On paper, the four-door Jeep Wrangler looks like a capable tow rig. It is, after all, a body-on-frame truck with solid axles and a lineup of powerful engines. But through the 2023 model year, the Wrangler was never rated to tow more than 3500 pounds—blame a suspension setup optimized for off-road articulation rather than trailer-hauling rigidity. But with the 2024 Rubicon models’ new full-floating rear axle, Jeep was able to upgrade certain powertrains to a 5000-pound tow rating. There’s just one problem: The colossal external spare tire occupies the same space that a trailer tongue requires to attach to a hitch ball. So actually connecting a trailer can require some improvisation.
With a straight hitch and a two-inch ball, there’s a mere 2.5 inches between the top of the hitch ball and the Rubicon’s spare. You might be able to sneak in a sliding coupler, but flip-up couplers will meet rubber long before the trailer is anywhere near connected. What to do?
Even a two-inch drop doesn’t clear a flip-up coupler.
Well, with a lightweight trailer, you can try opening the tailgate about six inches, enough to move the tire out of the way so you can maneuver the coupler onto the hitch—but not so far that the trailer jack handle then blocks the tailgate from closing. Practice your deadlifts for a month or so before attempting this one.
The solution.
Better yet, get a drop hitch to lower the hitch ball away from the tire. The challenge here is that too much drop will point your trailer tongue toward the pavement and unbalance the whole thing (as well as probably cause a nifty spark show with your safety chains). Two inches seemed like the ideal drop for a level trailer on our 4xe tester, but that still wasn’t enough to accommodate a flip-up coupler without doing the tailgate fandango.
Ideal setup: sliding coupler and a drop hitch.
The good news is, once you’re hooked up, the Wrangler is indeed a fine tow rig. The 5000-pound capacity only applies to certain four-door Rubicons with the 3.6-liter V-6 or the 2.0-liter turbo four, but the 4xe and its 470 pound-feet of torque, which keeps a 3500-pound rating, made easy work of a 3200-pound tandem-axle enclosed trailer, even towing on electric power alone when the battery was charged.
It’s not the 7700-pound capability of the Gladiator Max Tow, but the Wrangler works just fine for hauling the kind of toys that align with the Wrangler lifestyle—Jet Skis, small campers, utility trailers full of rubber duckies to place on every other Wrangler you see. Just make sure you have a sliding coupler and a drop hitch. Either that or excellent spacial reasoning and a strong lower back.
Senior Editor
Ezra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He’s now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive.