So, what is everybody towing?

[Rummie]

I like the graphics. I bought my tab used but the po didnt order graphics. Its kjnd of boring without anything.

Ours is white right now without graphics. Very boring. We are going to wrap the sides. My wife is working on the graphics and it will end up close to the mockup in the picture.

We absolutely love this camper.

Sponsored

 

[ucijeepguy]

Ours is white right now without graphics. Very boring. We are going to wrap the sides. My wife is working on the graphics and it will end up close to the mockup in the picture.

We absolutely love this camper.

Same. We had a mini max before and this is head and shoulders better design, layout and comfort than the MM. Mm was still great for its price.

 

[ucijeepguy]

Took the trailer out this week..

 

[Russ75]

My wife and I just picked up a 16ft toyhauler. We are taking the gladiator and my ATVs to Sand Mountain NV this weekend.

 

[Scruf]

Here's what I'm towing. 8.5x16 v-nose enclosed trailer. And the toy within.

Trailer is 2,800 lbs, and the car is around 1,000 lbs. Plus spare tires, fuel cans, tools, etc. So probably in the 4,000-4,500 lb range all loaded up.

Obviously the car doesn't add a tremendous amount of weight. So the trailer pulls about the same even unloaded. It's mostly the wind load. I have also pulled this car in a 7x16 enclosed trailer and it really wasn't much different.

The best thing I did was add a rear camera to the trailer. I wired it to run all the time so I can use to help me change lanes, etc. Even with the little towing mirror extensions, you just can't see around the trailer very well. So the camera is a big help.

And my Redarc Tow Pro Elite trailer brake controller has worked very well.

 

[futzin']

Here's what I'm towing. 8.5x16 v-nose enclosed trailer. And the toy within.

Trailer is 2,800 lbs, and the car is around 1,000 lbs. Plus spare tires, fuel cans, tools, etc. So probably in the 4,000-4,500 lb range all loaded up.

Obviously the car doesn't add a tremendous amount of weight. So the trailer pulls about the same even unloaded. It's mostly the wind load. I have also pulled this car in a 7x16 enclosed trailer and it really wasn't much different.

The best thing I did was add a rear camera to the trailer. I wired it to run all the time so I can use to help me change lanes, etc. Even with the little towing mirror extensions, you just can't see around the trailer very well. So the camera is a big help.

And my Redarc Tow Pro Elite trailer brake controller has worked very well.

And how do you like the towing performance?

 

[Scruf]

And how do you like the towing performance?

I'd saying towing performance is "sufficient." Before the Gladiator, I had a 2010 F150 5.4L and towed a C5 Corvette on an open trailer. That setup was about 6k lbs of tow weight. The F150 pulled it significantly better. I'm not surprised by that, the F150 had a longer wheel base, weighed more, and had a V8. So I offer the comparison just as a marker for where I think the Gladiator falls in the spectrum of towing ability. Gladiator seems to get roughly 11mpg towing.

Two things with the Gladiator stand out to me. First, to run at hwy speeds (65mph-70mph) it is always in 5th gear turning 3000+ rpms. It just doesn't have the power to pull the weight and overcome the wind load in a higher gear. And it frequently downshifts even lower to go up hills. You'll frequently be turning 4500-5000 rpms. So it can do it, but it's really working that motor to get it done.

In my opinion, it's not that 260 lb-ft of torque isn't enough, but it comes too high in the rpm range. Peak torque comes at 4,400 rpms. So it makes sense the engine has to run at a higher rpm to pull the load. I just worry that a lifetime of running that hard will have an effect. I have seriously considered trading for the diesel, but I'm probably too invested in my current Gladiator (lift, tires, wheels, bumper, winch, trailer brake controller, etc).

The other thing that stands out, is how much the Jeep is pushed/pulled by other traffic on the hwy. And I don't mean 18 wheels, even an SUV will do it. As the other vehicle gets beside the trailer it pulls you into them, and then at some point it pushes you away. Things get really hairy if you are in the middle lane and traffic is passing you on both sides. When I bought the race car, I picked it up outside of Washington DC. Towing in I95 traffic in DC pulling a trailer is a white knuckle for sure. So on the hwy, with traffic passing you, it is a mandatory two hands on the wheel, full attention, high alert driving experience.

