Max towing and lifts

[JTpoor]

Thats where I was thinking I wanted to be, around 3.5" with 35s. Not sure I wanna do 37s and need a regear though. Most of the towing or hauling I'll be doing won't use all of the max to abilities, but I don't want to give it up just for some good looks.

The 37" BFG's are actually about 36" if I'm lucky and they're one of the lightest weight in the 37" class so they were a pretty safe bet. I had them on my 2020 with a 1.5" spacer lift on Rubi Springs (which netted about 2.5" of front end lift) and did not notice much power loss bc of the 4.10 rear end in the max tow pkg. I thought they just looked a little too stuffed. Sold the 2020 and going w a 3.5" lift and the same 37"s on my '21. Pic below is my '20 w/ a mostly empty aluminum trailer

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[Jeeperjamie]

The 37" BFG's are actually about 36" if I'm lucky and they're one of the lightest weight in the 37" class so they were a pretty safe bet. I had them on my 2020 with a 1.5" spacer lift on Rubi Springs (which netted about 2.5" of front end lift) and did not notice much power loss bc of the 4.10 rear end in the max tow pkg. I thought they just looked a little too stuffed. Sold the 2020 and going w a 3.5" lift and the same 37"s on my '21. Pic below is my '20 w/ a mostly empty aluminum trailer

Yeah they are light 72lbs a piece, one of the reasons I went with them was I was trying to stay with light tires. The ones I got were used with about 75% tread left on them,they measure 36.2 mounted on my JT. The guy I bought them from had them mounted on a LJ and he said new they measured 36.5 mounted on his. I run mine at 33psi. With the Rubicon springs in the front and Readylift 2.5 spacers installed I'm sitting about 3" of lift in the front and 2" in the rear. It probably would be more in the front if you minused out the bumper and winch.

Picture the day I got them and what they came off of

 

[ThorJT]

I too like the look of open fenders like you. Just finished up doing this, you would have to talk to the manufacturer on the lifts as been mentioned on this thread. I went with the Rock Krawler Adventure 3" lift. actually 4.25" front/3" rear over stock Overland suspension. This image is 295/70/18 (34s) with approx. 700lbs of weight on the rear, onboard water tank etc. Still has a slight rake. Quad rate springs in the rear. handles the interstates through the mountains with no issues keeping up with traffic. I too sometimes load a small enclosed trailer filled with scoots. stock 373 gearing for now but absolutely no issues towing and simply locking tranny into 6th gear.

Did you put spacers with the springs to get the 4.25? That's a good looking setup

 

[ThorJT]

The 37" BFG's are actually about 36" if I'm lucky and they're one of the lightest weight in the 37" class so they were a pretty safe bet. I had them on my 2020 with a 1.5" spacer lift on Rubi Springs (which netted about 2.5" of front end lift) and did not notice much power loss bc of the 4.10 rear end in the max tow pkg. I thought they just looked a little too stuffed. Sold the 2020 and going w a 3.5" lift and the same 37"s on my '21. Pic below is my '20 w/ a mostly empty aluminum trailer

I think I'd have to agree the 37s on the 1.5 are a little too stuffed. So the regear for 37s isn't as much of a necessity?

Yeah they are light 72lbs a piece, one of the reasons I went with them was I was trying to stay with light tires. The ones I got were used with about 75% tread left on them,they measure 36.2 mounted on my JT. The guy I bought them from had them mounted on a LJ and he said new they measured 36.5 mounted on his. I run mine at 33psi. With the Rubicon springs in the front and Readylift 2.5 spacers installed I'm sitting about 3" of lift in the front and 2" in the rear. It probably would be more in the front if you minused out the bumper and winch.

Picture the day I got them and what they came off of

So what are the benefits of swapping out the front springs for Rubicon? Adding another inch?

Also isn't a 315/70/17 13 inches wide? And they still fit?

 

[danielspivey]

you said max towing. I would caution against a leveling kit if you are truely planning on putting some weight on the back. My travel trailer on the back pulls all the rack out once I put that on back there.

do you use a WDH? If so and set up correctly, your rake should be almost identical lodes vs not. With my WDH, the front and back drop proportionately.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

So what are the benefits of swapping out the front springs for Rubicon? Adding another inch?

