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Towing Capacity - Lets get serious here...

WXman

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I find it interesting that the owners manual only shows two towing ratings. With Max Towing Package and without Max Towing Package. No designations for Sport, Overland, Rubicon. No designations for transmission. (Max Towing requires the 850RE of course). But you either have Max Towing, or you don't.

Without it, the maximum trailer rating is only 4,000 lbs.

With it, the GCWR increases a whopping 3,700 lbs. and maximum trailer weight increases 3,650 lbs.

It almost makes the Max Towing Package a must-have item. 4,000 lbs. trailer max and 9,100 lbs. GCWR are miserable specs. for a pickup truck.

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Oilburner

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That is very confusing = is that info specific to Sport & Sport S only?
If it's supposed to cover all, then the Overland definitely should not be towing that Airstream in their ads. Rubicon couldn't tow it either without going over spec-
 

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I find it interesting that the owners manual only shows two towing ratings. With Max Towing Package and without Max Towing Package. No designations for Sport, Overland, Rubicon. No designations for transmission. (Max Towing requires the 850RE of course). But you either have Max Towing, or you don't.

Without it, the maximum trailer rating is only 4,000 lbs.

With it, the GCWR increases a whopping 3,700 lbs. and maximum trailer weight increases 3,650 lbs.

It almost makes the Max Towing Package a must-have item. 4,000 lbs. trailer max and 9,100 lbs. GCWR are miserable specs. for a pickup truck.

ScreenHunter_148 May. 11 21.42.jpg
The Rubicon has Max tow equipment. but you are right, should be a little more distinction here
 

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I haven't seen anything that suggests the Rubicon has the added cooling of the Max Towing package, and it's payload is 65% lower, so I wouldn't assume a Rubicon has the same equipment as a Max Towing model.

But yeah that is my point... the chart I posted above is the only towing information in the manual. I thought that was odd. It's very vague.
 

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As much as I would like a single vehicle to replace my Ford Raptor pickup and Unlimited Rubicon - I am having my doubts that the Gladiator is the truck for the job. Sure, the towing specs for the Gladiator are right up and beyond what I had hoped for - the engine is just not up to the task, regardless of the three extra gears in the transmission...

My 2015 JKU Rubicon with W5A580 / NAG1 5 speed Automatic, 3.73 gears, Stock Mud Terrain BFGs (31.5”) or Highway Tread tires the same size — is used to tow my Forest River Rpod 182G (3500#).

I never tow above 65mph and usually 55-60. I tow 5,000-7,000 miles.

I will tell you right now that the stock 3.6L engine (285 hp) starts running out of wind over 3500 feet altitude. Over 7000’ its butt is kicked and simply won’t tow any faster than 60 mph on level ground - even with a mild tailwind - and is in 3rd gear and many times 2nd gear.

This is just not a good engine for towing anything that has any sort of girth or height due to increased dynamic loading - AKA “Wind Resistance”.

This year, I did install a SuperChips Trail Dash 2 in order to get around the totally insane factory transmission shift strategy and that does help - but there was no increase in power that I could tell.

You cannot GIVE me an EPA-Diesel, so until Jeep installs a Turbocharger on this engine or a higher HP normally aspirated engine, I am pretty sure I will sit this one out...

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I towed 5k with my jlur, it did not struggle. Lowest I hit on the highway was 55mph up Afton mountain in VA, and I did quite a bit if towing in the VA and PA mountains. If you push it right to 7k it will probably be working hard on big hills, but you will be blowing by tractor trailers in the mountains. Of course, if you're used to a 6 liter Ford, it will feel weak, but it will do the job. The 8 speed is an amazing trans coupled with the 4.10s. Most towing is 6th gear on the highway, big hills I dropped to 4th. The a/s is more aerodynamic than most boxes so probably helps.

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Glad that it’s apparently working out for you...
Head into the Rockies and try a few passes at 7 or 8,000’ and above.
The 3.6 just does not like altitudes over 3500’ ASL - you find yourself running the engine at very high RPM while it struggles to breathe and work.
 

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I haven't seen anything that suggests the Rubicon has the added cooling of the Max Towing package, and it's payload is 65% lower, so I wouldn't assume a Rubicon has the same equipment as a Max Towing model.

But yeah that is my point... the chart I posted above is the only towing information in the manual. I thought that was odd. It's very vague.
It does, on the window sticker of my Rubicon it says trailer tow package which includes class iv hitch, trailer zoom, 240amp alternator, and heavy duty engine cooling.

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Glad that it’s apparently working out for you...
Head into the Rockies and try a few passes at 7 or 8,000’ and above.
The 3.6 just does not like altitudes over 3500’ ASL - you find yourself running the engine at very high RPM while it struggles to breathe and work.
If I lived there it might be a concern, but given I might drive there once every couple of years, I can go slow those days. Not something that concerns me if the vehicle is otherwise up to it. It might drop to 35-40mph but I'm cool with that, I try not to be in too much of a hurry and if it's at 60-65mph 99% of the time I'm good. The 4 would be good in high elevation just for the turbo, but otherwise I'd be more concerned with the longevity of it, especially towing. It may seem like it's under less stress because it can stay at lower rpms, but it's usually the opposite.

