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Gladiator Long distance heavy tow review

ShadowsPapa

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Forget the trailer towing, that’s probably the nicest SX/4 I’ve seen in years!
LOL - thanks! It took a few years to get there.
Senior gold in 2019, best of show in the 70-88 non-stock class for 2019.
On to Colorado Springs with it next June. Will hopefully trailer it there behind the JT.
I'd drive it to get there but there's a swap meet too and my wife wants to go see CO and take her sewing machine and stuff along, no room in the hatchback for all that and if I buy anything out there, no way to get it back in that little car. Will likely drive it around Colorado Springs area to stretch its wings.

It's in my shop, all covered up for the winter.
It was my daily driver for a while - but the body shop owner - and my wife, talked me out of that.
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/showcase/rare-bird-bills-eagle-sx4.215/
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vegasdavetv

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just for kicks, I changed rear diff oil today, at 20,000. no chunks, not even 1. a tiny amount of dust shavings on plug, very tiny, certainly the same amount any gladiator would have as normal use. oil looked and smell correct to
 

jwilson2899

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LOL - thanks! It took a few years to get there.
Senior gold in 2019, best of show in the 70-88 non-stock class for 2019.
On to Colorado Springs with it next June. Will hopefully trailer it there behind the JT.
I'd drive it to get there but there's a swap meet too and my wife wants to go see CO and take her sewing machine and stuff along, no room in the hatchback for all that and if I buy anything out there, no way to get it back in that little car. Will likely drive it around Colorado Springs area to stretch its wings.

It's in my shop, all covered up for the winter.
It was my daily driver for a while - but the body shop owner - and my wife, talked me out of that.
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/showcase/rare-bird-bills-eagle-sx4.215/
4.0 swap with working cruise and AC...you sir are my hero. These are the type of projects I like to undertake myself. I built my own cruise harness for my 04 LJ since it wasn't prewired, but that was way easier since it was just following the factory diagram. Awesome build, if I was closer I would come drool beside it.
 

ShadowsPapa

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4.0 swap with working cruise and AC...you sir are my hero. These are the type of projects I like to undertake myself. I built my own cruise harness for my 04 LJ since it wasn't prewired, but that was way easier since it was just following the factory diagram. Awesome build, if I was closer I would come drool beside it.
The fuel filter is mounted underneath just ahead of the tank, like the ZJ it came out of, I modified my sending unit to hang a Jeep fuel pump in the tank, and used the Jeep tank harness to connect to my vehicle wiring and ran the pump control wire from the PDC back to the tank harness.
I made a template from the donor Jeep's automatic to locate the flywheel sensor, drilled my T5 bell housing and made a bracket to hold the sensor in the correct place and depth.

It was a fun project. My goal was a factory look.

If you are ever up this way along I35 or I80, I'm minutes from both. And if you like street rods - we can visit Gene Cross, big in GoodGuys - his shop is a couple hundred yards away. He's always got coffee and cookies or donuts around.

sx4-104.jpg
sx4-pump-028.jpg
sx4-clutch-bell-001.jpg
 

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ShadowsPapa

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If you come out in the JT, shoot me a PM and I'll get you on some local trails.
My goal - the JT prepped with the brake controller, all things sorted out with weight and such - hook up my car hauler to the JT, load up the SX4, drive to the AMO show next June in Colorado Springs.
My wife hates car shows, won't go to them - but asked if she could go along as she'd never been to Colorado (other than layover in airport) and wanted to see the area herself from the road. So she'll be along, along with her sewing machine, some quilting projects and such she'll set up in the hotel room - but if there's other stuff to do where she'd actually SEE the area, she might be game.
https://amonational.com/2020-amo-national-convention/

Thanks - sounds interesting and something different to do.
 

Etoimos

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There is plenty to do here in the Springs and surrounding areas. A drive up Pikes Peak is good way to kill part of a day. Garden of the Gods could kill a whole day if the two of you like to take walks (there is also some hiking in GotG if you guys are up to it). And of course there are tons of easy trails near by.

Crap, I just checked out your show dates. I'll be up in Yellowstone that week. But if your trip extends into the next week, I'd be happy to show you some of the fun trails nearby.
 

ShadowsPapa

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There is plenty to do here in the Springs and surrounding areas. A drive up Pikes Peak is good way to kill part of a day. Garden of the Gods could kill a whole day if the two of you like to take walks (there is also some hiking in GotG if you guys are up to it). And of course there are tons of easy trails near by.

Crap, I just checked out your show dates. I'll be up in Yellowstone that week. But if your trip extends into the next week, I'd be happy to show you some of the fun trails nearby.
I have the hotel reserved for only the show dates........... but who knows........ we've both gotten to the point we are liking other experiences and seeing new things.
Thanks - will keep it all in mind.
 

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I simple search yielded that a U-Haul car hauler weighs 2210 pounds and the curb weight of a Hyundai Ioniq is 3115 so there is some weight that is unaccounted for.
Yeah, they are porky little trailers, but they're stout. I remember years ago, they wouldn't rent me one behind my Tundra.
 

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Nor would they rent one to me behind my Dakota with a 6K towing package. I had to rent a car dolly to haul an Audi GT Coupe.
Cheers
 

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Thanks for the review. Couple of things that are critical. You were way over Gross Combined Weight for the Rubicon Or A Max Tow Sport. You definitely put some some stress cycles on the vehicle in that 4K, sounds like you did good on doing PMs afterwards. While it is your own business there is some risk running in this condition if you were to get into an accident. Fuel economy is not really surprising you were doing 55 mph. If you had stepped that up to 65-70 you would have seen a large decline. Again thanks for the info/review.
 

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Good review if any one else likes it or not.

I've used U-Haul car trailers a few times first time they told me my XJ could not pull it, "it was to tall to hitch up. I said it's probably the other way around, I had to dig holes for my tires to line up. Pulled second XJ on it no problem. Last time I used a rental p/u. First thing is to load vehicle on backwards.
Due to U-Haul trailers being 70/30 or so set up empty if not more. I know that I have seen T/W over 350 unloaded with them trailers.
 

Muddzy

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Sorry to ressurect this thread but as a new JTR owner I found his video review very helpful, especially since I will be towing long distances and heavy loads. I agree with others that the more towing with heavy loads one does, the more wear and tear there is on the vehicle. But going off-road also puts more wear and tear on a vehicle. So does bigger tires and all of the other weight we carry around in mods. I mean, many of us don't buy jeeps because we baby them and expect them to last and wear like a sedan does. Great for those that do but I'm not going to judge those that don't.

To the OP...I assume you had stock 4.10 gears. I know you said the tow went really well but if you had to climb up more passes do you think you would've yearned a little more for lower gears? I'll be running bigger tires and pulling a heavy camper off-road on climbs so for me going to lower gearing is an absolute must.

If one doesn't have experience towing then watch a lot of videos on how to properly load a trailer, connect it to your truck, add brake controller and stay at 55 mph on the highway until you know your load is properly distributed and you have experience. I'm always too excited to get where I'm going and next thing I know I'm doing 70-75. My stock '08 JK Sahara towed great at max tow load and I was shocked at how well my '13 JKUR towed with 35s, a 2.5in lift, no WDH, at max tow load and I'm sure over payload at times.. I don't expect the JTR to be any worse even with 37s and a 2.5in lift.

Towing heavy loads at highway speeds warrants extra thought and safety but IMO one shouldn't be afraid of it. I can't emphasize enough that properly setting up a heavy load on the trailer and properly connecting it to the vehicle is critical for worry-less towing at highway speeds.


This one is a great review on towing, 4000 miles near max load. Heck, no reason to duplicate words, check out my video on it please. happy new year all.
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