Tow Vehicle Dilemma for Popup

[SCARDUP]

Now that I've been on a couple trips with my fleetwood cobalt, I found that my 07 jku with 38" tires and 5.13 gears can't handle towing. It can barely hull its own *** up the grades in the sierras shifting into second gear in some situations.

The wife and I were discussing options as follows.
1-trade the wife's TDI VW wagon in for a Tacoma or 4Runner.
2-buy a 12 or newer jeep and swap over parts
3-supercharge or hemi swap

All the options have pros and cons but any feedback on towing with these options would be appreciated.

 

[97kurt]

Re-gear and/or SC the Jeep if thats an option.

 

[Xrunner]

Are you set on keeping the 38" tires and 5.13's? How would your wife feel about trading her TDI?

 

[SCARDUP]

Are you set on keeping the 38" tires and 5.13's? How would your wife feel about trading her TDI?

I ran 35" tires for 3 years with and without the gearing and I am fairly confident the jeep would still be sad tow pig. Neither of us are attached to the TDI but going from 42mpg to 20mpg in a Toyota would be pretty sad.

 

[dstock]

I went option number 2 - traded my 2010 JK for 13 Rubicon and never looked back. Granted I only run 33's but it was well worth the change, swapped all my old stuff over and changed up a few things. You're not going to get any huge improvement in mileage but it will get out of it's own way. I tow an M101a1 without issues.

 

[evilfij]

The sportwagen would probably be fine towing it up hills if it is a manual trans.

 

[SCARDUP]

I went option number 2 - traded my 2010 JK for 13 Rubicon and never looked back. Granted I only run 33's but it was well worth the change, swapped all my old stuff over and changed up a few things. You're not going to get any huge improvement in mileage but it will get out of it's own way. I tow an M101a1 without issues.

This is the route in leaning towards but I'm sure the mileage would be better then the 6-8mpgs I was averaging this weekend getting passed by big rigs on a 7% grade at 25mph.

 

[SCARDUP]

The sportwagen would probably be fine towing it up hills if it is a manual trans.

It's an auto but I've heard that I could tow it with the wagon. Not sure how I feel about stressing the DSG tranny though...could get really expensive.

 

[dstock]

This is the route in leaning towards but I'm sure the mileage would be better then the 6-8mpgs I was averaging this weekend getting passed by big rigs on a 7% grade at 25mph.

Ahh..yes, I avg around 14ish towing the trailer usually in the 65mph range...

 

[97kurt]

Isn't there gonna be a diesel JKU option next year? Cant tell if its been confirmed or still a rumor.

 

[Titanpat57]

It's a hard balance.....making a capable trail rig, or being comfortable on road....a continuous conundrum.

What I do to fight off the "voices" every time I want to add something to make my truck just a little more trailworthy, is try to remember that I want to be pretty comfortable at all times, while in the truck. In my case, my on road driving (98%) compared to off road/trail (2%) just doesn't justify the amount of dough it would take to take it up another notch. The truck (a 4runner) is pretty capable as is, and does a nice job towing my 2500# trailer. It's not a real powerhouse, but so far I've been pretty happy towing with it.

Good luck

 

[SCARDUP]

It's a hard balance.....making a capable trail rig, or being comfortable on road....a continuous conundrum.

What I do to fight off the "voices" every time I want to add something to make my truck just a little more trailworthy, is try to remember that I want to be pretty comfortable at all times, while in the truck. In my case, my on road driving (98%) compared to off road/trail (2%) just doesn't justify the amount of dough it would take to take it up another notch. The truck (a 4runner) is pretty capable as is, and does a nice job towing my 2500# trailer. It's not a real powerhouse, but so far I've been pretty happy towing with it.

Good luck

Yeah, the jeep only sees the road to and from the trail for the most part so it was built as a trail ready rock rig. Towing was an afterthought until the little one was born. If we get a Toyota it would become the wifey's daily driver and would most likely get no mods. That's part of the problem as we got the cobalt to take off road on the mild trails in NorCal. We both really enjoy boondocking and don't really care for the campground scene and aren't interested in getting a bigger trailer. She would be pissed if it was getting hillbilly pinstriped every time we went camping.

 

[SCARDUP]

Bought a set of 37" wild peaks and some procomp rims on the cheap. Total weight loss for rims and tires came in at around 110lbs. That's a significant loss of rotational mass and the all terrains should have a little less rolling resistance. I'll let you know how they work out.

 

[croix]

Secret option #4

If you're considering a supercharger you might also want to consider a 4.1 stroker from 505Performance. It's about the same cost as a supercharger ($5000 +/-) and could be less if you want to buy the kit and put it into your engine. Horsepower is about the same as the 3.6 jeep engines at 285 but torque is significantly higher at 385 lb-ft for the stroker vs 260 lb-ft for the 3.6. They use significantly stronger parts than the original 3.8 and have supposedly solved the oil burning problems etc associated with the 3.8. JP magazine did an article and install. There is a link to the article from the 505 Performance web site. Just something to consider. I'm definitely going this route as soon as I have the $$$. Hoping to buy/install in January/February. Good luck.
-croix

 

[tae73]

I would just regear, I have 2012 2dr with 4.10 rolling on 35's, the newer motor does have have a lot more power and it pulls my cobalt with no issues. How about a 5.7 hemi swap????