Travel trailer

[JasonL83]

Good day,

My family and I (4 of us) just got back from a camping trip. We rented a travel trailer that was already set up at the site (didn't need to tow it). We had a really good time and the kids said they enjoyed camping more than our recent trip to Universal studios.

This trip got my wife and I thinking about getting our own travel trailer. Unfortunately, this wasn't a concern when I bought my Gladiator.

My question is this: I have a 2022 Gladiator Sport with Altitude package (not high Altitude) and regular towing package (not max). It's an automatic with a payload capacity of 1070lbs per the stickeron the door jam. Per the owners manual, I have a towing capacity of of 6000lbs. Ideally, we would all be able to ride in one vehicle and store our gear, or a much as possible in the camper. Do you think a camper with the specs below would be pushing my truck to close to is limits?

If so, do you have any other recommendations? I would rather not go with a pop up.

thanks!

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[Lost1wing]

That is about as heavy as I'd want to go towing with any Gladiator. It would workout fine for short weekend trips. Longer cross country trips would not be very fun. I personally would not tow a camper with my Gladiator unless my other tow vehicle broke down. It's just not the best choice.

 

[Pilsner]

Rubicon with 4" lift on 37s with 4.88s here. I occasionally tow a 16' double axle car hauler (with brakes) with a compact tractor with a total weight of somewhere around 4700lbs. It actually pulls pretty well. I only pull about 3.5 hours though. I wouldn't want to pull it across the mountains.

 

[Gvsukids]

Do you think a camper with the specs below would be pushing my truck to close to is limits?

Where will you travel with it? Your truck will whine and use fuel.

 

[JasonL83]

Where will you travel with it? Your truck will whine and use fuel.

Probably mostly around Michigan. Maybe neighboring states.

 

[Sandman 4x4]

The most critical aspect is the low payload rating in the non max tow Gladiator. Especially with 2 adults and 2 kids. I would suggest you do not travel with more than a couple gals of fresh water in the trailers tank, so at least you can use the toilet if you want. The safest thing to do on any trip is drink bottled water as you never know out the source at campgrounds. Save as much weight as possible while traveling/towing, with nothing extra in the Gladiator, carry everything in the trailer, equally distributed on the trailer. Also get yourself a good tire gauge to keep an eye on the trailer tires, that unfortunately are Chinese junk on most trailer as they come new. Good luck!

 

[bblodgett]

We have a 2020 Gladiator with max tow and pull a 14 ft Rove lite ( hard to find ) small manufacturer in Indiana and we love it and it pulls well. We used Lynden Rv in Coopersville MI

 

[sheath]

Try renting a camp trailer ready to tow to see how you like the experience. You'll need to invest in a trailer brake controller, which is something that can come in handy to have any way.
https://www.outdoorsy.com/rv-rental/michigan
Hope the rest of your family summer vacations are most excellent.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

The only way you are going to know is to rent a trailer and tow it to where you would want to go. The numbers on the door/owners manual only tell you what the design parameters are. That can between quite different from your tolerance level. Pulling close to max on a pool table flat highway may be fine for you. Well under max going up a mountain grade at 20 mph may exceed your patience level.

We tow an Encore Rōg 12RK trailer with our ‘24 JTR. It pulls pretty well, even with 46 gallons of water onboard and the vehicle at max GVWR. It’s relatively low profile, so I don’t have much issue with the wind shaking it. It is also very short, so it’s pretty stable. I wouldn’t want to pull the trailer you mentioned up into the mountains where we go, but we are more into off-grid disbursed camping.

I also will put a plug in for Encore-RV. They are built to be rugged, lightweight campers and are pretty reasonable in cost for what you get. There is a great community group on facebook.

 

[Gladiatorguy]

We have towed our small trailer (2,500 dry, 3,500 gvw) all over, including the mountains in Colorado and NC with a Sport max tow and now a Willys. Never maxed the trailer out to gvw. I added a weight distributing hitch with the Willys mostly for a better ride. As Jason and Sandman posted, you would be probably be OK in the Midwest if you don’t max out the trailer and vehicle gvw. Western UP might present some challenges. With your tongue weight, I would recommend a WDH. Don’t rely on air bags or other devices to reduce rear squat. Understand what GAWR means. You will also need a brake controller. The connector in the vehicle is a pain to find and reach. PM me if you need some guidance.

 

[JasonL83]

Thank you all for the input. I figured i would need a WDH and TBC. I would probably try to camp where they have full hookups so I wouldn't have to worry about lugging around water or black/gray water. I like the idea of renting a camper to see.

 

[Gvsukids]

I like the idea of renting a camper to see.

We also have used https://www.michiganteardroprentals.com/

 

[BlackRuby23]

I wouldn't want to pull it across the mountains.

That's the issue living out west - mountains everywhere and steep passes. Towing on flat ground is a piece of cake. Towing in the mountains is a whole different story. I would never tow with my Gladiator given the steep passes. That's what my 1 ton diesel is for.

 

[Gvsukids]

That's the issue living out west - mountains everywhere and steep passes. Towing on flat ground is a piece of cake. Towing in the mountains is a whole different story. I would never tow with my Gladiator given the steep passes. That's what my 1 ton diesel is for.

Driving through Colorado and over various passes, I agree. The 7% and 8% grades definitely called for second gear to help control the Jeep. I can't imagine trying to manage a camper or a vehicle on a trailer on those steep slopes.

 

[WilldWilly]

I am not sure what I am missing. 6K tow capacity asking if it is ok to tow 3500 lbs? I have towed a 4k car with 1800 lb trailer with 200 lbs to spare. What good is a 6k tow limit if you can't tow 6k? I would fling 3500 lbs all day. Way too much thinking about tow ratings.

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