Towing gladiator behind motorhome options?

[GoBraves95]

Hi all! My in-laws are looking into renting an RV for a family cross country trip to and around Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, etc. (approx 4,000 miles round trip from home plus or minus). Everyone wants to bring the gladiator along for some trail riding, getting around, etc.

I am a little apprehensive to flat tow that many miles because I am worried about untimely wear and tear (after I pay the truck off I plan on holding on to it for a long time). It does seem like flat towing is the simplest/easiest/most cost effective option. The other options are dolly and car hauler trailer. I am responsible for buying/renting whatever equipment we end up using to tow.

Does anyone have experience with towing the gladiator behind an RV? What method did you use? If flat towing what equipment is needed? New bumper?

Any input comparing the three options would be much appreciated as I am brand new to this concept. Thanks very much for your time.

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[smlobx]

The Wrangler is the most popular Toad (tow behind vehicle) in the RV world. The Gladiator can be towed in the same manner. You can find the information in your owners manual. You will need an appropriate hitch and brake set up though.

 

[Butch-R-Vols]

I tow my Gladiator ('21 Overland Diesel) with a Blue Ox baseplate and drawbar, and a Demco Duo brake system. Easy and simple. About $4000.00 total installed. Put the transfer case in neutral and the transmission in park and tow anywhere all day long.

 

[Kevin_D]

If you're talking ~4,000 miles, behind a rented RV, your best option would be to just drive the Gladiator, following along behind, or scoping out ahead.
By the time you set up the JT for towing, you'll be into it (as mentioned above) for $3-4,000.
If you're determined to tow it anyway, there are several threads here discussing your options.

Kevin

 

[Andy29847]

Like others have said, rigging a Jeep for tow is not cheap. I believe you only have 2 options for towing - a trailer or flat tow. At least that was the word with older jeeps. I've never seen a Jeep on a dolly.

The trailer option was not attractive to me. The extra weight of the trailer weighs (pun intended) on motorhome performance. Add on the problems of dealing with the trailer at campgrounds and other stops, and I crossed this option off.

Towing 4 down is the easiest towing I have done. The Jeep stays directly in the tracks of the motorhome going around corners. Another thing is that none of the weight of the Jeep is resting on the motorhome. I bought a Rockhard Bumper along with their towing brackets (~$1600) and a Ready Brute Elite towbar with Blue OX ends (~$1250) to connect my coach and Jeep together. The Ready Brute towbar uses surge braking via cables to the brake pedal in the Jeep. It is relatively simple to install for someone who had auto tools and occasionally works on their vehicles. I use a Curt wiring harness (~$80) to operate the taillights. I've towed more than 40K miles with this setup. It works and it is probably the cheapest option.

One final thought. Most of the rental motorhomes I have seen are small. I'm not sure they be the right vehicle for towing you 5000 pound Gladiator. I'd suggest renting a Jeep if you visit a location where you can tralride. Moab, UT and Ouray, CO are prime destination for this kind of activity.

 

[GoBraves95]

Thanks for the input so far everyone. I know I’m not personally willing to drive the jeep 4,000 miles over a span of 3 weeks when the other option is to work from the rv while being driven ?.

Sounds like flat towing is going to be WAY more expensive than I planned for however. I’ve got some thinking to do.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I've never seen a Jeep on a dolly.

I hope not - it's a no-no.
There are two ways to transport a JT/JL - fully on a trailer or fully on the ground.

One final thought. Most of the rental motorhomes I have seen are small. I'm not sure they be the right vehicle for towing you 5000 pound Gladiator.

And that's the other point - the ability of the motor home to tow such weight. (one needs to factor in the cost of setting up the Jeep to tow it, and the added cost of fuel for the tow vehicle)
All rigged for towing, you'd be at the 5,000 pound mark -likely more with the weight of the rigging to tow it.

 

[Kevin_D]

My Sport S is a wee bit under 5,000 lbs. with 1/4 tank of gas when rigged for towing.
And, at least with my Class A, the impact on the fuel economy was minimal.

Kevin

 

[Rusty PW]

I have a Blue Ox 10,000 lbs Tow bar with rock shield, and a Patriot brake system for sale. Everything was close to $4,000 new. I'm selling it for $1,500. You just need the base plates.

I towed a '13 Grand Cherokee for over 30,000 miles behind my class A diesel pusher.

