I've got a Wrangler Unlimited (4 door) with the tow package and 3.21 rear axle ratio. The owners manual says this is good for 2000 lbs.
Next summer we'd like to get a small travel trailer to do some camping, I've done research and it looks like the "Max tow package" is all the same, except the rear axle ratio is 3.73 and it can tow 3500lbs.
Is that all I'd need to change to increase my tow weight? What does this entail? Do I need to replace all the axles, or is it less than that?! Since I'll be doing this work anyways, should I just go ahead and get the 4.10 while I'm at it?
Sorry, I don't know anything about these Gear ratios!?!
IMO plan with the end in mnd, what size tire do you plan on running? Gear for that. IMO if you're staying stock then I'd go 4.10. 4.56 or 4.88 for 35s. 4.88 or 5.13 for 37s.
They'll replace the gear sets in the front and rear axles, being you're at 3.21 gears they'll also replace the carrier.
I paid $1,800 US for mine and had them replace all seals while they were in there.
It's not just about how much you can tow safely. It's about how quick and safely you can stop. And do you have enough vehicle to control everything if you blow a tire on the tow vehicle and the trailer/camper simultaneously doing 55mph going through a tight turn on a downhill? What if that doesn't happen to you but the vehicle in front of you, can you stop in time? Many stick their heads in the Sand and say,"that'll never happen to me!" BUT what if it does and someone dies? Can you legitimately make the argument in a court of law that this was an accident not negligence? What if it's a family member, can you look in the mirror and say you did not cut corners?
IMO you can never have too much tow vehicle! I trailer my jeep to the trails, The trailer and all my gear weighs right around 7000 pounds...my tow vehicle is a 7.3L F350 Dually. Total weight is 14,720 pounds with a tongue weight of 637 pounds, both trailer axles have brakes. Can I stop on a dime if idiot cuts me off right before red stop light and cuts my braking distance by two thirds? It's happened and I had too! My point is, you plan for the worst case scenario then hope it never happens BUT be able to PROVE that you did EVERYTHING reasonable to prevent that scenario!
Re-gearing won't change stopping distance. I would not tow any near my max tow capacity without brakes on the trailer/camper and a good brake controller.
I am in the same boat as the OP. I have the 3.21 and run 33's now. I am planning a 4.10 swap. It will cover the eventual swap to 35's and give a tow rating of 3500 lbs. However, mine is not a DD and my projected tow weight is around 2500 lbs. (camper and gear).
If you are going to 35's I would go 4.56 if you are not going to tow and 4.88 if you are... I would say 4.10s are good for 34's and 33's not quite 35's especially since you are paying for the new gears anyway.
You cannot change your tow rating just by regearing, or any other method for that matter. You would have to go to some branch of MVD in your state or something to get a new certified tow placard. You will get a ticket and maybe impound for towing over your vehicle rating. So you are limited to your factory rating unless you go down what I suspect is a very expensive and very beaucratic long road.
You cannot change your tow rating just by regearing, or any other method for that matter. You would have to go to some branch of MVD in your state or something to get a new certified tow placard.
I hear this in almost every towing thread now, but have never heard of it before this forum. So either I'm going to learn something new today, or this is going to be exposed as false info. Is it a state thing that maybe my state doesn't do? Is it some other placard hiding under the gobs of dirt on my Jeep?
For reference I've attached pics of both the stickers on my Jeep (pardon the mud) and nowhere does it state the tow rating.
I'm not looking to increase my tow to anything crazy, the trailer we are looking at weigh's 3100 lbs.
I'm currently rated at 2000lbs, what I'm asking is if I change to 3.73 or 4.10 is that all that's needed to up my tow rating from 2000 to 3500.
Any ideas on the cost I'd be looking at to make this change? Anywhere you would suggest for purchasing the parts to bring to my Jeep dealer to do the work?
