Towing a trailer....

doojer

New member
Hi Wayalifers, this is a nifty little forum you have here, this Eddie person seems like a real good man. :thumb:

So.... someone (coincidentally named Eddie) suggested maybe a towable camper is better than things like poptops and roof mounted tents that will afffect the COG of ones Jeep while wheeling. After thinking about this, for my purposes, I decided a non-offroad trailer was best to get me to base camp and then I will unhitch and ditch that baby while I head out in the backcountry with my Jeep and a regular good ol' ground tent. Obviously the specifics here are a whole 'nother thread but I'm curious about the technical logisitics of towing this biatch with my JK.....

SO, let's say you needed to tow a couple thousand pounds (less than 2500) with your 2015 JK Unlimited Rubicon. Maybe you wanted to take a trip to Carson City and visit some friends....:D

Aside from knowing off the bat you'll be going like 35mph-- which I'm ok with-- what do I do to the JK to make it a semi-worthy tow vehicle without swapping the engine? Do the new ones still need tranny coolers? Is there a better hitch option? Also, is my Jeep gonna cry when I throw in a 3" enforcer lift and 35's and try to tow a trailer through the Sierras? Won't be going bigger than that in terms of mods. This trailer is light as a mofo. But I'm skeered.

Thanks for any advice! Rock on! :rock:
 
Hook up to it and run around see how it feels.

I hook a trash trailer to mine every now and then and I don't even notice it. All about keeping it light and even out the load over the axle.

ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1424115872.912045.jpg .
 

cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
Throw a trailer on there now while it's stock and tow it around to see how it feels. Once you get your lift and tires on your going to want to regear you axles to get that power back.
 

Linebacker

Caught the Bug
A 2015 will be rated to tow up to 3,500lbs equipped with the towing package, which among other things includes a Class II hitch, tranny cooler and anti-sway. Make sure you order it with 4.10's. You'll think you're towing 13,500lbs with the standard 3.73's. I've towed a 3,500lb U-Haul loaded to the gills thru AZ, NM, and Colorado and the Pentastar it handled the weight without much fuss. Gas mileage was about 13. Guess there's no free lunch.
 

Linebacker

Caught the Bug
Throw a trailer on there now while it's stock and tow it around to see how it feels. Once you get your lift and tires on your going to want to regear you axles to get that power back.

^^^^^^ X2. Regearing is good advice with the bigger shoes.
 

doojer

New member
Thanks guys, I already have the Jeep-- got it in October. :thumb: My '07 Sahara Unlimited has 35's and 3" of lift and I never regeared and never felt the need to (has 4.10 gears) but also never towed anything with it. I go a little slow up the 395 with my bumpers/winch/gear but it ain't so bad.

I was hoping with the new engine in the '15, I'd feel it less. But the '07 needed a tranny cooler even without towing. Do the newer ones need them?
 

ClarksAdventures

New member
Thanks guys, I already have the Jeep-- got it in October. :thumb: My '07 Sahara Unlimited has 35's and 3" of lift and I never regeared and never felt the need to (has 4.10 gears) but also never towed anything with it. I go a little slow up the 395 with my bumpers/winch/gear but it ain't so bad.

I was hoping with the new engine in the '15, I'd feel it less. But the '07 needed a tranny cooler even without towing. Do the newer ones need them?

The new ones come with a cooler already in them, so you should be good. Also with the 4drs, they have an option for a "max" tow package that bumps you up to 5500. Might check your specs and see if that's an option that is already there.
 

doojer

New member
^Whaaat?

I thought the max package-- which I do have-- was what allowed me 3500, I assumed the "not-as-max" package was less..... I have not seen anything about 5500, that would be a huge game changer.
 

el_chupo_

Member
The new ones come with a cooler already in them, so you should be good. Also with the 4drs, they have an option for a "max" tow package that bumps you up to 5500. Might check your specs and see if that's an option that is already there.


Are you sure? would love to know what is included, but I have never seen anything above 3500 for a 4 door. its rare I need to go over 3k or so, but would love to know if there are things like better brakes to handle more weight.

http://www.jeep.com/en/wrangler-unlimited/capability/
 

Rebel JK

New member
I would highly recommend the trail dash if its available for your 15 rig. You can choose from various tune modes including "tow" and will let you monitor trans temp if you don't already have that on the 15. Here's my approx. 2000lb setup from a few years ago up in the Owens valley above Bishop. I cruised up 395 not pushing it with my 3.8 with aux cooler and had no problems. The trans temp maxed at 129* at the top of the 8 mile hill north of Bishop.
 