 

[Koolcarguy]

Hi all! My in-laws are looking into renting an RV for a family cross country trip to and around Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, etc. (approx 4,000 miles round trip from home plus or minus). Everyone wants to bring the gladiator along for some trail riding, getting around, etc.

I am a little apprehensive to flat tow that many miles because I am worried about untimely wear and tear (after I pay the truck off I plan on holding on to it for a long time). It does seem like flat towing is the simplest/easiest/most cost effective option. The other options are dolly and car hauler trailer. I am responsible for buying/renting whatever equipment we end up using to tow.

Does anyone have experience with towing the gladiator behind an RV? What method did you use? If flat towing what equipment is needed? New bumper?

Any input comparing the three options would be much appreciated as I am brand new to this concept. Thanks very much for your time.

Hi there I have a couple Gladiator's and a Jl I've probaly towed my Jt 15k miles behind my diesel pusher it's so easy to connect and disconnect get a good tow bar and a plug that fits your specific Jt and you'll be golden

 

[Halftruck]

Ordered part #58964 for the 2023 Gladiator. My glad has the tow package and LED lights. This kit will not fit this gladiator. I have single row pins on the tail light plugs this kit has larger two row pins on the plugs.

Tec support was not very helpful their response was that is the kit for you glad and that was it. Seriously.

So I WOULD NOT BUY CURT KIT FOR A GLADIATOR IT PROBABLY WILL NOT WORK.

 

[berb]

I’ve been pulling a toad behind my class A for over 10 years. I have a Gladiator and a JL. We flat tow our JL because the Gladiator is too heavy. Most GAS motorhomes are equipped with a 5,000 lb. tow bar. Which makes towing a Gladiator not an option. My JL with the soft top weighs in around 4,350 lbs. My Gladiator weighs in around 5,300 lbs.

Another coat people do not consider is a drop or raised hitch. The tow bars are supposed to as level as possible. Meaning the tow hitch on the motorhome and the base plate on your TOAD need to be within 3 inches vertically of each other. I have to use a 10 inch drop hitch.

Before anyone towed a vehicle behind their motorhome they need to go their local dump and put it on the scales to get an actual weight of their vehicle, making note of how much gas is in the vehicle. Then subtract your body weight from the number on the scale.

Before we towed our JL we towed a
Chevy Traverse and an Equinox. None of my 3 vehicles showed any extra wear on the vehicles with the exception of the tires. With that said it was minimal because there is little stress on the tow vehicle. It just follows behind.

For a 1 time trip I would not set my jeep up to flat tow. The investment isn’t worth it.

 

[B Bedgood]

You might want to check with the rental company if you haven't already. Some companies don't allow towing. We rented a few times before buying and they didn't allow it.

For a one time thing it isn't really cost effective. I think it cost us about $3500 for ours to be set up to tow. This included the tow bar, tow bar bracket, auxiliary braking system, and electric.

That being said all jeeps including Gladiators are probably the first and best choice to tow four down.

 

[GoBraves95]

You might want to check with the rental company if you haven't already. Some companies don't allow towing. We rented a few times before buying and they didn't allow it.

For a one time thing it isn't really cost effective. I think it cost us about $3500 for ours to be set up to tow. This included the tow bar, tow bar bracket, auxiliary braking system, and electric.

That being said all jeeps including Gladiators are probably the first and best choice to tow four down.

Thanks. I am not so worried about finding a rental that will allow us to tow. We have talked with a couple that are ok with flat bed towing and I feel like we will find one that is ok with four down towing.

Looks like I will have to look into a flat bed trailer rental for the most cost effective option. Unfortunately I bet that is harder to drive with the RV and as people said more work at campgrounds and stuff.

 

[B Bedgood]

Thanks. I am not so worried about finding a rental that will allow us to tow. We have talked with a couple that are ok with flat bed towing and I feel like we will find one that is ok with four down towing.

Looks like I will have to look into a flat bed trailer rental for the most cost effective option. Unfortunately I bet that is harder to drive with the RV and as people said more work at campgrounds and stuff.

I don't have any experience with towing a flat bed car trailer, but I wouldn't think that it would be any harder to drive. That being said, loading and unloading would be a chore, as well as connecting and disconnecting. While I've not done it I've watched it being done.

Another option would be to rent a jeep once you've reached your destination if possible.

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