Sponsored

Wandering_Cascadian

Active Member
First Name
Kelly
Joined
Aug 31, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
38
Reaction score
61
Location
Oregon
Vehicle(s)
2021 JLUR 4xe; 1976 GMC High Sierra 1500
Hey all!

Just completed a major road trip moving to Utah from Oregon, about 750 miles on the freeway. The entire way I pulled Uhaul's largest trailer, a 6'x12' dual axle with surge brakes. Thought I'd give a quick write-up of my experience.

First, the important part: I did this trip with my 4xe Rubicon. Currently, she has 35x17x12.5 AT3/W's on the stock wheels, stock height. Added LOD's Armorlite rocksliders, Metalcloak front and rear diff skids and track bar, and Rockhard 4x4 front and rear LCA skids. At the start of the trip, she had about 1600 miles on the odometer, at least half of which were electric.

The trailer weighs about 1900lbs empty according to Uhaul's website, and I'm pretty sure I added at least 1000lbs of furniture/clothes, etc to it, so was definitely coming close to the max tow rating.

Jeep Wrangler JL Road Trip while towing with the Jeep 4xe! 20210706_104519


Now for the trip: Almost the entire way I was running E-Save or E-Save, Charge. My puppy was riding in the Jeep with me, and it was 95+ every day, so each stop I wanted to use the remote start to keep him cool while I ate/got gas/etc. One time I wasn't was when I figured out I was about 50miles to the next gas station the first day, and my gas only range was not indicating that I was going to make it. So, per the suggestion of very helpful members here, I put it in hybrid with manual shift to engage both gas and electric to stretch my tank out, which worked beautifully. Downside was blowing the nearly full battery I had charged, so I had to use charge mode while driving to make sure the puppy stayed cool. I'll take worse mpg to make sure he's happy :).

For the towing experience itself, this Jeep pulls very well. Merging onto freeways I could definitely feel the trailer, but the turbo kicking in would make sure I had no trouble getting to speed. Adding in any help from the battery and it was a dream. The one questionable spot, which I knew was coming, was Cabbage Hill/Deadman Pass in Eastern Oregon. For those who don't know, this is an about 6% grade climb over 10ish miles. While this would be no trouble normally, pulling a trailer in nearly 100 degree weather makes it a bit more sketchy.

In terms of power, the Jeep had zero trouble. I could easily cruise at 50-55mph up the hill. The entire way I was cycling through the coolant/oil/transmission temps. Coolant saw about 220 degrees max, oil 242 degrees, and transmission about 202 degrees. Once I saw 240 on the oil, I kicked into hybrid mode to take some load off the engine, just to be safe. I probably could've stayed cooler if I didn't power up the hill so quick, but it was a guilty pleasure feeling the Jeep climb up so quick.

However, about 3/4 of the way up, I did get the warning light Rubicon owners hate: Service E-Locker. Seeing that made me very scared, as I knew it was an issue, but shouldn't be showing up this soon in the vehicle life. I slowed down to about 40mph, and pulled off at the rest area at the top of the pass. I powered off the Jeep, took a break, and read through the info here to make sure it wasn't going to strand me in the middle of nowhere. Once I powered back on, it stayed off, and didn't come back the rest of the trip or since. I'm guessing the differential just got too warm climbing the hill and caused the warning light, and once it cooled off it was good to go. I'm still wondering if the Metalcloak rear diff skid may have had an influence on this, and kept heat trapped in.

Other than that, the trip was gorgeous. Once you load this Jeep down with some weight, she drives very comfortably, and never once did I feel the trailer was pushing me around. Did have to watch out for strong crosswinds, this trailer and rig can act like a sail in that situation :CWL:.

Jeep Wrangler JL Road Trip while towing with the Jeep 4xe! 20210704_204013


Jeep also had more bugs on the front than I've ever seen. Wasn't helped by the windshield washing buckets at each gas station being empty once I got into Idaho...

