Sponsored

Adjustment/Advice for High Tongue Weight Carrying w/ 2020 Mojave

RyderGear

Active Member
First Name
Ryder
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
38
Reaction score
57
Location
San Diego, California
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Mojave (Manual)
Occupation
CEO Ryder Gear LLC
Hi! new and excited Jeep and Gladiator Owner here. I have previously read in other forums that while towing with a Gladiator, no "settings" or "adjustments" need to be made to the Gladiator as the onboard tech should automatically compensate for the additional load. I have many questions about that, but I also wanted to ask this forum for advice when Carrying a load well under tow capacity but closer to the tongue weight capacity. In addition to off-roading I use my gladiator to travel to Motorcycle Track Day events and carry my Motorcycle on the back using a hitch carrier. The total weight of the bike and carrier is about 550lbs. While this is under the tongue weight limits (~750lbs) of the Gladiator with the max tow package and well under the tow capacity limit (7500 lbs), can clearly see that the rear rides noticeably lower than the front. Looking for advice / feedback on how to best compensate for this or if there is guidance in the operators manual I am not aware of. Thanks for your help.

IMG_0437.jpeg


IMG_0436.jpeg
Sponsored

 

eyekode

Well-Known Member
First Name
Salem
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
Threads
8
Messages
97
Reaction score
146
Location
Apex NC
Vehicle(s)
Gladiator, WRX, Miata, Sienna
Occupation
Software dev
Nice bike! I tow a ~4k boat on a 1.5k trailer. I am guessing 500lb on the tongue. It squats some but I don't notice any significant front to back rake. The max tow in particular has extra travel in the rear and unloaded sits with a significant forward slant.

And in your picture it looks like there is plenty of space between the rear tire and wheel well for suspension travel. At least from this angle it looks ok to me but I am not an expert. Have you measured the sag? Also what is the difference in front vs back clearance in this case?
 
OP
OP
RyderGear

RyderGear

Active Member
First Name
Ryder
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
38
Reaction score
57
Location
San Diego, California
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Mojave (Manual)
Occupation
CEO Ryder Gear LLC
Nice bike! I tow a ~4k boat on a 1.5k trailer. I am guessing 500lb on the tongue. It squats some but I don't notice any significant front to back rake. The max tow in particular has extra travel in the rear and unloaded sits with a significant forward slant.

And in your picture it looks like there is plenty of space between the rear tire and wheel well for suspension travel. At least from this angle it looks ok to me but I am not an expert. Have you measured the sag? Also what is the difference in front vs back clearance in this case?
I will be doing this again in about 2 weeks so I will measure for sure, but visually I could see a difference of about 2" which I think is significant. The starting tire pressure in all 4 tires was 40 PSI, and loaded was 38-39 front and 41-42 rear.
 

MoparToYou

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2020
Threads
3
Messages
223
Reaction score
525
Location
Utah
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator Mojave
I would be surprised to see that the Mojave has the same tongue weight limit as the Max Tow Gladiator specs you are quoting. The Mojave suspension is very soft, and it is not uncommon to bottom out both front and rear suspension on the Mojave from something as simple as a gutter crossing a paved road at a 90 degree angle. And this is even with nothing in the bed at all.
 

sarguy1941

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2019
Threads
23
Messages
529
Reaction score
331
Location
USA
Vehicle(s)
Jeep
First thing i would do it get some lights mounted to your bike rack. Be a shame to get rear ended cause no one can see your brake lights.
 

Sponsored

OP
OP
RyderGear

RyderGear

Active Member
First Name
Ryder
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
38
Reaction score
57
Location
San Diego, California
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Mojave (Manual)
Occupation
CEO Ryder Gear LLC
First thing i would do it get some lights mounted to your bike rack. Be a shame to get rear ended cause no one can see your brake lights.
Yes, have already done that, but indeed its a good safety observation.
 