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Jk909

New member
Just get some new gears and you should be fine. I have a 2 door sport and I pull my 19' boat from Los Angeles to Arizona every year, I think around 350 miles each way. I have a ram with a hemi but the jeep is too fun to leave at home. Most of the horror stories that you hear are from retards who shouldn't be towing anything in the first place. Just take it slow and learn how the vehicle performs with a load.
 

ClarksAdventures

New member
I think I'm going crazy guys. I could have sworn when I was doing all the research for ordering my 2014, I saw that there was a max tow rating of 5500, but I think everyone else is correct. 3500.
 

bkac

Caught the Bug
Just bought auto JKUR with 4.10's and mine is 3500. The dealer made me sign that I knew that. Lol
 

jeeeep

Hooked
if you have an automatic, lock out OD when towing, it'll actually help keep it cooler if it's not constantly searching for gears.
 

Christarp

Member
I have pulled quite a bit of weight with my Autotragic, 3.8l that has 35's and 4.10 gears in it still. It's by no means fast, but it can do it.

Not entirely sure how heavy it was but its a 14 foot trailer, with a box that was full of gas and tools, had 3 ATV's on it, and a huge bundle of wood + awnings and grills. I'm going to guess it was nearing the 3500 pound limit. The only thing I will say is that you're going to need a lot more room for stopping as I noticed a significant difference in stopping power with stock brakes and no trailer brakes.
 

doojer

New member
^Yeah, my trailer weighs about 2100 fully loaded up. It has (mediocre) electric brakes. I'm looking at a Tekonsha 90195 P3 Electronic brake control.... anyone have thoughts on that?
 

jpone

Member
Hi Wayalifers, this is a nifty little forum you have here, this Eddie person seems like a real good man. :thumb:

So.... someone (coincidentally named Eddie) suggested maybe a towable camper is better than things like poptops and roof mounted tents that will afffect the COG of ones Jeep while wheeling. After thinking about this, for my purposes, I decided a non-offroad trailer was best to get me to base camp and then I will unhitch and ditch that baby while I head out in the backcountry with my Jeep and a regular good ol' ground tent. Obviously the specifics here are a whole 'nother thread but I'm curious about the technical logisitics of towing this biatch with my JK.....

SO, let's say you needed to tow a couple thousand pounds (less than 2500) with your 2015 JK Unlimited Rubicon. Maybe you wanted to take a trip to Carson City and visit some friends....:D

Aside from knowing off the bat you'll be going like 35mph-- which I'm ok with-- what do I do to the JK to make it a semi-worthy tow vehicle without swapping the engine? Do the new ones still need tranny coolers? Is there a better hitch option? Also, is my Jeep gonna cry when I throw in a 3" enforcer lift and 35's and try to tow a trailer through the Sierras? Won't be going bigger than that in terms of mods. This trailer is light as a mofo. But I'm skeered.

Thanks for any advice! Rock on! :rock:

I tow a 16' Bobcat trailer that weighs about 2,300lbs dry with my 2012 jku. It has the light tow package with 3.21 gears. I added a Tekonsha trailer brake kit and the Mopar 7 point electrical hookup. It has a 3.5" Teraflex spring kit with front and rear track bars, lower front LCAs and 33" tires. Absolutely no problem towing this little trailer even when it is loaded with gear. I was super concerned about it when I first got the vehicle, but it has proven not to be an issue. Maybe the 3.6 engine is adequate to overcome any shortfalls of the gearset. I just put it in drive and cruise.
 

doojer

New member
I tow a 16' Bobcat trailer that weighs about 2,300lbs dry with my 2012 jku. It has the light tow package with 3.21 gears. I added a Tekonsha trailer brake kit and the Mopar 7 point electrical hookup. It has a 3.5" Teraflex spring kit with front and rear track bars, lower front LCAs and 33" tires. Absolutely no problem towing this little trailer even when it is loaded with gear. I was super concerned about it when I first got the vehicle, but it has proven not to be an issue. Maybe the 3.6 engine is adequate to overcome any shortfalls of the gearset. I just put it in drive and cruise.

Well that is awesome, considering that mine is only 1800 lbs dry and I have 4.10 gears. Thanks for posting this! I went ahead and got that Tekonsha P3, as everyone seems to rave about it (gotta love Amazon same-day delivery. :D ).... not sure exactly where I'll mount it though, there's not a whole lot of room up in the driver's area of a Rubicon. But, yeah this is great. I intentionally went for a super light trailer as to get used to the idea of towing with the JK. These guys hold their value so well that I assume if I ever wanted to upsize to a 16', it wouldn't be so tough. But, I'm not sure I'll ever need to!

I'm kind of giddy about this.... I despise hotels. Like, I hate them. Like..... I don't know but I'm really pumped to have a house on wheels. :)
 
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