Gladiator trailer tow

[Lost1wing]

You will hear people say 4k is okay to tow with a Gladiator. Word of caution, it is not! I do a bit of hauling and I can say that my Rubicon that is rated for towing 7k, and it does not do well. I'm comparing it to my Duramax and my Excursion. Acceleration and braking are just awful towing anything over 4k. My empty trailer is 2.2k and the Gladiator still struggles going up and down hills.

The Gladiator is not designed for towing. The ones that say it is fine, don't have anything better to tow with, is my guess. Will it work? Yes. Will you white knuckle it while towing? Perhaps, it depends on you driving ability.

I would suggest a trailer as small as you could possibly get by with, if you plan on using the Gladiator. Despite the legal tow rating for my Rubicon, I wouldn't want to tow anything even close to the max.

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[ChrisNLA]

You will hear people say 4k is okay to tow with a Gladiator. Word of caution, it is not! I do a bit of hauling and I can say that my Rubicon that is rated for towing 7k, and it does not do well. I'm comparing it to my Duramax and my Excursion. Acceleration and braking are just awful towing anything over 4k. My empty trailer is 2.2k and the Gladiator still struggles going up and down hills.

The Gladiator is not designed for towing. The ones that say it is fine, don't have anything better to tow with, is my guess. Will it work? Yes. Will you white knuckle it while towing? Perhaps, it depends on you driving ability.

I would suggest a trailer as small as you could possibly get by with, if you plan on using the Gladiator. Despite the legal tow rating for my Rubicon, I wouldn't want to tow anything even close to the max.

I have a brake controller on my Gladiator now, so I can't speak to braking issues. Mine stops fine with the brake controller connected to the trailer. I did tow a 20' wood deck utility trailer once though, I bet it was probably close to 3,000 pounds total and my brake controller wasn't installed at that time. I DID notice that.

Curious - does your Rubi have stock springs / shocks? I always heard those rode a bit soft (the older Fox shocks anyway, I'm not certain on ones with the new red Tennecos) - and I could see how it may not like trailer weight. I have the Max Tow and Bilstein 5100's and it takes quite a lot of weight to make the truck feel unsettled.

But yes re-iterating a few points, if you have experience driving and towing with a 3/4 ton truck and then go to a Gladiator for the same purposes, you will hate yourself for it. The V6 is modest on power and you will be wringing its neck on heavier loads and hills. Thats FINE, its made to handle that - but coming from a bigger truck it's going to make you unhappy.

I'm still looking for a trailer to borrow so I can load my John Deere 1025R (roughly 2400 pounds by itself, as its equipped) on it and go for a drive and see how it is

 

[jeeper dan]

I have a brake controller on my Gladiator now, so I can't speak to braking issues. Mine stops fine with the brake controller connected to the trailer. I did tow a 20' wood deck utility trailer once though, I bet it was probably close to 3,000 pounds total and my brake controller wasn't installed at that time. I DID notice that.

Curious - does your Rubi have stock springs / shocks? I always heard those rode a bit soft (the older Fox shocks anyway, I'm not certain on ones with the new red Tennecos) - and I could see how it may not like trailer weight. I have the Max Tow and Bilstein 5100's and it takes quite a lot of weight to make the truck feel unsettled.

But yes re-iterating a few points, if you have experience driving and towing with a 3/4 ton truck and then go to a Gladiator for the same purposes, you will hate yourself for it. The V6 is modest on power and you will be wringing its neck on heavier loads and hills. Thats FINE, its made to handle that - but coming from a bigger truck it's going to make you unhappy.

I'm still looking for a trailer to borrow so I can load my John Deere 1025R (roughly 2400 pounds by itself, as its equipped) on it and go for a drive and see how it is

I understand the Gladiator is nowhere near like the diesel or bigger gas engines.
But the off road ability of the Gladiator is my focus also. We will camp at least as much as travel. We will do some passes in Colorado and camp until we get ready to explore again.

 

[ChrisNLA]

I understand the Gladiator is nowhere near like the diesel or bigger gas engines.
But the off road ability of the Gladiator is my focus also. We will camp at least as much as travel. We will do some passes in Colorado and camp until we get ready to explore again.

Long as you know is all I'm saying.

I love my Gladiator, happy with folks wanting one - long as they know what they are getting

 

[jeeper dan]

Long as you know is all I'm saying.

I love my Gladiator, happy with folks wanting one - long as they know what they are getting

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

I routinely tow an Opus OP4 that weighs almost 5000 pounds. Even with all my crap on the truck it tows very well. It helps that the Opus is flat. That being said, this is about the max I would consider towing with this truck. With the diesel it accelerates well. With the Redarc brake controller it stops really well, but you can certainly feel the weight back there. I have a DO35 articulating hitch and no load balancing mechanism and I don’t experience any sway. Again, a flat trailer helps.