We go over towing every couple months here on the board. Besides the gearing I would add Bigger brakes on the jeep and a brake controller. Ensure your trailer has brakes , keep your speed down. The Jeep is a small vehicle so smaller trailers/ loads only 3000 or less is best.
Part of the towing question is what road and speed. What weather conditions. Interstate at a high speed keep it below 2500. Cross country 2000 . Staying on lower speed paved roads if set up correctly in good weather I would consider towing up to 4000 lbs.
There are some small 13 foot lightweight fiberglass camping trailers that will work for paved and gravel roads. Trails are better done with a gear hauler or tear drop.
No you are limited by the equipment you are running on the vehicle. In stock form the OP is limited to 2000 lbs. Adding 3:73 gears and the big springs will put him at 3500. Those are the only differences between the non-tow package and the max tow package.
As soon as you change anything on a vehicle you will impact the payload and that impacts the tow capability. Take mine, it stock trim it has a payload capacity of 650 lbs. and tow capacity of 2000 lbs. Lets add gas, bumpers, winch, tire carrier and myself, thats 555 lbs. The max I can legally tow is not 2000 lbs it is 950 lbs with this set up.
Add a big brake kit to help add a lot of stopping power. Dynatrac has a nice BBK with 13.5" front rotors and 14.25" rear rotors with pads for under $1,000 bucks. The factory rotors are 12.2".
Come on people. Think of all the pickups built up to carry or tow way more than the original weight specs. Watch a few truck shows, it is done all the time. It it done all the time to thousands of vehicles. OP is asking what he must do to tow 3500 lbs. I believe the 2000 lb limit is limited by Jeep assuming you are towing 2000 lb trailer without brakes. If the trailer has brakes the limit is way beyond 2000 lbs. Wisely, if you change the diff ratios you should have no problem with an Unlimited. Just my opinion.
Thats because we dont want people to get the wrong information. A lot of people genuinely do not realize that you are stuck with the tow rating that the factory gives you.
There is only one number captured on the vehicle and sometimes the title and that is Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, GVWR. There is no legal way that I am aware of to change that. FYI mommy I am pretty sure you are already over it. I know I am and you are way more modded than I.
The only place you will find what you can tow is in the owners manual or the manufactures web site.
OP the first thing to do if you are really concerned is check with your state patrol on what you can do. It may be different agency in your state. In your shoes I would just opt for gears, check your springs and upgrade to 18/59 or 18/60 springs and it would not hurt to add a big brake kit. As long as you can stay within your GVWR, don't forget to add your tongue weight in, you have at least complied with the spirit of the law.
According to the owner's manual, there is no requirement for the max tow package for a JK to tow 3500lbs. Only the correct axle ratio.
What exact law is it that states your "tow rating"? What gives the entry in the manual weight of law?
To the OP's question, there is no difference between a Max Tow equipped JKU and one without it except the wiring harness and hitch as well as the gear ratio if you have the higher ratio. Install the harness and hitch and have the gear ratio changed if if you want. The cops aren't going to pull up your build sheet if you get pulled over.
One thing I would suggest from a practical standpoint is to get the mopar 7 pin wiring harness and install it with a brake controller if the trailer you want has Ebrakes. That's the route I went, you can get the harness from Amazon. It has a mopar part number and is very easy to install.
A cop will look at your sticker on the lower portion of your door (same place as every other vehicle), see that you are clearly over weight, and potentially write you a ticket.
Again, this is all extremely unlikely, but I am not going to give someone incorrect information.
Well said, and I bet that the only reason Jeep reduced to tow capacity on JKU's with 3:21 gears is because they did not want a whole bunch of burnt up trannies in the shop.
This why you don't overload.
My buddy and I were riding right behind this and it is amazing there were not more people killed including the other cyclists she was riding with. It says the tire popped off but the trailer was extremely overloaded with masonry supplies i.e. Bricks patio pavers and the axle broke. It took the front end of the Volvo out in a split second which rendered steering useless. I can't believe the Volvo occupants survived as it augured in to the bank and was demolished.
