What's the heaviest thing you've towed? How did the Jeep handle it?

[MomsSpaghetti]

I'm curious to see what you've been pulling. We are buying a new travel trailer and I've been checking tow calculators and am starting to wonder if the camper will be too big. It's dry weight is 5013 lbs. the tongue weight is 580, both well under the max towing package specs, but when I punch numbers into those online towing calculators the indicate I may be over. Color me confused.

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[Bobzdar]

Don't you have to enter the GVW and RGAW? Use the door placcard for GVW for now.

 

[smlobx]

A couple of general points..

Virtually all RV and camper manufacturer, if they list weights, are for the bare bones zero option unit. If you add any options then you have to add it to the weights. Also, things like water, propane etc. are also extra weight.

Then you add your own stuff, grills, chairs clothes, toys etc. again more weight.

It is easy to be a couple of thousand pounds over the “listed” weight when all is said and done...

I’m not trying to talk you out of anything but want you to be as knowledgeable as possible.

 

[Otter155]

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, and these are for talking points only.

To answer your questions first; the low maximum trailer weight has everything to do with the 15% tongue weight that is being used to calculate. Going to 12% would gain you more in the "trailer". The reason the calculator only says 5,067 lbs of trailer is because of the 760lbs of tongue weight and being right at the GVWR for the truck.

Notice the tow vehicle GVWR (6250) and the trailer weight rating (7650) add up to over the GCWR. If you max out the truck then you can only "legally" tow 6,550 lbs. This is very simplified and changes when you actually add the trailer weight to the truck. But then it's really a net zero game; because every pound of hitch weight you put on the truck, does mean you can have a heavier trailer, but that is at the expense of having less gear/passengers in the truck.

Let's take a curb weight of 4,650 and add 4 passengers (2 adults, 2 kids) at a combined passenger weight of 500 pounds. The truck weighs in at 5,150. Now add a tongue weight of 580 and the truck "weight" becomes 5,730. You can add additional weight of the difference between the 6,250 and 5,730 in gear, or an additional 520 pounds before you are right at the GVWR limit for the truck. Now that you are at the weight limit of the truck, the trailer can only weigh 7,130 fully loaded, unhooked from the truck. **DANGER** at a 580 tongue weight with a 7,130 lbs trailer you are only at a 8.1% tongue weight, which is dangerous; I do not recommend this heavy of a trailer.

I ran another calculator and with a 15% tongue weight on the GTWR of the trailer, you're at 937 lbs, which exceeds the Gladiator rating for the hitch. You should be looking closer to 12% but for safety reasons never go under 10%; at 12% your tongue weight is 750 lbs. Loading the trailer up to the max (6,250) and a tongue weight of 750, you are able to then have the truck and 850 lbs of gear/passengers. In this scenario you are under the GCWR by 1,005 lbs or 8.3%.

My numbers will never come close to this because I tow a Hiker Trailer Offroad Extreme that is 1,950 GTWR. I used my own calculator to spec out my JKU and the Hiker to make sure I was within all "legal" limits on the door placard. My reason for getting a gladiator is to pull the Hiker, and have more load available in the back of the truck compared to the JKU. Send me a PM if you want an excel(google sheet) copy of a calculator that makes things a little more visual.

 

[MomsSpaghetti]

PM sent

 

[futzin']

things like water, propane etc. are also extra weight

also battery. And in my case, a Murphy bed. A front Murphy bed moves the bed weight forward. Great feature, though.

 

[BigSteve484]

Please do not forget about the huge aero drag that something like a camper trailer has too. The difference between towing an open trailer vs. enclosed can be shocking.

 

[BruteForce]

Just towed my Polaris Sportsman XP 1000 (fully loaded) on a single axle trailer. I hit the mountains of Utah. Power was there.. it handled it well, but the trailer seemed to push the JT around.. but that could be 1) the lift + tires or 2) the fact that I'm used to towing with an 800HP Ram 3500 Dually!

 

[Combolc]

I towed a NoBo 19.8 through a few small PA mountains and it is probably the heaviest I think I would tow with the JT if you plan of getting anywhere. Remember it still only the Pentastar even if you do have 4.10s.

The Nobo is UVW 3789 lb plus gear and fresh water etc.. ~ 4300 . I was able to maintain 65-70 on flats and mountains it screams at 65 and drops down to 4th gear but can maintain 55 no issues. The overall ride was great and the Jeep did fine stopping controlled etc but I cant imagine getting up past the mid 5000lbs mark or anywhere close to the 7650

I have a weight distribution hitch as well.

 

[WXman]

Towed roughly 6,300 lbs. with mine and it did fantastic. Well controlled, stopped well, maintained highway speed exceptionally well.

Having said that, I was within all specs. Tongue weight, trailer weight, max frontal area, etc. were all within spec for a Max Towing package truck.

 

[Combolc]

Towed roughly 6,300 lbs. with mine and it did fantastic. Well controlled, stopped well, maintained highway speed exceptionally well.

Having said that, I was within all specs. Tongue weight, trailer weight, max frontal area, etc. were all within spec for a Max Towing package truck.

What did you tow? Flats?

 

[WXman]

What did you tow? Flats?

A Uhaul "auto transport" trailer, which goes 2,260 by itself, loaded with a car that goes roughly 4,000 lbs, and then topped off with tools, gear, camp chairs, etc.

Even climbed a 6% grade for a couple of miles and never saw the speedo needle drop below 55 MPH, which is what I had cruise control set to. Very impressed.

 

[Hockeypilot44]

These posts contain good information. I'm going to be towing a 5500-6000 pound dual axle trailer a couple times per year about 200 miles in Florida (completely flat other than a couple bridges). I really want a Gladiator, but was considering a full size truck. I'll have a weight distributing hitch. These posts have convinced me to buy a sport s or maybe a Rubicon JT. As soon as factory brake controller comes out in 2 weeks, I'm going to place my order.

 

[WXman]

My truck as it sits is right at 5,000 lbs. with options and additional equipment. If you look at a Supercrew F-150 4x4 they go about 5,000 lbs. A Ram 1500 Crew Cab 4x4 is around 5,300 lbs. Point being, a trailer isn't going to push a Gladiator around any more than it'll push a full size truck around, particularly if you have the Max Towing or Rubicon with the wide track axles.

Payload on the Max Towing gets you within 100 lbs. of a typical Ram 1500 based upon what I saw on dealership lots. The F-150 is a few hundred better than Gladiator due to the aluminum body. But, overall it's a minor difference.

I just bring this up because a lot of people on a lot of forums have suggested to a potential buyer that they "need a 1/2 ton truck" or "need a full size truck" to get the job done. Fact is, all trucks below the heavy duty line are "1/2 ton" trucks, only in different physical sizes. The specs and capability on all of them are fairly similar. The only thing you're getting if you step up to a Ram 1500 is more cubic feet of passenger/cargo volume. The physical size is really the only advantage. But to some folks, that size is the disadvantage.

 

[AngelArmorNY]

These posts contain good information. I'm going to be towing a 5500-6000 pound dual axle trailer a couple times per year about 200 miles in Florida (completely flat other than a couple bridges). I really want a Gladiator, but was considering a full size truck. I'll have a weight distributing hitch. These posts have convinced me to buy a sport s or maybe a Rubicon JT. As soon as factory brake controller comes out in 2 weeks, I'm going to place my order.

I currently tow a 5500 dry weight dual axle travel trailer as well. I ordered the Sport S with Max Tow with this in mind. If needed I may trade the trailer in for something a little smaller but I am hoping that the JT will tow it ok with my WD hitch.

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