How much weight have you towed with your Diesel Gladiator?

[FC1]

3000lb dry weight

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[AOGAudiman]

One very simple question for you:
Will you be towing up any mountain passes and/or in high heat areas? These diesel Gladiators tow fine, they just can't town and climb passes without spiking oil temperatures. I'm talking about real mountain passes, not those little baby hills that most of our great country has.

 

[3TDJEEP]

One very simple question for you:
Will you be towing up any mountain passes and/or in high heat areas? These diesel Gladiators tow fine, they just can't town and climb passes without spiking oil temperatures. I'm talking about real mountain passes, not those little baby hills that most of our great country has.

Yes, I live a few hours from Lake Tahoe in California and ride dirt bikes (camp) in and around the Sierra Nevada mountains. I am adding mods to hopefully keep the temp issue manageable along with driving at lower speeds and also the tazer to manually run the cooling fan. I listed the mods in post #7.

 

[AOGAudiman]

Yes, I live a few hours from Lake Tahoe in California and ride dirt bikes (camp) in and around the Sierra Nevada mountains. I am adding mods to hopefully keep the temp issue manageable along with driving at lower speeds and also the tazer to manually run the cooling fan. I listed the mods in post #7.

I tow through the Cascades here in western and central Washington. In the summer time, my fully (overloaded) Rpod tests the limits of my stock water/oil cooling capabilities. Just have to be mindful of temps and use the Tazer Cooldown mode to keep plugging along.
After a couple of years of ownership, I would not call the Gladiator a very good tow rig for anything over 4k pounds. They could have done a much better job of keeping these diesel rigs running cooler and then it would be a phenomenal rig. Yeah yeah...."brand, Jeep heritage"... I get why they kept the front end the same.
As it stands, I don't really enjoy towing with this truck, but I do love it for everything else.

 

[biodiesel]

One less thing to worry about, there was never a max tow EcoDiesel. The highest rated towing was 6500 for the ED. Not much more than the Rubicon.

We've got a Rubicon EcoDiesel, but I'm keeping it bone stock for towing purposes. I'm still looking for the perfect small camper for the Gladiator.

If I was being truly honest with myself when I got the Gladiator...I should of really just gotten the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. We already had a 21JLURD.
But I WANTED a Gladiator and the EcoDiesel was the only motor for me.

I can't fault you for that. I also wanted the Gladiator. Thankfully, we have two half ton trucks with the EcoDiesel. We just got back from a 3,000-mile towing trip with our 7,000 lb travel trailer. We've towed over some of the longest/steepest mountain passes in NM, AZ, CA, NV, UT, and CO and haven't had any derating issues. The large grille opening and spacious engine bay keeps the EcoDiesel cool for towing.

 

[RudeJeepin]

what do you have for an SxS?

Just a lowely old 2013 RZR 800 S. It was the father in law's, he passed it down before he passed away.
We'd like a 4 seater, but would also need a bigger trailer for that.

 

[biodiesel]

These diesel Gladiators tow fine, they just can't town and climb passes without spiking oil temperatures.

Some steep mountain passes are windy with hairpin turns which forces the driver to keep the speeds between 20 - 30 mph. That's when I learned that slowing down makes a huge difference in cooling. I see hotter temperatures on I-40 towing through New Mexico and Arizona than I do on steeper mountain passes and slower speeds. Folks are running high speeds on I-40. Yes, I-40 only has 6% grades, but you can be running a 6% grade for 3 - 5 miles continuous. That's when the temperatures really spike.

My goal is to find a small travel trailer for the Gladiator that is under 5,000 lbs. loaded. I'll need to slow way down on the steep mountain passes to keep it from derating, but that's not a big deal to me. We mostly do high elevation camping in the hot months which will help. It was 37*F when we left Red River, NM a few days ago.

 

[AOGAudiman]

Some steep mountain passes are windy with hairpin turns which forces the driver to keep the speeds between 20 - 30 mph. That's when I learned that slowing down makes a huge difference in cooling. I see hotter temperatures on I-40 towing through New Mexico and Arizona than I do on steeper mountain passes and slower speeds. Folks are running high speeds on I-40. Yes, I-40 only has 6% grades, but you can be running a 6% grade for 3 - 5 miles continuous. That's when the temperatures really spike.

