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Gladiator diesel....not for towing

Bigbore500r

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Motortrend test with some bad results for towing with the new Gladiator diesel.

Sounds like they had the trailer loaded with inadequate tongue weight, but I also don’t doubt that a camping trailer will throw a gladiator around like a tennis ball.

Mixed bag review for the new Gladiator diesel


interesting that the diesel ran out of steam to pull the hill and the V6 gasser could outrun it. Case study that when the pedal is floored, more horsepower will prevail if the gearing is there to let it RPM
 

2Driver

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Youd have to be an asshat to hook up a 6,000 lb stadium hotdog to any midsize truck let alone a Gladiator. Yeah, I'm sure you wouldn’t even know it’s behind a Ford Ranger sitting on a stock hitch. LOL wtf?

Why do they even do these tests?

They even anoit us with valuable info like “we recommend a distribution hitch“ wow ya think? LOL then why didn’t they have one on the test truck
 
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LargeOrangeFont

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Motortrend test with some bad results for towing with the new Gladiator diesel.

Sounds like they had the trailer loaded with inadequate tongue weight, but I also don’t doubt that a camping trailer will throw a gladiator around like a tennis ball.

Mixed bag review for the new Gladiator diesel


interesting that the diesel ran out of steam to pull the hill and the V6 gasser could outrun it. Case study that when the pedal is floored, more horsepower will prevail if the gearing is there to let it RPM

This is no surprise. None of the new small Diesel engines tow better than their top line gas counterparts in the midsize or 1/2 ton truck world.
 

Ladsm

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I want one to launch my boat and get groceries. If I wanted to tow a big trailer nothing beats a full size truck.
 

COCA COLA COWBOY

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The wheels on that aerostream look to be in the middle of the trailer. The Jeep doesn't appear to squat at all. I'm guessing that the load was not proper. I was always taught that 60% of the weight should be on the front of the trailer and 40% on the back. You must have tongue weight. Without it, yes you will have issues.
 

mbrown2

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Regardless of what they say you are not buying a Gladiator to replace a 1500 truck.....You are buying it cause you want a offroad capable vehicle and don't a need a jeep and a truck or want a jeep that can tow a boat short distances....I think the Glad/Diesel combo will be a hit...
 

Bigbore500r

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I remember being told the 7500lb tow figure was valid and it was due to the 8 speed trans lol......
Who told me that? :D
 

LargeOrangeFont

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I remember being told the 7500lb tow figure was valid and it was due to the 8 speed trans lol......
Who told me that? :D

That wasn’t the piss poor diesel.

FYI the diesel is rated to tow 4500-6500 lbs it seems.
 

HCP3

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The wheels on that aerostream look to be in the middle of the trailer. The Jeep doesn't appear to squat at all. I'm guessing that the load was not proper. I was always taught that 60% of the weight should be on the front of the trailer and 40% on the back. You must have tongue weight. Without it, yes you will have issues.

I thought it was 10-15% of the trailer should be tongue weight?
 

Bigbore500r

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That wasn’t the piss poor diesel.

FYI the diesel is rated to tow 4500-6500 lbs it seems.

I get the lack of power, but the trailer shouldn't "throw" the truck around more with the diesel. If anything, you'd think the higher curb weight would make it more stable
 

HCP3

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I wonder if the diesel engine is significantly heavier which makes it heavier over the front axle throwing off the f/r weight balance.
 

pronstar

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The wheels on that aerostream look to be in the middle of the trailer. The Jeep doesn't appear to squat at all. I'm guessing that the load was not proper. I was always taught that 60% of the weight should be on the front of the trailer and 40% on the back. You must have tongue weight. Without it, yes you will have issues.

I thought it was 10-15% of the trailer should be tongue weight?

You’re saying basically the same thing.

Start with 50/50
Move 10% of the weight forward, and you’re at 60/40[emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

LargeOrangeFont

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I get the lack of power, but the trailer shouldn't "throw" the truck around more with the diesel. If anything, you'd think the higher curb weight would make it more stable

As with anything the tow rating is a rating and does not account for user stupidity.

As you know, if the load is not weighted correctly, it is going to move the tow vehicle around more. 6000# in a dump trailer is different than 6000# in and enclosed trailer as you know.
 

HCP3

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I wonder if the diesel engine is significantly heavier which makes it heavier over the front axle throwing off the f/r weight balance.

