Towed my camper today

[Vismich]

I have the overland, which does not have the max tow package. That said, I think it’s good up to 6k lbs, which is fine for my small camper.

That said, I was pretty disappointed in the lack of power. My old Grand Cherokee did a better job pulling my camper. There is not a ton of power....

Also, I realized that they don’t have trailer brakes built into the tow packages, which is a major bummer too.

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[BeepBeepIAmAJeep]

I think that is why I am seeing a lot of talk about aftermarket turbo or sc. I know I am heavily considering that prodigy stage 2 since I have seen reports of up to 400hp high in the rpm, torque in the mid to high 300s mid rpm, and mpg avg of 25 for cruising on JLUs.

 

[Pk2abilene]

I think that is why I am seeing a lot of talk about aftermarket turbo or sc. I know I am heavily considering that prodigy stage 2 since I have seen reports of up to 400hp high in the rpm, torque in the mid to high 300s mid rpm, and mpg avg of 25 for cruising on JLUs.

Diesel

I have the overland, which does not have the max tow package. That said, I think it’s good up to 6k lbs, which is fine for my small camper.

That said, I was pretty disappointed in the lack of power. My old Grand Cherokee did a better job pulling my camper. There is not a ton of power....

Also, I realized that they don’t have trailer brakes built into the tow packages, which is a major bummer too.

Diesel

 

[RIPLER]

Max tow Sport S and Rubicon should tow better because of the gearing.

 

[RedTRex]

Diesel

Diesel

Good answer....Vin

 

[Brandon W. Snyder]

I have the overland, which does not have the max tow package. That said, I think it’s good up to 6k lbs, which is fine for my small camper.

That said, I was pretty disappointed in the lack of power. My old Grand Cherokee did a better job pulling my camper. There is not a ton of power....

Also, I realized that they don’t have trailer brakes built into the tow packages, which is a major bummer too.

This brings up a good point. I think there is too much stock being put into the expectation that these Gladiators are going to tow close or at the max capacity effortlessly. I mean it’s a mid size truck born of wrangler DNA with a 3.6P. Wranglers are not known for towing. However, the tow rating is leaps and bounds better than such. I just think one should realize that even with a diesel it’s going to be mediocre. I’m grateful for the increase in towing compared to that of my wrangler but I’m definitely not going to rely on it for long distance trips all maxed out. But I will enjoy the additional advantage of capacity to tow my toys better than I was prior.

 

[ZEN357]

I have the overland, which does not have the max tow package. That said, I think it’s good up to 6k lbs, which is fine for my small camper.

That said, I was pretty disappointed in the lack of power. My old Grand Cherokee did a better job pulling my camper. There is not a ton of power....

Also, I realized that they don’t have trailer brakes built into the tow packages, which is a major bummer too.

What engine do you have in it?

 

[steffen707]

I think that is why I am seeing a lot of talk about aftermarket turbo or sc. I know I am heavily considering that prodigy stage 2 since I have seen reports of up to 400hp high in the rpm, torque in the mid to high 300s mid rpm, and mpg avg of 25 for cruising on JLUs.

They got better mpg cruising than stock? Is that cuz of turbo or new tune? Might have to do this too.

 

[steffen707]

This brings up a good point. I think there is too much stock being put into the expectation that these Gladiators are going to tow close or at the max capacity effortlessly. I mean it’s a mid size truck born of wrangler DNA with a 3.6P. Wranglers are not known for towing. However, the tow rating is leaps and bounds better than such. I just think one should realize that even with a diesel it’s going to be mediocre. I’m grateful for the increase in towing compared to that of my wrangler but I’m definitely not going to rely on it for long distance trips all maxed out. But I will enjoy the additional advantage of capacity to tow my toys better than I was prior.

Luckily I'm not one that "NEEDS" towing capacity. I've enjoyed some 4,000-5,000 towing here and there, but I think the 7,650 number is a MAX, not a daily type of number.

 

[RedTRex]

What engine do you have in it?

The only one available. 3.6VVT

 

[BeepBeepIAmAJeep]

They got better mpg cruising than stock? Is that cuz of turbo or new tune? Might have to do this too.

Yes, turbos and SC both have the ability to raise fuel economy. Turbos make use of exhaust gases (wasted energy) to switch the engine from natural aspiration to forced induction which overcomes the significant losses of the engine having to pull it's own air in. SC run off the belt so it consumes a little energy to force induction, so you fuel economy will go down at idle but up while cruising. Because of this, SCs can get you minor increases if you are generous on the throttle (like 1 to 4 mpg max) while turbos have a lot more wiggle room to boost fuel economy across the board since it is running off of wasted energy. That is why a lot of the car makers these days are making turbo engines stock (in order to meet newer emissions standards for fuel economy) like the f150 has the capability or getting like 28 mpg hwy if I remember correctly.

 

[Tire Guy]

If I were to get a towed camper again I would limit to the smaller ultra-lights at 4k lbs or under. I think any larger would be problematic for any long trip. I had a 6500 lb camper that I towed with a full size Tundra. It was not a problem for the Tundra but the gas mileage was horrendous. With the JT, I think anything close to max would be a nail biter on the highway.

 

[BeepBeepIAmAJeep]

Diesel

Diesel

I would love a diesel too, but since I saw more than one report of some of the bearings in the engine exploding at 150k miles and causing significant engine damage. Yea that's a hard pass for me. Besides diesel usually costs way more and is less available at gas stations in addition to the headaches that is the new emissions control systems. For roughly the same cost as buying the diesel upgrade I can put a stage 2 prodigy turbo on the pentastar, get slightly less fuel economy than the diesel which wont matter since the fuel is cheaper, but have almost double the horsepower of the diesel and just slightly less torque.

 

[WXman]

This brings up a good point. I think there is too much stock being put into the expectation that these Gladiators are going to tow close or at the max capacity effortlessly. I mean it’s a mid size truck born of wrangler DNA with a 3.6P. Wranglers are not known for towing. However, the tow rating is leaps and bounds better than such. I just think one should realize that even with a diesel it’s going to be mediocre. I’m grateful for the increase in towing compared to that of my wrangler but I’m definitely not going to rely on it for long distance trips all maxed out. But I will enjoy the additional advantage of capacity to tow my toys better than I was prior.

And you bring up another good point too. When towing AT MAX CAPACITY there is not a single vehicle on the market that doesn't struggle. Hook 11,000 lbs. behind a Ram 1500 Hemi and see what happens. Put 25,000 lbs. behind a Ram 2500 Cummins and see how slow it gets. There's nothing on the market that is going to tow "effortlessly" when at maximum capacity.

So, I think that the real problem here is that users have unrealistic expectations.

If you want to tow 6,500 lbs. without breaking a sweat, then you need a truck whereby 6,500 lbs. would only represent a fraction of it's maximum capacity, and the Gladiator in any form ain't it.

 

[steffen707]

If I were to get a towed camper again I would limit to the smaller ultra-lights at 4k lbs or under. I think any larger would be problematic for any long trip. I had a 6500 lb camper that I towed with a full size Tundra. It was not a problem for the Tundra but the gas mileage was horrendous. With the JT, I think anything close to max would be a nail biter on the highway.

and a hole in your wallet?

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