ZR2 vs Gladiator Sport S

[Redheddedwonder]

Bummer. By the time I found some bandwidth to even look at the website, they're all sold out! I dug through the installation manual, and I'm eager to see some install and installed photos. Cutting the fender flares doesn't give me warm fuzzies. Plastic isn't known to finish well.

Yah, most things AEV does though turn out pretty clean in my personal opinion. But usually I don’t want to pay the high price tag. This seems like a fair prices option. Most people seem to be trimming for 33s without the kit that would make it look cleaner.

 

[Redheddedwonder]

Finally made it happen!

 

[spectre6000]

Woo! I see by the dealer tag you're in the neighborhood now. Welcome! When things cool down, vaccinations are available, and you've had a chance to do a proper break in, we'll need to meet up for some wheeling. I still haven't been able to get mine on a trail... A baby followed immediately by a pandemic does not make for many wheeling opportunities.

 

[Redheddedwonder]

Woo! I see by the dealer tag you're in the neighborhood now. Welcome! When things cool down, vaccinations are available, and you've had a chance to do a proper break in, we'll need to meet up for some wheeling. I still haven't been able to get mine on a trail... A baby followed immediately by a pandemic does not make for many wheeling opportunities.

Yah that would be a blast! We ended up right down the road from slaughterhouse gulch. We will have to get together after all the craziness settles down
Congrats on the baby!

 

[spectre6000]

This thread has more or less reached it's conclusion in terms of the original question, but someone liked one of my early posts in it comparing the two trucks, and brought me back into that context. I saw/read/heard something the other day that I think sums the differences between the two trucks up really well.

The Gladiator is an off road vehicle that was converted into a truck. The ZR2 is a truck that was converted into an off road vehicle. The conversion, like any, will not be perfect, and the original character will come through. As a result, the Gladiator is better than the ZR2 at being off road, and the ZR2 is better than the Gladiator at being a truck. They're both really good at both, but each has an edge from its origin. If you regularly go off road and occasionally need a truck: Gladiator. If you regularly need a truck and occasionally go off road: ZR2.

 

[skrypj]

Not to rain on the parade, but I think that a full size travel trailer might be a bit tough with the 2.8L. The 4000 lbs is not the issue, its the aero drag that gets you, especially if you start poking around in Utah, WY, ID, etc where you can be at high elevation with crazy winds.

I don't say this in a mean way. Just that I tow a 4200 lb dry weight trailer with my 2014 F150 Ecoboost that is tuned, making 500+ ft-lbs of torque and high 300's HP at elevation, and I have been in conditions that tested its limits out in Wyoming and southern UT. You get into a 30mph headwind and that 2.8L is gunna be giving you everything it has just to maintain 65-70mph on flat ground. And from my experience towing the past 4 years, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting some kind of headwind.

I do have some experience with tuning the 2.8L as well as its older brother, the 2.8L in the Liberty CRD. They don't maintain spec'd power at elevation. They will start cutting boost, and eventually fueling at elevations >6500', to prevent overspeeding the turbo and therefore running excessively rich.

I guess my point is, choose your trailer wisely. You will want something fairly aerodynamic. There are a lot of trailers now that are 7' wide instead of the normal 8' and then of course the tear drop shaped trailers.

 

[Redheddedwonder]

Not to rain on the parade, but I think that a full size travel trailer might be a bit tough with the 2.8L. The 4000 lbs is not the issue, its the aero drag that gets you, especially if you start poking around in Utah, WY, ID, etc where you can be at high elevation with crazy winds.

I don't say this in a mean way. Just that I tow a 4200 lb dry weight trailer with my 2014 F150 Ecoboost that is tuned, making 500+ ft-lbs of torque and high 300's HP at elevation, and I have been in conditions that tested its limits out in Wyoming and southern UT. You get into a 30mph headwind and that 2.8L is gunna be giving you everything it has just to maintain 65-70mph on flat ground. And from my experience towing the past 4 years, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting some kind of headwind.

I do have some experience with tuning the 2.8L as well as its older brother, the 2.8L in the Liberty CRD. They don't maintain spec'd power at elevation. They will start cutting boost, and eventually fueling at elevations >6500', to prevent overspeeding the turbo and therefore running excessively rich.

I guess my point is, choose your trailer wisely. You will want something fairly aerodynamic. There are a lot of trailers now that are 7' wide instead of the normal 8' and then of course the tear drop shaped trailers.

Thanks for the input! I think a trailer has been put on the back burner for the moment. We live where a lot of people travel to recreate so day trips or tenting it will be most likely this year.
If we end up with a trailer it will most likely be a cargo trailer I build into a basic camper the way our van was built. Bed, fridge, toilet. That’s all we need and that will keep weight down and more maneuverable if we end up on a trail with it.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Tire size is king, period. If you compare both trucks on same tire the 138" wheel base of the Gladiator hurts breakover, all ZR2's are 128".

 

[Redheddedwonder]

Took the truck to Moab and ran fins and things, skid plates were useful, I put some shock skids on and they were used as well. Did scrape the rear bumper on a few downhills but nothing major, overall I was very impressed with the truck! Bumping to 33s or eventually 35s will keep me very happy with this truck!