My goal is to find a small travel trailer for the Gladiator that is under 5,000 lbs. loaded. I'll need to slow way down on the steep mountain passes to keep it from derating, but that's not a big deal to me. We mostly do high elevation camping in the hot months which will help. It was 37*F when we left Red River, NM a few days ago.

Absolutely correct. And I forgot to mention that slowing down is also key. Unfortunately running thru I-90 and most of the others around me if you aren't maintaining 60, you're a hazard.

 

[3TDJEEP]

Starting to come to the realization that I most likely cannot get the toy hauler that I really want due to its 5000lb dry weight. Sucks, sure wish the JTRD had a bit more weight capacity! Bought it for its great motor but can't really use it to its capability.

There is absolutely nothing else on the market that I like besides that custom Dune Sport. If I could order an ATC or Flyer Forge with a few custom changes, I'd do it, but those are not customizable.

 

[biodiesel]

Unfortunately running thru I-90 and most of the others around me if you aren't maintaining 60, you're a hazard.

60 mph is a nice towing speed for highways. I set the cruise at 62 mph when towing with the 2015 and 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. I mostly do it because it's a very safe towing speed, plus I can sometimes get as much as 14 mpg if there's no wind.

I love towing through California because they have a posted 55 mph speed limit for those who are towing. I've seen 15 mpg towing at 55 mph through California.

 

[AOGAudiman]

60 mph is a nice towing speed for highways. I set the cruise at 62 mph when towing with the 2015 and 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. I mostly do it because it's a very safe towing speed, plus I can sometimes get as much as 14 mpg if there's no wind.

I love towing through California because they have a posted 55 mph speed limit for those who are towing. I've seen 15 mpg towing at 55 mph through California.

Agreed. Thankfully we have a semi truck/towing speed here in WA, and it's 5mph below the Gen pop speed limit. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one they follow it though! Hahha! A lot of our highways are 70mph posted and that means everyone is doing 80+. Coming from the Audi line, I've found it very enjoyable to be in a vehicle that pretty much forces you to take your time, go the speed limit and relax.

 

[biodiesel]

Starting to come to the realization that I most likely cannot get the toy hauler that I really want due to its 5000lb dry weight.

Dry weight is part of it. The other is wind drag. Our Arctic Fox 22G is a widebody (8'6" wide) which puts tremendous drag on the Ram EcoDiesel (96 square feet). So, that's something else we need to pay attention to when selecting a camper for the Jeep.

Does anyone know what the frontal area restriction is for the Jeep Gladiator? According to AI, "Yes, the Jeep Gladiator does have a frontal area restriction for any towed camper or trailer. According to the vehicle's documentation, this limit is specifically set at 40 to 55 square feet, depending on your specific trim and factory towing package."

 

[biodiesel]

Coming from the Audi line, I've found it very enjoyable to be in a vehicle that pretty much forces you to take your time, go the speed limit and relax.

I've never cared too much for speed. I love watching NASCAR, but I would rather own a $110,000 Cummins than a $110,000 Hellcat. Don't get me wrong, I love the Hellcat, but we won't ever own one.

 

[3TDJEEP]

Dry weight is part of it. The other is wind drag. Our Arctic Fox 22G is a widebody (8'6" wide) which puts tremendous drag on the Ram EcoDiesel (96 square feet). So, that's something else we need to pay attention to when selecting a camper for the Jeep.

Does anyone know what the frontal area restriction is for the Jeep Gladiator? According to AI, "Yes, the Jeep Gladiator does have a frontal area restriction for any towed camper or trailer. According to the vehicle's documentation, this limit is specifically set at 40 to 55 square feet, depending on your specific trim and factory towing package."

The toy hauler I'm wanting to buy is also 8'6" wide. 7' tall in front and pitched to 8' tall in rear. Flipped axles, so I assume the box sits around 3' off the ground. So 10' tall front and 11' rear.

 

[biodiesel]

The toy hauler I'm wanting to buy is also 8'6" wide. 7' tall in front and pitched to 8' tall in rear. Flipped axles, so I assume the box sits around 3' off the ground. So 10' tall front and 11' rear.

The frontal area only includes the front cap. So, let's say the front cap is 8'6" wide by 7' feet tall, then you have a total frontal area of 60 sq. ft., which exceeds the 55 sq. ft. recommendation.

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