I don't have a W/D hitch, which I think would probably help. Luckily, the track that I normally tow too (VIR) doesn't require too much hwy driving. A lot of it is country roads going 55mph. So that isn't too stressful.

I've also towed a smaller adventure trailer. The Nobo 10.6 weighs around 1,750, plus 30 gallons of water, a generator, camping equipment, etc. So it was probably around 2,200 lbs. I towed it towards the NC mountains. The experience is similar to the enclosed trailer, just dialed back a notch since it is smaller/lighter. The engine has to run at a higher rpm to overcome the wind load on the hwy (with the roof top tent, it's not exactly aerodynamic). And traffic tends to push/pull the trailer some. I think I averaged 12mpg on that trip.

So therefor my tow rating for the Gladiator is "sufficient." It is good enough for my purposes, and the other 99% of the time that I'm not towing, I get to enjoy having a Jeep.

 

[futzin']

Thank you for taking the time. I have a similar cargo trailer: 7 x 14 round nose, tall. Loaded, it weighs 4400 lbs. I took it for a test tow with the wife's '15 Durango Citadel V6 (6200 lb. rated) and it wasn't too bad. I kinda figured a JTR would be similar, overall. Wouldn't need to tow it very often. For heavier tasks I have my '06 Suburban 2500 8.1 L.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

 

[DJ_Rubi]

Better half and I bought an Outback 240URS in early December and went up to Sevierville, TN for the white Christmas. Added side and rearview cameras. Used my Curt wd & sway ctrl hitch and Redarc brake controller
JTRD towed great on both backroads and interstate Plenty of power and easily could jump up to 77+ to get quickly around slow movers. Tried to stay at 70 mostly though. Averaged 16.3 for entire trip.
Headed to Houston, TX area in early February.

New 24' mobile dog house for our 3 codependent furry kids (28' enclosed trailer in background)

Our furry children out for walk in Sevierville

Fontana Lake Christmas Day

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'd saying towing performance is "sufficient." Before the Gladiator, I had a 2010 F150 5.4L and towed a C5 Corvette on an open trailer. That setup was about 6k lbs of tow weight. The F150 pulled it significantly better. I'm not surprised by that, the F150 had a longer wheel base, weighed more, and had a V8. So I offer the comparison just as a marker for where I think the Gladiator falls in the spectrum of towing ability. Gladiator seems to get roughly 11mpg towing.

Two things with the Gladiator stand out to me. First, to run at hwy speeds (65mph-70mph) it is always in 5th gear turning 3000+ rpms. It just doesn't have the power to pull the weight and overcome the wind load in a higher gear. And it frequently downshifts even lower to go up hills. You'll frequently be turning 4500-5000 rpms. So it can do it, but it's really working that motor to get it done.

In my opinion, it's not that 260 lb-ft of torque isn't enough, but it comes too high in the rpm range. Peak torque comes at 4,400 rpms. So it makes sense the engine has to run at a higher rpm to pull the load. I just worry that a lifetime of running that hard will have an effect. I have seriously considered trading for the diesel, but I'm probably too invested in my current Gladiator (lift, tires, wheels, bumper, winch, trailer brake controller, etc).

The other thing that stands out, is how much the Jeep is pushed/pulled by other traffic on the hwy. And I don't mean 18 wheels, even an SUV will do it. As the other vehicle gets beside the trailer it pulls you into them, and then at some point it pushes you away. Things get really hairy if you are in the middle lane and traffic is passing you on both sides. When I bought the race car, I picked it up outside of Washington DC. Towing in I95 traffic in DC pulling a trailer is a white knuckle for sure. So on the hwy, with traffic passing you, it is a mandatory two hands on the wheel, full attention, high alert driving experience.

I don't have a W/D hitch, which I think would probably help. Luckily, the track that I normally tow too (VIR) doesn't require too much hwy driving. A lot of it is country roads going 55mph. So that isn't too stressful.

I've also towed a smaller adventure trailer. The Nobo 10.6 weighs around 1,750, plus 30 gallons of water, a generator, camping equipment, etc. So it was probably around 2,200 lbs. I towed it towards the NC mountains. The experience is similar to the enclosed trailer, just dialed back a notch since it is smaller/lighter. The engine has to run at a higher rpm to overcome the wind load on the hwy (with the roof top tent, it's not exactly aerodynamic). And traffic tends to push/pull the trailer some. I think I averaged 12mpg on that trip.

