MotorTrend 2021 Gladiator Review - Terrifying Towing?

[2010JK]

"I took it through a car wash, and water leaked in. That's just totally inexcusable."

I'm pretty sure everyone with a soft top Wrangler/Gladiator is specifically told NOT to use a drive through car wash, but the morons at Motortrend couldn't figure that out? What an idiotic criticism

Sponsored

 

[Blade1668]

What most rags "auto or other wise" put out is a cream puff piece or a hit piece. I bought my 16 ft Scamp Deluxe RV due to it's weight being under my LJ's max towing capacity of 5000 lbs. With the caveat knowing frontal wind loading. I've towed it empty or almost that way with out W.D. / sway control hitch very few times. Otherwise only with that... Period, my reason for getting that size and model was with the knowledge of my vehicle capacity. When I tow it with my Max-Tow JT it will be with W.D. / sway control hitch. My LJ has a trailer brake controller no chance in H### I would tow with out it. Now something I do think I'll do next time I'm driving to buddy's house in N. E. KY to go riding 4 wheelers is load it in the bed not pulling it on trailer. I got about the same MPG as I would have with my LJ. 6 speed 4.0.

 

[GladiSD]

The Gladiator is equivalent to that GM abortion they made I cant remember what it was called. The goofy thing had the pick up bed in the back. Did everyone compare that to a Ram, Silverado, or a Superduty.

It is a JEEP that has a REMOVABLE TOP and a SMALL PICK UP BED and a SHORT WHEEL BASE. If it has a 65-7600 tow capacity, you should tow 4k max as its not a matter of if my big bad this that and the other baddest motor ever made can pull it, can it CONTROL it and STOP it with a SHORT WHEEl BASE and less than a 3/4 TON SUSPENSION.

It does not even come with an electric brake controller, the Airstream with its great aerodynamics has surge brakes?

Covid is making people so stupid I just hope they don't reproduce while they are stuck at home bored.

Keep comparing full size pick ups to a topless one omg!!!

The SSR!!!! LOL That thing was so baddddddd.

 

[danielspivey]

I can't tell you how many times I've had this "argument" with people.
"MUH F150 will tow 12,000 POUNDS! SAYS SO IN THE BOOK!"

No, it won't. No for long, not safely and certainly not comfortably.

"UH HUH! I SEEN THE VIDEO!"

Seriously, marketing any light duty truck as a "tow vehicle" should be illegal. Will it tow something? Sure it will. Is it a "tow vehicle"? Absolutely not.

If the tongue weight of the trailer you are putting behind a Gladiator exceeds 350 pounds, you are headed for misery.

350 pounds of tongue weight and you are headed for misery? Man, you are dramatic.

 

[Xwelder]

Back in the late 90's, I was pretty big in the Ford Mustang drag racing craze. I got to know a few of the magazine editors through that. While they were for the most part good guys, they were all journalism majors that happened to like cars. Not a damn one of them knew anything about wrenching on a car. The interwebs were just start back then, but I honestly don't know how those magazines are still in business now that we have forums like this where you can find some real info. Sure there's the occasional asshat on here, but it's easy to spot.

 

[Gvsukids]

The SSR!!!! LOL That thing was so baddddddd.

 

[DanW]

Motor Trends writers are a bunch of millenials fueled by Mountain Dew and Dorritos who spend their time driving paddle-shifting sports cars. They can't drive manual transmissions anymore, so they stalled the manual JL repeatedly and blamed the clutch. Now they don't know how to drive a Jeep pickup truck. The trucks they like are more like cars than trucks, too.

I did a video when I first got my JL and joked about this (sort of joked, but there was truth in it) because I never had an issue stalling it and found it to be a very good clutch that felt very good to me. Anyway, David Vinjamuri, a writer for Forbes online, wrote an article about the new JL and interviewed me because he saw that video and thought it was pretty funny. (He knows the writers at Motor Trend.) He showed it to them and said one of them laughed and said, "Yeah, he's right." So even they realize that their perspective is different just by the nature of their job.

Take what they say as entertainment. Sometimes you'll agree with them and sometimes you won't. In this case, as with the Jeep's manual transmission, I think they are smoking weed. The Gladiator tows just fine. But that's not its primary purpose. It is a Jeep first, and towing is a secondary mission that I think it does quite well.

