Or you want a Jeep and donāt need a truck.
Again you claim disappointing towing numbers in comparing other midsize trucks... where the gladiator is still the top dog? Why would you be disappointed even if you only wanted a midsize to tow as much as possible? It already does that. As far as the driving dynamics when towing, my use is different than most. Every heavy trailer I tow is involved in building out our off grid property. 20 miles of wash board dirt roads at a minimum. For that use it's light years better than the 2024 F150, the only other truck I've used to tow or haul anything out there. After 20 miles with the water buffalo behind the F150 my eyes hurt from the shaking and I felt like I had a mild concussion. The steep up hill sections of washboard would bounce the rear so much it would lose traction. Had to put it in 4wd which I've never had to do in the Mojave on the same dirt road even when muddy. Long story short, the gladiator tows as good or better than any midsize. Further there are cases where it even tows better than a full size in my experience.
I am just saying that the Gladiator is in it's own food group. I do not compare Gladiator to Colorado, Ranger, Frontier, or Tacoma. While it is a midsize truck, the fact that it is a jeep first means who cares how it compares to anything else. It is not anything else. the others are all the same. Borring bla bla bla cookie cutter trucks. I did not buy the Gladiator for it's towing capacity. I bought it because I can remove the roof and doors.
And for some that's all that matters, meaning it has no competition. The reality is most gladiator buyers want a midsize truck, thus the comparisons and cross shopping. Some of us could care less about the removable top and doors. The doors have never been off the JLUR or my JT. The top has only come off the JT once and that was to pick up 16' 2x6's. The other trucks are a no go for us as we wheel our Jeeps hard. The tacoma, Colorado, and ranger couldn't keep up. It's a Jeep that does all the Jeep things while hauling, towing, etc as good or better than the competition which makes it all the more impressive.
So you admit the Gladiator is in a class all it's own. In your case it is wheeling it. Mine is the removable stuff. Two things the others do not have IMO. If I just wanted a midsize truck, I would have bought anything else. I got the gladiator because for years I had to buy other trucks, had to pass on owning jeeps because I also needed a truck. Now I have it all. Roof, and doors off, carry 4 people, haul some stuff, tow some stuff, 4 wheel some, take it to dinner. No one gets exxcited over owning anything else in the midsize class. I do not think most gladiator buyers want a midsize truck. I think they want a Gladiator. That just happens to be a midsize truck. The two are not the same. I did not buy my gladiator because I wanted, needed a specific size truck. I bought it because it was a Wrangler with a truck bed. Nothing on the market even comes close to what it is, and therefore, it is in a class all it's own.
I wheel mine beyond the capability of the other midsize trucks, but I also tow and haul more than most of them can handle as well. I didn't buy it for its wheeling ability, we have a JLUR on 39s that the gladiator can't hold a candle to even in 37s. Breakover and departure angles, suspension travel, turning radius, etc aren't even close. We bought the gladiator because we needed a truck. Hauled 1800 pounds of pavers in the bed. Towed a 6500lb and an 8200lb trailer for hundreds of miles. It happens to still be a solid axle Jeep, but if it didn't exist we'd be in some other truck instead. If those other midsize trucks were actually better at towing and hauling we'd probably still have been in one of them. The fact is it matches or beats the competition at truck stuff.