Also isn't a 315/70/17 13 inches wide? And they still fit?

Yeah you get anywhere from .50 to a 1 inch of lift depending on if you get the softer springs or not. 315 70 17 is a 12.6 inch tire not 13

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'd have to say I'm there on the only as much as I need and with 35s being the biggest I'd go if I even went that big.. I love the look of a 4.5 inch lift and 37s, but I chose the gladiator over the wrangler for the "truck stuff" for a reason.. I'm wanting to beef up the look without sacrificing much if any at all of the functionality.. I've got the terraflex, daystar, and lower control arms on the way to give a little more room up front and still keep some of the rake for towing reasons. It sounds like I need less lift than I was thinking I was going to need.

I was wandering how the Mopar lift stacked up especially as far as the towing capacity but I haven't found much from those who have it. But I've seen it posted a few places about the Rubicon springs, what benefits come from swapping those?

Here's the bottom line -
These trucks were tested, validated, rated, based on factory equipment and height.
As several YT videos out there say, changes to height and other things absolutely impact the truck's ability to handle the load - be it payload or towing.
Some will have more impact than others, some little, some a lot.
You can't expect it to be exactly as safe, handle the same or have the same abilities to haul or tow if you deviate.
Obviously and of course, it's your choice - but know the ratings are NOT BASED ON SPRINGS AND SHOCKS or axle weight ratings. There's far more to it.
If you lift it and tow the max tow rating - and have to make some emergency maneuver to avoid trouble - you may not be able to.
Those who think it's all about springs, axles and shocks and believe other mods like lifts, spaced out wheels and so on won't have any adverse impact are fools asking for trouble. But go in with eyes open - you are ahead of them.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

So what are the benefits of swapping out the front springs for Rubicon? Adding another inch?

Also isn't a 315/70/17 13 inches wide? And they still fit?

It depends!! There are multiple "Rubicon springs" - they aren't all the same. So you can't say exactly what will happen - I've seen results range from 3/4" to a bit over 1".
Depends on the weight of the Rubicon they came out of and the weight of your truck.
I know of at least 3 different Rubicon front spring numbers.

 

[eaglerugby04]

do you use a WDH? If so and set up correctly, your rake should be almost identical lodes vs not. With my WDH, the front and back drop proportionately.

I do, but I also have a rubicon (slightly softer suspension) and my trailer is a 28ft 6klbs Jayco so in terms of size I am coming close to what the jeep can handle. With the WDH I am perfectly level. If I didn't have that room to squat odds are I would have ended up overloading my front axle to get the weight right.

 

[aai]

Did you put spacers with the springs to get the 4.25? That's a good looking setup

no sir, I did have a 1.5" Teraflex spacer on otherwise a stock overland suspension to help clear the 34s. I was concerned like you about doing taller aftermarket springs and losing towing due to sag for the new heightened springs. As you can see, I have 700lbs in the rear which is probably your tongue weight for towing on a max tow. No sag and still have an approximate 1/2" rake. To answer your question of my advertised lift, its because RockKrawler bases their lifts of a Rubicon which they advertise 3" lift for this kit. On a Sport or Overland you can potentially get more. So these are before/after measurements I had taken and basing the measurements.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I too like the look of open fenders like you. Just finished up doing this, you would have to talk to the manufacturer on the lifts as been mentioned on this thread. I went with the Rock Krawler Adventure 3" lift. actually 4.25" front/3" rear over stock Overland suspension. This image is 295/70/18 (34s) with approx. 700lbs of weight on the rear, onboard water tank etc. Still has a slight rake. Quad rate springs in the rear. handles the interstates through the mountains with no issues keeping up with traffic. I too sometimes load a small enclosed trailer filled with scoots. stock 373 gearing for now but absolutely no issues towing and simply locking tranny into 6th gear.

Very nice stance.

 

[Gren71]

im feeling lazy so I didnt read through the entire thread.

I have a JTMT 2in iron rock off-road spacer kit. My TT is around 5k loaded and towed just fine with lift, but I thought it was a bit squishy on bumps. Ended up putting the airlift bags in and now it rides like a dream. On a long haul, I can almost forget I have the TT behind me.

like papa said, you sacrifice a lot when you lift high as heck and add heavy giant tires. Changing anything from stock will alter the ability of the vehicle. Pick your poison is the best advice I can give. Im very pleased with my setup, with 285/75/17 on, and have no plans to go higher since I tow the TT every month.