I know some people tow Airstreams, etc. with this rig. I can’t imagine that. I’d go full size. Tow rating are a max based on capacities and testing. They’re not a good indicator of what is pleasant or honestly even maximally safe to tow and the tow rating really goes out the window if you modify the vehicle at all. The gas engine has a higher tow rating because of better cooling, but a lot less torque. I image accelerating is a lot less pleasant and the mileage has to be awful.

To me the Gladiator is good for towing overland trailers, bass boats and small toy haulers; basically lifestyle stuff.

 

[GCBurt]

Pulled this multiple times with my Rubi Diesel. Climbs up over 7K ASL just fine on dirt/rock roads, but doesn't like the freeway at 65 mph. 1500 ft freeway climbs (4500 to 6000) at 65 MPH will put me in limp mode. My Banks iDash lets me clear the code and continue after a 10 min rest. Then I slow down a bit until I crest the summit. This setup is about 6K pounds - got brakes on both trailer axles. Pulled with my 1ton dually - could hardly tell it was there, but sold the dually and 5th wheel and got my Gladiator.

 

[AXC]

I just wanted to introduce myself.
Dan from Oklahoma. I’ve owned jeeps since I was old enough to have any money. I’ve got a 65 and 68 cj5 and a 64 Cj3b. Main reason I joined, I’m thinking about a Gladiator Rubicon. My wife loves jeeping and we’ve done lots of the passes in and around Ouray, including Black Bear.
My question about the Gladiator, can you legitimately pull a 7000 lb travel trailer without just gutting it. Looking forward to you guys answers and opinions.
Thanks in advance guys

I regularly pull an Overland trailer (4K lbs) all over Texas and Colorado. That includes roads and trails. Not a problem with power or engine/transmission cooling. But remember these are mid-sized trucks not full size with the V8 or turbo power 6's. If you need to pull heavy weight I would move up in truck size. Just physics.

 

[Lost1wing]

I have a brake controller on my Gladiator now, so I can't speak to braking issues. Mine stops fine with the brake controller connected to the trailer. I did tow a 20' wood deck utility trailer once though, I bet it was probably close to 3,000 pounds total and my brake controller wasn't installed at that time. I DID notice that.

Curious - does your Rubi have stock springs / shocks? I always heard those rode a bit soft (the older Fox shocks anyway, I'm not certain on ones with the new red Tennecos) - and I could see how it may not like trailer weight. I have the Max Tow and Bilstein 5100's and it takes quite a lot of weight to make the truck feel unsettled.

But yes re-iterating a few points, if you have experience driving and towing with a 3/4 ton truck and then go to a Gladiator for the same purposes, you will hate yourself for it. The V6 is modest on power and you will be wringing its neck on heavier loads and hills. Thats FINE, its made to handle that - but coming from a bigger truck it's going to make you unhappy.

I'm still looking for a trailer to borrow so I can load my John Deere 1025R (roughly 2400 pounds by itself, as its equipped) on it and go for a drive and see how it is

My Rubicon has Bilstein 5100 now. They are a bit stiffer, but I haven't towed with them installed.

I used my brake controller when I did tow. The trailer brakes would be a requirement in some places. Surge brakes alone are sometimes not enough. I would recommend a brake controller.

 

[ChrisNLA]

My Rubicon has Bilstein 5100 now. They are a bit stiffer, but I haven't towed with them installed.

I used my brake controller when I did tow. The trailer brakes would be a requirement in some places. Surge brakes alone are sometimes not enough. I would recommend a brake controller.

I've never towed anything with surge brakes. I could see how that might be an issue. I like that I can dial up the power on electric brakes.

I even have my 5x10 trailer wired with a 7 way now (it has lights and other stuff that needed power anyway) but when I get ready to replace the axle (the stubs have some light damage from bad bearings previously) I was just gonna go overkill and put a brake axle under it. We do load that little trailer heavy sometimes.

 

[rharr]

I understand the Gladiator is nowhere near like the diesel or bigger gas engines.
But the off road ability of the Gladiator is my focus also. We will camp at least as much as travel. We will do some passes in Colorado and camp until we get ready to explore again.

Towing a heavy trailer in CO mts is NOT fun, it's work and you need to pay attention.

Just got back from a 1400 mile trip from AZ to CO pulling a heavy 2 axle 8x16 enclosed trailer with 4 motorcycles and all the crap needed for 2 weeks of camping. Used a brake controller.

I have a EcoD that has been tuned and engine brake option added, regeared to 4.10 and run 37's.

It pulls hills but you have to watch temps like a hawk, I can only imagine how much of a step backwards a gas 3.6 would be, granted I wouldn't have worry about temps but you would be reving it hard for long times.

The Geep got the job done, wasn't great, it could stop well with the aid of the controller, handling was about a c+ if i had to grade it, If I have to do it again I will add aid bags and see if i can find some used 35's. LIke I said it was a Job and you had to pay extra attention the whole time.

I think we will take my friends E250 next time, and give up on creature comforts the Geep had and prioritize utility.

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