My 2016 Rubicon weighs 5,800 pounds without any people or cargo in it. The 5,800 pounds includes half a tank of gas, my five 35" tires, AEV bumpers, skid plating, roof rack, roof top tent and other accessories. I have an AEV 3.5-inch DualSport SC suspension system with frequency-tuned, progressive rate springs, Bilstein 5100 shocks and the AEV high steer kit. My questions:
1) If it is too heavy, what are the risks? Bad gas mileage and worn-out brakes for sure, but what else?
2) Once a vehicle becomes too heavy, what are the solutions? Swap to a more powerful engine and different axles?
I know there are plenty of experts on this forum, and I am really curious about this. Thanks!
I'm not an expert, but just my opinion. In worst case scenario.
1. The increased risk to anything related to starting, stopping, and moving. Bad gas mileage and brakes are probably the most minor. Added weight puts more stress on the engine, drivetrain, suspension, brakes, and almost any other moving part of the vehicle that probably weren't designed for it. Engine components will wear quicker, stopping distances increase, handling suffers. Springs will weaken faster, Bushings will wear down sooner, axles might twist, transmission may overheat or clutches burn out, shocks mounts might break, etc. Anything that moves were designed for a certain load + some overhead for a safety factor. Increase that load too much and you run the risk of breaking.
2. You can upgrade certain parts to be stronger, which ironically will just make your rig heavier. But all you're doing is pushing the weak link down the line somewhere. The added stress still goes somewhere. Bigger engine can deliver more power, but now your axles need to be upgraded to handle it. Stronger axles can fix that, but now the driveshaft is the weak point. Fix the driveshaft and now it's the transmission, and so on. Eventually after upgrading everything, it might be the frame or connections that become the weak point, and short of rebuilding the entire jeep there's not much you can do about it. Not saying all that is going to happen at once, but all that weight just pushes you closer to failure somewhere.
Easiest thing is to lose weight. You're almost 30% over stock weight, just by having stuff bolted on without anything else inside. If you think about it, that nearly the weight of another small car, bolted onto your jeep. I know in the offroading world everybody wants things overbuilt, but IMO it can get out of control. I've never understood the big heavy bumpers bolted to frames that are probably half as strong as the bumper itself. It's like putting a vault door on a chain link fence. I've started looking at the weight of all the accessories I add to my car, because in most cases the added weight only has a negative effect. It's hard because you don't tend to think too much about it when it's the car carrying it and not you