Also, MPG was horrible.
Jeep Wrangler JL Road Trip while towing with the Jeep 4xe! 20210707_220630



Did a similar trip with a similar load in a 2015 Cherokee Trailhawk v6, and it saw around 18mpg. When I wasn't running charge mode I was seeing about 15mpg according to the dash, about 13.5mpg with it charging. That being said, this was not the use case I bought this for by a long shot. If I did this more than once a year at most, I would have strongly considered the diesel. But my drive to work is 1 mile now, so still very happy with the 4xe.
Sponsored

 
Last edited by a moderator:

jdeolivares

Well-Known Member
First Name
Juan
Joined
Dec 1, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
85
Reaction score
116
Location
Ca
Vehicle(s)
2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe
Curious as to why you were running in esave mode. I have never tried it but I think you would still have air conditioning
during remote start when the battery is <1%. It would start the ICE, I would think.
 

Papa Jawa

Well-Known Member
First Name
Paul
Joined
Dec 1, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
76
Reaction score
125
Location
San Diego
Vehicle(s)
2020 Recon, 99 Miata, 90 Silverado
Hey all!

Just completed a major road trip moving to Utah from Oregon, about 750 miles on the freeway. The entire way I pulled Uhaul's largest trailer, a 6'x12' dual axle with surge brakes. Thought I'd give a quick write-up of my experience.

First, the important part: I did this trip with my 4xe Rubicon. Currently, she has 35x17x12.5 AT3/W's on the stock wheels, stock height. Added LOD's Armorlite rocksliders, Metalcloak front and rear diff skids and track bar, and Rockhard 4x4 front and rear LCA skids. At the start of the trip, she had about 1600 miles on the odometer, at least half of which were electric.

The trailer weighs about 1900lbs empty according to Uhaul's website, and I'm pretty sure I added at least 1000lbs of furniture/clothes, etc to it, so was definitely coming close to the max tow rating.

Jeep Wrangler JL Road Trip while towing with the Jeep 4xe! 20210707_220630


Now for the trip: Almost the entire way I was running E-Save or E-Save, Charge. My puppy was riding in the Jeep with me, and it was 95+ every day, so each stop I wanted to use the remote start to keep him cool while I ate/got gas/etc. One time I wasn't was when I figured out I was about 50miles to the next gas station the first day, and my gas only range was not indicating that I was going to make it. So, per the suggestion of very helpful members here, I put it in hybrid with manual shift to engage both gas and electric to stretch my tank out, which worked beautifully. Downside was blowing the nearly full battery I had charged, so I had to use charge mode while driving to make sure the puppy stayed cool. I'll take worse mpg to make sure he's happy :).

For the towing experience itself, this Jeep pulls very well. Merging onto freeways I could definitely feel the trailer, but the turbo kicking in would make sure I had no trouble getting to speed. Adding in any help from the battery and it was a dream. The one questionable spot, which I knew was coming, was Cabbage Hill/Deadman Pass in Eastern Oregon. For those who don't know, this is an about 6% grade climb over 10ish miles. While this would be no trouble normally, pulling a trailer in nearly 100 degree weather makes it a bit more sketchy.

In terms of power, the Jeep had zero trouble. I could easily cruise at 50-55mph up the hill. The entire way I was cycling through the coolant/oil/transmission temps. Coolant saw about 220 degrees max, oil 242 degrees, and transmission about 202 degrees. Once I saw 240 on the oil, I kicked into hybrid mode to take some load off the engine, just to be safe. I probably could've stayed cooler if I didn't power up the hill so quick, but it was a guilty pleasure feeling the Jeep climb up so quick.

However, about 3/4 of the way up, I did get the warning light Rubicon owners hate: Service E-Locker. Seeing that made me very scared, as I knew it was an issue, but shouldn't be showing up this soon in the vehicle life. I slowed down to about 40mph, and pulled off at the rest area at the top of the pass. I powered off the Jeep, took a break, and read through the info here to make sure it wasn't going to strand me in the middle of nowhere. Once I powered back on, it stayed off, and didn't come back the rest of the trip or since. I'm guessing the differential just got too warm climbing the hill and caused the warning light, and once it cooled off it was good to go. I'm still wondering if the Metalcloak rear diff skid may have had an influence on this, and kept heat trapped in.

Other than that, the trip was gorgeous. Once you load this Jeep down with some weight, she drives very comfortably, and never once did I feel the trailer was pushing me around. Did have to watch out for strong crosswinds, this trailer and rig can act like a sail in that situation :CWL:.

