Gladiator on fire, burned to the ground…

[WK2JT]

I threw a code while pulling my camper recently. Thankfully I was just adjusting my wdh so wasn’t really on the road at all.

P0480

happened to already have an appointment at the dealer so added it to the list, wholly believing it was just a faulty sensor. Turns out my cooling fan just stopped working…good timing to have it fixed since i have a trip with the family next week.

makes me think this could have happened to me if I hadn’t gotten the code when I did.

You sir, need to buy a lotto ticket.

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[Blade1668]

Are there any 4 season light campers that anybody knows of. I don't want like a tiny pod, but something small that has heat/ac, enough room to stand and walk around in at least part of it and maybe sleep 2 people that don't want to hold each other and a dog. I want something for Hunting and some camping in the summer.

Look in to the fiberglass T.T. lands aka Casita, Scamp, Excape, ect. The first two are not really 4 season but Excape's, Oliver's and few others are.

Now with that it's a big part of why I bought a 16 Scamp Deluxe T.T. it was within the towing ratings for my LJ within reason not a flat face and under 3500 lbs. the 13 would be better, but the listed interior hight was to short for me plus I was going "full-time" with it. I don't tow it with out a W.D./ sway control hitch, "I've got to reset it for my JT now" when I take it on the road trip.
I wish the best for our member that lost the JT in the fire and hope to find out the reason (s)

On the fire extinguisher subject.. I have 4 in my JT it's one of my first "mods" for all my vehicle's. A fire extinguisher, first aid kit and basic tool kit. First is a basic 10 BC, a Halguard #10 size and 2 Element ones by side of front seats. My LJ has 2 10 BC. I've seen a quite a few vehicle fires over the years.
One of the worst over 26 people died maybe as many as 50, we don't know due to the size of the fire. No one knows exactly how many people was burned alive in it due to it being 23-26 fuel tankers that burned and many had a co driver, the road actually was burned away. A long bad story, if the command would have followed my recommendation of holding up the convoy(s) for a few hours until the fog burned off. That may have not happened, I was "relieved of my position" and almost charged under UCMJ (would have been if the wreck and fire didn't happen). But many military officers don't listen to SSG and below vs SFC and above.
Sorry for a thread drift and a downer of memory. I started reading this thread it was on one of the dates I remember some of the bad times.

 

[WXman]

There's a heck of a lot of stuff "underneath" these things. Exhaust, fuel, transmission, on gas - cat converter, plastic lined cables, you name it.
All speculation so far - transmission? Wow, to catch fire when it's all enclosed - isn't there an over-temp warning on these automatics?
But again, all speculation. I've seen bean fields in Iowa set ablaze by hot exhaust......... did a chipmunk stash some seeds up there? Who the heck knows!
I've never seen an automatic survive heat enough to catch fire without first locking up - or slipping so badly they stopped moving.

The flames on the ground - if that's blacktop/asphalt, it would burn if there was a fuel line ruptured and dropping fuel on the ground. I know - as a prank my senior class brought in an outhouse and set it on the HS parking lot and set it on fire - the damage to the parking lot was extensive! Under certain conditions, it will burn.

But again, back to - it's all speculation until the fire marshal or other entity delivers their verdict. I'm sure insurance will want to know exactly what happened.

That's the crazy thing. This fire was on the left side. The right side is where all the "bad" stuff is! Battery, fuses, EGR, DPF, it's all on the right hand side. Odd!

FYI the weight limit is 6000lbs on the diesel automatic overland from my reading, also the frontal area of your trailer is beyond what the manual states, and thus that trailer is over the max for that gladiator.

If you look in the book it defines the max frontal area, which (i think is 66sqft, maybe 62sqft) Your trailer is 8' wide and likely 9' tall. thus over the limit.

I wonder if an oil leak occurred at the turbo and caught fire.

Exhaust Gas Temps when towing flat land get CRAZY high in this eco diesel (1575) on my 3400 fully loaded rpod.... If the heat wrapping around the turbo got soaked in oil, with exhaust gas temps that high, you are asking for a melted jeep.

I love mine but with this post I am considering trading it in.

There's no way it's a 9 foot trailer. Maybe 8.5 wide, 7 tall. That's just barely outside the 56 sq/ft maximum frontal area. Yes I realize some trims are stamped less, but it's bologna. A Gladiator is a Gladiator. They should all get the same max frontal area. And this guy was at spec.

I don't know what @WXman purchased, but often "automotive" branded extinguishers are 10B:C. Personally I prefer to carry the same size home extinguishers, which are 1A:10B:C. In other words, the same coverage for liquid, gas, and electrical, with coverage for standard fires as well. I camp a lot and like having the ability to put out a potential forest fire, which to me is more likely than a vehicle fire (knock on wood).

I have these first alert all over the house and one in the truck.

To be fair, while at Lowe's I looked at all the extinguishers they had on the shelf and all were rated the same as my "automotive" extinguisher. I mainly picked this one because of it's size and the type of actuator valve installed on it which both seemed better for carrying in a Jeep.

The 80% thing is not really a rule, it's just something that gets passed around a lot as a rule.
Trailer and towing sites as well as other authoritative resources basically say at normal/lower altitudes towing up to capacity is fine. (only forum answers seem to mention that as a "rule", authoritative resources don't)

etrailer says it's fine to tow up to your stating towing capacity.
Another site says the same, but includes reductions for altitude, and they say the 80% may have come from that because at higher altitudes, the reduction for every thousand feet or whatever it is ends up being about 80% so suggest that may be where it came from.

From a towing site -
But the so-called 80% rule (again, which one?) is a performance rule. In truth you can safely tow right up to your maximum towing capacity of 6700 pounds. Keep in mind this is computed with the vehicle empty so it's not a planning number, it's really a maximum.

And another trailer site -
Most of the major truck manufacturers are now using SAE J2807 as the standard for calculating GCWR and TWR, I don't think having a buffer is any longer necessary. With today's modern standards, I don't see any reason not to tow up to the calculated max allowable for a tow-ready vehicle.

From another towing site -

• Some RVers have also suggested to never exceed 80% of the tow vehicle's gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). The testing standard imposed by NHTSA for brakes already includes the capacity to stop at the GVWR and considers emergency stopping conditions.
• Occasionally, a 70% rule is used. While the 70% rule may work most of the time, this rule may overly limit a trailer too much. Therefore, the trailer buyer could lose an opportunity to buy a trailer that would not exceed the vehicle's realistic vehicle towing capacity (RVTC)

Exactly. Any truck rated using the SAE J2807 method (like the Gladiator and most others) can stick to a 100% rule because they are tested and proven safe at the rated towing capacity.

 

[Klutch]

I think a C02 fire extinguisher is much better than dry chemical for vehicle fires. I used to use those a lot during training when I was in the Navy. They're very good at putting out Class Bravo (fuel) fires. They work really well if you point them under an engine compartment that's on fire. The CO2 gets pulled up and extinguished the flames. (Opening the hood typically makes the fire worse.)

Unfortunately, a CO2 extinguisher is over $100. Well worth it I'd say, but much costlier than the dry chemical extinguishers at the big box stores.

 

[Chrysler-Factory-Warranty]

Will be interesting to find out what caused this.....
Hopefully not blamed on COVID-19!

Lmao! Covid-19! I seen something like this in a 2500 was ran 85mph in 4lock and tranny fluid spewed all over the underbody and exhaust. Then went into flames.

 

[CreepyJeepy]

This was mine, i live just outside of Calgary, Alberta. Just hit 7,777 km on that 2021 Jeep Gladiator Overland Diesel w/Automatic. My 4th time towing that trailer. The Diesel Jeep has a 6500 lb towing limit. The trailer is 24 foot, 3500 lb trailer. I had previously towed it to Lethbridge and Back the other weekend. About 1,000 km of towing on that Jeep Gladiator

There was no warning!

I was about 50/60 km into a tow to Calaway Park and all of a sudden there was Flames at my Driver side window. At the same time, cruise control cancelled, and there was a message about the Ignition needed to be serviced. I pulled over when it was safe at 1:10 pm, the Cabin was engulfed in flames at 1:15 pm

Calgary Fire Department says it started underneath. So transmission?

Hey Mike! We are curious what ended up happening?! Did your insurance take care of this for you? Did you end up with another jeep?

 

[yrwins]

WOW
I just find this out in you tube. do they know what happen?
is this a true video?

 

[calipoontappa]

There’s a super long thread about this already. I think the owner of that truck even chimed in.

 

[athous]

WOW
I just find this out in you tube. do they know what happen?
is this a true video?

no max tow option selected!

 

[Gvsukids]

WOW
I just find this out in you tube. do they know what happen?
is this a true video?

There’s a super long thread about this already. I think the owner of that truck even chimed in.

Here you go...
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/burned-to-the-ground….48078/

 

[ShadowsPapa]

WOW
I just find this out in you tube. do they know what happen?
is this a true video?

If it's on Youboobtube, you know it's gotta be true! YT only allows total facts to be published..

 

[MPMB]

If it's on Youboobtube, you know it's gotta be true! YT only allows total facts to be published..

Ha. So true.

And just for curiosity, I looked for that trailer online; looks like (but not absolute) the '07 Fleetwood Pioneer 24RKS. If so, its true weight is about 4500#, not 3500#. I had to look it up because it's rare to find a TT with a slide that's under 4000# that's over 20'.

 

[jimbom]

Here you go...
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/burned-to-the-ground….48078/

Infinite Loop.

 

[Mr._Bill]

Infinite Loop.

Close, but not intentional. A new thread was started, this thread was referenced, and then all the messages from the new thread were just pulled and tacked on to the end of this one.

 

[yrwins]

Any update on what caused the problem

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