Let's talk towing

[se7en]

When towing near the rated limit the gear with a 1:1 ratio is best for the transmission.
In the JK 5 speed that is 4th gear, JK 6 speed manual it is 5th.
In The JL 8 speed it is 6th, in the JL 6 speed manual it is 4th.
When towing loads near the rated limit with light vehicles I keep my speed at or below 60 mph.

This is great info. Thanks. So, no higher than 6th and no faster than 60. Sounds about right.

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[Hip2u77]

I can't say anything about the JL but I will tell you my '13 Rubicon was absolutely horrible. I had a 3" lift and had 285 tires on it which measured just shy of 34" tall. I had a 16' aluminum trailer that weighted 1300lbs empty and a 4 seat RZR which came in at 1600lbs. I could not maintain 5th gear (auto) at 70mph, it would just keep downshifting so I would have to manually put it in 4th and feather the throttle to run as fast as I could without downshifting and would get about 150 miles per tank. I was under the tow rating and was really disappointed in how this towed. The Pentastar is great otherwise but absolutely no torque. I hope the 8 speed cures this but I sold the RZR to get this new Rubicon. My '13 had 4:10 gears also so with tire size equaled about a 3:73

This has been my experience also. '14 JKUR, 2 1/2" lift on 35s. I tow a 2-seat RZR 1000 (1400 lbs) on a 900lb Maxey 5x10 ATV trailer from Kansas City to local parks, and also to West Virginia (twice) and Moab (3 times) and to say it's horrible would be pretty accurate. I will say my trailer is tall so my RZR sticks up above the JK quite a bit. (I like knowing I can use the JK to drag the trailer to anyplace I need, if I break the RZR)

The 3.6 is fine at anything under 55-60 mph but over that it really starts to struggle; 68-69 was the fastest I could go without it constantly downshifting to 3rd. It stays in 4th 99% of the time and 5th is worthless. Every hill it downshifts to 3rd and runs close to 4500 unless I slow down. After a while you get used to the constant screaming and just roll with it. Best towing mpg was 11, winter trip was 9 mpg. Ours has 4.10s and a tuner. Stock tires didn't make much difference.

 

[swyman]

This has been my experience also. '14 JKUR, 2 1/2" lift on 35s. I tow a 2-seat RZR 1000 (1400 lbs) on a 900lb Maxey 5x10 ATV trailer from Kansas City to local parks, and also to West Virginia (twice) and Moab (3 times) and to say it's horrible would be pretty accurate. I will say my trailer is tall so my RZR sticks up above the JK quite a bit. (I like knowing I can use the JK to drag the trailer to anyplace I need, if I break the RZR)

The 3.6 is fine at anything under 55-60 mph but over that it really starts to struggle; 68-69 was the fastest I could go without it constantly downshifting to 3rd. It stays in 4th 99% of the time and 5th is worthless. Every hill it downshifts to 3rd and runs close to 4500 unless I slow down. After a while you get used to the constant screaming and just roll with it. Best towing mpg was 11, winter trip was 9 mpg. Ours has 4.10s and a tuner. Stock tires didn't make much difference.

Glad to hear I was not the only one! I even pulled the windshield out of the RZR and put it in the Jeep to try and make it as aerodynamic as possible but really didn't seen to make much of a difference. I had a Bullydog tuner in mine but I never ran a performance tune, only used it to adjust tire size and disable all the safety crap so I could run it on the dunes without the front tires locking up climbing dunes from Jeep swapping back in forth in other tire tracks. I really hope the 8 speed is a difference maker but for me I guess it won't matter since I sold the RZR.

 

[Hip2u77]

Glad to hear I was not the only one! I even pulled the windshield out of the RZR and put it in the Jeep to try and make it as aerodynamic as possible but really didn't seen to make much of a difference. I had a Bullydog tuner in mine but I never ran a performance tune, only used it to adjust tire size and disable all the safety crap so I could run it on the dunes without the front tires locking up climbing dunes from Jeep swapping back in forth in other tire tracks. I really hope the 8 speed is a difference maker but for me I guess it won't matter since I sold the RZR.

I pulled the windshield myself a couple times and same as you. . . it made little, if any, difference. My buddy swears it's the round tubing causing the drag. Thinking back, I did use that same trailer to tow 2 quads one time - a 2002 Polaris Sportsman 500 4x4 and late 90s Kawasaki Prairie and the JK had no problems at all. That was a 4 hour round trip. Maybe there's something about the way the air comes off the JK and hits the RZR as it really feels like a parachute is behind you.

 

[swyman]

I pulled the windshield myself a couple times and same as you. . . it made little, if any, difference. My buddy swears it's the round tubing causing the drag. Thinking back, I did use that same trailer to tow 2 quads one time - a 2002 Polaris Sportsman 500 4x4 and late 90s Kawasaki Prairie and the JK had no problems at all. That was a 4 hour round trip. Maybe there's something about the way the air comes off the JK and hits the RZR as it really feels like a parachute is behind you.

I remember the day I brought the trailer home....it's a 16' tandem axle aluminum but really light. It has a ramp gate in the back that stores in the vertical position. While driving down the expressway it felt like there was a semi trying to pull me backwards at 70mph while empty....pulled over and folded the ramp all the way over so it laid on the deck and I couldn't even tell I was pulling anything.. You wouldn't think that those roll bars would cause that much drag but they must!

