Newbie help

[Kezzy]

Apologize in advance for asking questions that I'm sure have been asked and answered in other posts but putting it all together is a bit overwhelming. I currently drive a 2015 JKU Sahara. My wife has been pushing me for a TT for some time now. My preference would be a motorhome and flat tow the JKU but I have lost that battle. So I am currently searching for a new or used Gladiator w/ Max Tow. I'll then start searching for a TT. Something small (around 20-22ft) and light (<4000# empty). I've towed boats and many other trailers in the past but never a camper. Our trips will be mostly in coastal and upstate SC and western NC. Its just my wife and I so payload will be minimal. So I'm looking for guidance, validation, etc. I have dozens of questions but will start with these.

As I stated, Gladiator w/ max tow. I have recently gotten into overlanding and therefore would like to add front bumper/winch, leveling kit, new wheels and a set of 35's. I know this alters the towing capability a bit depending on the added weight. I have MT tires on my JKU. Any issues running MT's when it comes to towing or would AT's be a better choice?

As for the TT, the general consensus I've seen is to use a WDH with sway control and trailer brake control. If I can find one, I plan to get a TT w/ dual axles. Anything else I should consider?

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[Gren71]

Lots of questions in that post lol

i have a single axle forest river wolf pup 18to

as far as towing i use a curt echo Bluetooth controller and absolutely love it. No issues ever once and no install. For more on that search the forum for curt echo.


i also have airlift bags in the rear that help with bounce on long trips. Highly recommend. Airlift 1000 JT kit

35s and all the extras will absolutely effect your towing numbers and experience. Personally ive went back more stock as I prefer the towing capability and feel of the oem truck over the compromised feel with added weight and floaty tires. Im sure others can add their $0.02 on that.

ive towed both short and long distance with my jtmt over the last year and have loved the experience. Its really a great

yes a WDH is definitely necessary.

 

[TwelveGaugeSage]

Hopefully I don't get flamed too hard for saying this, but as much as I love the Gladiator, and I am sure you would be fine in this endeavor, I think I would go with more truck. I guess despite all the evidence to the contrary, I just don't see it as a good towing rig.

 

[Gren71]

Hopefully I don't get flamed too hard for saying this, but as much as I love the Gladiator, and I am sure you would be fine in this endeavor, I think I would go with more truck. I guess despite all the evidence to the contrary, I just don't see it as a good towing rig.

to each their own. Its definitely been postulated that the "gladiator isn't a towing vehicle". But, like you said, that's a belief despite all the evidence to the contrary.

I think it comes down to the drivers confidence in their towing capabilities and their own experience. Personally this is the first time ive ever towed a travel trailer, despite towing trailers and boats all my life. As far as my personal experience the JT is fine at it. But had I started towing with a full size, I can absolutely see how the JT would seem less than desirable.

I will agree that taking it to its MAX towing would be an unpleasant experience, especially over a distance. But I definitely think that keeping a TT in the 2,500 - 5,000 lbs range (%10-%12 tongue weight) is a perfectly reasonable, and enjoyable, towing experience.

My wife and I have already discussed a larger TT at some point. And with that discussion has of course come the part where we would need a larger truck. So we will see what the future holds.

 

[rharr]

All I will say is give yourself plenty of tow weight headway when looking for a trailer. Out of the gate don't try to hit the max tow weight of the vehicle. Having a smaller lighter trailer will make the trip that much more enjoyable. Also Don't forget about water and waste weight plus all the crap the family will pack into the trailer pot/pans, toys, camp chairs ect.. all those things add up quick and can surpass the designed tow weight.

My goal would be 1500 under max tow weight with all my crap loaded.

 

[Ferg]

I, too, have found the JT (JTR, in my case) to be an adequate towing rig. I've pulled my GeoPro 19FBS literally thousands of miles in the desert, the mountains, and in the piney woods w/o any problems at all.