Combine that with the fact we were getting 25 plus mpg on the way home and very comfortable ride confirms I made the right choice!

 

[Redheddedwonder]

Obligatory pic

 

[Crunch337]

Howdy neighbor! I have a 2020 ZR2 gasser, and just picked up a 'square drop' camper that I plan on getting some use out of this year!! I put a level and skids and metric 34s on and have run Fins, and Slaughterhouse. I'd be down for some wheeling and\or camping. Come on Summer!!

 

[Crunch337]

Moab!!

 

[skyfree]

Not to rain on the parade, but I think that a full size travel trailer might be a bit tough with the 2.8L. The 4000 lbs is not the issue, its the aero drag that gets you, especially if you start poking around in Utah, WY, ID, etc where you can be at high elevation with crazy winds.

I don't say this in a mean way. Just that I tow a 4200 lb dry weight trailer with my 2014 F150 Ecoboost that is tuned, making 500+ ft-lbs of torque and high 300's HP at elevation, and I have been in conditions that tested its limits out in Wyoming and southern UT. You get into a 30mph headwind and that 2.8L is gunna be giving you everything it has just to maintain 65-70mph on flat ground. And from my experience towing the past 4 years, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting some kind of headwind.

I do have some experience with tuning the 2.8L as well as its older brother, the 2.8L in the Liberty CRD. They don't maintain spec'd power at elevation. They will start cutting boost, and eventually fueling at elevations >6500', to prevent overspeeding the turbo and therefore running excessively rich.

I guess my point is, choose your trailer wisely. You will want something fairly aerodynamic. There are a lot of trailers now that are 7' wide instead of the normal 8' and then of course the tear drop shaped trailers.

I tow an Escape 17B with my ZR2 Duramax, which is about 3,500 lbs fully loaded. The trailer is round-ish though, only 6'4" wide, and not overly tall. Power seems adequate for most situations, but I did have a slightly concerning moment towing it over Sonora Pass (9,600 ft) with 3 adults and a dog loaded for a week long trip. That road has a 25% grade section, and it was there that I had it floored at about 30 mph. It wouldn't shift down and give me more RPMs strangely. I thought I might have to stop and put it in 4 Lo at one point, but it did make it. Maybe it has something to do with what you are describing with the boost cutting, and maybe also holding a higher gear to not overheat something. It seemed strange to me that it would rather chug along than downshift though.

 

[Redheddedwonder]

Howdy neighbor! I have a 2020 ZR2 gasser, and just picked up a 'square drop' camper that I plan on getting some use out of this year!! I put a level and skids and metric 34s on and have run Fins, and Slaughterhouse. I'd be down for some wheeling and\or camping. Come on Summer!!View attachment 651820

Awesome man! We live in the same neighborhood as the slaughterhouse trailhead, so definitely hit me up when you head out! If you haven’t joined the Facebook page search for Colorados in Colorado and join that, lots of local guys post runs there.
And sweet trailer, we have been looking for a cargo to convert, have a couple dogs and a kid on the way so we need some space haha.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Not to rain on the parade, but I think that a full size travel trailer might be a bit tough with the 2.8L. The 4000 lbs is not the issue, its the aero drag that gets you, especially if you start poking around in Utah, WY, ID, etc where you can be at high elevation with crazy winds.

I don't say this in a mean way. Just that I tow a 4200 lb dry weight trailer with my 2014 F150 Ecoboost that is tuned, making 500+ ft-lbs of torque and high 300's HP at elevation, and I have been in conditions that tested its limits out in Wyoming and southern UT. You get into a 30mph headwind and that 2.8L is gunna be giving you everything it has just to maintain 65-70mph on flat ground. And from my experience towing the past 4 years, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting some kind of headwind.

I do have some experience with tuning the 2.8L as well as its older brother, the 2.8L in the Liberty CRD. They don't maintain spec'd power at elevation. They will start cutting boost, and eventually fueling at elevations >6500', to prevent overspeeding the turbo and therefore running excessively rich.

I guess my point is, choose your trailer wisely. You will want something fairly aerodynamic. There are a lot of trailers now that are 7' wide instead of the normal 8' and then of course the tear drop shaped trailers.

So I just picked up a Winnebago Micro Mini 1800BH which is a 7' wide trailer, and the ZR2 diesel tows it absolutely beautifully. Have been drooling over the Australian camper trailers like ZoneRV, etc. But I know realistically there's no place to take those things in Canada (every off-road trail is simply too narrow) and you'd just get stuck all the time anyway (they weight about twice what a conventional American camper trailer does). So this is a nice looking soft-road compromise with pretty decent tires and suspension. Anyway...

Our first trip we went to Alonguin, a few hundred KM, some rolling hills. It can pull at 65 mph quite easily getting between 13-15 MPG. At 55 mph I'm getting 15-18 MPG which is absolutely incredible. I know guys with gas jeeps that get that not towing anything at all.

Previously I had an Apex 235BHS that was 7.5 feet wide and 23' long. It pulled that quite fine, WAY better than my Nissan Frontier did! But I do prefer this little Micro Mini. It's just so easy. Don't even need extended mirrors!

(Picture in the middle of my Australian-style canopy build.)