 

[Orly]

Thoughts on 2dr JL Sport S, Auto, 3.6L, stock wheels for towing 17' bay boat, 1500 lbs combined trailer and boat? 95% of the time to local ramps within a few miles. Maybe once or twice a year, 100+ ride to the Keys. Flat FL terrain.

We have no need for JLU and would rather use the savings towards a boat.

 

[swyman]

Thoughts on 2dr JL Sport S, Auto, 3.6L, stock wheels for towing 17' bay boat, 1500 lbs combined trailer and boat? 95% of the time to local ramps within a few miles. Maybe once or twice a year, 100+ ride to the Keys. Flat FL terrain.

We have no need for JLU and would rather use the savings towards a boat.

That's nice and light and probably won't have much wind drag. That and the fact that you are stock height and tires your gear ratio won't change so I would think you would hardly know it's back there till you look in the mirror!

 

[Orly]

That's nice and light and probably won't have much wind drag. That and the fact that you are stock height and tires your gear ratio won't change so I would think you would hardly know it's back there till you look in the mirror!

Good to hear.

I was reading through some older jeep forums around the net. Lots of doom and gloom posts about Jeeps and towing. It seems most of those were older jeeps and folks trying to tow well past the tow ratings.

I was worried I'd need the JLU wheelbase but I've towed a similar boat with my 2dr, std cab, 4 cyl, 5-speed manual Tacoma and it tackled the job.

 

[1quick1]

Is this the same 8 speed that they are using in the 1500's?

8HP50 in JL's and 8HP70 in the more powerful vehicles with v8's.

 

[Redneck_Jedi]

Thoughts on 2dr JL Sport S, Auto, 3.6L, stock wheels for towing 17' bay boat, 1500 lbs combined trailer and boat? 95% of the time to local ramps within a few miles. Maybe once or twice a year, 100+ ride to the Keys. Flat FL terrain.

We have no need for JLU and would rather use the savings towards a boat.

A 2 door Jeep should have no problem. Way back in the late 80s my girlfriend at the time used to have a Samurai. We used to use it to tow my 17' Bayliner to the boat ramp. Although, I don't think we ever exceeded 45mph. It was a tough little "Jeep", although it would barely do 70 mph on the highway. I think it had only like 60hp

 

[Redneck_Jedi]

I'm thinking these guys might be exceeding their tow limit slightly....

 

[pichenet]

When towing near the rated limit the gear with a 1:1 ratio is best for the transmission.
In the JK 5 speed that is 4th gear, JK 6 speed manual it is 5th.
In The JL 8 speed it is 6th, in the JL 6 speed manual it is 4th.
When towing loads near the rated limit with light vehicles I keep my speed at or below 60 mph.

Thank you!

 

[Amazonica]

I don't want to hijack anyone's thread, so please delete if this isn't appropriate here. I'm on here to learn, so please don't be too harsh with my lack of towing knowledge. I have a 2019 3.6L JLUR with the factory towing package (trailer anti-sway, hitch, etc). It is still stock height on the 33s. My last Jeep was on 37s with 4.5" of lift so I'm missing that. Planning on adding steel bumpers to my JL front and rear.

I'm considering getting a trailer that weighs approx 3100 (& appropriate tongue weight). I live at about 7000 ft elevation and often go much higher to camp, and highway speeds to get there. Obviously I'd slow down with a trailer, but am I better off with stock Rubi tires/suspension to tow, or stiffer (think AEV) springs, bigger tires and 2.5" lift?

 

[pichenet]

Came across this great article that explains the engineering behind the Gladiator (and Wrangler) tow ratings...

https://jalopnik.com/the-engineering-behind-the-jeep-gladiators-tow-rating-1833657453

 

[MNMike]

X2 on the Pentastar v6 torque, at least with the 5 speed auto. I had a ‘16 JKUR with the factory 2.5” lift but stock tires and have a ~1600lb teardrop trailer. Well below the rated capacity. I also had the factory big brake kit, and the trailer has electric brakes and I wired in a Tekonsha brake controller. Overkill right? Maybe, but I’d rather have plenty of braking power for long downhills out west. Anyway, sway and stopping were never an issue. Keeping the thing moving however, that was a challenge. Heading through North Dakota on I-94 if there was no wind in my face I could maintain about 75mph. Any sort of hill though, forget it. In Montana And up through the Canadian Rockies any uphill and it was immediately looking for 3rd gear and I was maxed at about 50mph. Not great when semis are whizzing past faster and normal cars and trucks are almost dangerously quicker. That said, 3k miles from MN to Jasper and back everything went just fine, no issues at all. Just slower than I hoped!

For comparison the JKUR got traded for a ‘17 4Runner limited mainly because the 4Runner is rated for a lot more cargo capacity (weight) but with a similar engine output and transmission but marginally better wind resistance it’s mostly the same. The 4Runner will pull it all day long at the 80mph speed limit as long as it’s flat, so it’s a bit better, but same issue on hills.

Recently got a ‘19 JL 2 door with the 2.0 so between the increase in torque and the 8 speed auto I’ll be curious to see how it compares when towing our little Vistabule.

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