Does Diesel increase towing capacity?

[rcadden]

In addition to everything that's been captured here, the other factor with towing with Jeeps is the braking. They do not have a built-in trailer brake controller, and the stock brakes will struggle to stop a load that's too big (or even one that's at/near the advertised limit).

I towed a ~3,500lb camper with my 2.0L Sahara ~2 hours on flat Texas highways when I first got it. I also dropped down to around 8-10 MPG (on a flat highway, mind you) but even with the Sahara's tow package HD brakes (the same ones from the Rubicon), I was not super confident in my stopping abilities.

For me personally, even though my Jeep is rated to tow 3,500lbs, I would probably stay around the 2,000-2,250lb range. Anything more than that, just buy a cheap F-150 or Silverado.

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[DarthAWM]

In addition to everything that's been captured here, the other factor with towing with Jeeps is the braking. They do not have a built-in trailer brake controller, and the stock brakes will struggle to stop a load that's too big (or even one that's at/near the advertised limit).

I towed a ~3,500lb camper with my 2.0L Sahara ~2 hours on flat Texas highways when I first got it. I also dropped down to around 8-10 MPG (on a flat highway, mind you) but even with the Sahara's tow package HD brakes (the same ones from the Rubicon), I was not super confident in my stopping abilities.

For me personally, even though my Jeep is rated to tow 3,500lbs, I would probably stay around the 2,000-2,250lb range. Anything more than that, just buy a cheap F-150 or Silverado.

Redarc or Mopar brake controllers are easily added to JL/JTs

 

[rcadden]

Redarc or Mopar brake controllers are easily added to JL/JTs

Both are true. No trim (that I'm aware of) includes a brake controller - even the tow package, which I think is silly. However, yes they can be easily added.

 

[VKSheridan]

Damn. I'm guessing my loaded trailer with RTT weighs 1,800 to 2,000 pounds. We towed it to Ouray, disconnected and ran trails at up to 13k feet for three days, then towed it home. With four adults plus all of my heavy gear I got 22 MPG.

EcoDiesel, of course.

Pfffft….. My Jeep can get even better mileage if it’s on a trailer…….

14.8 mpg if it’s on its own paws, at sea level and no headwinds. I’m thinking of adding a bug deflector to increase my mileage to 14.85 if the price of gas gets any higher.

Sad truth - My Challenger Hellcat got better fuel mileage than my 2.0 JL gets yet it came with the “gas guzzler tax” attached.

 

[Ratbert]

Show off.

22 MPG kind of blew me away. A big part of that was not exceeding the speed limit due to a "I refuse to break the law" friend following in his Tundra.

Yeah, I drove that far w/o really breaking the law. Who would have thought?

 

[KCSgtMaj]

Wrangler only comes with a Class II receiver, = 3500#. Could you pull more? Yes. Should you pull more? No. And you only want to be 80% of that 3500#., which equals 2,800# all day long. Now there are “those people” who tow more than the rated capacity and “those people” that will argue that in Europe you can tow 5k# with the Wrangler, except we’re not in Europe. Hefty fine if you’re caught over your max weight. But with “free will” you can do what you want. Just don’t bitch about it if you get caught, or cause an accident, injure yourself or others.

tow on bro.

 

[zouch]

agreed.
people have reported here that even removing the grille completely didn’t help keep things cooler.

issue seems to be getting the air *out* of the engine compartment, not in, all with the goal of getting more airflow through the radiator and the rest of the cooling stack.
another possibility for getting heat out of the engine might be a good Oil Cooler (preferably with a thermostatically controlled fan), but i’m not aware of any option that doesn’t require a change to the oil filter setup and/or cost less than a Kilobuck.

playing with the fan control seems to be the only way i've seen proven to get more airflow through the stack. personally, this makes sense to me, but i hate the idea of having to cut into the factory harness.
vented hoods, side vents, vented fender liners, etc. all seem like they should help improve airflow through the engine compartment and cooling stack, but i haven’t seen any proven yet.

Tragically, it doesn't help. People have tried it. The challenge isn't more area, it's that the air doesnt actually move through the radiator regardless of speed.

The only thing that seems to have helped with cooling is changing the fan schedule to come on earlier.

 

[MIAZ]

We had a ‘21 Rubicon diesel, the engine and transmission combination was in the top 3 vehicles I’ve ever owned, about 70, or driven, way more. We towed a 22‘ travel trailer and every time we hit a long grade or steep hill the coolant temperature went up and the oil temperature really went up. Going up Wolf Creek Pass in southern Colorado in late April with outside temperatures dropping to I think 36 degrees at the top AND with the heater on full blast and windows rolled down, the oil temperature went up to almost 250 degrees. That vehicle had so much promise and screwed up delivery for towing, the engine felt like it could tow a semi, but overheated so easily. Too small of a radiator, engine too big for the compartment, needed big oil cooler???? Who knows, we had other electrical problems with it, that destroyed our confidence to go to remote areas and be able to get back, we got rid of it after 21 months.
I’ve had 6 of 7 other diesel vehicles, pickups, a motor home, a car and driven more of them and never had any similar problems, I love the power and torque for towing. I’d guess I’d research a lot more and or test drive it with a trailer on the back before buying.

 

[TOTL Innovations]

vented hoods, side vents, vented fender liners, etc. all seem like they should help improve airflow through the engine compartment and cooling stack, but i haven’t seen any proven yet.

Our JL H.E.R.O. has gone through testing to show its ability in reducing under hood temps AND increased intake air flow with cooler temps:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ults-temperature-cooling-measurements.125807/

 

[zouch]

unfortunately, as we've discussed, your testing was at speeds 35MPH and below, so not really relevant to the real-world conditions where most people are experiencing heat-related issues.

looking forward to seeing you do some real-world tests at real-world speeds.

Our JL H.E.R.O. has gone through testing to show its ability in reducing under hood temps AND increased intake air flow with cooler temps:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ults-temperature-cooling-measurements.125807/

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