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Seeking opinions on towing this TT with a Max Tow

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I have a bigger trailer than that and shift manually at cruise, usually in 7th and the occasional 8th at around 2K RPMs. MPGs around 13-13.5 and I keep the RPMs at 2,500 or below. Handles my ~5,300 lb trailer just fine.
What speed do you cruise at?
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Labswine

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What speed do you cruise at?
Between 60 and 65. At that speed, the 2K RPM in 7th is very comfortable, and the occasional 8th on level or slight down grades. On upgrades, if speed drops below 58 MPH, I drop to 6th at around 2,500 RPM and rebuild speed to about 60 then drop back to 7th and watch the speed and RPMs. Easy, peezy.

Anything more, just not comfortable. If people are passing you like you're standing still, eff them and just drive your own drive. It doesn't matter what other people think because they're inconvenienced for two seconds, like I said, eff 'em. Drive your own drive.
 

3213JT

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My wife and I are looking at buying a travel trailer this spring, and we are asphyxiated fixated on the Grand Design Imagine XLS 22MLE. My current JT only has the regular towing package, so I'm fully prepared to trade it in for a Max Tow. But I am concerned about the weight of this trailer even with a Max Tow. Website stats:

UVW ~5200 lbs
Hitch Weight ~500 lbs
GVWR ~7000lbs

Best I can tell from RV forums, you roll off the dealer lot with a real UVW of about 5300 lbs and a real hitch weight of about 600 lbs. On paper, still no problem for the Max Tow, but my warm fuzzies subside when thinking more about the tongue weight.

On the RV forums, general advice is to worst-case plan for 13% of GVWR on the tongue, which would be 900 lbs--way over the 765-lb owner's manual limit for the Max Tow. We generally pack light, so I can't imagine us actually getting up to that 7000-lb GVWR in the trailer if it's 5300 lbs empty. On the forums, people report their trip-loaded tongue weight from 700 to 775 lbs, which is getting to be borderline.

It will just be my wife and I in the vehicle, so I am not concerned about payload (isn't it 1500-1600 lbs for the Max Tow?). Boondocking isn't on our radar at all, so no concern about a generator and fuel in the bed (nor weight of water in the trailer). There are a couple dozen campgrounds within a two-hour drive of us, most of which would require zero interstate travel. The most strenuous things I think we would actually do are the mountains of North GA/East TN/West NC and the Gulf (6 hrs by car).

So as the title states, I am looking for opinions on towing this with the Max Tow, which comfortably covers all parameters except maybe tongue weight. I've been through all the threads; I know there are others on here towing similarly-sized travel trailers. Of course everyone says theirs "pulls fine," but I guess I'm looking for more reassurance it'll work or solid reasoning it won't. Based on the type of trips I think we'll do most often, I am ok with the Max Tow being adequate as opposed to having way too much truck, but the last thing I would want is to go through the hassle of trading out for a Max Tow and then discovering it's inadequate.

For the record, there are folks with low-optioned F-150's that have similar payload and tow ratings to the Max Tow who are towing this trailer fine. And one guy towed his with a diesel GMC Canyon problem-free for a while. Also for the record, my wife and I both loathe full-size trucks and love the Gladiator; getting a full-size isn't an option at all.
So did you ever pull the trigger on the 22MLE? The reason I ask is Iā€˜m looking at the same TT.
 
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ShrimpHappens

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So did you ever pull the trigger on the 22MLE? The reason I ask is Iā€˜m looking at the same TT.
No. Probably going to have a couple of big trips this year (that a camper isn't right for), so we're on hold for now.

I'm still keeping an eye on them, just for fun, though. MSRP has gone up $4k from when I made this post.
 

BaliMawr

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I've got an Overland with a regular tow package, using an Echo wireless brake controller/WDH and towing a Shamrock 19 Hybrid, 4,300 lbs dry weight. The auto trans seems to want to stay at 4k RPMs and I get an average of 10MPG when towing. Do any of you with similar setup have same experience?

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Nice! I'll be pulling a similar length Rockwood Roo (Hybrid). I've ordered a MT. Do you have air bags, or just the WDH?
 

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I tow a TT here in the west. Regularly at 10k feet elevation. I also am in the high-desert where we experience winds. The Gladiator tows fine. On the real steep stuff at the peak of a mountain I slow down quite a bit, but on the highway and even moderate climbs I can maintain speed limit. So far so good. Dry weight is about 3200lbs on this trailer, with 400ish lbs at the hitch. I think in reality its quite a bit more, but I don't think I top 5000lbs fully loaded. I'll go to a weight station and check in a few weeks when the temps are up.

