TommyTFL
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Hi Guys,
Thanks for having me! My name is Tommy, I am a videographer/editor at a publication called The Fast Lane Truck (TFLtruck). We do new truck testing from off-road to max towing. Big fan of this forum btw!
Maybe you guys care, maybe not but we just got done with our towing tests with the new JT. We've got full videos coming soon but as I think this is a pretty cool community thought I'd share some thoughts ahead of publishing.
First thing we did was hook up roughly 4000 pounds to the truck and run it through our MPG loop. This is a standard test we do for most all trucks to find out their real world towing fuel economy. Keep in mind we are in Colorado at elevation, but hey! It's the real world.
Here's an example of what the test looks like:
The gladiator towing proved to be a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side our resident towing expert Andre felt the truck to be confident dynamically with decent road holding and good brakes. However...
At roughly 4000 lbs (exact numbers to come in the vid) the truck did under 9 MPG on the highway towing loop. I find this fairly disappointing given the relatively flat terrain and constant highway speed.
Okay now for the fun stuff. We do a test called the "Ike Gauntlet." Essentially we tow heavy uphill on i-70 in Colorado and see how the truck performs. For the Gladiator, we noticed many users on this forum wanted to see how it would do maxed out so that's what we did! This is what the test looks like for reference:
So. Jeep says our tester (loaded rubicon with tow group) will tow 7,000 pounds. We hooked up 7000 lbs (once again, exact weights in the video). Again, I believe it's performance is acceptable towing, but not great. On the plus side the truck made it the through the test without mechanical failure or overheat.
However... By the top of the run it struggled to maintain 35-40 MPH. Granted this is an extreme test, far beyond what many of you will end up using it for. That's ultimately the point. And while it made, slowly but surely, I am still not convinced I would want to tow above 5000 consistently. MPG up the hill was sub 5. The biggest issue is the 3.6 makes it power high in the RPM range so it spends a lot of time screaming at you up hill. Here's the rub (again, in my opinion):
With driver and fuel the truck came in at over 5000 lbs empty. If you are used to a JL and its performance, I would adjust your expectations. Of course we are at elevation which has a big impact, but in my personal opinion the truck is, well, a little poky. The 3.6 is a well made and durable engine. But I personally think the truck is crying out for the 2.0L turbo, especially at elevation.
Anyways, Thanks for letting me rant, and hope this was somewhat useful. Full videos coming soon. The rest of the team's opinion will certainly be in the video!
Thanks for having me! My name is Tommy, I am a videographer/editor at a publication called The Fast Lane Truck (TFLtruck). We do new truck testing from off-road to max towing. Big fan of this forum btw!
Maybe you guys care, maybe not but we just got done with our towing tests with the new JT. We've got full videos coming soon but as I think this is a pretty cool community thought I'd share some thoughts ahead of publishing.
First thing we did was hook up roughly 4000 pounds to the truck and run it through our MPG loop. This is a standard test we do for most all trucks to find out their real world towing fuel economy. Keep in mind we are in Colorado at elevation, but hey! It's the real world.
Here's an example of what the test looks like:
The gladiator towing proved to be a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side our resident towing expert Andre felt the truck to be confident dynamically with decent road holding and good brakes. However...
At roughly 4000 lbs (exact numbers to come in the vid) the truck did under 9 MPG on the highway towing loop. I find this fairly disappointing given the relatively flat terrain and constant highway speed.
Okay now for the fun stuff. We do a test called the "Ike Gauntlet." Essentially we tow heavy uphill on i-70 in Colorado and see how the truck performs. For the Gladiator, we noticed many users on this forum wanted to see how it would do maxed out so that's what we did! This is what the test looks like for reference:
So. Jeep says our tester (loaded rubicon with tow group) will tow 7,000 pounds. We hooked up 7000 lbs (once again, exact weights in the video). Again, I believe it's performance is acceptable towing, but not great. On the plus side the truck made it the through the test without mechanical failure or overheat.
However... By the top of the run it struggled to maintain 35-40 MPH. Granted this is an extreme test, far beyond what many of you will end up using it for. That's ultimately the point. And while it made, slowly but surely, I am still not convinced I would want to tow above 5000 consistently. MPG up the hill was sub 5. The biggest issue is the 3.6 makes it power high in the RPM range so it spends a lot of time screaming at you up hill. Here's the rub (again, in my opinion):
With driver and fuel the truck came in at over 5000 lbs empty. If you are used to a JL and its performance, I would adjust your expectations. Of course we are at elevation which has a big impact, but in my personal opinion the truck is, well, a little poky. The 3.6 is a well made and durable engine. But I personally think the truck is crying out for the 2.0L turbo, especially at elevation.
Anyways, Thanks for letting me rant, and hope this was somewhat useful. Full videos coming soon. The rest of the team's opinion will certainly be in the video!
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