Gladiator is crap for towing

[Sweetums]

Most of it is made from honeycomb sheet and fiberglass
Some metal some aluminum

When I get the opportunity I will post the stuff up here

all said and done
From my 1st post
The gladiator is not a good truck to tow with

Your Gladiator isn't a good truck for towing. Fiberglass can get heavy. Changing airflow is still a thing, bigger, heavier tires with those heavy rims is still a thing.

And you're still on stock gearing.

You built a truck for vanity, not utility; now you're mad that you have a truck that's built for looks instead of towing, hauling, or longevity. You wanted the looks but didn't do it right.

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[Bug out]

Fixed it.


The properly equipped Gladiator is a good truck for towing.
A heavily modified Gladiator may not be.

Fixed it.


The properly equipped Gladiator is a good truck for towing.
A heavily modified Gladiator may not be.

Yes I agree MY Gladiator is not good to tow with????

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Your Gladiator isn't a good truck for towing. Fiberglass can get heavy. Changing airflow is still a thing, bigger, heavier tires with those heavy rims is still a thing.

And you're still on stock gearing.

You built a truck for vanity, not utility; now you're mad that you have a truck that's built for looks instead of towing, hauling, or longevity. You wanted the looks but didn't do it right.

I wonder what sort of drag is added with the mods..........
I bet quite a bit, tire poke also = drag.

 

[Bug out]

Your Gladiator isn't a good truck for towing. Fiberglass can get heavy. Changing airflow is still a thing, bigger, heavier tires with those heavy rims is still a thing.

And you're still on stock gearing.

You built a truck for vanity, not utility; now you're mad that you have a truck that's built for looks instead of towing, hauling, or longevity. You wanted the looks but didn't do it right.

Not mad, just a little disappointed that a good truck that is built then modified

beg to differ on doing it right .
But what the heck
I like it that’s all that matters

 

[Bug out]

I wonder what sort of drag is added with the mods..........
I bet quite a bit, tire poke also = drag.

The mods….
Yes the cowl serves no useful purpose whatsoever
Bumpers well that sort of keeps cars away because they don’t want them near push plastic bumpers
The wing guards are kind of cool they serve well as coffee holders ?

 

[sharpsicle]

 

[John Hursh]

2020 Overland with tow package, no mods. 7,500 of our 44,000 miles have been towing our 19’ 3,500 pounds (dry) Gulfstream. No problems. Handles fine with an Equalizer tow/weight distribution hitch. Making our 4th 1,700 mile round trip to Florida this May. Cruise at 60 to 65 mph.

 

[CJ5w4wdSmokyOnMyTail]

Hi all,
I have come to the conclusion that my Gladiator is crap for towing.
6 months ago, we travelled to California from Florida. 2600 miles. averaged about 350 miles a day towing 3500lb travel trailer (ultra light weight).
55MPH average. The ride was good .
When we got there trailer unhooked, that's when I found that the suspension was not right. It was like being in a boat.
So moving on.......... we were there 6 months. Sold the trailer.
December 2023 we moved back to Florida towing 'on a dolly' my wife's Hyandai Veloster. Not a heavy car by any means.
About 600 miles from home after travelling 2000 miles, I could feel the transmission struggling.
We made it home and I took the Jeep to dealer. They inspected and found transmission to be failing.
Thankfully it is under warranty so it is being replaced. My jeep has only done about 55k miles.
So after 55K miles the 1st and only times we have towed the transmission is done as well as the suspension.

I thought I would just post this to see if anyone has any input or has experienced similar issues.

(When i get it back from dealer I will be putting upgraded suspension on, but I don't want to lift it).
Happy days

My Mojave towed an overlanding trailer across the country and back two years ago with zero problems. But it was a much lighter trailer (maybe 2,500 pounds).

 

[bucolic]

It's not so much the weight as it is the giant sail some of these campers create.

I towed a 26' 4500lb trailer across the US in 2020 with a 1500 Ram with the 5.7 Hemi and it was a long month and a total of 8200 miles. It towed it and made it but above 60 that Hemi wanted to be at 4000 rpms and just roaring. Going up mountain passes it was 45 to 50 the whole way. Up to about 40mph, it was effortless. But then once that wind drag hit the front of that it exponentially increased the drag and had to work harder. I can't see my Gladiator towing that camper at all.

I towed a car on a trailer with a total weight of 6800 lbs with the same truck and never even knew it was back there. No wind sail like the camper.

The biggest issue was gas. With the 26-gallon tank on the Ram and 10-11 MPG, I had to start looking for a gas station every 150 miles. On a 600-mile day, I had 3 to 4 fuel stops. Sometimes I would go 100 miles and not see a gas station and then one would pop up. I would pull in and top off just to be safe.

I think any amount of regular towing with my Gladiator with my current camper would be absolutely miserable.

Now a small lightweight teardrop camper that sits lower and doesn't create as much wind drag would probably be fine.

Pic is on HGWY 50 IN Nevada heading west not too long after crossing the Utah/Nevada border.

 

[Biff Happy]

Just try to stick to 50 mph for 500 miles.

Annoying but not difficult if you want to do it, you can use cruise control, little button on steering wheel, if you can’t control your lead foot and pick your routes, leave a little earlier, I guess. I’ve done it, others report doing it here on this site. Whether it helps anything or not, who knows, someone probably wrote it into the manual to frustrate owners rather than write down what the engineer told them. Why it’s in the 2021 manual but not the 2020?

 

[CreepyJeepy]

My 21 ecodiesel rubicon tows my 3500lb trailer on 35” tires with a 2.5” lift just fine.

I will say there are cooling limitations with it towing at high altitude in warm temps.

In fact have well over 20k miles of road trips with my camper.

I’ve derates 2 times, but never had any issues.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Annoying but not difficult if you want to do it, you can use cruise control, little button on steering wheel, if you can’t control your lead foot and pick your routes, leave a little earlier, I guess. I’ve done it, others report doing it here on this site. Whether it helps anything or not, who knows, someone probably wrote it into the manual to frustrate owners rather than write down what the engineer told them. Why it’s in the 2021 manual but not the 2020?

Cruise control is worse if you know about engine break-in.
It's a really bad idea to keep low steady speeds as far as the engine.
I'd not tow in the first 500 miles of ownership. That's for differentials as much as engines.

After initial "break-in", I'd use it as normal.
I pick them up and drive them varying the speeds and loads. No slow cruising, no sustained high speed, no over-speeding the engine.

 

[bd100]

Curious about the suspension troubles you have. Shocks could be worn out? Any leaking? Easy to replace and upgrade.

 

[Bug out]

Curious about the suspension troubles you have. Shocks could be worn out? Any leaking? Easy to replace and upgrade.

It is in actual fact the shocks
I am looking around for good upgrades. I really don’t want to lift it

 

[bd100]

It is in actual fact the shocks
I am looking around for good upgrades. I really don’t want to lift it

Bilstein 5100. Stiffer than the OEM shocks, but better handling.

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