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New tow vehicle

WilliamAWilliamA Member Posts: 1,311
edited December 2020 in Modifications & Upgrades

As some may know, I have been mulling over the idea of selling "Chuck" (wagon) and getting a different trailer. The reason is simple... There are now 3 of us. Our son is growing by leaps and bounds and the 3 of us will only fit in the T@G during asteroid strikes. Even then, it's not very comfortable. I don't want and would not consider a trailer much bigger than the T@G so the choices are a bit skinny. DW would like a loo and shower so it quickly gets more complex. Many of the "small" trailers currently being hawked are anything but small. My short list has been getting carved off as I locate and go kick the tires of prospective units. I won't go down that list here, but there are still a couple left to see. I had the fortune to find a Sunray 149 an hour away from us so we went and had a look. That unit immediately shot to the top of the pile for me. We are considering it...

The last option we are considering is keeping the T@G and getting another bedroom, aka: a rooftop tent for the truck. A couple of months ago, I peddled my Jeep JLUR back to the dealer in trade for a new Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. I hit the sweet spot for trade time and caught my dealer when they had NO Jeeps to sell, save a couple of the new gladiators. He gave me more on trade than I paid for the JL so, combined with the factory incentive on the Gladiator, I did very well.

I kept the front bumper and winch from my old Jeep and spooned it on the Gladiator along with my CB and a few other bolt-ons. I built a bed rack/roof rack combo in anticipation of perhaps getting a roof top tent for us. I also added a 2" lift kit all round to get me back to where I was with the JL. So far, I have been happy as a clam with the truck. I continue to add things to make it more functional to me. As always, if I do it right it'll never be finished.


The new mule with trailer.

gladiator001.jpg

Muley with new bed/roof rack and Chuck in the background.

gladiator003.jpg

Trailer hitch height.

gladiator002.jpg

One of the foibles with getting a new, first generation mule is finding add-on parts. As the Gladiator is a Jeep from the bed forward, many things are shared between the platforms. But it took a bit of mucking about to get my brake controller working. I am using a Hopkins Insight brake controller as it's my favorite, but there has been not much available in the way of harness adapters to go from the controller to the Gladiator factory harness. The Gladiator came with a factory 7-way harness, hence it has a brake controller plug under the dash. Of course, it is wired differently than ANY other Chrysler product so there isn't a compatible aftermarket adapter harness and the Mopar harness available is giving many users fits, so it remains for the user to sort it all out. I did my research and found that the plug under the dash is the same plug as a Ram 1500 plug, so I ordered a plug. The harness needs a diode in the brake sensor wire to prevent the power control module from going off like a bomb so I sourced a (used) alternator plug kit from a 60's something Chevy, 1 wire alternator conversion kit, pirated out the diode and installed it in the brake line wire, then wired on the controller plug. It's working perfectly and is a nice, tidy installation. The 2" lift kit I installed brought the truck hitch up to perfect alignment with the trailer and all is well again.

Here's the brake controller readout installed on the console.

insight001.jpg

The manual brake activator installed on the dash. There isn't much real estate on a Gladiator dash. The control box is installed on the dash subframe under the steering column.

insight002.jpg

For those contemplating installing a brake controller in a Jeep JL (Wrangler) or JT (Gladiator), be it known that Mopar now has a plug and play kit brake controller available for both vehicles. The kit replaces the utility socket (cigarette lighter) with a button/knob, but I've heard nothing but horror stories from users. Mopar has recalled those units at least once and replaced the part number, so I'd wait a bit. Besides....they are VERY proud of the controller kit. It's upwards of $300 bucks. I strongly suspect the ongoing problems with the Mopar kit are diode related...

So the adventure continues. I would like to go the roof top tent route and DW is angling toward something with a potty/shower.

We'll see how it shakes out...

WilliamA

"When I am in charge, Starburst brand fruit chews will get their own food group....and where are all the freakin laser beams? There should be more laser beams..."

2021 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
2017 T@G XL
Boyceville, Wi.

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