Ratings by Configuration
Up to 7,700 pounds on a conventional hitch, Crew Cab with the five-foot bed and 4WD, properly equipped, a rating Jeep ties to Sport S models. Straight off the lot a Sport is good for 4,500 pounds and a Rubicon for 7,000. Below is each configuration, what it genuinely pulls, and how those figures behave on a wet ramp.
A launch ramp that drops straight into salt water asks a truck a different question than a highway tow does. You are moving slowly, on a slope, often with the rear axle in the water on the retrieve, and the number that matters is not the headline rating but whether your specific truck was built with the right axle and cooling behind it. This page separates the two, because on the Gladiator the gap between the base rating and the maximum is more than three thousand pounds.
For what each trim costs see trims compared; every dimension sits on the full specifications page.
Powertrain, cab and bed never change across this lineup, and every rating below assumes a conventional hitch, so nothing here moves with engine, body or hitch. It varies by how the truck is sprung and geared. Jeep publishes a rating for each configuration; the figures below are as delivered, with the lineup maximum on the last row.
| Configuration | Towing | GCWR | Curb weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport, as delivered | 4,500 lbs | 9,650 pounds | 4,695 pounds |
| Sport S, as delivered | 4,500 lbs | 9,650 pounds | 4,695 pounds |
| Willys, as delivered | 6,000 lbs | 11,150 pounds | 4,860 pounds |
| Mojave, as delivered | 6,000 lbs | 11,150 pounds | 5,042 pounds |
| Rubicon, as delivered | 7,000 lbs | 12,450 pounds | 5,031 pounds |
| Sport S, properly equipped | 7,700 lbs | See build sheet | Varies by equipment |
Two things in that table catch people out. The Rubicon tows a thousand pounds more than the Mojave despite costing less, because the two trucks are sprung for different jobs. And the 7,700-pound maximum belongs to a Sport S, not to the most expensive trim in the lineup, which is the opposite of what most shoppers assume. Every stated maximum applies to a properly equipped truck; the rating on your door-jamb label is the one that governs.
Payload is what rides in the bed and the cab, including people. It moves with the trim in a different pattern than towing does, so the truck that pulls the most is not automatically the truck that carries the most. There is only one Gladiator drivetrain and one body, so every rating here sits on the same 3.6-liter V6, eight-speed automatic, Crew Cab, five-foot bed and four-wheel drive, pulling from a conventional hitch. Naming the trim names the configuration completely.
| Configuration | Payload | GVWR |
|---|---|---|
| Sport, as delivered | 1,025 pounds | 5,800 pounds |
| Sport S, as delivered | 1,025 pounds | 5,800 pounds |
| Willys, as delivered | 1,025 pounds | 5,950 pounds |
| Mojave, as delivered | 1,100 pounds | 6,250 pounds |
| Rubicon, as delivered | 1,200 pounds | 6,250 pounds |
| Sport S, properly equipped | 1,720 pounds | See build sheet |
Practical translation: four adults and a full bed of wet gear is comfortably inside a base rating. A pallet of pavers is not. And tongue weight counts against payload, not towing, which is the arithmetic most first-time towers get wrong.
Two factory groups matter if you tow, and they do different things.
Max Tow Package with 4.10 Axle Ratio, $1,995. This is the one that lifts a Sport-family truck toward the top of the range. The shorter 4.10 axle ratio replaces the standard 3.73, which is what lets the truck hold a gear on a grade instead of hunting for one. Jeep credits the Sport S trim with the 7,700-pound rating and does not publish a required-equipment list for it, so confirm what your specific truck was built with on its build sheet rather than assuming a package delivers a number.
Trailer Tow and Auxiliary Switch Group, $995. Wiring and auxiliary switches. Useful whether or not you are chasing the maximum rating, and the group most owners actually want if they are adding trailer brakes or lighting later.
Trailer Sway Control, standard on every trim. Jeep describes it as sensing when the trailer starts to sway and then applying the brakes at each wheel individually until it is lined back up. On an exposed crosswind run over the Cape Cod Canal with something light and tall behind you, this is the feature you notice.
One honest limit: the Gladiator has a five-foot bed and no fifth-wheel or gooseneck provision. Anything requiring an in-bed hitch is outside what this truck is built for, and no package changes that.
Every trim carries the 12.3-inch Uconnect 5 display, which is also where the reversing camera feed appears. Adaptive cruise control with traffic stop-and-go is standard on Rubicon and Mojave and is not fitted on Sport, Sport S or Willys, which is worth knowing if most of your towing miles are highway rather than harbor.
