Tow capacity will keep me from switching...

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

Ok, this is my first post on here. But, 3500 is a joke. I’ve been rockcrawling since the early 90s and there is no reason you can’t have suspension flex combined with a tow rating that’s better than a Subaru.
-4-runner is currently 5000, 4th gen was 7500 with v8
-keep grand Cherokee 7200
-Jeep Gladiator- 4500
-Toyota FJ-5000
-Nissan Pathfinder-7000
All of these can have awesome articulation, ride well and have coil springs in the rear (except pathfinder).

The bronco drivetrain isn’t an issue with good power and durability. Slightly stiffer springs and a real hitch would fix this issue on the bronco. I’m also hoping this rating is just a placeholder until they give (at least the 4-door) a real row rating that doesn’t suck.

Gladiator is much higher than that-7,650lbs for the sport s. Rubicon is a tad less and when optioned with the heavier ecodiesel, drops it down lower due to cooling issues. The 4500 is for the manual.

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[Clint]

If you want to tow and go off road, get a Gladiator Rubicon.

 

[reidski29]

If you want to tow and go off road, get a Gladiator Rubicon.

I'm with the OP. I don't want a truck, just a 5,000 lb tow rating.

 

[ZackDanger]

Well the new Defender 90 tows 7,700 lbs and has soft “air” suspension. Not sure how they achieved that. I personally am not interested in the Defender due to the incredibly complex software design for off road use, plus shocking sticker price. It’s not as reliable in my opinion for long term, not as good looking as the Bronco but let me tell u it drives great! Even though the Bronco tows far less it’s speculative that it can tow more than indicated. Perhaps they are still trying to figure that out.

Turns out air gets incredibly stiff when you increase its pressure.

 

[Pancho Kornwallace]

Like many of you, I really was anticipating the new Bronco launch. I was extremely impressed by the engineering and design feats made by Ford. It’s a very good looking rig.

I watched the release getting more and more excited UNTIL I read the towing capacity. This was a really key opportunity to pull away two large segments of buyers(existing pickup owners and current Jeep owners). With both segments, I think towing capacity was a big deciding factor. I live in Florid, and the ability to tow a boat when needed is critical. For that reason, you see a lot of pickup trucks. You also see/hear a ton of Jeep owners wondering why they paid 30-50k for practically no towing capacity.

3500 lbs is NOTHING. It doesn’t even match the Ford Ranger.

I, like most Americans, don’t have the money to plop down 40-50k on multiple vehicles to serve multiple purposes.

I hope someone at Ford will read this and consider it for the future.

The Bronco is a purpose built off road vehicle. It is optimized for NOT towing, but instead, for getting you to places that other vehicles cannot get to and making that experience fun. The vehicle itself is the "toy". It is not designed as a utility to tow toys.

Sounds like you need an F-150 or maybe an Explorer.

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

Turns out air gets incredibly stiff when you increase its pressure.

90psi in those tires. Designed primarily for off-road use and does not have a sway bar. Can haul about 190 Broncos in the dump.

Why can't the Bronco tow more? Lame.

 

[Lakelife36]

The Bronco is a purpose built off road vehicle. It is optimized for NOT towing, but instead, for getting you to places that other vehicles cannot get too and making that experience fun. The vehicle itself is the "toy". It is not designed was a utility to tow toys.

Sounds like you need an F-150 or maybe an Explorer.

So was the FJ Cruiser, and it towed far more than 3500lbs. And the 4Runner still tows 5000lbs I believe. It could be done if Ford wanted to, even if it was only on two or three four door trims.

Many quarter tons tow far more than 5000lbs and with usable payload while doing it - why are you jumping to the F-150? Or an Explorer of all things?

 

[linbackr99]

So . . . I was not overly concerned about this. I have a Seadoo Utopia 205 . . . did not think it was all that weighty but just looked at the specs and the dry weight with the trailer is 3680, which puts me over 4000 pounds when it is full of fuel. I drive 4 miles one way to the boat launch every weekend from mid-June until Labor Day . . . beginning to wonder if this will be a problem. I have zero reservations otherwise . . . but I am not going to purchase a 60k vehicle if I can't tow my boat. This is with the realization that the Bronco is not a two-centric vehicle and I am not looking for that - really was thinking my set up might weight in @2500 . . . would this be something I should worry about??

