Warranty denied due to trailer frontal area?

[Labswine]

Okay, I'm curious about something in the factory spec sheet provided by the OP.

I have the Overland edition with the factory tow package. It states that I can tow up to 6,000 lbs, tongue weight of 600 lbs, but only have a trailer frontal area of 40 square feet.

Looking at a Sport with towing package, everything is the same BUT, the Sport gets a trailer frontal area of 55 square feet.

If I understand it correctly, the Sport and Overland with the factory tow package are mechanically the same...same axles, springs, gear ratio, etc. Just different exterior and interior appointments.

So what gives the Sport a greater frontal area towing capability than my Overland ???

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[jeepin48]

Okay, I'm curious about something in the factory spec sheet provided by the OP.

I have the Overland edition with the factory tow package. It states that I can tow up to 6,000 lbs, tongue weight of 600 lbs, but only have a trailer frontal area of 40 square feet.

Looking at a Sport with towing package, everything is the same BUT, the Sport gets a trailer frontal area of 55 square feet.

If I understand it correctly, the Sport and Overland with the factory tow package are mechanically the same...same axles, springs, gear ratio, etc. Just different exterior and interior appointments.

So what gives the Sport a greater frontal area towing capability than my Overland ???

Grill is the only thing I can know of differently on the diesels.

 

[Labswine]

Grill is the only thing I can know of differently on the diesels.

Yeah the diesel requires extra cooling capacity because of the turbo but, these trailer frontal area figures posted in the graphic by the OP were for both the 3.6L gas and the diesel, both with automatic and the trailer package. Plus, only 7 sq.in. of grill area ain't that much...shouldn't be enough to account for a 15 sq.ft. difference in trailer frontal area ? ? ?

 

[Trout Safari]

The title says "Warranty Denied". My question is was the warranty actually denied for this reason or is this all over what someone may have said, to someone else that is now getting advice from someone for someone else because someone....oh nevermind..

 

[jeepin48]

The title says "Warranty Denied". My question is was the warranty actually denied for this reason or is this all over what someone may have said, to someone else that is now getting advice from someone for someone else because someone....oh nevermind..

Thank you for bringing this back to my question.

Has anyone had a warranty denied or questioned because their trailer frontal area was too great?

The dealer threated that the warranty would be denied if documented that the vehicle was towing a trailer with a larger frontal area than the manual states.

 

[CrazyCooter]

What if the trailer is lighter, but had more frontal area?

 

[jeepin48]

What if the trailer is lighter, but had more frontal area?

The weight and frontal area are max. They should not be exceed, together or separately.

 

[jeepers29]

Heres a question. On an RPod, where the front is curved up to the roof, where does frontal area stop and roof begin?

 

[NachoRuby]

Heres a question. On an RPod, where the front is curved up to the roof, where does frontal area stop and roof begin?

They just use a simple formula. Width by height. So the way they calculate it, it doesn't matter that it is curved. It's just tallest point × widest point = Frontal area. Not the most accurate, but it's done that way on purpose, to not leave room for interpretation.

 

[jeepers29]

They just use a simple formula. Width by height. So the way they calculate it, it doesn't matter that it is curved. It's just tallest point × widest point = Frontal area. Not the most accurate, but it's done that way on purpose, to not leave room for interpretation.

Thanks. That is awful as with a curved front you end up with substantially more frontal area. I don't think there are any campers out there that can be pulled by a glady other than pop ups.

 

[Gvsukids]

If I understand it correctly, the Sport and Overland with the factory tow package are mechanically the same...same axles, springs, gear ratio, etc. Just different exterior and interior appointments.

It's a Jeep thing. Probably because the base Overland has more added stuff than a base Sport.

 

[sharpsicle]

Thanks. That is awful as with a curved front you end up with substantially more frontal area. I don't think there are any campers out there that can be pulled by a glady other than pop ups.

Not really. You don't measure the run of the curve, just the max height it goes to. Frontal area is a 2-dimensional measurement representing the area that faces, or is visible from, the front.

 

[MHS JT]

Frontal area calculated as manufacturers would like (HxW) seems to be designed to exclude most enclosed trailers or campers from being towed within the guidelines. When I looked around a few months ago, I couldn't find any trucks out there that are rated at more than 60 sqft for a bumper pull trailer. There are many (most) campers that exceed that calculation. This could make sense if you subtract the area that is behind the frontal area of the truck, but I haven't read anywhere that the calculation should take that into account.

I've never heard of a dealer denying a warranty due to this, nor can I imagine a situation that I would bring up the frontal area of the trailer I'm towing while talking to a dealer.

 

[CrazyCooter]

So also add in awnings, A/C, roof vent, antenna, etc to be accurate in frontal area measurements. Any travel trailer over 6' tall would likely exceed that 55ft spec. Most likely any decent sized boat or even another Jeep on a car trailer?

 

[sharpsicle]

Keep in mind that Frontal Area isn't the same kind of spec as tow rating or the like. It's a recommended guideline to stay within if you want to avoid reduced vehicle performance. Heck, even Ford's are in the 55-60 ballpark for frontal area, but anyone can attest that they can pull something that exceeds that so long as they know how to do it (and don't push it too hard). You just experience reduced performance of the truck and need to cope with that.

You don't want to use this logic to go massive, but also you don't need to say you can't pull something because it's 5 square feet over the recommendation in the book. Frontal Area is just one small part of a much larger towing equation, smaller than things like load ratings and the like.

Now, if you're pulling an empty semi trailer and constantly flooring your truck to get it to move, yeah that's abuse and could easily be used to deny a warranty claim once it gets found out what you were doing. Like any other warranty issue, there needs to be evidence of this abuse first.

I think you all are reading too far into this. Have your "friend" take the truck in and have them fix the codes. If the dealer won't, go to another dealer, or if another dealer is 100% not an option for some reason, see if you can get Jeep involved. Towing or no towing, Jeep needs to uphold their end of the warranty.

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