Four-wheel drive is standard across the lineup, and it is the feature that matters most on a ramp. A two-wheel-drive truck on a wet, weed-slicked concrete ramp is the classic way to end an afternoon early; a part-time four-wheel-drive system with a low range is the reason Gladiator owners rarely think about it.
Rated capacity is one number. What you are pulling is another, and trailer weights vary so much by build and load that a published range would mislead more than it helps. So the table below routes by what you are actually towing, and the honest instruction is the same in every row: weigh the rig loaded, on a scale, before you trust any of it.
| What you are pulling | What you need |
|---|---|
| 16 to 18 ft aluminum skiff on a single-axle trailer | Any Gladiator, including a base Sport |
| Two personal watercraft on a double trailer | Any Gladiator |
| Utility or landscape trailer with a half yard of material | Base rating covers most of this range |
| Teardrop or small camper trailer | Any Gladiator |
| 18 to 21 ft fiberglass bowrider or center console | Willys, Mojave or Rubicon, or a Sport S with the tow package |
| Two-place enclosed cargo trailer | Any Gladiator |
| Compact tractor or small backhoe on a car hauler | Top of the window. Rubicon, or a properly equipped Sport S. Weigh it. |
The build to ask for if towing is the reason you are buying: a Sport S carrying the Max Tow Package. Jeep's ceiling figures attach to precisely that configuration, and the money you did not put into a Rubicon stays available for the trailer. See what is in stock.
Most towing here is short, slow and wet, which is easier on a drivetrain than highway miles and much harder on everything underneath. A retrieve at Sesuit Harbor or off the Bass River ramps puts the rear axle in salt water; Green Pond and the Falmouth harbors are the same story on the Sound side. The tow itself is a few miles. The salt stays for years.
That has one concrete consequence in the maintenance schedule, and it is the reason to read it before you buy rather than after. Jeep's severe-duty column applies to frequent trailer towing: front and rear axle fluid moves to a 40,000, 80,000 and 120,000-mile cadence, and transfer case fluid to 60,000 and 120,000. Launch a boat most weekends and that column, not the ordinary one, is the schedule you are on. The maintenance page lays out both.
The other local reality is the summer bridge queue. A loaded trailer in stop-and-go heat is the duty cycle that finds a marginal cooling setup, which is the honest argument for the factory tow package over a hitch bolted on later.
7,700 pounds is the ceiling, and it is one configuration: Sport S, properly equipped, conventional hitch, Crew Cab, five-foot bed, four-wheel drive. Untouched off the lot, a Sport or Sport S pulls 4,500, a Willys or Mojave 6,000, a Rubicon 7,000. Check the label on your door jamb for the rating that governs your specific truck.
As it sits on the lot, the Rubicon at 7,000 pounds. But the highest figure Jeep publishes for the lineup, 7,700 pounds, belongs to a properly equipped Sport S, which costs about nine thousand dollars less. If towing is the priority, that is the build to look at first.
Different engineering targets. The Mojave is tuned for higher-speed desert and sand running and carries an 11,150-pound gross combined weight rating; the Rubicon is built for low-speed traction and carries 12,450 pounds. The Mojave costs $695 more and tows a thousand pounds less.
Usually yes, but not on a base rating. A boat that size with its trailer will usually land above a base Gladiator's 4,500-pound rating, which puts you in Willys, Mojave or Rubicon territory, or a Sport S with the Max Tow Package. Hull length tells you very little; weigh the rig loaded and compare it to the label on your door jamb.
It is $1,995 and includes the 4.10 axle ratio in place of the standard 3.73. Jeep credits the Sport S trim with the 7,700-pound maximum and does not publish a required-equipment list for that rating, so confirm what your truck was actually built with on its build sheet before you count on a number.
Yes, and it is worth knowing before you buy. Frequent trailer towing puts you in Jeep's severe-duty column: front and rear axle fluid at 40,000, 80,000 and 120,000 miles, and transfer case fluid at 60,000 and 120,000. Launching in salt water adds a washdown habit on top of that.
No. It has a five-foot bed and no in-bed hitch provision, so fifth-wheel and gooseneck trailers are outside what this truck is built for. Everything it tows goes on a conventional hitch.
Bring the trailer weight and we will match it to a build, in stock or on order.
* The advertised price does not include sales tax, vehicle registration fees, other fees required by law, finance charges and any documentation charges. A negotiable administration fee, up to $115, may be added to the price of the vehicle.
* Images, prices, and options shown, including vehicle color, trim, options, pricing and other specifications are subject to availability, incentive offerings, current pricing and credit worthiness.