If you want specifics with a "source" then there's always this...
Wikipedia said:
The gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), or gross vehicle mass (GVM) is the maximum operating weight/mass of a vehicle as specified by the manufacturer including the vehicle's chassis, body, engine, engine fluids, fuel, accessories, driver, passengers and cargo but excluding that of any trailers.
OP,
The short of it is your tow rating "on paper" will always be 2000# because that is how it left the factory. It's in your build & forever tied to the VIN.
Now that does not prevent you from increasing the towing "ability" by changing to 3.73 or greater. Personally I would opt for 4.10 if I where making the change.
Better yet, buy a 2017 with 3.21s if you want. The 3.21 ratings have been increased in 2017 for no apparent reason. Added bonus is that new jeep smell.
2,000 pounds? thats funny... probably to keep idiots from getting themselves in toruble.
620 mile round trip made 20+ times
Usually around 3,500 pounds - couple trips with about 4,300 pounds.
Properly loading the trailer is critical, balanced weight.
Tongue Weight:
Tandem Axle Trailer 9%-15%
Single Axle Trailer 10%-15%
How to calculate tongue weight...
Tongue weight % = Loaded Tongue Weight over Loaded Trailer Weight x 100
2015 2 door (towing related mods)
-Ripp SC (don't buy one of these - nothing but issues)
-4.56 gears
-Willwood BBK front/rear
-7 pin OEM harness swap
-TEKONSHA PRODIGY P3 ELECTRONIC TRAILER BRAKE CONTROL (critical)
And yes I understand the legal ramifications in the event of an accident.. don't care
I get about 10-11MPGs..don't care.
2,000 pounds? thats funny... probably to keep idiots from getting themselves in toruble. 620 mile round trip made 20+ times Usually around 3,500 pounds - couple trips with about 4,300 pounds. Properly loading the trailer is critical, balanced weight. Tongue Weight: Tandem Axle Trailer 9%-15% Single Axle Trailer 10%-15% How to calculate tongue weight... Tongue weight % = Loaded Tongue Weight over Loaded Trailer Weight x 100 2015 2 door (towing related mods) -Ripp SC (don't buy one of these - nothing but issues) -4.56 gears -Willwood BBK front/rear -7 pin OEM harness swap -TEKONSHA PRODIGY P3 ELECTRONIC TRAILER BRAKE CONTROL (critical) And yes I understand the legal ramifications in the event of an accident.. don't care I get about 10-11MPGs..don't care.
The last sentence sums it up perfectly...there are people out there that don't care. They don't care if hurt themselves but they're more likely to hurt or kill you or your family. They're going to do what they want... That's why you need to be prepared for those umm individuals... You need to be able to stop faster, see better and be more aware of your vehicle's true capabilities because you never know when things beyond your control affect you.
One other "critical" is making sure your trailer brakes are properly adjusted. A lot of folks don't realize that you need to check them frequently to make sure they are still properly engaging.
Not sure why folks are getting so caught up in the gearing... if you have 3.2* just throw the bitch in 4th gear.. now you have 4.56 gearing. The jeep can cruise at 3,100 rpms all day. It's pretty simple guys.
How often does the need to accelerate prevent an accident.
To be safe and stay sane, I would recommend that the gross weight of the trailer being towed, not exceed more than half of the GVWR of the towing vehicle, even if the towed trailer has a braking system.
You may be able to increase the tow weight by re-gearing to a lower gear, but you will still need to maintain control of your tow vehicle and the trailer, and the heavier the towed load the more this decreases.
Not even close to the truth. A properly equipped pickup will pull 2-3 times it's weight. Semi's also pull 2-3 times there weight. Maintaining control is all about speed and tongue weight. Of course this a designed to tow, our Jeeps not so much.
We could easily pull 7500 lbs with our Jeeps if we lowered our tongue weight to 4-7 percent and kept our speed under 60 mph. This is how it is done in the UK and why you see little 4 bangers pulling big trailers.
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