BlueScapegoat
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With so many people having towing issues, just thought I'd post up my experience this past weekend. (really wed-fri but I have weird days off)
First, Glad specs:
Spacer lift, 3" front 2" rear. 37x12.5 tires.
I don't have my own trailer yet, mostly because I have 6 cars at the moment and no room to store one, so I rent a uhaul trailer the once in a while I need one. And with my only other truck at the moment being a Ram SRT10 I wanted to test how the Glad pulls first before dropping some cash on a trailer.
I know the same equipped Rubi gasser is rated for 7,000 lb and the Rubi EcoD is rated for 6,000 lb for cooling reasons. I also know the rating system requires some pretty aggressive hills at a higher altitude and I believe a box trailer, so I was ok going over the 6,000 lb rating. People may argue legal risks, but I think it's hardly negligent and goes out the window when you modify the Gladiator anyway.
So I made several trips to the scale to get some raw numbers, out of curiosity. That and I had recently just done a bunch of work to the TJ in an effort to make it a better wheeler and drop some weight.
Gladiator full tank, no passengers or cargo: 5680#
U-haul "auto transport" car hauler: 2140#
TJ empty: 4180#
Trailer gross: 6320#
Tongue as loaded: 640#
GCVWR: 11800#
Gross as loaded 12000# before driver, camping gear.
Estimated Gross 12400#
Set the hitch at about 20" and eyeballed the placement on the trailer. The car transport included tie down won't work for tires over 30" and the TJ wheelbase means pulling full forward is far too much tongue weight, so I eyeballed. The hauler does have convenient tow hooks front and back, just need the straps. The scale read 640# on the tongue which is very close to the 10% rule of thumb. And surprisingly, the Glad sat pretty level with this load and the 1" rake compensation. Ran the front tires at 34 psi and rears at 42 psi. And the TJ's at 6 psi, of course.
\
1.5 hours into the drive, all highway at 65 mph. I was running it in 7th gear and bumping down to 6th for bigger hills.
715 RTI on stubby t-rex arms
I tend to not take pictures of any of the really cool stuff, got the TJ crossed up in some boulders way too big for what I should have been in and somehow never broke anything getting out. But, that's why I like to take the trailer. Somehow these D44s keep holding up...
A successful day of wheeling.
I didn't hand calculate the miles, but this is what was reported after 440 miles. Most of the drive was at 65 mph, gradual hills. Dropped to 5th a few times (3k rpm at 65) to hold speed up bigger hills but never lower than that, never had to put my foot clear to the floor. Stayed cool. Zero sway. The back is definitely soft, but controlled and never hit the bump stops, even over some pretty aggressive dips.
Overall it did much better than I expected, and I had absolutely zero concerns, very comfortable. Maybe if I can find a lighter trailer I could even get it under all the ratings.
With proper trailer brakes and a weight distributing hitch it could only get better.
First, Glad specs:
Spacer lift, 3" front 2" rear. 37x12.5 tires.
I don't have my own trailer yet, mostly because I have 6 cars at the moment and no room to store one, so I rent a uhaul trailer the once in a while I need one. And with my only other truck at the moment being a Ram SRT10 I wanted to test how the Glad pulls first before dropping some cash on a trailer.
I know the same equipped Rubi gasser is rated for 7,000 lb and the Rubi EcoD is rated for 6,000 lb for cooling reasons. I also know the rating system requires some pretty aggressive hills at a higher altitude and I believe a box trailer, so I was ok going over the 6,000 lb rating. People may argue legal risks, but I think it's hardly negligent and goes out the window when you modify the Gladiator anyway.
So I made several trips to the scale to get some raw numbers, out of curiosity. That and I had recently just done a bunch of work to the TJ in an effort to make it a better wheeler and drop some weight.
Gladiator full tank, no passengers or cargo: 5680#
U-haul "auto transport" car hauler: 2140#
TJ empty: 4180#
Trailer gross: 6320#
Tongue as loaded: 640#
GCVWR: 11800#
Gross as loaded 12000# before driver, camping gear.
Estimated Gross 12400#
Set the hitch at about 20" and eyeballed the placement on the trailer. The car transport included tie down won't work for tires over 30" and the TJ wheelbase means pulling full forward is far too much tongue weight, so I eyeballed. The hauler does have convenient tow hooks front and back, just need the straps. The scale read 640# on the tongue which is very close to the 10% rule of thumb. And surprisingly, the Glad sat pretty level with this load and the 1" rake compensation. Ran the front tires at 34 psi and rears at 42 psi. And the TJ's at 6 psi, of course.
1.5 hours into the drive, all highway at 65 mph. I was running it in 7th gear and bumping down to 6th for bigger hills.
715 RTI on stubby t-rex arms
I tend to not take pictures of any of the really cool stuff, got the TJ crossed up in some boulders way too big for what I should have been in and somehow never broke anything getting out. But, that's why I like to take the trailer. Somehow these D44s keep holding up...
I didn't hand calculate the miles, but this is what was reported after 440 miles. Most of the drive was at 65 mph, gradual hills. Dropped to 5th a few times (3k rpm at 65) to hold speed up bigger hills but never lower than that, never had to put my foot clear to the floor. Stayed cool. Zero sway. The back is definitely soft, but controlled and never hit the bump stops, even over some pretty aggressive dips.
Overall it did much better than I expected, and I had absolutely zero concerns, very comfortable. Maybe if I can find a lighter trailer I could even get it under all the ratings.
With proper trailer brakes and a weight distributing hitch it could only get better.
Sponsored
Last edited:
) as well. No issues, just ran a bit hotter engine temps.