So therefor my tow rating for the Gladiator is "sufficient." It is good enough for my purposes, and the other 99% of the time that I'm not towing, I get to enjoy having a Jeep.

Makes total sense - the 3.73 ratio isn't perfect for towing. My Silverado had a similar ratio with an LS V8 engine and it shifted a lot and had to run high RPM on the hills here.
The Overland besides the high gear ratio also is more narrow than the Sport max tow and Rubicon by a total of 1.5" as far as wheel base, so it's going to get pushed around a bit more than a wider wheelbase truck would. The tall long flat sides of the JT don't help that issue as when you are in the wake of a vehicle beside you - the air is acting against a long flat surface, then as it passes you the wake is V'd out like a flock of geese so the wind shoves you over.
Still, I'm happy with mine over-all and won't be towing all that much normally. I'll just leave plenty early and make sure the credit cards are paid off so I can keep it filled with fuel.

Decades ago when we made our car engines push 6,000-7,000 RPM we were ready with spare parts, these days, 6,000 RPM is nuttin. Race engines go far higher.

 

[PDiddy]

I'd saying towing performance is "sufficient." Before the Gladiator, I had a 2010 F150 5.4L and towed a C5 Corvette on an open trailer. That setup was about 6k lbs of tow weight. The F150 pulled it significantly better. I'm not surprised by that, the F150 had a longer wheel base, weighed more, and had a V8. So I offer the comparison just as a marker for where I think the Gladiator falls in the spectrum of towing ability. Gladiator seems to get roughly 11mpg towing.

Two things with the Gladiator stand out to me. First, to run at hwy speeds (65mph-70mph) it is always in 5th gear turning 3000+ rpms. It just doesn't have the power to pull the weight and overcome the wind load in a higher gear. And it frequently downshifts even lower to go up hills. You'll frequently be turning 4500-5000 rpms. So it can do it, but it's really working that motor to get it done.

In my opinion, it's not that 260 lb-ft of torque isn't enough, but it comes too high in the rpm range. Peak torque comes at 4,400 rpms. So it makes sense the engine has to run at a higher rpm to pull the load. I just worry that a lifetime of running that hard will have an effect. I have seriously considered trading for the diesel, but I'm probably too invested in my current Gladiator (lift, tires, wheels, bumper, winch, trailer brake controller, etc).

The other thing that stands out, is how much the Jeep is pushed/pulled by other traffic on the hwy. And I don't mean 18 wheels, even an SUV will do it. As the other vehicle gets beside the trailer it pulls you into them, and then at some point it pushes you away. Things get really hairy if you are in the middle lane and traffic is passing you on both sides. When I bought the race car, I picked it up outside of Washington DC. Towing in I95 traffic in DC pulling a trailer is a white knuckle for sure. So on the hwy, with traffic passing you, it is a mandatory two hands on the wheel, full attention, high alert driving experience.

I don't have a W/D hitch, which I think would probably help. Luckily, the track that I normally tow too (VIR) doesn't require too much hwy driving. A lot of it is country roads going 55mph. So that isn't too stressful.

I've also towed a smaller adventure trailer. The Nobo 10.6 weighs around 1,750, plus 30 gallons of water, a generator, camping equipment, etc. So it was probably around 2,200 lbs. I towed it towards the NC mountains. The experience is similar to the enclosed trailer, just dialed back a notch since it is smaller/lighter. The engine has to run at a higher rpm to overcome the wind load on the hwy (with the roof top tent, it's not exactly aerodynamic). And traffic tends to push/pull the trailer some. I think I averaged 12mpg on that trip.

So therefor my tow rating for the Gladiator is "sufficient." It is good enough for my purposes, and the other 99% of the time that I'm not towing, I get to enjoy having a Jeep.

I think your experience is pretty much spot on. My trail is just over 6000lbs. I do have a WDH and sway control. These Two things make a huge difference. It’s very comfortable on the freeway with a little push/pull from big rigs. But no white knuckling. The RPM thing is what it is. It revs high to get over those hills. I regeared the truck a week ago. Looking forward to seeing how it does on the hills now towing.

My thought is, I would rather have a daily driver that I love and put up with it not being the best tow vehicle.

