Rubicon payload for overlanding rig

[remlemasi]

I’m going crazy here, back and forth between Sport S Max Tow and Rubicon for an overlanding rig. RTT, rack/canopy, drawer system, etc, etc.

My heart (+another body part) is telling me Rubicon, but my brain is telling me 1200lbs payload is not enough. Sport S Max Tow with its 1600lbs, >3/4 ton payload is where it’s at to keep the suspension and everything else happy and safe.

Way too easy to exceed 1200 lbs right? Skycamp, DECKED, RLD without kitchen system is already ~450lbs. Four adults ~700lbs easy. That’s 50lbs left for gear, food, cooler, water, and everything else.

Am I overthinking this? Will a Rubicon handle the weight just fine? Probably won’t be doing much rock crawling with all the gear in place so all the rock crawling goodies will go to waste, but there are so many awesome options not available on the Sport S at all.

Help me rationalize this!

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[WXman]

You're one of the few people who actually is doing the math before buying. I salute you.

The Overland ironically is the worst overland rig, it has the least payload. But the Rubicon can run out quickly also. With four adults it's almost a guarantee that you'll run out of legal payload after adding all your gear and accessories. And, you will have zero left for towing a trailer, ever.

 

[remlemasi]

You're one of the few people who actually is doing the math before buying. I salute you.

The Overland ironically is the worst overland rig, it has the least payload. But the Rubicon can run out quickly also. With four adults it's almost a guarantee that you'll run out of legal payload after adding all your gear and accessories. And, you will have zero left for towing a trailer, ever.

Yeah, “Overand” lol.

I’ve always been overly analytical and this build won’t be any different. Thanks for being another voice of reason. I knew Sport S Max Tow was the way to go, just needed some validation

 

[LongTimeListener]

With four adults it's almost a guarantee that you'll run out of legal payload after adding all your gear and accessories. And, you will have zero left for towing a trailer, ever.

Who overlands with four adults in one rig? I have never seen that in my 30+ overlanding trips. Two max. Maybe a wife and kids, but they don't weigh nearly like what you're suggesting.

 

[mojocho]

maybe look into an overlanding specific trailer? The Scout Trailer from Smittybuilt?

 

[WXman]

Who overlands with four adults in one rig? I have never seen that in my 30+ overlanding trips. Two max. Maybe a wife and kids, but they don't weigh nearly like what you're suggesting.

So what do those folks do, leave half their family at home? What's the point of a 4-door vehicle if you aren't bringing the kids along too?

We have 3 boys. 2 are in college and are small guys under 6' tall, 1 is in middle school. The 5 of us combined go 825ish lbs. and none of us are what you'd call obese. A family can eat up payload very quickly.

An Overland would have left us with 200 lbs. payload. A Rubicon would have had maybe 400 lbs. left. I didn't feel that was nearly enough. I bought a truck for a reason. Without the Max Towing package, I would have shopped elsewhere.

 

[LongTimeListener]

We have 3 boys. 2 are in college and are small guys under 6' tall, 1 is in middle school. The 5 of us combined go 825ish lbs. and none of us are what you'd call obese. A family can eat up payload very quickly.

With respect, if you're overlanding regularly with 4 full-size adults, you need a different rig. The Gladiator has a better rating than a Ford Raptor. It's not exactly under-rated. Even a Power Wagon only has a 1,510 lb. payload rating. That's within 200 lbs of what the sticker on my JTR says my rating is. I'm not sure what people are expecting w/r/t payload.

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

You just need to get lighter stuff and be more efficient with space and the items you need to bring vs want.

So what do those folks do, leave half their family at home? What's the point of a 4-door vehicle if you aren't bringing the kids along too?

We have 3 boys. 2 are in college and are small guys under 6' tall, 1 is in middle school. The 5 of us combined go 825ish lbs. and none of us are what you'd call obese. A family can eat up payload very quickly.

