LANGeek
Well-Known Member
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- #1
My wife and I own a cabin in a remote location. We have a cistern that we haul water up to the cabin and fill. I use a 275 gal tank to transport the water. I used to have a Ram 3500 diesel with proper manual transmission. I would put the tank in the back and hauled it up with no problem. That truck was a great utility vehicle but it was too big to fit in the city scapes. Anyway, I now have the Gladiator also with a manual. It needs to do the same job but it has tow the water instead of carrying it.
The road up to the cabin is rough. It is best described as an access road that is rutted with some gravel and mostly dirt and rocks. There is a couple hairpin turns and one section is a long 16 degree pitch (very steep) hill that is mostly dirt.
The trailer weighs in at about 3200 lbs. That is based on the weight of the trail empty (1000 lbs) and the 275 gallons of water at approximately 8 lbs per gal is 2200 lbs. You could round up for mud, strapping, and etc. but I won’t for now.
The Jeep moved the trailer on the level pavement without issue. When towing on the road you do need to be mindful of the rpms and use lower gears and a little longer then with an empty Jeep. You will move a little slower than normal. This to be expected. All in all, the Jeep pulled the trailer over the road on mountain highways without issues. On the access road the Jeep performed well too. No bouncing or unexpected movement. The tongue weight settled the truck’s rear end. On the access road it did fine too. Again, need to use the gearing properly and it worked well.
One of the water runs I did was in the rain. Highway performance was unchanged. The access road was muddy, a thick gooey mud that sticks to everything and vehicles slide in. I started off in 4 wheel high and things went well. Until, I got to the steep long hill with a 16 degree pitch. In 1st gear in 4 wheel high it was getting bogged down. I shifted into 4 wheel low and 1st gear and spun the wheels. Oops, eased off and reengaged. The Jeep crawled up the hill. Part way up I shifted to 2nd still in 4 wheel low and the Jeep climbed up the hill with the water behind it at about 5 to 6 miles an hour steady and easily. In comparison, when it was dry the Jeep did this in 4 wheel high in 2nd at about 15 mph. The Ram I had I would use 4 wheel high in 2nd and go about 15 mph no matter the weather.
I think this little truck did awesome. I have a winch to add soon, that will make me feel more comfortable--insurance. But it did the job and the gauges never showed it straining or over working. It is a good little Pumpkin truck or Jeep…Gladiator
The road up to the cabin is rough. It is best described as an access road that is rutted with some gravel and mostly dirt and rocks. There is a couple hairpin turns and one section is a long 16 degree pitch (very steep) hill that is mostly dirt.
The trailer weighs in at about 3200 lbs. That is based on the weight of the trail empty (1000 lbs) and the 275 gallons of water at approximately 8 lbs per gal is 2200 lbs. You could round up for mud, strapping, and etc. but I won’t for now.
The Jeep moved the trailer on the level pavement without issue. When towing on the road you do need to be mindful of the rpms and use lower gears and a little longer then with an empty Jeep. You will move a little slower than normal. This to be expected. All in all, the Jeep pulled the trailer over the road on mountain highways without issues. On the access road the Jeep performed well too. No bouncing or unexpected movement. The tongue weight settled the truck’s rear end. On the access road it did fine too. Again, need to use the gearing properly and it worked well.
One of the water runs I did was in the rain. Highway performance was unchanged. The access road was muddy, a thick gooey mud that sticks to everything and vehicles slide in. I started off in 4 wheel high and things went well. Until, I got to the steep long hill with a 16 degree pitch. In 1st gear in 4 wheel high it was getting bogged down. I shifted into 4 wheel low and 1st gear and spun the wheels. Oops, eased off and reengaged. The Jeep crawled up the hill. Part way up I shifted to 2nd still in 4 wheel low and the Jeep climbed up the hill with the water behind it at about 5 to 6 miles an hour steady and easily. In comparison, when it was dry the Jeep did this in 4 wheel high in 2nd at about 15 mph. The Ram I had I would use 4 wheel high in 2nd and go about 15 mph no matter the weather.
I think this little truck did awesome. I have a winch to add soon, that will make me feel more comfortable--insurance. But it did the job and the gauges never showed it straining or over working. It is a good little Pumpkin truck or Jeep…Gladiator
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