Jeep Wrangler JL Road Trip while towing with the Jeep 4xe! 20210707_220630


Jeep also had more bugs on the front than I've ever seen. Wasn't helped by the windshield washing buckets at each gas station being empty once I got into Idaho...

Also, MPG was horrible.
Jeep Wrangler JL Road Trip while towing with the Jeep 4xe! 20210707_220630

Did a similar trip with a similar load in a 2015 Cherokee Trailhawk v6, and it saw around 18mpg. When I wasn't running charge mode I was seeing about 15mpg according to the dash, about 13.5mpg with it charging. That being said, this was not the use case I bought this for by a long shot. If I did this more than once a year at most, I would have strongly considered the diesel. But my drive to work is 1 mile now, so still very happy with the 4xe.
Great report! The only other info I was looking for was a picture of your Pup! Love your priorities! Dogs are the second best part of life!
 
OP
OP

Wandering_Cascadian

Active Member
First Name
Kelly
Joined
Aug 31, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
38
Reaction score
61
Location
Oregon
Vehicle(s)
2021 JLUR 4xe; 1976 GMC High Sierra 1500
Curious as to why you were running in esave mode. I have never tried it but I think you would still have air conditioning
during remote start when the battery is <1%. It would start the ICE, I would think.
Did it so I didn't run the engine when remote starting. Figured it would be more efficient to charge on the road and remote start using battery than to have the ICE running for the 15min remote start.
 

jdeolivares

Well-Known Member
First Name
Juan
Joined
Dec 1, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
85
Reaction score
116
Location
Ca
Vehicle(s)
2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe
Did it so I didn't run the engine when remote starting. Figured it would be more efficient to charge on the road and remote start using battery than to have the ICE running for the 15min remote start.
Makes sense.
 

Sponsored

nowandthen

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Threads
12
Messages
382
Reaction score
456
Location
California
Vehicle(s)
2014 JKUR, 1989 Toyota standard cab pickup
From what I've read on this forum, eSave is never as efficient as hybrid mode. Let the Jeep do it's thing. It will recapture when it can. Many ups and downs on your trip. @Chris Hall
 

jdeolivares

Well-Known Member
First Name
Juan
Joined
Dec 1, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
85
Reaction score
116
Location
Ca
Vehicle(s)
2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe
The comparison here is between charging the battery using esave while driving vs charging the battery to run the air conditioner while the car is parked to keep it cool inside. I think esave would be more efficient because you can use regen to help charge the battery while driving.
 

halsjeep

Active Member
First Name
Hal
Joined
Jan 14, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
44
Reaction score
80
Location
Wilmington NC
Vehicle(s)
2021 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe, 2020 Jeep Gladiator
Hey all!

Just completed a major road trip moving to Utah from Oregon, about 750 miles on the freeway. The entire way I pulled Uhaul's largest trailer, a 6'x12' dual axle with surge brakes. Thought I'd give a quick write-up of my experience.

First, the important part: I did this trip with my 4xe Rubicon. Currently, she has 35x17x12.5 AT3/W's on the stock wheels, stock height. Added LOD's Armorlite rocksliders, Metalcloak front and rear diff skids and track bar, and Rockhard 4x4 front and rear LCA skids. At the start of the trip, she had about 1600 miles on the odometer, at least half of which were electric.

The trailer weighs about 1900lbs empty according to Uhaul's website, and I'm pretty sure I added at least 1000lbs of furniture/clothes, etc to it, so was definitely coming close to the max tow rating.

Jeep Wrangler JL Road Trip while towing with the Jeep 4xe! 20210707_220630


Now for the trip: Almost the entire way I was running E-Save or E-Save, Charge. My puppy was riding in the Jeep with me, and it was 95+ every day, so each stop I wanted to use the remote start to keep him cool while I ate/got gas/etc. One time I wasn't was when I figured out I was about 50miles to the next gas station the first day, and my gas only range was not indicating that I was going to make it. So, per the suggestion of very helpful members here, I put it in hybrid with manual shift to engage both gas and electric to stretch my tank out, which worked beautifully. Downside was blowing the nearly full battery I had charged, so I had to use charge mode while driving to make sure the puppy stayed cool. I'll take worse mpg to make sure he's happy :).