 

[Lakelife36]

So . . . I was not overly concerned about this. I have a Seadoo Utopia 205 . . . did not think it was all that weighty but just looked at the specs and the dry weight with the trailer is 3680, which puts me over 4000 pounds when it is full of fuel. I drive 4 miles one way to the boat launch every weekend from mid-June until Labor Day . . . beginning to wonder if this will be a problem. I have zero reservations otherwise . . . but I am not going to purchase a 60k vehicle if I can't tow my boat. This is with the realization that the Bronco is not a two-centric vehicle and I am not looking for that - really was thinking my set up might weight in @2500 . . . would this be something I should worry about??

The Class II reciever is only rated for 3500lbs of pulling and 350lb tongue weight, so you're over on one spec for sure. What's the tongue weight of that trailer when loaded? If it's 10% of total weight then you're over on that as well. We have GCWR numbers but I'm not sure if we have curb weights so you may not be able to check right away, but being over the tow cap by 500lbs might mean that your GCW is over the GCWR too.

 

[linbackr99]

The Class II reciever is only rated for 3500lbs of pulling and 350lb tongue weight, so you're over on one spec for sure. What's the tongue weight of that trailer when loaded? If it's 10% of total weight then you're over on that as well. We have GCWR numbers but I'm not sure if we have curb weights so you may not be able to check right away, but being over the tow cap by 500lbs might mean that your GCW is over the GCWR too.

Thank you.

 

[JesseS]

I will be towing the Bronco, not towing with it, heaviest thing hanging off the back will be two e-bikes on a rack, or a cargo rack with my duck (fishing) boat on it.

 

[Pancho Kornwallace]

So was the FJ Cruiser, and it towed far more than 3500lbs. And the 4Runner still tows 5000lbs I believe. It could be done if Ford wanted to, even if it was only on two or three four door trims.

Many quarter tons tow far more than 5000lbs and with usable payload while doing it - why are you jumping to the F-150? Or an Explorer of all things?

Doors and top do not come off on any of the vehicles that you mentioned. It is not the same.

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

So . . . I was not overly concerned about this. I have a Seadoo Utopia 205 . . . did not think it was all that weighty but just looked at the specs and the dry weight with the trailer is 3680, which puts me over 4000 pounds when it is full of fuel. I drive 4 miles one way to the boat launch every weekend from mid-June until Labor Day . . . beginning to wonder if this will be a problem. I have zero reservations otherwise . . . but I am not going to purchase a 60k vehicle if I can't tow my boat. This is with the realization that the Bronco is not a two-centric vehicle and I am not looking for that - really was thinking my set up might weight in @2500 . . . would this be something I should worry about??

Unless your 4 miles is up and down a mountain, tow your boat anyway.

I have a 3000lb dry Monterey 194 on a 1000lb trailer, and have been towing it mostly short distances, but on a long trip a few times as well. The trailer has surge disc brakes, and my JKUR is rated for 3500lbs.

It really bugs me / was hoping for more. And I have contemplated a Gladiator or a 4Runner or FJ. But hey, I have been running this way since 2010 and only once felt really white knuckled.

Hopefully someone will come out with a class III or IV receiver later that will help us feel a little better. I think someone said Stealth Hitch was keen to do one.

 

[linbackr99]

Unless your 4 miles is up and down a mountain, tow your boat anyway.

I have a 3000lb dry Monterey 194 on a 1000lb trailer, and have been towing it mostly short distances, but on a long trip a few times as well. The trailer has surge disc brakes, and my JKUR is rated for 3500lbs.

It really bugs me / was hoping for more. And I have contemplated a Gladiator or a 4Runner or FJ. But hey, I have been running this way since 2010 and only once felt really white knuckled.

Hopefully someone will come out with a class III or IV receiver later that will help us feel a little better. I think someone said Stealth Hitch was keen to do one.

Thank you - this makes me feel a little better about it. It is pretty flat going to/from the boat launch. Both my son has an f150 and father has a Ranger - which pulls it really well - so I have that option in a pinch, just don't want to have to rely on them every weekend.

And - if I understand you correctly - a different type of hitch could alleviate some of the potential issue (pardon my ignorance - this is far from my expertise!).

 

[Lakelife36]

Doors and top do not come off on any of the vehicles that you mentioned. It is not the same.

They do on the Gladiator. Not on your suggested F-150 or Explorer though, so I'm a little confused about what your point is supposed to be here.

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