Screenshot_20201209-084357.png
 

JDKRXW

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500,000 miles to justify the $6000 diesel 'upgrade' - and they're going to sell a ton of them.
That s brilliant marketing (seriously) and Jeep is going to print money with these things.
 

boatpi

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I didn’t read the article but something may be off I have the new ram 1500 diesel and I have the stock gears 3.21

pulled a 6000 pound load up Cajon Summit with no issues whatsoever ran about 60 miles an hour plenty of pedal left.
 

Bigbore500r

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500,000 miles to justify the $6000 diesel 'upgrade' - and they're going to sell a ton of them.
That s brilliant marketing (seriously) and Jeep is going to print money with these things.
If the emissions warranty doesn't kill them on the back end! Hopefully the 19+ fiat motor is significantly better than the 1st gen
 

Bigbore500r

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You’re saying basically the same thing.

Start with 50/50
Move 10% of the weight forward, and you’re at 60/40[emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Alot of the smaller camping trailers don't tow right unless you fill them with water and some gear. Most of them have the fresh water tank ahead of the axles, as well as the fridge, bedroom cabinets, etc. No gear and no water leaves them without much nose weight. They set them up light in the nose so they don't squat the crap out of SUV's when loaded, but still have 10%+ on the tongue.

Toy haulers are the opposite - they have insane tongue weight until you throw the toys in the back - then they get light in the nose (sometimes too light if you load a V8 sand car nose-in with a rear engine!) till you fill the fresh water, then it's good again.
 

Blackmagic94

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A weight distribution hitch would have probably solved that issue. To much tongue weight. Or to much ass weight as well
 

boatpi

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And hauling that 6000 pound load on flatbed trailer got 22.5 miles per gallon
 

Mandelon

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I had high hopes for the Gladiator. Still driving my F -150. LOL I have had a couple Wranglers and enjoyed them.

The tail lights look like an afterthought, the back seat floor height leaves no room for tools. I was just not impressed.
 

Waffles

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I remember being told the 7500lb tow figure was valid and it was due to the 8 speed trans lol......
Who told me that? :D

Suck it trebek 😂
My claim of it towing BETTER with the GAS 3.6 coupled with the new 8 speed than the old pentastar you had with the 5 speed is still valid. Tow ratings are determined by manufacturers and backed by SAE J2807 Standards.
Btw, I thought these were built on the dodge 1500 chassis?
 
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Bigbore500r

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Suck it trebek 😂
My claim of it towing BETTER with the GAS 3.6 coupled with the new 8 speed than the old pentastar you had with the 5 speed is still valid. Tow ratings are determined by manufacturers and backed by SAE J2807 Standards.
Btw, I thought these were built on the dodge 1500 chassis?
Hey now - we have the SAME pentastar V6, you have more gears lol
I thought they ran the rear chassis of a 1500 also, thats what my buddy said. He tows a 24' flatbed with a SXS on it with his gladiator says it does ok
 

TimeBandit

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So if it is rated for 4,500 to 6,500 towing, I would not pull a House trailer with frontal area that weighed over 3,300 pounds total.

The frontal area is a killer, Airstreams are tall and more like a brick wall than a boat is... and at 5,200 pounds plus gear and fluids... too much for this barbie truck.

This rule has served me well, boats and flatbeds can approach 75% of capacity, but not House Trailers.

Trailer boat magazine used to do great towing tests, they loaded it up to the mfg towing limit and headed for the grapevine!
 

Blackmagic94

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So if it is rated for 4,500 to 6,500 towing, I would not pull a House trailer with frontal area that weighed over 3,300 pounds total.

The frontal area is a killer, Airstreams are tall and more like a brick wall than a boat is... and at 5,200 pounds plus gear and fluids... too much for this barbie truck.

This rule has served me well, boats and flatbeds can approach 75% of capacity, but not House Trailers.

Trailer boat magazine used to do great towing tests, they loaded it up to the mfg towing limit and headed for the grapevine!
The SAE test was copied from what Chrysler had as a standard from before. It’s Davis Dam run uphill on a 100 deg day. When SAE went to that both Ford and Toyota had to back pedal on tow ratings when this happened in 2013.
 

pronstar

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So if it is rated for 4,500 to 6,500 towing, I would not pull a House trailer with frontal area that weighed over 3,300 pounds total.

The frontal area is a killer, Airstreams are tall and more like a brick wall than a boat is... and at 5,200 pounds plus gear and fluids... too much for this barbie truck.

This rule has served me well, boats and flatbeds can approach 75% of capacity, but not House Trailers.

Trailer boat magazine used to do great towing tests, they loaded it up to the mfg towing limit and headed for the grapevine!

Maybe 10 or so years ago, the Acura MDX had a tow raring 1500 lbs higher if towing a boat, citing aerodynamics [emoji106]


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