09' JKU Trailer Towing experience

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: My comments have nothing to do with your problems--just GENERAL-and

Evidentally you didn't even read my comments-

I've got close to 13K spen in addition to my original cost , for the '08 JKUR, but

The power/performance/mileage/towing capability have --in effect, cost me about 3K bucks-

We do what we have to do for our own PLEASURE --right

:sombrero::costumed-smiley-007 JIMBO

 

[jeep-N-montero]

^^^^^
I didn't immediately scream that mine was a dog. I loved my JK and wanted to keep it, but it didn't make sense to keep dumping money into it and void the warranty to make it do something it should and claims to be capable of right off the lot. I dumped a good 15K into my JK before finally waking up and realizing that it's just not worth it to have to completely rebuild a brand new vehicle just to make it do a few simple tasks. Yes, they're incredibly capable vehicles...capable of driving slow and hauling absolutely nothing...unless you have deep pockets.

$15k huh? It must suck to spend all of that and have it still not be up to par for you. You could have just bought a decent used truck and tent trailer for that much and saved the Jeep for the trail stuff.

 

[huskyfargo]

Yep, it sucked. The final straw was towing the maybe 1500# trailer on a very short highway trip, and to have to have the trans rebuilt when I got home. I knew that wasn't going to work for any long trips. I sold it for a good price and got my LR3. Some may think that's crazy, but I'm very pleased with my purchase, and it towed my trailer flawlessly over 6K miles this summer.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

So it leads one to wonder, what is actually good about the 07-11 JK's?

 

[schmugboy]

more info

First, thanks for all the advice, which was the main reason for posting my experience. I've been reading most of the posts on the forum, so i knew going in my mostly stock JKU wasn't going to be like my father-in-law's 3500 cummins.
More info on my JKU and rented campers I tried. My jeep is stock tires (32") & gears, w/small tranny cooler (got the dreaded hot oil message while playing in the sand). Right now I am open to any modifications that won't break my powertrain warranty, does re-gearing do that.
The camp lite I rented was at least 3' tailer than the jeep (can't figure out the posting picture thing yet), but it was the base no frills model, so I think it is safe to assume it was not over the 1500lbs spec weight. From past experiences of having just a full jeep full of family and camping gear I was expecting the performance I got. 12.2avg MPG in 3rd (auto), at 60mph. I liked the neon we rented, but the wife did not. Just wasn't sure what my options were in terms of buying/building a tow along trailer (like the AT's), stick with tenting (with a growing family need to bring less equipment or tow a trailer), or if we decide to camp with a trailer use the dakota and leave the jeep at home .
Since I don't understand re-gearing, what are the drawbacks to going to a 5.13 or higher.

Thanks,

DD

 

[schmugboy]

What is "lightweight"? Seems that most of the larger trailer manufacturers consider lightweight to be any trailer they make that isn't a huge monstrosity. Some sort of open comparison.

If you are judging lightweight by what's on the spec sheet, or the VIN you'll have to think again, most of the specs will be for a base trailer, with no accessories, no water, and none of your personal belongings.

Pulling a trailer that fit's into the slipstream of your vehicle or has the same height profile as your vehicle has a huge effect on gas consumption and tow-able speed. Once the trailer sits outside these parameters expect large losses in both MPG and speed.

Fitted larger tires to your tow vehicle and not re-geared? Many of us have, and we get away with it until we try to tow a trailer. Expect lower towing speeds and difficulty negotiating inclines if you haven't re-geared.

My advise would be to:
Know the tow rating of your rig
Take the fully laden trailer over certified scales to find out what the real weight is
Re-Gear if you have fitted larger no-stock tires.

We can get into tongue weight if the tow vehicle's sagging in the rear.

Sorry it's not simpler to deal with, but manufacturers want you to believe their trailers weigh next to nothing, put no weight on the rear of your vehicle, and have no adverse effect on braking. Of course this is only true with an Adventure Trailer :wings:

Martyn,

Agree with everything you said, this is really my first experiences with trying to do camping outings with my family in something that gets us away from developed campgrounds. Growing up, my parents bought ever increasing sizes of trailer until they were so big it could only be parked in a campground year round. I don't want that for my family. But have been thinking as I get older of not sleeping on the ground every night. I'll keep reading and learning, so hopefully one day, I'll figure out what I want and works for us.
Thanks for your comment.

DD

 

[Hilldweller]

You say that thats the reason you sold yours and bought the "big" ram--you never even tried to change, modify your JK so that it would do what you wanted it to--except install the wrong Diff. gears and improve the lighting--right ??

I won't argue with you cause I have a lotta respect for you, but sometimes, you just don't listen and you operate with blinders on !

Nah, no blinders. The short wheelbase JK would never make a good towpig no matter what mods.
When I first got the JK we had only planned to tent-camp (infrequently). If I had the foresight to predict the trailer(s), I would've gotten a JKU.
Hindsight being 20/20, I'd modify that to be a JKU-Rubicon, manual trans, 4.88 gears, 33s on 16s, and a big trans cooler. I'd still have it.

The 4.56s I installed in the 2-door autobox along with the Flashpaq should've been adequate for the 33s ---- all the math worked but the result was what it was. A dog.
It's the autotrans on the '07-'11 JKs. Unless you gear it very deep (and like to rev) or are very patient, it won't tow.

So it leads one to wonder, what is actually good about the 07-11 JK's?

When the trailer was back at basecamp or in the garage, it was a sheer delight offroad.
Un-freakin-stopable.
I loved that Jeep. Just couldn't tow with it.

Right now I am open to any modifications that won't break my powertrain warranty, does re-gearing do that.
Since I don't understand re-gearing, what are the drawbacks to going to a 5.13 or higher.
View attachment 75795
Thanks,

DD

Regearing very well might void parts of your warranty. Not every dealer will black-ball you, but some will.
It's up to the dealer to look at a problem, look at the mods, and either fix the problem or blame the mods.
I never had warranty work denied for my gears ---- never had a related problem.
I did get a "warning" about my lift.

The actual answer is that a mod must cause the failure to void the warranty. The reality is that some dealers are more mod-friendly than others; some are outright anti-mod.
Caveat emptor.

 

[JFarris]

So I thought I would share my towing experience with my 2012 JKUR. I've never towed with a Jeep before, although I have had Jeeps in the past. I drove from Denver, CO to Fresno, CA. 1,200 miles roughly towing a trailer with (2) long track snowmobiles, gear, gas and some other stuff that added up to quite a bit of weight. Total weight was very close to 2,000 lbs. There was a strong headwind from the time I hit the Rockies on I70 all the way to I15. Then I hit another head wind coming through the California desert. My Jeep had close to 2,800 miles on it when I left. The 5 speed transmission did very well. I couldn't imagine what it would have been like with the old 4spd. It towed very well considering the wind conditions and steep grades. There was a few times I had to put it in second gear because the wind was so strong going up a steep grade. I averaged 14.3 mpg, that's calculated from miles driven and gallons used. Do I liken towing that far with the Jeep....no. I have a Duramax 3500 that I like for towing. But considering what a Jeep is, it wasn't that bad.