Where you're going to have an issue is with payload. The ZR2 I had had a max payload of 1180 lbs. When I loaded up everything including a 90 lb. winch, I took it to a CAT scale. I was over weight by 140 lbs. on the truck. Out went the winch and I shifted some stuff in the trailer to lessen tongue weight from 560 lbs. to 480 lbs. This trailer has a gross weight raiting of 4200 lbs. and the CAT scale had the trailer axle at 3700 lbs. when I weighed. I weighed the tongue weight of the trailer before hitching up. The ZR2 is rated for 5000 lbs. towing. I was 580 lbs. below GCWR. My Rubi has a payload max of 1225 lbs. so I've gained 65 lbs
Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. We’ve been running the numbers, and we’ve come to the conclusion it will be best for us to run a second vehicle ( maybe a wrangler) to share the payload and to act as a recovery vehicle, instead of the trailer. The price difference isn’t too far off either… Thanks!Where you're going to have an issue is with payload. The ZR2 I had had a max payload of 1180 lbs. When I loaded up everything including a 90 lb. winch, I took it to a CAT scale. I was over weight by 140 lbs. on the truck. Out went the winch and I shifted some stuff in the trailer to lessen tongue weight from 560 lbs. to 480 lbs. This trailer has a gross weight raiting of 4200 lbs. and the CAT scale had the trailer axle at 3700 lbs. when I weighed. I weighed the tongue weight of the trailer before hitching up. The ZR2 is rated for 5000 lbs. towing. I was 580 lbs. below GCWR. My Rubi has a payload max of 1225 lbs. so I've gained 65 lbs
So you can see that you may be well below the vehicles tow rating but it's easy to over load the tow vehicle. Look at the label on the drivers side door jam when you buy a truck. You may want a Sport with Max Tow instead of the Rubicon because of the payload difference.
hand written numbers on this ticket are the gross ratings for each axle except the last number is the ZR2's GCWR. The ZR2's GVWR is 6200 lbs.
The reason the Rubicon doesn't have a max tow option is because it already has most of what you get with that. The tow package option just gets the rest of it. My Rubicon has a tow rating of 7000 lbs.
That's the standard Rubicon rating with automatic and tow package.
Tow rating goes down quite a bit with the manual. Rubicons go down to 4500 lbs and all other manual JTs are at 4000 lbs.
It does, that is true. But I think the issue being addressed here is that he's wanting an overlanding rig. I.E., he wants to haul a lot with it. The Rubicon in any flavor has somewhere around 35% less payload capacity compared to Sport. That's huge when you need maximum capacity. And, since trailer tongue weight subtracts from payload (the two are directly related), this also means that Rubicon will have less real-world towing capacity than a Sport Max Tow, unless he's going overlanding all by himself and won't be payload-limited by hauling a family. It's a whole lot harder to legally get to Rubicon's max towing capacity than it is to legally get to Max Tow's towing capacity, all because of that payload number.
Yes, in my first reply I stated he may want to go with the Sport with Max Tow instead of the Rubicon because of the payload difference.It does, that is true. But I think the issue being addressed here is that he's wanting an overlanding rig. I.E., he wants to haul a lot with it. The Rubicon in any flavor has somewhere around 35% less payload capacity compared to Sport. That's huge when you need maximum capacity. And, since trailer tongue weight subtracts from payload (the two are directly related), this also means that Rubicon will have less real-world towing capacity than a Sport Max Tow, unless he's going overlanding all by himself and won't be payload-limited by hauling a family. It's a whole lot harder to legally get to Rubicon's max towing capacity than it is to legally get to Max Tow's towing capacity, all because of that payload number.
So, I think he could get the Sport Max Tow and be fine for what he's trying to do. But, if he'd rather pay insurance and gas on two vehicles to cure the issue, that's certainly an option too.