There was an article on jalopnik that described why they didn't put it in the gladiator and why the diesel would probably have a lower tow rating than the v6 - at 7k lbs, the gladiator is cooling limited and adding a turbo and intercooler requires more cooling, which they can't fit into it without modifying the front to where it'd no longer share parts with the wrangler. That and crash testing is also why it'll likely not get a hemi, at least in this generation.
 
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I, personally, have resolved my towing problem with the JKUR by buying a motorhome to tow the Jeep. But this solution is not long term for me. I do a lot of towing / travel and most trips it involves mountains and sustained high altitudes like I-80 through Wyoming. I would prefer a trailer and a stable tow vehicle that I can take off-road like my Jeep.

My concern is that I suspect FCA rated the Jeep JT at 7650# at sea level and on level ground - but didn’t bother to state the whole truth-

Example :
Maximum towing capacity 7,650#***

*** Sea level - Level roads - max speed 55 mph

Again - I’m glad it works for you with your JL.
I’m sitting this one out for a while...

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Bobzdar

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I, personally, have resolved my towing problem with the JKUR by buying a motorhome to tow the Jeep. But this solution is not long term for me. I do a lot of towing / travel and most trips it involves mountains and sustained high altitudes like I-80 through Wyoming. I would prefer a trailer and a stable tow vehicle that I can take off-road like my Jeep.

My concern is that I suspect FCA rated the Jeep JT at 7650# at sea level and on level ground - but didn’t bother to state the whole truth-

Example :
Maximum towing capacity 7,650#***

*** Sea level - Level roads - max speed 55 mph

Again - I’m glad it works for you with your JL.
I’m sitting this one out for a while...

D9F0C080-3046-41B2-A6CC-3E4FED171482.jpeg
We'll see, I'm taking the airstream across the shenandoahs this weekend with the gladiator. Given the JL didn't struggle, I doubt the jt will, though it will be pulling a little more combined weight given the gladiator is a little heavier.
 

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So, I have the Sport S ordered up with the MAX Tow package as well, and fortunately/unfortunately I do live in the mountains where I will be dragging my Tilton Hilton, which weighs in at 3500 to 4k lbs. I can live with going over the passes at a reduced speed, but the 9 mpg while dragging is not setting well with me. I do know one thing that helped with my towing performance and fuel economy (at least a little bit) was reducing my tongue weight to 10% of the total trailer weight. Just before trusty Durango with the HEMI died due to old age, I dropped the tongue weight from 800 lbs to 350-400, and it was much happier as well as stable on dirt roads and the highway. I'm aiming for middle of the road with the trailer weight but sometime I wonder if I shouldn't have considered the ZR2 diesel a little more, its just the back seat was horrible.
 
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WXman

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So, I have the Sport S ordered up with the MAX Tow package as well, and fortunately/unfortunately I do live in the mountains where I will be dragging my Tilton Hilton, which weighs in at 3500 to 4k lbs. I can live with going over the passes at a reduced speed, but the 9 mpg while dragging is not setting well with me. I do know that one thing that helped with performance and fuel economy (at least a little bit) was ensuring my tongue weight was down to 10% of the total weight of the trailer. Just before the trusty Durango with the HEMI died due to old age for a 1st gen, I dropped my tongue weight from 800 lbs to 350-400, and is was much happier as well as more stable on dirt roads as well as the highway. I'm shooting for the middle of the road with the weight extremes. But I'm seriously wondering if I shouldn't consider a ZR2 diesel at this point, its just the back seat sucks.
I test drove a ZR2 Duramax last Wednesday. It was shockingly weak and sluggish. Felt like I had to mash the throttle to get any response or acceleration out of it. I was very surprised. I expected it to have similar torque feel to my old Jeep Liberty CRD which had the prior generation of the same engine, but it didn't. The Chevy felt... well, weak. And the trans. is the old clunky 6-speed. No modern 8 or 10-speeds offered with that engine. I went in loving the idea of the truck and left hating it.
 
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Many diesels are boost restricted for the first 500-1000 miles.
My 2015 F350 Powerstroke was like this. The throttle response and power after the first restart once it hit 500 miles was amazing. I was towing a 19k Toy Hauler at the time...
 

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I towed 5k with my jlur, it did not struggle. Lowest I hit on the highway was 55mph up Afton mountain in VA, and I did quite a bit if towing in the VA and PA mountains. If you push it right to 7k it will probably be working hard on big hills, but you will be blowing by tractor trailers in the mountains. Of course, if you're used to a 6 liter Ford, it will feel weak, but it will do the job. The 8 speed is an amazing trans coupled with the 4.10s. Most towing is 6th gear on the highway, big hills I dropped to 4th. The a/s is more aerodynamic than most boxes so probably helps.

20180525_143450.jpg
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...rstream-with-the-gladiator.17072/#post-252890

Here's my experience with the Gladiator, but essentially it's the same as with the JLUR. 55mph heading into a headwind up the mountain in 5th, otherwise it maintained the speed limit in 6th or 7th with the occaisonal drop to 5th. It actually may have been a little more susceptible to cross winds than the JLUR, but I'll chalk that up to the JLUR having higher tension on the WD bars (and hence more weight on the front) than the Gladiator, though both were set up similarly in terms of how much the suspension was compressed front to rear. The JLUR had around 10 deg higher trans temps, but otherwise the same engine and oil temps.

If you don't know what you're doing and are expecting to tow 5-7k without feeling it (or need to tow every day), go get 3/4 ton or 1 ton, this is the wrong truck for you. Otherwise, it won't be an issue.
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