That being said, I don't pull around a behemoth, 18-wheeler-sized travel trailer, either. I would encourage you to remember that just because you CAN tow something up to a certain weight doesn't mean you SHOULD do so. Leave yourself some leeway. Keep your tongue/hitch weight within specs (note: don't forget that in addition to Jeep's listed max weight limit on the hitch, you, your passengers, your cargo, and your trailer's hitch weight all must be calculated in the payload capacity, too ... so if my hitch weight is 600#, I'm 250#, I have a 130# passenger, and we're hauling 150# of stuff, I'm at 1,130# ... in other words, topped out on my payload specs). A good WDH is a must if you're pulling a heavier or longer TT, in my opinion. LIke one of our colleagues above, I also use the Curt bluetooth brake controller and love it. It's worked flawlessly for me since I bought it.

 

[sarguy1941]

I would suggest finding the TT then buying the truck to tow it. Especially if the Mrs' is involved.

 

[PicklesJ]

I, too, have found the JT (JTR, in my case) to be an adequate towing rig. I've pulled my GeoPro 19FBS literally thousands of miles in the desert, the mountains, and in the piney woods w/o any problems at all.

In the process of buying a Flagstaff 19FBS (the same trailer you have with the different Forest River brand name). Will be pulling with a JTS Max Tow (and the Curt Echo was just delivered by Amazon).

 

[Dougstdig]

I actually read all the posts before opening my trap this time?. I would not entertain the thought of a leveling kit with the intention of pulling a TT. The rake is there for a reason. For some that will never tow its a different story.

something else folksdon’t think about is the SQFT area on the front of the unit you’ll be pulling. The 2nd photo in Ferg’s post above is a great visual. Pulling that TT vs. pulling a car on a car carrier or dolly of equal weight are two complete animals especially if you’re going to do it with the 3.6 gasser. The torque just isn’t there to pull you out of trouble. You will have significantly more wind resistance pulling that TT.

I would STRONGLY recommend a weight distributing hitch. While it’s not a 5th wheel it helps with the geometry and you’ll be a little less prone to the tail wagging the dog instead of the dog wagging the tail as it should be.

If you increase the diameter of the tires you worsted your gearing and affectively lower your tow rating. I can’t do the math in my head…or even remember how to do it, but you’re lowering your rpm by increasing the diameter of your tires and this isn’t even brining into the discussion the Rowling mass increase that also decreased your braking performance.

TFL has a great video on YT discussing this where a JLU has a diesel and a JT is a gasser. Because of the wheelbase, they’d pick the JT, but in its current form I believe they only recommended like 4500. Best of both worlds was a JTD. I’ll try to find the vid and attach it to this post.

While not what you wanted to hear, choosing the TT then the pull unit is EXCELLENT advice.

Gladiator tow comparison

 

[PicklesJ]

QUOTE="Gren71, post: 853876, member: 22576"]

i have a single axle forest river wolf pup 18to

as far as towing i use a curt echo Bluetooth controller and absolutely love it. No issues ever once and no install. For more on that search the forum for curt echo.


i also have airlift bags in the rear that help with bounce on long trips. Highly recommend. Airlift 1000 JT kit

35s and all the extras will absolutely effect your towing numbers and experience. Personally ive went back more stock as I prefer the towing capability and feel of the oem truck over the compromised feel with added weight and floaty tires. Im sure others can add their $0.02 on that.

yes a WDH is definitely necessary.


[/QUOTE]

So as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I am about to pick up a Flastaff EPro 19FBS (excited). I have the Curt echo brake controller. The dealer is going to install a WDH - how important is anti-sway - should I make sure the WDH has that feature. I did upgrade the standard max-tow wheel/tire set to the Rubicon wheels and MT tires - not worried about that.

My question is about the airlift bags. I went to the vender website and watched the install video. But could you explain from your point of view what they do and how important an addition they are?

Thanks!