Having said all that, having a solid anti sway / weight distribution hitch helps a ton. Before I had that, there were many white knuckle moments. Also, trailer brakes are crucial.
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wannajeep

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Having said all that, having a solid anti sway / weight distribution hitch helps a ton. Before I had that, there were many white knuckle moments. Also, trailer brakes are crucial.
Great looking setup! I'd put the weight distributing hitch in the "crucial" category too. For tow weights under 3,000 probably would put it ahead of the brakes, but that choice depends on other factors too.
 

Ferg

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My opinion is strictly that: an opinion. It's based on many thousands of miles pulling my TT with my JTR.

Having said that, I personally would be uncomfortable pulling something that heavy, long, and tall (the specs show it to be 26' 1" stem to stern and >10' tall) with the JT. I tow my TT with my JTR, but I will say that I'm like many here -- I'm nowhere even remotely near my limit on what the truck is rated to tow (7,000#). My GeoPro's dry weight is only 3,329# and the GVWR is 4,336#. I pack very lightly when I camp, so I never get close to the max weight. The JTR tows it fine on long-haul trips, albeit with abysmal mileage. It does have to work out west in the mountains, but not so much that I'd get rid of it for anything else.

I'll join in the chorus here: if you do choose to get the TT you're looking at, get a good trailer brake controller (I use the Curt Echo and love it), a very high-quality WDH w/sway bar, and be judicious as to how you load both the truck and the trailer...just my 2Ā¢. Also, you should look at the Thorn mirror extensions. They're worth their weight in gold.

Keep us in the loop as to what you decide!

Jeep Gladiator Seeking opinions on towing this TT with a Max Tow 017FE9AC-350E-49D6-9CCB-3BFCA1DA1A64_1_201_a
 
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Ferg

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I tow a TT here in the west. Regularly at 10k feet elevation. I also am in the high-desert where we experience winds. The Gladiator tows fine. On the real steep stuff at the peak of a mountain I slow down quite a bit, but on the highway and even moderate climbs I can maintain speed limit. So far so good. Dry weight is about 3200lbs on this trailer, with 400ish lbs at the hitch. I think in reality its quite a bit more, but I don't think I top 5000lbs fully loaded. I'll go to a weight station and check in a few weeks when the temps are up.

Having said all that, having a solid anti sway / weight distribution hitch helps a ton. Before I had that, there were many white knuckle moments. Also, trailer brakes are crucial.
Jeep Gladiator Seeking opinions on towing this TT with a Max Tow 017FE9AC-350E-49D6-9CCB-3BFCA1DA1A64_1_201_a
That is a FANTASTIC setup. I love the Hikes. It looks great with your JT!
 

LANGeek

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astronerd

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New here on the forum and my JT is still on order but very experienced with towing.

Iā€˜ve noticed that many folks that posted to this tread seem to be painting all travel trailers (TTs) with the same broad brush, e.g. get a full size truck if youā€™re going to tow a TT. TTs come in so many different flavors from super ultra light under 2,500lbs to 35 ft mammoth.

Also, no one mentioned the ownerā€™s manual regarding towing limits, specifically the frontal area.

Jeep Gladiator Seeking opinions on towing this TT with a Max Tow 3E56C304-AE0A-4D21-9B7F-E21455C0EC0E

At max 55 sqft. is not a lot. If you have a 8ft wide trailer, the max box height should be 7.33ft. I realized this is just one metric but it definitely impacts towability.

I also noticed others without the Max Tow package referencing the JTā€˜s lack of power ano torque. I assume the 4:10 gears and the 8 speed transmission are going to provide an improved driving experience. I hear all the time about people re-gearing due to the mass of larger tires, the 4:10s compared to the 3:73s have to make a difference.

Iā€™m with the OP on going with a full size truck, no thanks. This will be my first Jeep. I purposely selected the Gladiator as it has the best towing capacity in the mid-sized truck segment - that and itā€™s a convertible. Manufacturers canā€™t just slap whatever tow rating they want on a vehicle. If Jeep says it can tow 7650lbs with a hitch weight of 750lbs, then it can. Would I ever load it to the maximum, never! I like to stay below 80% of my capacity. It should also be noted that towing capacity decreases as you climb in altitude; a TT that a JT can tow happily along the east coast may not be able to tow that TT over the Rockies. Do you homework, understand all the capacity limites of your TT and your JT, get a great brake controller (I love my Prodigy), a good weight distribution hitch and weigh your rig.

-Mike
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