JKU Question

[SSF556]

Love it when the OP complains and never shows back up....

 

[dp7197]

I bring that up because I'm curious as to what you guys who tow trailers with it do, do you notice the lack of power? How does it handle on the mountain roads?

I'm also looking for storage solutions, I'd like to put a roof rack on but it looks like I'm going to have to shell out some cash for a GOBI or something other than using the rain gutters...

Thoughts appreciated.

We went to the Mid-Atlantic Overland Festival last weekend in PA and it was the first run towing our trailer. Our Jeep is a '14 with 3.73s, 35" (33.75") KO2s, AEV 2.5 lift, and was pretty heavily loaded (ARB Fridge, 4 Pelican cases inside, case on the AEV rack with shovel, Pull Pal, misc crap).

The trailer weighs about 2700# unloaded, so figure 3k#. It did really well. We were able to maintain speed throughout the mountain roads up above Harrisburg and manually shifted the auto as needed. I would think more gear would help, though I am not sure if 4.10s would be enough. I have no plans for larger tires. We averaged 12.5 mpg on I-83 on the way home and there are a good amount of hills on it.

 

[HRPINDC]

Looks like you've done some work to the Jeep since last I saw it, Dave. Looks great. Hope you had fun in PA.

 

[hikingff77]

Sorry I never followed up with this.

I've got a 2015 JKU Sport and it's my second Jeep but been a while between Jeeps.

It's got power when I want it I guess, enough I suppose, but the auto is what I think slows it down. I'll check the gear ratio and the tire pressure.

Thanks for the feedback. I love it, but it's not cushy like the truck, I knew that and I'm fine with it. Few things beat the top down and doors off, so we're good there.

 

[Septu]

Now, I'm no princess and I can handle a rough ride, but after 2000 miles of traveling through Maine, New Hampshire, New York City and Boston, I'm sore.

The expansion joints dam near threw me off the road several times and the washboarding on the logging roads was scary.

The Jeep only has 5k on it, so it's still a little stiff. Just curious as to whether or not I'm experiencing anything different than anyone else.

During this trip I noticed a good deal of play in the steering wheel, when just cruising along, I'm going to have it checked out.

I'm also a little underwhelmed by the get up and go it has, my wife's SUV will spin the tires down the street and it's just a mall cruiser.

I bring that up because I'm curious as to what you guys who tow trailers with it do, do you notice the lack of power? How does it handle on the mountain roads?

I'm also looking for storage solutions, I'd like to put a roof rack on but it looks like I'm going to have to shell out some cash for a GOBI or something other than using the rain gutters...

Thoughts appreciated.

The sport has 3.21 or 3.73 gears (would depend on whether you got the HD tow package or not) - I'm guessing you have 3.21s. If you're still running stock tires, then towing might not be too bad. I have the auto, 4.10s and 35s and while I can tow light trailers (1500 lbs), I notice it on the hills. Not bad, but far from good. I should really bump the gears up a notch to 4.53 (?) but I'm too cheap to pay what it would cost to get that done for such a marginal difference. As for the ride quality, while it's been a couple years since I had a stock suspension, I never had an issue with it. I regularly do 2000 mile road trips with ease.

 

[Tekel]

Everything is relative right? I came from a 98 Cherokee with 3.5" of lift on 31s. I had to keep it floored and would constantly shift between 3rd and 4th to maintain 70mph up hills and mountains and even gently sloping. I had a good 1" of play left/right in the wheel before any steering input. Now I'm in a 2016 jku and feel like I'm in a Cadillac steering a sports coupe. I commute 112 miles a day and love it.

 

[RobFord]

This taught me enough to make a decent choice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDVpyhKEbaw&index=4&list=PL1U__4as20wEQaaKAIRM4fRD6x20XWbxA