An Overland would have left us with 200 lbs. payload. A Rubicon would have had maybe 400 lbs. left. I didn't feel that was nearly enough. I bought a truck for a reason. Without the Max Towing package, I would have shopped elsewhere.

I found out that obese means you are 20% over bmi. Wow, that doesn't leave much room for weight lifters, athletes that aren't long distance runners, people with really large 11'th fingers, people with high bone density and people with really big hair and a lot of body hair to match.

 

[remlemasi]

maybe look into an overlanding specific trailer? The Scout Trailer from Smittybuilt?

I’m planning on putting this in Turo to rent our, no towing allowed on the platform.

An Overland would have left us with 200 lbs. payload. A Rubicon would have had maybe 400 lbs. left. I didn't feel that was nearly enough. I bought a truck for a reason. Without the Max Towing package, I would have shopped elsewhere.

My thoughts exactly. With the rig going on Turo, I want to make sure I am reducing risk as much as possible and not liable for any issues that may arise from exceeding the legal payload or GVWR.

With respect, if you're overlanding regularly with 4 full-size adults, you need a different rig. The Gladiator has a better rating than a Ford Raptor. It's not exactly under-rated. Even a Power Wagon only has a 1,510 lb. payload rating. That's within 200 lbs of what the sticker on my JTR says my rating is. I'm not sure what people are expecting w/r/t payload.

I do plan on getting an RTT with capacity for 4 adults. Assuming 4 adults are OK cramming onto a king size bed, it’s really plenty of space.

With Turo I won’t really have control over, or rather I don’t want to restrict how many people can ride in the truck. Even if only 2 or 3 go in the RTT, 2 more could be in a standard tent on the ground.

But yes, I wasn’t really sure what to expect w/r/t payload and what’s acceptable, which is why I’m reaching to this group, This will be my first build so I want to do it right!

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

You are running into a lot of the same issues i am. Overlanding is 90% made for 2 people and 9% made for 3. If you have more than 3 then its really difficult.

 

[remlemasi]

You are running into a lot of the same issues i am. Overlanding is 90% made for 2 people and 9% made for 3. If you have more than 3 then its really difficult.

Totally agree. Since I’m planning on getting a 4-person RTT, I just want to be sure I’m covering all the bases. The truck will probably be used by my renters in paved campgrounds and not true overlanding since off-road travel is also prohibited on Turo.

 

[Rex3rd]

Sport s max tow has pretty much won me over. Best payload best towing and alot cheaper

 

[bgenlvtex]

I'd start by shit canning the decked system and the back seats and the two people riding in them. That should give you about 350 more pounds or so plus whatever the people weigh.

If you are going to be "overlanding" with 4 adults in a JT you are going to be sad and miserable. You're going to need a full size pick up/ suv if you're going to have 4 adults.

 

[Otter155]

You are running into a lot of the same issues i am. Overlanding is 90% made for 2 people and 9% made for 3. If you have more than 3 then its really difficult.

I have a family of 6 that I overland with (my wife does drive her TJ, but only carries a passenger and that Jeeps recovery gear). Just started a club meetup with the express intent of discussing non-solo overlanding. My solution to the payload with my JKU was to buy a trailer, because it allowed me to utilize the gross combined weight, not just the gross vehicle weight.

My trailer empty weighs 1k, full it weighs 2k lbs, that gives me a loaded tongue weight of 300, I will still have a bit of payload left (about 500 lbs.) for light items, like sleeping bags (kids sleep in a tent) and pillows. Total I'm at about 1500 lbs of "gear" with the added convenience of a nicer sleeping arrangement for my wife and I. I could go more than 1500lbs of gear, but them I'm over the trailers rating.

 

[smlobx]

One question for the OP is are you planning on doing any “upgrades” to the Sport?
If you end up going to larger tires, lift etc. you will be reducing your capacity. That’s why I got a Rubicon...I’m. It planning on having to increase its capabilities...I’ll have to make the weight thing work and I agree with another poster and ditch the Decked System. Too heavy for what you get...Forerunner is developing a system that will store more and be lighter.

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