Sandypants

i have a 13 rubi with 4.10 and 6 speed manual. Just wanted advice on towing. mostly small camper (small like a pop up) and my very big can-am fourwheeler. should i never use 5&6 gear while towing? or is that fine? i drive about 65 ish.

Huntphreak

Sounds like you will be more than good to go.

You will find the biggest concern with towing with a JK is the braking. So keep a safe distance on the highway and you should have years of success. Turn the overdrive off / stay out of 6th. And if the weather is bad and you are under 50 mph or so, drop it in 4hi for alittle added traction.

I have overloaded my 09 since 09, and really other than being slow, my biggest problem is the the brakes. They just weren't oversized at all so with a tow load they are sorta insufficient.

Here's what we have towed for years, 300mi a trip. Dry it is 3500lbs, + fuel and gear, I estimate 4800lbs is where I am at.

Sandypants

awesome. the manual said 5th gear was also an overdrive, so i just wanted to make sure. i remember most people with their nv4500 trans lost their last gear from too heavy of loads in overdrive. just wanted to make sure i dont destroy mine.
Also larger break kit is on the list. thanks for the advice.

Yankee

Trailer brakes with a good progressive controller makes life much nicer also. The controller and Mopar wiring harness are easy to install. I sometimes tow about 2300 lbs and find that with trailer brakes the JK's stock brakes are fine. It also reduces the pucker factor, if you must stop quick while on a curve, of having the trailer try to jack-knife you.

Rule18

You're fine at 65mph in 5th or 6th as long as you're on flat road. Once you start up a long incline you'll probably wind up in 4th. Also, I always downshift as part of my deceleration process. That saves your pads a little and keeps you in the right gear in case you need to accelerate quickly.

Huntphreak

I should clarify, the boat I pull does have inertia brakes, so I am not entirely reliant on the JK brakes for braking the full load, but even so the "pucker factor" can be high in panic stop scenarios.

rob_engineer

I have 2012 JKU with 3.73 rear. 5th gear does absolutely fine for most highway driving at 65 mph. 6th gear is pretty useless unless its perfectly flat for a long time. Even then, you may start to slow down due to lack of power. A funny thing is that around 70mph 6th gear is a bit more effective due to higher RPMs. Once you get down to 65 the RPMs aren't high enough to give enough HPs. However , i dont recommend anything over 65 when towing. See picture for my trailer. It's a box shaped toy hauler around 4500 pounds loaded. Take all safety precautions!!!

rob_engineer

I should add that I use dual axle trailer brakes with brake controller. Also weight distribution hitch and friction sway control. I have no experience towing with inertia brakes so your experience may be different.

basketmaker

I pull a Coleman Cobalt pop-up camper (1800# GVW) with a 2012 JKU Sahara w/Auto. I do not have the brakes hooked up and have never had an issue. I have pulled up and over the Rockies several times and it pull with no issues. I do run in 5th gear to save some up/down shifting. Very rarely (very steep grades) do I drop down to 4th or maybe 3rd. The 2012 is so much better than my old '08 JKU Sahara with the 6-speed manual. The Pentastar 3.6 is so much better than the 3.8.