Towing my TJ

[Dwosgood]

I’m on the last leg of a trip to Tomball, Texas - the halfway point/my home for a PCS move to Camp Pendleton, CA. Wife and three kids are zooming down the highway in her Honda Pilot, I am paced about 45 minutes to an hour behind their position on the highways with the dogs and towing my TJ.

I was originally going to do a long, detailed thread and have a chart with calculated gas mileage, exact miles, kind of like a travel log - but the morning of my departure got hectic and I got lazy.

I’ve calculated three separate tanks of gas on fill up and can say with confidence that I’m averaging around 15.5 mpgs while going 55-60 mph. I didn’t get a chance to weigh the JT and the load, but I’m calling it 6,000lbs. Going up to 70 mph drops my JT down as low as 13.2 mpgs for flat areas and 11 mpgs on inclines. I’m fine going around 60 mph because I’m in no hurry.

JT : Sport S Max Tow
Trailer : BigTex 70CH
WD Hitch : Curt 17500
Brake Controller : Tekonsha P3

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[jwilson2899]

Thanks for sharing, especially the speed part and effects on fuel mileage. I’m considering some occasional towing of my LJ, so this is good stuff.

 

[Koja]

I flat tow my TJ, no added trailer weight

 

[jwilson2899]

I flat tow my TJ, no added trailer weight

I considered that too, but my bumper doesn’t really have any way to add provisions for flat towing and I don’t want to change it. I’ve also considered using a dolly as well as an intermediary solution.

 

[Dwosgood]

Update: made it to Chandler, AZ yesterday where I’ll stay for a week or so with in-laws (don’t worry they’re the good kind).

Gas mileage dropped considerably on our way across West Texas due to sustained headwinds of about 15-20mph. Even keeping the JT at 55mph was netting me only 10.5-12.5mpg. Headwinds lasted from central Texas all the way through a little past the NM-AZ border.

The Gladiator is doing great towing the TJ, it struggles every now and then on uphill stretches but it’ll shift down to 4th gear and close to 3500rpms to get the hill over with and we will be on our way.

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