk, horned sheep, and grizzly bears! There were snow capped mountains (in July), glaciers, waterfalls, picturesque lakes and streams.
I drove over 11,000 miles. I carried an oil filter, fuel filter, an the correct oil with spare bearings for the Jeep, tools, tire repair kit (un-used), and windshield repair kit (used on the return in Yukon).
I had an oil change in Anchorage, the shop used my oil and filters that I carried.
I had a 156 item check list I prepared. FYI, I am a CPL (Certified Professional Logistician) and I previously worked on several DoD programs, F-35, FBM subs, fire control And RADARs, etc.
I now have an R-POD 153 travel trailer that is 3100 lbs empty and I get 14-15 mpg towing it.

Sounds like you had a nice trip and the JT did well.

 

[Grumpy_Guy]

Sounds like you had a nice trip and the JT did well.

Yes, it was a fantastic drive.
‘THANKS!
I was accompanied by my rescue “attack” Chihuahua girl Kate.
the JT did everything with no failures, the Casita quality was awesome. I had a screw come loose on the furnace grill an one of the blind had a mounting screw pop out.
‘Canadian diesel was very expensive!

 

[Riding with Gladys]

I towed my Casita travel trailer from Rice, TX (the factory where it was built) to Alaska last year.
The 17’ Casita weighed about 2700 lbs dry. I had added a TPMS to monitor the two trailer tires and the spare trailer tire. The hitch weight was around 300 lbs with 2 tanks of propane, full water tank, groceries, and booze. I also added wireless monitors to view the freezer and fridge temperatures as I drove.
My Gladiator eco diesel had Firestone air bags on the rear axle, a tekonshsa P3 brake controller, and a GARMIN GPS to complement the Car Play GPS.(I lost reliable T-Mobile phone service in British Columbia and onward to Alaska, and the same with Sirius radio))
I drove to Monument Valley, spent 2 days at Yellowstone (after the 2022 storm a lot of the roads were single lane!). I next visited Carson City, NV for the “Steam Up” event with numerous antique steam locomotives.
I then proceeded to Canada. While driving through Montana I experienced a pebble strike on my windshield With a crack from bottom to top of my windshield. I contacted a shop in Shelby as I drove. The shop arranged an after market replacement to be delivered the next day. My THIRD replacement (I had 2 replacements in Florida, I owned the Jeep for 11 months!) windshield arrived, it was installed, I was underway and I crossed the border into Canada at Coutts, Alberta. After my crossing I encountered a golf ball size hail storm!
Fortunately I pulled over and I sustained only a severely dented hood with no damage to my new windshield.
My drive through Arizona and Nevada in the 110 F heat didn’t cause my Gladiator to overheat! I generally did 62 Mph and I was getting 16-17 MPG.
The drive on the ALCAN road was awesome! It ranged from smooth pavement to dusty gravel to pot hole dirt with deep drop offs!
I saw numerous bison herds, moose, elk, horned sheep, and grizzly bears! There were snow capped mountains (in July), glaciers, waterfalls, picturesque lakes and streams.
I drove over 11,000 miles. I carried an oil filter, fuel filter, an the correct oil with spare bearings for the Jeep, tools, tire repair kit (un-used), and windshield repair kit (used on the return in Yukon).
I had an oil change in Anchorage, the shop used my oil and filters that I carried.
I had a 156 item check list I prepared. FYI, I am a CPL (Certified Professional Logistician) and I previously worked on several DoD programs, F-35, FBM subs, fire control And RADARs, etc.
I now have an R-POD 153 travel trailer that is 3100 lbs empty and I get 14-15 mpg towing it.

Sounds like a fantastic trip.

 

[Choatecav]

Thanks for the info and pictures.

I just got back yesterday from a trip to Wyoming and Montana (from Tennessee). I did not tow anything as it was more of a history trip. But, I gotta admit that I would never feel good about attempting a towing trip with that kind of weight in my Mojave. Just my cautious nature, I suppose.