 

[Gren71]

My question is about the airlift bags. I went to the vender website and watched the install video. But could you explain from your point of view what they do and how important an addition they are?

They help keep the rear level and certainly made a difference in how much the rear end bounced or moved while riding with the camper. The bags made the truck and TT feel more like one vehicle, than having something heavy attached to the rear.

 

[WILDHOBO]

to each their own. Its definitely been postulated that the "gladiator isn't a towing vehicle". But, like you said, that's a belief despite all the evidence to the contrary.

I think it comes down to the drivers confidence in their towing capabilities and their own experience. Personally this is the first time ive ever towed a travel trailer, despite towing trailers and boats all my life. As far as my personal experience the JT is fine at it. But had I started towing with a full size, I can absolutely see how the JT would seem less than desirable.

I will agree that taking it to its MAX towing would be an unpleasant experience, especially over a distance. But I definitely think that keeping a TT in the 2,500 - 5,000 lbs range (%10-%12 tongue weight) is a perfectly reasonable, and enjoyable, towing experience.

My wife and I have already discussed a larger TT at some point. And with that discussion has of course come the part where we would need a larger truck. So we will see what the future holds.

Having towed many times with full sized v8 power, the gladiator is not that. It is fantastic at towing 3-5 thousand pounds with either rubicon factory towing or max tow package. It’s not the right choice to tow a 7000 lb trailer, in my opinion. Great overland vehicle with a lower weight trailer. Our trailer maxes out at 3300 fully loaded. Easy peezy.

 

[Labswine]

My set up, pictured. 27' trailer, about 5,300 lbs loaded, BlueOx equalizer/anti sway, Tenkosha trailer braking. No airbags in the rear springs but have not noticed a need for them. My Overland with the tow package handles it all with aplomb. Easy tow, easy to drive. Remember, drive your OWN drive, not what traffic is trying to make you drive. I don't go above 65 mph and as far as shifting, I find that shifting manually with the 8 sp. auto is the way to go. Unless nice level or down hill for 8th, 7th is the gear to use. If going up grade, and speed drops below 58 mph, then downshift to 6th until back up to about 62-63 mph then back to 7th. This keeps you in the 2,000-2,500 rpm range. 13 mpg and no issues what-so-ever.

The only time I noticed the 'tail wagging the dog' was when the road had some slight rutting from the 18 wheelers and the trailer wanted to follow them instead of where I was trying to run in the lane. Once I figured that out and adjusted my lane position, it was all good.

YES, decide on a trailer before buying the tow vehicle.

I did it the other way around but, had a reputable trailer dealer who knew what he was talking about and made sure the TT was within our towing capacity, and had the appropriate safety gear (based on his own towing experiences) added into the purchase. Plus, this was the trailer the wife liked. That is also very important

 

[Trickster]

Well if you are set to have a JT there are many trailers out in the marketplace that it will tow. As you mentioned you are looking at about 4K in weight, so not a problem. I have WDH, antisway, Airlift 1000 airbags, Curt Echo, and my trailer is 4400K dry. As you also mentioned you are staying somewhat local to your area, so no long hour pulls.

A diesel JT will be rated at 6K and be a better torque hauler on hilly terrain. Some have mentioned a V8, that usually means a full-size truck. If you want a midsized overlanding pickup that is rated to tow over 7500K when properly equipped the Jeep is it. I personally wouldn’t demand the 3.6 to haul anything heavier than 6K.

Sounds like you know your Jeeps and are a fan, buy the truck and find the right trailer for it. I had V8 Rams to tow my TT, just got sick of driving full-size trucks everyday when I only really needed it for half a dozen trips a year.
Good luck.

 

[MPMB]

It can tow anything! Especially a 6000# Airstream with ease.

/s

Many owners on here have towed and from what I've read, the JT works. Its obviously not a F250 or anything like that, but if you have a relatively small TT, it works.

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