In the meantime, while not taking them too seriously, I'll still be envious of their jobs! They are not experts at towing or off-roading, for that matter. They are writers. Only expert at writing. But I still enjoy their work.

 

[bgenlvtex]

350 pounds of tongue weight and you are headed for misery? Man, you are dramatic.

OMG! I KNOW!

LOL, it's almost like tongue weight is a function of total trailer weight or something, shit i don't know, i better go watch some YouTube

 

[MrKnowitall]

People like to hate on the SSR, but I think they could have pulled off a cool little panel truck/wagon shaped thing. You have to give manufacturers credit for even attempting wild styling like the SSR, T-bird, and Crossfire and Prowler. Hell, before the runaway success of the JKU, the Wrangler was a lot of engineering resources laid out for a completely unique platform with very modest projected production volume.

 

[93civej1]

That's illegal in most states....

not only that....i cant imagine the rub burn after hours.

 

[Phljeeper]

I tow a 5200 lb travel trailer using a brake controller and sway bar/weight distribution hitch with zero issues. And I am lifted 4” on 37” tires (running 4.88 gears). This article is ridiculous. I have towed 2-3k miles with this setup and never once had the trailer jump out of the lane or swing in any way. It tows great. Now I have never owned or towed with a half ton or larger truck but i have never found the need.

 

[redrider]

Nice set up, Phil. 10 years ago I had the privilege to be behind a Suburban towing a tandem axle fiberglass/wood dual engine cabin cruiser accelerating on a downhill entrance ramp to I20 at Broad River Road. Things went haywire as he leveled out at 70mph. The tow started to sway, lifted the Sub off the ground twice, each time slamming it down in the adjacent lanes to the one the boat/trailer was in. After the second leap, the sub was about to jack-knife and flip onto the passenger side when the boat snapped its restraints and flew off, landing on the guard rail, sliding atop it perfectly balanced at speed. It finally slowed and fell off into the emergency lane just before the river bridge. The driver was able to finally stop and he collapsed into a pile of blubbering fool after getting out. How that hitch stayed intact is beyond me. It was just a ball and chains, no distribution. Ytube has the action from the cab of the semi following me in my white F150.

 

[Burton79]

A few things to consider after reading this article.

1. They suggested getting WDH when towing larger capacities, it goes without saying that one should be using a WDH when towing anything in my experience.

2. They towed with the Mojave. Correct me if I’m wrong, even though the JT line is a truck, the Rubicon and Mojave are specifically designed for different reasons, the Mojave for sand/prairie/desert conditions while the Rubicon is true Trailblazing/Off-road/Rough Terran. Those two sub models were not designed to tow much, all things considered

3. Max Tow and Tow Options. The Sport and Sport S models have the Max Tow option for a reason. If you’re going to tow heavier weights for a midsized truck, these are top of the line. All the while having the ability to be labeled a Jeep in every sense of the word.

Could FCA do better in their designs? Absolutely. They could dial in the Trailer Brake Controller to be at least competitive with Redarc or even CURTs. That being said, and I may be biased in this, each sub model serves and fills a specific niche in the Jeep and Truck world. For those that cannot or do not want a full size truck the JT can tow pretty impressively for its size with the right options. For the Jeep Owners who were TJ, JK, JL and all others that wanted to tow more things than a small fishing boat, dirt-bikes or things of that nature it’s a great cross section into that truck world. I for one have test driven all the different JTs and for what I need to and want to do with it the Sport S is the one for me with the Max Tow as it has all the things I need minus the WDH and Trailer Brake Controller that I’ll get when I get my trailer.

Maybe this writer is a Ram or Ford fan, maybe they got some sort of compensation for that one line but one thing is for sure, they know nothing about Jeep’s other than the press release information. Motortrend will need to up their game if they want to get more or keep their readership.

 

[redrider]

The pic with the driver alone in the cab, WEARING A MASK!!!, tells me all I need to know.

 

[jdwhichard]

he is full of BS my JT tow like a chap even with 1100lbs and 900lbs moving in the back of the trailer . If he had so much towing problems he should install air bags which i havent and i pulling more 6k of weight . If he got sway he did not have enough weight at the hitch that is what cause sway . i rather tow with my JT than the f250 .

Sponsored