 

[Stetson]

I towed my Casita travel trailer from Rice, TX (the factory where it was built) to Alaska last year.
The 17’ Casita weighed about 2700 lbs dry. I had added a TPMS to monitor the two trailer tires and the spare trailer tire. The hitch weight was around 300 lbs with 2 tanks of propane, full water tank, groceries, and booze. I also added wireless monitors to view the freezer and fridge temperatures as I drove.
My Gladiator eco diesel had Firestone air bags on the rear axle, a tekonshsa P3 brake controller, and a GARMIN GPS to complement the Car Play GPS.(I lost reliable T-Mobile phone service in British Columbia and onward to Alaska, and the same with Sirius radio))
I drove to Monument Valley, spent 2 days at Yellowstone (after the 2022 storm a lot of the roads were single lane!). I next visited Carson City, NV for the “Steam Up” event with numerous antique steam locomotives.
I then proceeded to Canada. While driving through Montana I experienced a pebble strike on my windshield With a crack from bottom to top of my windshield. I contacted a shop in Shelby as I drove. The shop arranged an after market replacement to be delivered the next day. My THIRD replacement (I had 2 replacements in Florida, I owned the Jeep for 11 months!) windshield arrived, it was installed, I was underway and I crossed the border into Canada at Coutts, Alberta. After my crossing I encountered a golf ball size hail storm!
Fortunately I pulled over and I sustained only a severely dented hood with no damage to my new windshield.
My drive through Arizona and Nevada in the 110 F heat didn’t cause my Gladiator to overheat! I generally did 62 Mph and I was getting 16-17 MPG.
The drive on the ALCAN road was awesome! It ranged from smooth pavement to dusty gravel to pot hole dirt with deep drop offs!
I saw numerous bison herds, moose, elk, horned sheep, and grizzly bears! There were snow capped mountains (in July), glaciers, waterfalls, picturesque lakes and streams.
I drove over 11,000 miles. I carried an oil filter, fuel filter, an the correct oil with spare bearings for the Jeep, tools, tire repair kit (un-used), and windshield repair kit (used on the return in Yukon).
I had an oil change in Anchorage, the shop used my oil and filters that I carried.
I had a 156 item check list I prepared. FYI, I am a CPL (Certified Professional Logistician) and I previously worked on several DoD programs, F-35, FBM subs, fire control And RADARs, etc.
I now have an R-POD 153 travel trailer that is 3100 lbs empty and I get 14-15 mpg towing it.

Thanks for sharing. Awesome pictures. I bet it was an amazing trip

 

[Pikerunner]

Thanks for the post. I have about the same impression with my Mojave towing our camper at about 3000lbs. No lift but running toyo 35's.

Did you mount the 35” Toyo’s on the stock rims? Any spacers needed? How is the road noise? Thanks.

 

[Gren71]

I towed my Casita travel trailer from Rice, TX (the factory where it was built) to Alaska last year.
The 17’ Casita weighed about 2700 lbs dry. I had added a TPMS to monitor the two trailer tires and the spare trailer tire. The hitch weight was around 300 lbs with 2 tanks of propane, full water tank, groceries, and booze. I also added wireless monitors to view the freezer and fridge temperatures as I drove.
My Gladiator eco diesel had Firestone air bags on the rear axle, a tekonshsa P3 brake controller, and a GARMIN GPS to complement the Car Play GPS.(I lost reliable T-Mobile phone service in British Columbia and onward to Alaska, and the same with Sirius radio))
I drove to Monument Valley, spent 2 days at Yellowstone (after the 2022 storm a lot of the roads were single lane!). I next visited Carson City, NV for the “Steam Up” event with numerous antique steam locomotives.
I then proceeded to Canada. While driving through Montana I experienced a pebble strike on my windshield With a crack from bottom to top of my windshield. I contacted a shop in Shelby as I drove. The shop arranged an after market replacement to be delivered the next day. My THIRD replacement (I had 2 replacements in Florida, I owned the Jeep for 11 months!) windshield arrived, it was installed, I was underway and I crossed the border into Canada at Coutts, Alberta. After my crossing I encountered a golf ball size hail storm!
Fortunately I pulled over and I sustained only a severely dented hood with no damage to my new windshield.
My drive through Arizona and Nevada in the 110 F heat didn’t cause my Gladiator to overheat! I generally did 62 Mph and I was getting 16-17 MPG.
The drive on the ALCAN road was awesome! It ranged from smooth pavement to dusty gravel to pot hole dirt with deep drop offs!
I saw numerous bison herds, moose, elk, horned sheep, and grizzly bears! There were snow capped mountains (in July), glaciers, waterfalls, picturesque lakes and streams.
I drove over 11,000 miles. I carried an oil filter, fuel filter, an the correct oil with spare bearings for the Jeep, tools, tire repair kit (un-used), and windshield repair kit (used on the return in Yukon).
I had an oil change in Anchorage, the shop used my oil and filters that I carried.
I had a 156 item check list I prepared. FYI, I am a CPL (Certified Professional Logistician) and I previously worked on several DoD programs, F-35, FBM subs, fire control And RADARs, etc.
I now have an R-POD 153 travel trailer that is 3100 lbs empty and I get 14-15 mpg towing it.