 

[Scruf]

Makes total sense - the 3.73 ratio isn't perfect for towing. My Silverado had a similar ratio with an LS V8 engine and it shifted a lot and had to run high RPM on the hills here.
The Overland besides the high gear ratio also is more narrow than the Sport max tow and Rubicon by a total of 1.5" as far as wheel base, so it's going to get pushed around a bit more than a wider wheelbase truck would. The tall long flat sides of the JT don't help that issue as when you are in the wake of a vehicle beside you - the air is acting against a long flat surface, then as it passes you the wake is V'd out like a flock of geese so the wind shoves you over.
Still, I'm happy with mine over-all and won't be towing all that much normally. I'll just leave plenty early and make sure the credit cards are paid off so I can keep it filled with fuel.

Decades ago when we made our car engines push 6,000-7,000 RPM we were ready with spare parts, these days, 6,000 RPM is nuttin. Race engines go far higher.

I agree. There are so many factors that affect towing performance. My F150 also had 3.73 gears and the 6R80 transmission. It also weighed around 6k lbs. But the 5.4L was rated at 365 lb/ft at 3,500 rpms. So more torque and at a lower rpm.

While I'm a diehard Jeep fan, I'm glad Ford is coming out with the Bronco. In my opinion, Jeep needs some competition to push them to keep innovating. The 2.7L ecoboost engine is rated at 400 lb/ft at 2,750 rpms and 325hp at 5,000 rpms. And even in the 4x4 F150, it's rated for 21mpg (combined). It's not that the 3.6L is a bad motor, but it under performs compared to other options on the market today.

I'm not convinced the track width difference between the Max Tow and Rubicon vs the Overland really makes that much of a difference. But I haven't towed with both, so maybe I'd change my mind if I did. Though my truck has wider tires and a different wheel offset, so I'm technically probably wider than a stock max tow/rubicon. I never got a chance to tow with my stock setup.

But I completely agree.. I leave early and take my time when towing. Life is short... so ending it even earlier in a fiery towing accident isn't on my menu haha.

Speaking of high revving race car engines. My track car pictured above runs a GSXR 1000 motorcycle engine. Previous owner said to shift it when the engine starts to hurt your ears, haha. In more technical terms that's north of 12,000 rpms. Coming from a C5 Corvette, I'm having to recalibrate my ear to know when to shift, haha. What was redline in the LS1 isn't even into the power band on the motorcycle engine.


@PDiddy I'm going to see how 2021 shapes up. If I get more chances to go to the race track, and thus tow my trailer, I may very well end up getting a W/D hitch. As you mentioned, I think it would make a big difference, especially on the Gladiator. Which hitch did you go with? I'm also very interested to hear what gears you went with and how you feel it affects your towing. Gears are another item on my radar.

 

[PDiddy]

@PDiddy I'm going to see how 2021 shapes up. If I get more chances to go to the race track, and thus tow my trailer, I may very well end up getting a W/D hitch. As you mentioned, I think it would make a big difference, especially on the Gladiator. Which hitch did you go with? I'm also very interested to hear what gears you went with and how you feel it affects your towing. Gears are another item on my radar.
[/QUOTE]

I am using this WDH: https://www.extremeterrain.com/fast...iQN_MajKcc3B2qw8r9saAgokEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I didn't pick it. It was part of the package when we bought our travel trailer. So I don't have to anything to compare it to.

I put 35s on my truck so I went with 4:88s. at 70mph my rpms are at 2300ish. Not sure how much torque I get with that extra 300rpms but hoping its enough for a little extra oomph on the hills and allow me to be in a higher gear on the freeway. I do need to get it to the dealer to tell the computer I have those tires and gears. It my act differently after I do that. Not sure. But it is super fun to drive around now. Very peppy.

 

[Scruf]

@PDiddy

I'm eager to hear your thoughts on the 4.88 gears with 35"s. (both daily driving and towing) That's what I was leaning towards but was trying to decide if it would be too aggressive if I stayed with 35"s and didn't go to 37"s eventually.

 

[PDiddy]

@PDiddy

I'm eager to hear your thoughts on the 4.88 gears with 35"s. (both daily driving and towing) That's what I was leaning towards but was trying to decide if it would be too aggressive if I stayed with 35"s and didn't go to 37"s eventually.

I have been daily driving the 4:88s for a week now and it feels great. Certainly doesn't feel over geared. I will let you know how it feels towing. I am sure it is only going to be better. I almost went with 5:13s but I am sure I would have taken a huge hit on gas.

Sponsored