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How heavy a camper can I tow comfortably, JLUR, 3.5 lift on 37's stock 4:10's

MarioC

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Looking at getting a mini camper... 12ft to 15ft .. most are around 1800-2000 lbs, and the bigger 15ft ones list at around 2500-2800 lbs.
If we plan on doing ALOT of travelling, is 2800 lbs too much and too hard on the jeep ?
I'm running 37's with 3.5 inch lift with stock 4:10 gearing.
I get it... if I change my gearing things get better but I rather not for a few years.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
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chevymitchell

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Looking at getting a mini camper... 12ft to 15ft .. most are around 1800-2000 lbs, and the bigger 15ft ones list at around 2500-2800 lbs.
If we plan on doing ALOT of travelling, is 2800 lbs too much and too hard on the jeep ?
I'm running 37's with 3.5 inch lift with stock 4:10 gearing.
I get it... if I change my gearing things get better but I rather not for a few years.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
If you're running an Auto Trans, it just means that it's going to be working harder and for longer. Heat is the #1 killer of transmissions.

With that said, gearing is the obvious change that needs to happen here. If you're serious about towing and traveling a lot, you need to help the drivetrain withstand the additional load. You may drive the jeep or tow with it and all seems well, but everything is working that much harder.

Doing the math and gearing your jeep to the factory equivalent will bring your full tow rating of 3500 lbs back. However, you need to subtract all of the NET weight of your modifications from the tow weight. IF you gear your Jeep properly, you'll be able to pull 2800 lbs. all day. If you don't, you'll run the risk of damaging the transmission first.

What's stopping you from gearing the Jeep?
 
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MarioC

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If you're running an Auto Trans, it just means that it's going to be working harder and for longer. Heat is the #1 killer of transmissions.

With that said, gearing is the obvious change that needs to happen here. If you're serious about towing and traveling a lot, you need to help the drivetrain withstand the additional load. You may drive the jeep or tow with it and all seems well, but everything is working that much harder.

Doing the math and gearing your jeep to the factory equivalent will bring your full tow rating of 3500 lbs back. However, you need to subtract all of the NET weight of your modifications from the tow weight. IF you gear your Jeep properly, you'll be able to pull 2800 lbs. all day. If you don't, you'll run the risk of damaging the transmission first.

What's stopping you from gearing the Jeep?
cost and no reputable shop to re-gear without killing the warranty. I live way up on the east coast of Canada.
I had the lift done by 4wheel parts and my Jeep dealer has most all the mods done by them and so the service manager was good about warranty if I had the lift done there. However when I asked about gears... he mentioned that could cause warranty complications if something goes wrong.
So in my mind... I rather stay stock for a while and see how things go. It pulls the 37's no problem but I agree that towing will be hard on the transmission.
I appreciate your feedback!!
 

chevymitchell

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cost and no reputable shop to re-gear without killing the warranty. I live way up on the east coast of Canada.
I had the lift done by 4wheel parts and my Jeep dealer has most all the mods done by them and so the service manager was good about warranty if I had the lift done there. However when I asked about gears... he mentioned that could cause warranty complications if something goes wrong.
So in my mind... I rather stay stock for a while and see how things go. It pulls the 37's no problem but I agree that towing will be hard on the transmission.
I appreciate your feedback!!
I would ask your dealer if they will cover the transmission if it overheats while towing then. You may run into warranty complications either way. I saw that you were up in NB. If you're ever down in NC, I'll re-gear it for you.
 

oceanblue2019

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As mentioned gears to get you back closer to stock is critical.

Also, it has yet to be confirmed, but a transmission cooler may help. But be aware our ZF designed transmissions are peculiar beasts and a cooler may not help in all situations as some internal temperature control is already going on.
 

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MarioC

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I would ask your dealer if they will cover the transmission if it overheats while towing then. You may run into warranty complications either way. I saw that you were up in NB. If you're ever down in NC, I'll re-gear it for you.
I appreciate the offer ..lol and you have a good point. I'll have another conversation with the dealer and do more research on pricing and locating a reputable shop to do that.
 

oceanblue2019

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I appreciate the offer ..lol and you have a good point. I'll have another conversation with the dealer and do more research on pricing and locating a reputable shop to do that.
For gears if the dealer is ok with it check out local muscle car shops. The Jeep is very similar to the live axles in the back of classic muscle cars and gear swaps are common.
 

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FCA could easily deny transmission warranty work just because of the 37’s. I’d absolutely re-gear
 

OldGreen

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Actual experience. . .
I have 20,000 miles towing on a JLUR with 37s and 4.10 gears. I watch the trans temp religiously on climbs. My trailer weighs nearly exactly 3500lbs when loaded. It has been everywhere on and off road. My trailer (An Opus OP2) does have a lower profile than a full height travel trailer. The Jeep works PERFECTLY.

 
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MarioC

MarioC

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Actual experience. . .
I have 20,000 miles towing on a JLUR with 37s and 4.10 gears. I watch the trans temp religiously on climbs. My trailer weighs nearly exactly 3500lbs when loaded. It has been everywhere on and off road. My trailer (An Opus OP2) does have a lower profile than a full height travel trailer. The Jeep works PERFECTLY.

Appreciate this, totally get that gears are "IDEAL" but just wondering on experiences on towing with stock set up on 37's . Thank you
 

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OldGreen

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Appreciate this, totally get that gears are "IDEAL" but just wondering on experiences on towing with stock set up on 37's . Thank you
IF you spend time towing off-road then regearing is NOT ideal. Low Range is your friend with a trailer on the dirt. Can you imagine how miserable it would be to tow with 5.13 gears and a 4:1 transfer case on a normal dirt road? It would SUCK. Contrary to popular belief, regearing an auto transmission rig is for highway performance only. The transmission, torque converter and transfer case do all of the torque multiplication that you need off-road.
 

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I towed a 3,500lb trailer (RPod 190) over 5,000 miles on 35s this summer with zero issues. Up and over both the Rockies and Appalachians. Plenty of power. I thought I was definitely going to need a regear before I purchased the camper, now I don’t even think about it.

Get the trailer and see how it does, then decide on the regear.
 

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Okay, here is my humble opinion on gears for towing. I have towed my 1800 pound camper just over 14,000 miles in one year. I started pulling it with a lifted JLUR with 37s and stock gears. Made a trip from Michigan to Moab and back for the the longest pull with stock gears.

Re geared to 5.13 gears and have pulled the camper from Michigan to Moab then to California via HWY 50 and back to Michigan.

This is what I noticed. with the 4.10 gears, the transmission did not use all the gears. With the 5.13 gears, the transmission uses all eight gears. I watch temperatures a lot. transmission temps did not change by re-gearing. What I found is that the motor needs to produce a certain amount of horse power to climb the mountain passes say just west of Denver. I ran up the mountain pass at approximately 50 mph with 4.10 gears and 5.13 gears. The motor was at about 3500 rpms. The only difference the gear swap made was what gear the transmission was in. With the 4.10 gears, it was in 3rd gear, with the 5.13 it was in 5th gear. The gear swap just enable the transmission to pull a wider variety of gears. The 8 speed transmission is awesome. You are still limited by HP and where the motor makes it. So at the end of the day, if I did not have the gear indicator turned on the dash, I would not have known that there was any difference. My mileage has not changed for towing between the two different gear sets. I get 13 mpg towing my camper. Truly the only difference is what gear the transmission is in. It take a certain amount of HP to move the Jeep and camper. The gear swap just changes what gear it can pull.
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