My mother has an rpod 153. They’re awesome little trailers! My ONLY complaint is the rear entrance can be a pain with rain. The interior is awesome though, huge upgrade for you from having a wet bath to a traditional bathroom.

 

[Riding with Gladys]

Did you mount the 35” Toyo’s on the stock rims? Any spacers needed? How is the road noise? Thanks.

Yes I put them on the stock wheels. No spacers no lift no problem. Road noise is much better than falkens that came with it though those were mud terrain and my toyos are at. Very happy with the ride. Note the Toyo tires I have are 11.5 wide which many 35’s are 12.50

 

[gunsnrods]

Question. I have a 2022 Glad with a factory soft top. Uhaul would not rent me a trailer for a former soft top Wrangler. Does this app,y to the Glad, they want to call a Wrangler a “convertible”.

 

[Oneup008]

I towed my Casita travel trailer from Rice, TX (the factory where it was built) to Alaska last year.
The 17’ Casita weighed about 2700 lbs dry. I had added a TPMS to monitor the two trailer tires and the spare trailer tire. The hitch weight was around 300 lbs with 2 tanks of propane, full water tank, groceries, and booze. I also added wireless monitors to view the freezer and fridge temperatures as I drove.
My Gladiator eco diesel had Firestone air bags on the rear axle, a tekonshsa P3 brake controller, and a GARMIN GPS to complement the Car Play GPS.(I lost reliable T-Mobile phone service in British Columbia and onward to Alaska, and the same with Sirius radio))
I drove to Monument Valley, spent 2 days at Yellowstone (after the 2022 storm a lot of the roads were single lane!). I next visited Carson City, NV for the “Steam Up” event with numerous antique steam locomotives.
I then proceeded to Canada. While driving through Montana I experienced a pebble strike on my windshield With a crack from bottom to top of my windshield. I contacted a shop in Shelby as I drove. The shop arranged an after market replacement to be delivered the next day. My THIRD replacement (I had 2 replacements in Florida, I owned the Jeep for 11 months!) windshield arrived, it was installed, I was underway and I crossed the border into Canada at Coutts, Alberta. After my crossing I encountered a golf ball size hail storm!
Fortunately I pulled over and I sustained only a severely dented hood with no damage to my new windshield.
My drive through Arizona and Nevada in the 110 F heat didn’t cause my Gladiator to overheat! I generally did 62 Mph and I was getting 16-17 MPG.
The drive on the ALCAN road was awesome! It ranged from smooth pavement to dusty gravel to pot hole dirt with deep drop offs!
I saw numerous bison herds, moose, elk, horned sheep, and grizzly bears! There were snow capped mountains (in July), glaciers, waterfalls, picturesque lakes and streams.
I drove over 11,000 miles. I carried an oil filter, fuel filter, an the correct oil with spare bearings for the Jeep, tools, tire repair kit (un-used), and windshield repair kit (used on the return in Yukon).
I had an oil change in Anchorage, the shop used my oil and filters that I carried.
I had a 156 item check list I prepared. FYI, I am a CPL (Certified Professional Logistician) and I previously worked on several DoD programs, F-35, FBM subs, fire control And RADARs, etc.
I now have an R-POD 153 travel trailer that is 3100 lbs empty and I get 14-15 mpg towing it.

Great info care to share your checklist? Thanks.

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