Travel trailer towing with a 2026 Willys Gladiator

[Trauma PA]

How is it on the highway? and does it come with sway control/equalizer bars. My off road trailer is high profile and is susceptible to cross winds.

It makes towing on the highway comfortable and stable. No need for any weight distribution hitch or anti sway bars with my trailer as it’s low profile and well under 3000 lbs. I’ve only had a couple instances of sway when it was quite windy out and a tractor trailer blew by me but other than that, trailer sway has not been an issue fortunately.

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[ExpoGuy]

Thanks everyone for your comments, they have been very helpful.
I can see that there is a lot to consider when towing a travel trailer.

Doing some research I see that the Gladiator Willys '41 has these features...

Dana 44 axles, 240 amp alternator, class IV hitch, heavy duty engine cooling, 7 pin & 4 pin wiring harness, electronic trailer sway control, electronic stability control, and electronic roll mitigation.

So everything the Max tow package offers except no 4.10 axle ratio.

This is what Jeep's site says about the electronic sway control:

The Trailer Sway Control System on the 2026 Gladiator senses when your trailer starts to sway and then applies the brakes to each wheel individually until it’s lined back up.

My question... is the trailer sway control the same as a trailer brake controller?

As you can tell this is all new to me. Thanks!

 

[Pliny]

This is what Jeep's site says about the electronic sway control:

The Trailer Sway Control System on the 2026 Gladiator senses when your trailer starts to sway and then applies the brakes to each wheel individually until it’s lined back up.

My question... is the trailer sway control the same as a trailer brake controller?

No.

The trailer brake controller causes the brakes on the trailer to be applied when you apply the brakes in the tow vehicle.

The Trailer Sway Control System would be applying the brakes individually on the Gladiator.

There is only one wire for the trailer brakes in a 7 pin connector, so no way for individual control of the brakes on each wheel of the trailer.

 

[ExpoGuy]

No.

The trailer brake controller causes the brakes on the trailer to be applied when you apply the brakes in the tow vehicle.

The Trailer Sway Control System would be applying the brakes individually on the Gladiator.

There is only one wire for the trailer brakes in a 7 pin connector, so no way for individual control of the brakes on each wheel of the trailer.

Thanks for the very good information.

Seems like the trailer brake controller helps prevent jack-knifing.

 

[Jeeper44mag]

Thanks for the very good information.

Seems like the trailer brake controller helps prevent jack-knifing.

EXACTLY right. The trailer brake controller not only increases your total braking power, but most importantly, if it's adjusted properly, tremendously increases the likelihood that you won't have a jack-knifing incident.

 

[Mrwoodmin]

I've got my eye on the 2026 limited edition Willys '41 Gladiator. Mostly for mild off-roading and exploring mountain & desert roads.
But also for pulling a travel trailer. The trailer I have in mind is 15' and has a dry weight of 2350 lbs.

The Willys '41 has a 6,000 lbs towing capacity and 1,025 lbs payload. Also 3.73 axle ration and class IV receiver hitch.
But...a trailer-tow package and Max tow package are NOT available. I'm not sure how important these tow packages are.
I know they provide heavy duty engine cooling. That seems important.

I've been reading many of the other threads in this forum, and I believe the Willys-travel trailer should not be a problem
(however, the thread by Tank43 does give me concern).

Btw, here's the travel trailer I have in mind...
https://casitatraveltrailers.com/patriot/

Is there anything I need to consider?

FYI. I have Gladiator Overland. Just towed a travel trailer empty weight 2650, loaded I was probably 3300. Towed from Vermont to Florida and back. Towed awesome no complaints at all and no lack of power. Only down side was 9 miles to the gallon.

 

[DavenFla]

FYI. I have Gladiator Overland. Just towed a travel trailer empty weight 2650, loaded I was probably 3300. Towed from Vermont to Florida and back. Towed awesome no complaints at all and no lack of power. Only down side was 9 miles to the gallon.

Did you manually shift? Doing so, allows you to keep the RPM's in the sweet spot. Lugging or rev's to high hurts mileage.

 

[danimal2000]

I tow a 24', 4500lb loaded trailer with a mostly stock '21 willys. Added mopar brake controller, and use e2 wdh.
Very happy with this setup. Been from Chicago to Maine a few times, thru the Poconos. Also down to the smokies.

As others mentioned, payload is the limiting factor. All the gear is in the trailer, gladiator has just people in the cab and dogs in the bed with a soft topper.

