Mine has never derated either.
With cruising speeds, is 600-700lbs of weight in the bed going to still cause issues even when not towing? We are out west in the mountains a lot. If the Mrs isn't with me I just mount the RTT and I don't drag the trailer, but its still with some weight as I have drawers, tools, gear, etc.
It would probably take a 10% grade at 110° trying to maintain 65mph before you would have a major issue with that light of a load.
Yes, both times my truck went into derate, I was towing a 7,000 lb. travel trailer up a long steep mountain pass. Once I reached the crest, the oil and coolant temps dropped pretty quickly, and the truck went back into normal operation as though nothing ever happened. All power was restored.
The reason why the mountain west is so brutal is because many of our mountain passes are so long. That's why the SAE J2807 towing test includes the Davis Dam climb which is 11 miles of constant climbing with an elevation gain of 3,500' feet. That test also requires running the A/C at full capacity in 100*F temperatures.
Nope, nothing happens other than the pedal becomes increasingly "dead" as temp rise. In the early days before the required warranty/recall reflash, mine used to go till it overheated 248° and then the dash would blow up with flashing light warning and you were on the side of the road driving 10mph.
CrazyCooter is pretty close. I've had mine derate once. I was not towing and had less than 200lbs cargo. It was in southern BC on a pass that tops out at just over 1700m (~5800ft) @8% doing 100km(60mph) and ~37C ( ~100F). My Jeep is not the only only one, here is a video where it happened to two other Jeeps.
I think we need to differentiate between those who have stock rigs vs those who have modified rigs. Adding larger tires, lift kits, bumpers, etc., will add additional stress to the powertrain.
I think between the venting and additional cooler mods I've seen that help keep temps a little lower and driving slower I would be ok.
Dropping speeds will do the trick. It takes a little discipline and patience to slow down, but it's an easy and affordable way to control temps.
Mine was tested stock tires and 37's back to back on the same hill, same load, and temps within a couple of degrees of each other. The result was almost the same....failing miserably either way except I liked the gear spacing with 37's better both climbing and descending. I do have OEM steel bumper and Warn Zeon winch though. I took off the Mopar grill bar for the second test with stock tires.
It would be interesting to see your results at different speeds.