OP
OP
RyderGear

RyderGear

Active Member
First Name
Ryder
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
38
Reaction score
57
Location
San Diego, California
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Mojave (Manual)
Occupation
CEO Ryder Gear LLC
I would be surprised to see that the Mojave has the same tongue weight limit as the Max Tow Gladiator specs you are quoting. The Mojave suspension is very soft, and it is not uncommon to bottom out both front and rear suspension on the Mojave from something as simple as a gutter crossing a paved road at a 90 degree angle. And this is even with nothing in the bed at all.
I have not experienced that bottoming out issue, but I will be sure to be aware of it. I checked with Jeep prior to buying the Mojave Edition and they confirmed that it has all the equipment needed for max tow capacity. The suspension question is the reason I am asking this forum for advice. I have already completed a few trips with the bike on the back without problem, but indeed the rear is noticeably riding low. Obviously I don't go off-roading loaded like that, but I can imagine there is a way to tune the suspension or at least maybe a recommendation on front/rear tire pressure to balance it out a bit.
 

Mac

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2017
Threads
33
Messages
2,156
Reaction score
2,301
Location
MA
Vehicle(s)
2020 JT Hydro Blue Max Tow
You could add air bags to your rear suspension that would help with the sag, you shouldn’t need to change the tire pressure from what is listed on the door jam. Maybe not an option but if you could carry the bike in the bed the truck will handle much better, having all that weight hanging off the hitch will make the front end feel pretty light.
 
OP
OP
RyderGear

RyderGear

Active Member
First Name
Ryder
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
38
Reaction score
57
Location
San Diego, California
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Mojave (Manual)
Occupation
CEO Ryder Gear LLC
You could add air bags to your rear suspension that would help with the sag, you shouldn’t need to change the tire pressure from what is listed on the door jam. Maybe not an option but if you could carry the bike in the bed the truck will handle much better, having all that weight hanging off the hitch will make the front end feel pretty light.
Ill look into the air bags as a possible option. I can/have carried the bike in the bed, but have to keep the hitch down to do that and then I can't store anything else in the bed. its also a lot harder to get a 450 lb bike into the bed solo vs the carrier. The airbags might be a good way to mitigate the sag. Thanks
 

gpwrang33

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2020
Threads
7
Messages
101
Reaction score
83
Location
Albany, N.Y.
Vehicle(s)
2000 TJ 2021 Hydro Blue JTSS MAX TOW
I have not experienced that bottoming out issue, but I will be sure to be aware of it. I checked with Jeep prior to buying the Mojave Edition and they confirmed that it has all the equipment needed for max tow capacity. The suspension question is the reason I am asking this forum for advice. I have already completed a few trips with the bike on the back without problem, but indeed the rear is noticeably riding low. Obviously I don't go off-roading loaded like that, but I can imagine there is a way to tune the suspension or at least maybe a recommendation on front/rear tire pressure to balance it out a bit.
sorry to say this but i think you are a little miss informed. the mojave does have certain components that the max tow has but due to the suspension the tongue weight and trailer weight are lower than the max tow rating. if you have a manual transmission like it says in your profile then its even lower.
Jeep Gladiator Adjustment/Advice for High Tongue Weight Carrying w/ 2020 Mojave 1614118092472
 

