Yes,for 3.21 gears.2000 lbs.

 

What he said, 3.21 gears means 2,000 lb tow rating. The only difference between 2,000 lb tow rating and 3,500 lb tow rating for the JKU is the gearing. If you have 3.73 gears or 4.10 gears it is the 3,500 lb rating.

 

all has to do with fleet mpg.

 

Welcome to the Forum!
Yes, the gearing is the issue. My understanding is, a Wrangler with the 3.21 Ratio leaving the factory as such, is registered for the 2000 lbs. Therefore if you upgrade to a different ratio, legal wise, you will still only be approved for the 2000 lbs. To confirm this, I suggest that you check with your local DOT..

 

Also, as Old Dogger says, you can regear your Jeep to make it better able to tow, and you can then tow 3,500 lbs the same as a JKU that came with 3.73 or 4.10 gears. But legally your tow rating is still 2,000 lbs. To my knowledge there is no process available to increase the original tow rating. Does that matter? Maybe, maybe not. If you are involved in an accident while towing over 2,000 lbs that might come into play, increasing your liability in the accident. But it is not like you are going to get a ticket for towing 3,000 lbs as the officer would have no easy way of knowing your original tow rating. And I can't see him looking up your VIN on the side of the road. But if you piss him off enough, maybe he would.

 

Our Texas CR3 crash report:

If it's a trailer towed behind a Jeep, the Jeep is Veh 1 and the trailer is identified with code 6. And if there is another vehicle involved it would be coded as veh 2. There's are other ways to list a trailer but make no mistake that tow rating of the vehicle involved in an accident will be a consideration as well as the trailer weight plus occupancy and cargo weight which is considered part of the tow rating. Any overload that is found to be a contributing factor will be annotated as code 52 under factors and conditions or code 98 with explanation.

Obtaining vehicle tow rating and a travel trailer weight is not rocket science to get. Nor the trailer weight and weight of a boat. A 2000 tow capacity is not much. You would be lucky to find a camping trailer with a self contained toilet.

So, in addition the JK 2 dr and JKU with 3.21 being tow rated limited, the JT Gladiator manual has a reduced tow rating compared to the Gladiator automatic. Just need to know the rating of the vehicle you drive and what's being towed behind it.

But to the point of getting a ticket; not likely unless its serious. And most likely by a State Trooper.

 

.......So, in addition the JK 2 dr and JKU with 3.21 being tow rated limited.........

Unless is is a 2016-2018 JK 2dr then the tow rating is the same has the JKU.

 

Both of my former 2016 JK 2dr Willys with 3.73 were 2000 lb tow rated. Not sure where you're getting your specs though.

Edit: Not sure I'm reading your post in context in case I appear dazed to you.

 

I thought there were some years the 2 door was rated at 3500 lbs.No changes to the vehicle though.

 

Yes, starting in 2016 the two door JK's that had either 3.73 gears or 4.10 gears were rated for 3500 lbs tow capacity. The 2 door / 4 door aspect stopped being a factor in tow rating in 2016. Only the gear ratio mattered.

See post 11 in this thread

🚙The JK Towing Thread < Towing Specs and Discussion

This thread is a compilation of the owners manual towing specs for the Wrangler JK, in production from 2007-2018. In those years the towing capacities varied greatly so please locate the correct year for your JK. In the threads below are the towing sections and links from each years owners...

www.wranglerforum.com

It shows the revised ratings starting in 2016