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Bought an RV, JT tows it fine

LANGeek

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We bought an RV (Jayco Jay Flight SLX8 224BH) with a dry weight of 4300 lbs. Fully loaded it approaches 5500 lbs. I added a Reese weight distribution hitch and sway bar to the rig. The Jeep is a Gladiator Rubicon with a manual.

I haven't towed it far yet. Only about 20 miles in a mix of back roads and highway. The Jeep pulled it with no troubles. Smoothly manuevered onto the park pad. Although I do need to top off nd extend the gravel pad and level it. But the Jeep did well.

Now to get all the other bits and things we need before our first trip in our tiny home on wheels.

Jeep Gladiator Bought an RV, JT tows it fine 1601482382822
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LandoZ

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Congrats on your purchase; I also have a Rubicon with 6spd and have been looking into RVs. How does it handle the RV in reverse?
 
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LANGeek

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Congrats on your purchase; I also have a Rubicon with 6spd and have been looking into RV's. How does it handle the RV in reverse?
Reverse was smooth and easy. The clutch is easy to find the friction point and engage the throttle lightly adjust the trailer or push it back further.
 

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We bought an RV (Jayco Jay Flight SLX8 224BH) with a dry weight of 4300 lbs. Fully loaded it approaches 5500 lbs. I added a Reese weight distribution hitch and sway bar to the rig. The Jeep is a Gladiator Rubicon with a manual.

I haven't towed it far yet. Only about 20 miles in a mix of back roads and highway. The Jeep pulled it with no troubles. Smoothly manuevered onto the park pad. Although I do need to top off nd extend the gravel pad and level it. But the Jeep did well.

Now to get all the other bits and things we need before our first trip in our tiny home on wheels.

Jeep Gladiator Bought an RV, JT tows it fine 1601482382822
What’s the tow capacity with a manual?
 

mtpokets

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We bought an RV (Jayco Jay Flight SLX8 224BH) with a dry weight of 4300 lbs. Fully loaded it approaches 5500 lbs. I added a Reese weight distribution hitch and sway bar to the rig. The Jeep is a Gladiator Rubicon with a manual.

I haven't towed it far yet. Only about 20 miles in a mix of back roads and highway. The Jeep pulled it with no troubles. Smoothly manuevered onto the park pad. Although I do need to top off nd extend the gravel pad and level it. But the Jeep did well.

Now to get all the other bits and things we need before our first trip in our tiny home on wheels.

Jeep Gladiator Bought an RV, JT tows it fine 1601482382822
We also bought a TT (still being built) and will be towing with our JT Rubicon. Ours is a 22foot Rockwood around the same weight. The dry hitch weight on ours is 412. Did you install airbags to help with WDH? Your setup is very level which is encouraging. As soft as the rear of my JTR suspension feels, I would expect it to drop a lot.
 

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LANGeek

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We also bought a TT (still being built) and will be towing with our JT Rubicon. Ours is a 22foot Rockwood around the same weight. The dry hitch weight on ours is 412. Did you install airbags to help with WDH? Your setup is very level which is encouraging. As soft as the rear of my JTR suspension feels, I would expect it to drop a lot.
No airbags. As you said, it sits pretty level. In that pic the trailer's drinking water tank is full and the grey tank is about 1/2. We did that to fit the hitch and test it.
 
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Maybe I’ll find the answer as I keep reading through these trailer related posts, but why is the rubicon 6spd towing capacity 500 lbs more than the Willys sport I’m looking at?
The rear-end gear ratio. The rubicon has 4.10.
 

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My thinking is if you wanted something more tow friendly you should have opted for the 8 speed.

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I’m not convinced that towing something for 20 miles is an accurate evaluation of its towability. Lol. Congrats on your TT. Hope it gives you many good times and few problems!
 

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Nice, so a pop-up camper would be no problem them for my Max Tow even on 37's. Looking into getting one this year and have been curious about some experiences. When you tow it more than 20 miles report back and let us know how you feel about it. 5500lbs is about all any of us will ever tow probably with our trucks.
 
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It has been a while. Seems some folks want an update. Others have opinions or concerns about the setup.



Jumping in.



We have done 3 trips since purchasing the TT: 230, 300, and 190 miles one way each. That’s around 1500 miles. So far, so good.



I took the trailer empty (no gear, no food, no clothes, drained tanks) to a gravel yard that a buddy works at that has a scale. The trailer empty weighed in at 4200 lbs (rounding up). On our next trip which included my wife, kid, and myself I stopped by the yard to weigh it fully loaded for a 4 day weekend. With the tanks empty and the trailer loaded with food, clothes, gear (toys), and camp needs (hoses, adapters, brooms, etc…) the trailer weighed 4500 lbs. The other trips were packed similarly.



That puts the trailer right at the Gladiator Rubicon with 6sp limit. As pointed out the auto would have a limit of 7000 lbs. The only difference between the two configurations is the transmission and clutch verses the torque converter. In other words, the chassis, brakes, suspension, cooling…all the other bits are up to the challenge of towing 7000 lbs. But the poor little 6sp transmission and/or clutch are rated lower. Are they that much weaker or is there a larger margin of error for the operator? That is speculative—argumentative even.



What I can tell you is the clutch engages smoothly and the transmission pulls this trailer with ease. My advice, do not ride the clutch. Be smooth and deliberate. One of our trips went through western MD, WV, and PA. Over the mountains in high winds. You MUST HAVE an electric brake. I had to push the trailer’s brake button a few times. But everything came back inline. Just pay attention and remember it is not a race.



On another trip into southern VA as we made our way home we hit traffic. Lots of traffic. I had to do many lane changes. Stop and go traffic. You know, heavy traffic stuff. The little Jeep pulled and stopped the trailer like a champ. I was pleased and impressed.



Someone commented that I should have bought the auto if I wanted to tow. Funny story. Before this Jeep or truck…whichever…I had a Dodge 3500 longbed, 4x4, diesel, sitting on 35s. Before that I had an F350 setup the same way. A couple F150s before that. My wife and I decided to down size the truck because we weren’t towing heavy boats, cars, or cargo anymore. Anything we hauled that was heavy in the bed could be towed in the utility trailer behind the Jeep. Downsizing meant we still could get those backwoods spots we like and still fit in parking garages in town. Then 7 months after we got the Jeep, during this pandemic, we decide to get a travel trailer. Do’h! If I knew I was going to be towing a TT, I would have kept the big red beast or gotten another one. :)



The Jeep JT Rubicon w/ 6sp is great little truck. It is capable and it does tow well. I am keeping the weight close to the limit of the transmission and clutch knowing the rest of the bits are fine. Keep it steady. No racing (you’ll lose anyway). Work the gears. On the hills you will downshift. This a stout half to truck…Jeep.
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