Sponsored

OP
OP
RyderGear

RyderGear

Active Member
First Name
Ryder
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
38
Reaction score
57
Location
San Diego, California
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Mojave (Manual)
Occupation
CEO Ryder Gear LLC
sorry to say this but i think you are a little miss informed. the mojave does have certain components that the max tow has but due to the suspension the tongue weight and trailer weight are lower than the max tow rating. if you have a manual transmission like it says in your profile then its even lower.
Jeep Gladiator Adjustment/Advice for High Tongue Weight Carrying w/ 2020 Mojave 1614118092472
Indeed quite different information than I received from the manufacturer. Can I ask your source? because of the "rule of 10%" most publications list Tongue Weight at 10% of Max GTW. This is because of safe weight distributions front to rear over 2, 3 or 4 axles. The use case I am using is different because in total I am carrying only about 1500lbs (Bike, carrier, equipment in the bed and cab). If all of this equipment was in trailer the tongue weight for the same load would ~150lbs. The physical chassis, class IV hitch, and mounting hardware are identical on all the models listed in the table. If you build a Gladiator from the factory the reason you cant build a Mojave with the MAX TOW PACKAGE is because all of the hardware that changes from a base gladiator to one with max tow are all included Standard in the Mojave Edition. The difference which rightly so pointed out by you and others on this thread is that on the mojave the suspension is different and that does affect the tow capabilities. I think the main question to me from this new understanding is what should I do to my suspension to increase my safety margin in my unique use case. Airbags on the rear suspension might be the right answer. I will need to research it some more. Thanks for your help. I would like to know where you pulled that table from, because its different from the one I got from Jeep last Sept when I bought my Mojave.
 

gpwrang33

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2020
Threads
7
Messages
101
Reaction score
83
Location
Albany, N.Y.
Vehicle(s)
2000 TJ 2021 Hydro Blue JTSS MAX TOW
Indeed quite different information than I received from the manufacturer. Can I ask your source? because of the "rule of 10%" most publications list Tongue Weight at 10% of Max GTW. This is because of safe weight distributions front to rear over 2, 3 or 4 axles. The use case I am using is different because in total I am carrying only about 1500lbs (Bike, carrier, equipment in the bed and cab). If all of this equipment was in trailer the tongue weight for the same load would ~150lbs. The physical chassis, class IV hitch, and mounting hardware are identical on all the models listed in the table. If you build a Gladiator from the factory the reason you cant build a Mojave with the MAX TOW PACKAGE is because all of the hardware that changes from a base gladiator to one with max tow are all included Standard in the Mojave Edition. The difference which rightly so pointed out by you and others on this thread is that on the mojave the suspension is different and that does affect the tow capabilities. I think the main question to me from this new understanding is what should I do to my suspension to increase my safety margin in my unique use case. Airbags on the rear suspension might be the right answer. I will need to research it some more. Thanks for your help. I would like to know where you pulled that table from, because its different from the one I got from Jeep last Sept when I bought my Mojave.
its in the owners manual. can you post what you got from jeep?
 
OP
OP
RyderGear

RyderGear

Active Member
First Name
Ryder
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
38
Reaction score
57
Location
San Diego, California
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Mojave (Manual)
Occupation
CEO Ryder Gear LLC
its in the owners manual. can you post what you got from jeep?
Ill dig it up. I believe they emailed it me. Might not be able to get to it today, but that's definitely not what's in my 2020 owners manual. Do you have a 2021 model? Maybe they updated the owners manual and I'm going off old info?
 

sarguy1941

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2019
Threads
23
Messages
529
Reaction score
331
Location
USA
Vehicle(s)
Jeep
You can log into Jeeps site and get the latest and greatest owners manual shipped to you at home for Free.
 

KurtP

Well-Known Member
First Name
Kurt
Joined
Oct 9, 2020
Threads
68
Messages
2,310
Reaction score
2,992
Location
VA
Vehicle(s)
S/C Mojave
Occupation
Only Fans Content Creator
I would be surprised to see that the Mojave has the same tongue weight limit as the Max Tow Gladiator specs you are quoting. The Mojave suspension is very soft, and it is not uncommon to bottom out both front and rear suspension on the Mojave from something as simple as a gutter crossing a paved road at a 90 degree angle. And this is even with nothing in the bed at all.
The front Mojave suspension is the stiffest of all of them, only the rear is softer. The sound you hear at the front likely isn't bottom out, its the hydraulic bump stops engaging. It's commonly called "pad slap".

If memory serves, the 1" front lift over Rubicon comes purely from increase in spring rate and the spring length uncompressed is the same. I have my stock springs out and can measure if someone knows for sure the rubi spring length.
Sponsored

 
Last edited:
 



Top