Also got some towing mirrors, the rampage mirrors (I think originally designed for jk) with Thorne adapters on ebay. The k source snap on mirrors weren't around yet when I got my gladiator in 2021, I'd probably consider those.

I think you'll be totally fine with 2350 dry weight. Keep in mind that dry weight advertised is probably not reality. But you'll still be well under 3k dry. Also, I really like the 41 special edition willys, good luck!

 

[Texbaz]

I have a 23 Mojave has 8430 miles on it. 6000 of those miles are towing this Casita, Been from Texas to New Mexico, Utah, Colorado. The Casita is a good trailer for the Gladiator WITH the OEM tow package.

When towing especially hot weather engine temperature, and trans temps are definitely my primary concerns. So far The Mojave has handled everything very well,much better than my 2018 Tacoma TRD did.

The shape of our trailers has a lot to do with MPG, stability the casita is pretty aerodynamic compared to most other's .

I also run a Weight distribution hitch,an Andersen model, it seems like over kill but it greatly helps.

I also run the Airlift 1000's cheap, but really help with sag.

safe travels.

Cortez, Co had tire tread separation on the Casita on a sunday no tire places were open except Walmart great employees took good care of me.

Monticello, Utah Buckboard camp ground, great lay over about 50 miles south of Moab.

 

[RudeJeepin]

How is it on the highway? and does it come with sway control/equalizer bars. My off road trailer is high profile and is susceptible to cross winds.

The lock n roll hitch does no have provisions for weight (equalizer bars) distribution or sway control.
I know guys that run a standard hitch so they can run sway and a weight distribution hitch for the highway. The they switch to the lock n roll or similar setups for long gravel/dirt roads into their camping/exploring areas.
I've always just taken the load bars and the sway arm of the tongue and used the regular hitch. But I don't pull my trailers on much more than gravel odds with potholes. Mainly forest service, state forest, or BLM land type stuff.

 

[Mrwoodmin]

Did you manually shift? Doing so, allows you to keep the RPM's in the sweet spot. Lugging or rev's to high hurts mileage.

I did not, but thats something I need to ponder.

 

[DavenFla]

I did not, but thats something I need to ponder.

Since there is no "tow mode" your driving senses (audible and watching the tach) become the tow mode. In addition use higher octane fuel at lower/near sea level driving. I saw a 1.2 mile per gallon increase while towing. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's a 12% increase in mileage when you're averaging 10 MPG. Use lower grade fuel at altitude. You'll notice 85 octane fuel at some places... use it. Once your at 4K+ in elevation you can use the cheap stuff. Keep your tires inflated an the 'high' side too. I always carry a compressor so I air up and down a lot.

Tonneau cover helps too. My small trailer is like a giant wind resistor, you can see in my avatar, since it has a high profile and lots of ground clearance.

 

[DavenFla]

The lock n roll hitch does no have provisions for weight (equalizer bars) distribution or sway control.
I know guys that run a standard hitch so they can run sway and a weight distribution hitch for the highway. The they switch to the lock n roll or similar setups for long gravel/dirt roads into their camping/exploring areas.
I've always just taken the load bars and the sway arm of the tongue and used the regular hitch. But I don't pull my trailers on much more than gravel odds with potholes. Mainly forest service, state forest, or BLM land type stuff.

That's what I do too... just take the bars off. In addition the redarc trailer controler has an off road mode that definitely helps when you get into some 'rough' situations. In fact I ran into another off road camper who was pulling a tear drop R-pod trailer and bent his trailer tongue when he didn't disconnect his equalizing bars going over extremely uneven ground.

 

[danimal2000]

I manually shift if it's hilly and generally works well. I've seen no difference at all with higher octane going thru Indiana and Ohio, didn't seem worth it. It also usually costs at least 15-20% more so you're not gaining anything other than possibly fewer stops if that's the concern.

My camper has a rounded/sloped front which makes a big difference in comparison to our old flat front camper.

 

[RudeJeepin]

That's what I do too... just take the bars off. In addition the redarc trailer controler has an off road mode that definitely helps when you get into some 'rough' situations. In fact I ran into another off road camper who was pulling a tear drop R-pod trailer and bent his trailer tongue when he didn't disconnect his equalizing bars going over extremely uneven ground.

Not all the RedArc controllers have the offroad setting. I got the regular one without it. I've never had it and I don't do real offroad trails with my trailers, so I saved the money and bought the more basic one.

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