 

[mtudb24]

I'll throw my $0.02 worth. I went with the Max tow basically so I could have all the benefits as most people have stated (wider axles, lower gearing, hd cooling etc). I tow a couple of 24 foot pontoon boats a couple times a year and not very far (less then 20 miles 1 way). SO the max tow was overkill for that but wanted a nice stance and room to put 35's and have enough clearance to still do some mild off-roading. I went with the mopar kit for the fox shocks and the ease of rolling into the payments (yes, there are lots of opinion on it not being a complete kit and others that are better for less money, but that was MY choice). I did the adjustable front track bar (another item that is questionable by some if needed for only a 2" kit). But I got about 3' total lift and my front axle was off an 1 /2 inch and I wanted it centered. Rear axle was still centered so I didn't bother with anything in rear. I have a daystar 3/4" puck for the front when I get around to installing my winch bumper (still in the garage since last October when I bought it :-( ....

I also thought about just doing Ruby fender flares and not doing the lift, but it rides really nice with the fox shocks and fox steering stabilizer, so I am happy I went this route.

I knew once i did the mopar lift, I didn't have a max tow anymore, but again I didn't need that capacity to begin with, so I am pretty confident I'm not over taxing the truck with whatever I am towing or hauling.

As ShawdowsPapa says, know what you want to do with it and know that any mod you do on ANY trim level you end up with, will detract from the overall factory rating.

Hope this helps
T

 

[Jeeperjamie]

Here's the bottom line -
These trucks were tested, validated, rated, based on factory equipment and height.
As several YT videos out there say, changes to height and other things absolutely impact the truck's ability to handle the load - be it payload or towing.
Some will have more impact than others, some little, some a lot.
You can't expect it to be exactly as safe, handle the same or have the same abilities to haul or tow if you deviate.
Obviously and of course, it's your choice - but know the ratings are NOT BASED ON SPRINGS AND SHOCKS or axle weight ratings. There's far more to it.
If you lift it and tow the max tow rating - and have to make some emergency maneuver to avoid trouble - you may not be able to.
Those who think it's all about springs, axles and shocks and other mods like lifts, spaced out wheels and so on won't have any adverse impact are fools asking for trouble. But go in with eyes open - you are ahead of them.

This right here is the truth. Lifting and deviating from a stock setup will absolutely impact how much you can tow and I have no idea how much or what the limits are as well. Every jeep is going to be different based on what you have done to it. There is another thread on here where the I had the same conversation with another person who said towing some over your specified weight is fine and your not going to get a ticket or anything. Well why that may or may not be true it's definitely your risk to take just not one I'm planning on taking. I know with all I've done to mine i probably shouldn't tow more than 5,000lbs which is a guess at best and even though it's rated for 7600lbs , I'd be comfortable still at around 5,000lbs and I'm good with that because I'm not planning on towing more. I took into consideration tire weight, bumper weight, winch weight and kept the max tow Springs in place to help keep some of the towing capacity in place.

 

[ThorJT]

Yeah you get anywhere from .50 to a 1 inch of lift depending on if you get the softer springs or not. 315 70 17 is a 12.6 inch tire not 13

I forgot word almost in there. The tires I have been looking at range from 12.6 to 12.8, I didn't think they'd fit on stock wheels without rubbing.

It depends!! There are multiple "Rubicon springs" - they aren't all the same. So you can't say exactly what will happen - I've seen results range from 3/4" to a bit over 1".
Depends on the weight of the Rubicon they came out of and the weight of your truck.
I know of at least 3 different Rubicon front spring numbers.

I know lifting it is going to take some of the payload away but I'm looking for a happy medium. Good jeep looks but still a functional truck. I knew what I was doing on the chevy trucks, now entering the jeep world, I have no clue. Which is where I'm at, trying to learn what I can do, and stay as functional as possible. And there are so many options out there and not a whole lot of information on, as previously said, which ones you maintain the most functionality. Like Jeeperjamie, not just keeping in mind towing, but bumpers ect

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