For the towing experience itself, this Jeep pulls very well. Merging onto freeways I could definitely feel the trailer, but the turbo kicking in would make sure I had no trouble getting to speed. Adding in any help from the battery and it was a dream. The one questionable spot, which I knew was coming, was Cabbage Hill/Deadman Pass in Eastern Oregon. For those who don't know, this is an about 6% grade climb over 10ish miles. While this would be no trouble normally, pulling a trailer in nearly 100 degree weather makes it a bit more sketchy.

In terms of power, the Jeep had zero trouble. I could easily cruise at 50-55mph up the hill. The entire way I was cycling through the coolant/oil/transmission temps. Coolant saw about 220 degrees max, oil 242 degrees, and transmission about 202 degrees. Once I saw 240 on the oil, I kicked into hybrid mode to take some load off the engine, just to be safe. I probably could've stayed cooler if I didn't power up the hill so quick, but it was a guilty pleasure feeling the Jeep climb up so quick.

However, about 3/4 of the way up, I did get the warning light Rubicon owners hate: Service E-Locker. Seeing that made me very scared, as I knew it was an issue, but shouldn't be showing up this soon in the vehicle life. I slowed down to about 40mph, and pulled off at the rest area at the top of the pass. I powered off the Jeep, took a break, and read through the info here to make sure it wasn't going to strand me in the middle of nowhere. Once I powered back on, it stayed off, and didn't come back the rest of the trip or since. I'm guessing the differential just got too warm climbing the hill and caused the warning light, and once it cooled off it was good to go. I'm still wondering if the Metalcloak rear diff skid may have had an influence on this, and kept heat trapped in.

Other than that, the trip was gorgeous. Once you load this Jeep down with some weight, she drives very comfortably, and never once did I feel the trailer was pushing me around. Did have to watch out for strong crosswinds, this trailer and rig can act like a sail in that situation :CWL:.

Jeep Wrangler JL Road Trip while towing with the Jeep 4xe! 20210707_220630


Jeep also had more bugs on the front than I've ever seen. Wasn't helped by the windshield washing buckets at each gas station being empty once I got into Idaho...

Also, MPG was horrible.
Jeep Wrangler JL Road Trip while towing with the Jeep 4xe! 20210707_220630



Did a similar trip with a similar load in a 2015 Cherokee Trailhawk v6, and it saw around 18mpg. When I wasn't running charge mode I was seeing about 15mpg according to the dash, about 13.5mpg with it charging. That being said, this was not the use case I bought this for by a long shot. If I did this more than once a year at most, I would have strongly considered the diesel. But my drive to work is 1 mile now, so still very happy with the 4xe.
What kind of fuel economy do you get with the 35's without hauling a trailer?
 

Sponsored

tehkayd

Well-Known Member
First Name
Kris
Joined
Jan 22, 2021
Threads
9
Messages
106
Reaction score
159
Location
SLC Utah
Vehicle(s)
2021 JLUR Sting-Gray
Build Thread
Link
Vehicle Showcase
1
Welcome to Utah, love the write up.
 

32beer1

Member
First Name
Yongchang
Joined
May 27, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
6
Reaction score
5
Location
72223
Vehicle(s)
2021 Rubicon JLU 4xe
Thank you for shearing your towing experience with us.
I am planning to towing a small camper with my 4xe, the camper is 3500lb, I was so cautious about my 4xe's towing capacity. I think you gave me some confidence in it
 

Cypher

Well-Known Member
First Name
J
Joined
Feb 8, 2018
Threads
37
Messages
2,424
Reaction score
2,216
Location
AZ
Vehicle(s)
2021 JLUR Eco-Diesel now. 18, 19, 20 JLUR 3.6 old.
Occupation
Cybersecurity Leader
Vehicle Showcase
5
I'm just blown away that you got that car on the roof. :LOL:
at first I thought that was a white cargo carrier up there. then after your comment I went back to look. pretty funny, that was almost perfectly lined up to look like it was a small suv up there.
 
 



Top