This didn't happen in the garage, so I guess it's a bit off topic, but yesterday I made a huge dent in my projects list by trading in my 2004 Suburban and 2019 Grand Cherokee on this...
Max tow? If gasser, get some gears to match the tire size close to stock plus little. It'll tow better than you think it should. I use an equalizer weight distribution hitch. My ecodiesel Rubicon on 37" tows way better than expected. Hit me up if you ever decide to come to Moab
Time for new shocks! In the top loader washing machine. Lol. $55X4 is still cheaper than a new machine. Cliff
I haven't tried to tow anything yet, but it seems to be geared well for the tires. Yeah... it's a gasser 3.6. Rides really nice, though at higher speeds like 70-ish, it seems pretty busy. I will probably play around with the air pressure in the tires to see if I can remedy that. Honestly, I got it cause my girl really likes it and wanted one. This is the first off road oriented vehicle I have ever owned.
If you come out west, I'll make you a Jeep addict . If it's a new Willys, I think you have a rear locker. We can get you in a lot of trouble with that
Didn’t know they made one of the slant six, I did have the “ Visable V8” tho back in the day, very detailed, not like the hand crank version of today. Never Dull polish wadding works great on aluminum too. Those wheels look awesome! Beautiful scenery, looks like fun!
Looks like fun! We'll see if out west is in the future. Actually, I don't think this one has the locker. It is also my girl's daily driver... LOL
You can always add whatever to the rig. You can make that truck a stealth trail monster if desired. It's already more trail capable than people think it is. We can still have a lot of fun in the daily. My Gladiator is my daily and I don't take serious chances with it flopping or other damage. There is a lot to see that I've not seen because I have focused on doing the hard trails for the past 20+ years. The Gladiator lets me get out and stretch to just explore while still having the ability to do harder trails than I am willing to put it on. I bought my 2021 Gladiator just after Labor Day last year (2022) with 10,400 miles. I've put a lot of miles on it (odometer is just under 29k at the moment) because it's versatile, fun and reasonably comfortable.
Changed the battery in the 2016 Suburban. Went to an AGM. Heavy Bas!urd! Had to put on my big boy pants...
More stripping and primering...Next up after this door is the front spoiler and painted piece below the grille,then get them painted..
UPDATE: Well mbryson and crew... this one did not last very long. I was not happy with it after having some issues and it really did not fit into our lives very well. This thing was a workout to drive at anything over 65MPH. On our way home form the airport at 5:30Am on Monday (Colorado trip, delayed flights, etc.), it was all over the place at 70 MPH and I told my girl that this was not going to work out. We do and need to do too much highway driving. I think the lift and tires had a lot to do with it... On Tuesday, I took it back to the dealer and told them I was not happy with the Gladiator. They took it back (500 miles on it) and we left with 2023 RAM 1500 Laramie. We rented one of those in Colorado and loved it.
Glad you got something you liked. I bought mine almost exactly one year ago and have put 18k+ miles on it. It's far from perfect. It's kind of a swiss army knife version of a truck. I'm still not 100% sold on it but it's still the vehicle that aligns the most with what I do. If the JT had a 5.7L Hemi, it'd be even better for me. I have the deezel
I believe it had EVERYTHING to do with the crappy higher speed handing! I see guys with lifted trucks and big tires towing trailers, they must think it will tow better like that, welllllllll, it’s just the opposite. You look at big rigs, the tires are sized appropriately for the weight, NOT super wide, and 90% of the weight is down low, frame, engine, transmission and axles. THATS how yah tow
This is my setup. I don't know that I'd tow with bigger tires but the 37" aren't exactly small. This is setup with an Equalizer weight distributing hitch, trailer brake etc and I tow at 65 mph. Speed is a HUGE factor in towing that people don't seem to want to account for. The Rubicon diesel tow rating is 6000 lbs. I've added a lift, 37" tires and 5000 lbs behind me. Definitely not an ideal tow rig, but the truck is more capable of towing than I expected. The hills around UT really tax the truck so it's not really a good/great towing option. This truck does all kinds of dumb things for me. Trail rig on Utah trails (some rock crawling, mostly a great exploring rig), daily driver, sometime road tripper for work, bank account drainer and sometimes tow vehicle.
Exactly! The RAM came with a lot of towing gizmos that I have yet to play with. Built in brake controller, trailer reverse steering, etc. It's rated to tow 12,750 lbs. as equipped! Here is is:
After the first time that you tow with an equalizer hitch, you will never want to tow a large trailer without one ever again.
Not my garage but my buddies garage - actually a stall in his families steel fabrication shop. Rebuilding a soft top 442 from a rusted out shell. The body was free but every panel needs work. Here we are fitting a 7 piece trunk pan for welding.
