rob_engineer

UK (England) directly out of my UK 2012 manual 4 door 3:73 axle in US 3500lbs for the 3.6 engine[/QUOTE]

The uk website then does not agree with your manual. It says 2000kg for a trailer with brakes.

rexicon

Is your jk stock? if not you can throw all these tow ratings out the window, larger tires and lifts decrease a vehicles towing ability.

rob_engineer

Yes I am keeping my JKU sport in the stock condition. The only thing I did was put on the rubicon wheels & tires. Marginally different, but the rubicon tires allow for 50psi while the Goodyear are 44.

DH Dad

I'm guessing the limiting factor on the US models is the Class II hitch which is rated at 3500 lbs. Anyone know if they put a class III hitch on the European and Australian models? I believe the higher number on that Australian model is for the 2.8 Diesel which has a ton more torque. I still find it strange that both the Rubicon and the Sport S with Max Tow Pkg are rated the same amount, in the US it makes sense due to the class II hitch but if the diesel can tow 400 more lbs then a 4.1 geared Rubicon gas should be able to tow more than a 3.73 geared Sport S or Sahara, they're all stock with the same height tires these days.

rob_engineer

The higher rating was not for the diesel version. I was specific in my search to only look at gas powered versions. Yes, there seems to be no sensible engineering explanation as to the abysmal tow rating. Common sense would say that buying a max tow package would cause the jeep to be rated higher than without the max tow.

DH Dad

Anyone else notice that on the US Jeep site under towing for the Wrangler Unlimited they show a picture of a Sahara pulling a 2 axle car hauler with an older Jeep on it, that has to be over 5K yet right under the photo they list the 3500 lb maximum with a note of Single-axle, small to medium length {up to 18 feet} trailers.

DH Dad

This is directly from the Jeep Australian site which states 2000kg for gas powered JKU=4409 lbs. Both Diesel ratings are higher.

Swoop69

I want to flat tow my '67 Jeepster behind my stock '12 JKU, but havent yet. It is aprox 4000 lbs, with zero tongue weight.

thanks for the info.

rob_engineer

Thanks for that clarification. A previous poster from australia indicated the 2200kg was for petrol and 2300 for diesel. Maybe Chrysler updated the website since then. So the conclusion so far is that every non-US website lists the gas powered 4-door wrangler as 2000kg, which is 4400 pounds (approximately)

CerOf

I spoke with an engineer from Chrysler and he told me there were several reasons.

Main reason was the litigious environment of the US.

They tested the JKU with trailer in death valley, baker, i70 west out of Denver. They expect the vehicle to maintain at least 45 mph on these grades. The JKU could not.

The axles, drivetrain, frame and hitch were up to the task, but ultimately ratings were set very conservative to avoid litigation over someone being stupid.

I am comfortable pulling up to 5k with an aux transmission cooler with my rubicon (4.11 gears).

Our boat and trailer are 4,000 lbs and it pulls great. No sway or sitting on the bumpstops. Pulls 70 mph fine.

My recommendation is to obey factory recommendations though.