ShadowsPapa
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Bill
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2019
- Threads
- 178
- Messages
- 29,081
- Reaction score
- 34,559
- Location
- Runnells, Iowa
- Vehicle(s)
- '22 JTO, '23 JLU, '82 SX4, '73 P. Cardin Javelin
- Occupation
- Retired auto mechanic, frmr gov't ntwrk security admin
- Vehicle Showcase
- 3
The voice of logic and reason.Well one more update. We welcomed our 3rd child July 23rd and very quickly realized that having 2 Jeeps (JL and JT) just wasnt practical for our family hauling needs. Dont get me wrong- you can physically fit 3 car seats, but to only have the Jeeps just wasnt working (no room to feed baby on road trips etc…)
So after much debate we decided to sadly part ways with one Jeep. The good news is we traded my wife’s JL and kept the JT. The bad news is my wife’s new vehicle makes the JT seem even more inadequate for towing. The new purchase is a 2021 Ford Expedition with hd towing package. Rated at 9200lbs towing, 930 lbs weight distributed tongue weight and our specific vehicle has 1639lbs of payload- which is fantastic considering how highly optioned it is and particularly for having the panoramic roof.
To account for the shorter wheelbase I upgraded to an Equalizer hitch from the E2 to address any potential sway concerns. After a few test runs I am shocked. I really didnt think I was unsafe with the JT until now… I was. Despite the shorter wheelbase the Expedition pulls the camper effortlessly. I expected the powertrain to be better- I had an ‘18 F150 with the same 3.5 ecoboost and 10 speed, but I didnt realize how night and day the difference would be. Best of all fully loaded with the whole family along we are well under payload capacity and I can drive relaxed knowing my family is safe.
So in summary I really cannot recommend towing in excess of 6k with a JT Rubicon for more than short local trips. I love my JT dearly, but from both a stability and especially a powertrain standpoint it just doesnt have it.
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