Built on the platform of the current Ram 1500, our Jeep Wagoneer should be well positioned for towing duties. About the same wheelbase and length as an old Ram 1500 Classic regular cab with a 6-foot, 4-inch bed, our Wagoneer sports much of the newer Ram’s performance goodies, including its 3.0-liter twin-turbo I-6 and eight-speed automatic, the former of which churns out 420 hp and 468 lb-ft of torque here. We also opted for both the heavy-duty trailer tow package and advanced all-terrain package when ordering our Jeep. Together, that brings a trailer brake controller, upgraded engine cooling, a shorter 3.92:1 final drive, and air springs with adaptative damping (among other things), helping the Wagoneer achieve a beefy half-ton-pickup-rivaling 10,000 pounds.

Our load was the sort of thing a Ram 1500 or other half-ton would typically shrug off: a roughly 3,500-pound two-horse trailer with tack room loaded down with another 800 pounds or so of hay. Horse trailers (even sans an equine friend or two), like campers, are generally more challenging to tow than open utility trailers or toys like boats due to their aerodynamic resistance and high tongue weight, so this would serve as a great trial by fire for the Wagoneer.

Hay Is for Horses (and Towing Behind Our Jeep Wagoneer)

Is the Jeep Wagoneer good for towing? We hitched up a trailer to find out.Christian SeabaughWriter

MotorTrend StaffPhotographerDec 20, 2024

One of the prime draws of full-size SUVs is their ability to haul people and handle pickup-trucklike tasks. Our yearlong review 2023 Jeep Wagoneer Series II has already proven its capability to move people and things in spades, but one pickup task we’ve yet to ask of it is to tow. With hungry mules to feed and bales of hay to haul, it finally came time to hitch a trailer to our Wagoneer for some towing tests.

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Built on the platform of the current Ram 1500, our Jeep Wagoneer should be well positioned for towing duties. About the same wheelbase and length as an old Ram 1500 Classic regular cab with a 6-foot, 4-inch bed, our Wagoneer sports much of the newer Ram’s performance goodies, including its 3.0-liter twin-turbo I-6 and eight-speed automatic, the former of which churns out 420 hp and 468 lb-ft of torque here. We also opted for both the heavy-duty trailer tow package and advanced all-terrain package when ordering our Jeep. Together, that brings a trailer brake controller, upgraded engine cooling, a shorter 3.92:1 final drive, and air springs with adaptative damping (among other things), helping the Wagoneer achieve a beefy half-ton-pickup-rivaling 10,000 pounds.

Our load was the sort of thing a Ram 1500 or other half-ton would typically shrug off: a roughly 3,500-pound two-horse trailer with tack room loaded down with another 800 pounds or so of hay. Horse trailers (even sans an equine friend or two), like campers, are generally more challenging to tow than open utility trailers or toys like boats due to their aerodynamic resistance and high tongue weight, so this would serve as a great trial by fire for the Wagoneer.

The first thing that surprised us when we went to connect the trailer to our Wagoneer was how high the hitch receiver was (even with the Jeep in its lowest “Access Height” setting), requiring the use of a drop hitch. This minor inconvenience was made worse by the lack of air suspension adjustment from the cargo area. Some SUVs, like the Land Rover Defender 110, allow you to dip or raise their air springs from the cargo area, saving you a trip back to the cabin to fire the engine and adjust; it would’ve been helpful to be able to dip the tow ball underneath the trailer’s receiver and lift it up instead of cranking the jack or walking back to the cab (yes, we realize how lazy this sounds).

There’s no trailer hitching checklist or automatic light check built into the Jeep like there is in the related Ram, but then again, hitching a trailer and checking lights isn’t particularly challenging if you’ve done it all before. Once hitched up and loaded, we hit the road, our route consisting of narrow suburbs, urban areas, highway stretches, and hill climbs.

Unsurprisingly given our Jeep’s powertrain, the Wagoneer had no qualms accelerating with our trailer in tow. With tow/haul mode engaged, the Jeep’s throttle response remained consistently smooth, and its transmission smartly held gears and downshifted when appropriate. Further gear refinements easy to make via the gear selector rocker buttons on the Jeep’s steering wheel. The brakes—both the Wagoneer’s friction brakes and its electronic trailer brake controller—were smooth and easy to operate. It was exactly the sort of performance we’re used to seeing from the Jeep’s open-bed Stellantis kissing cousin.

Dynamically, however, our Jeep’s shorter wheelbase and overall length (versus the standard crew cab short bed pickup) made it prone to some porpoising. The rear springs in particular seemed to struggle with managing the trailer’s tongue weight over highway expansion joints, resulting in a sensation of being pushed around a bit by our load. The Jeep’s nose, however, retained the planted feel the Rams offer without going light, as sometimes happens when a vehicle’s rear suspension is overworked when towing.

We think this behavior is due to the wheelbase difference between our standard-length Wagoneer and the current shortest Ram 1500 pickup: 123 inches versus 140.6 for a 1500 with an extended cab and 6-foot, 4-inch box. A longer wheelbase directly translates to more straight-line stability when towing, and we suspect an extended-length Jeep Wagoneer L, with its 130-inch wheelbase and extra associated curb weight, would have an easier time with this particular trailer.

The Jeep’s air suspension, notably, continued to adjust its ride height in tow/haul mode as it would if it were unhitched: access height in park, a higher normal mode once we set off, and a lower aero mode at highway speeds. Given the drop hitch and touch of misbehavior from the rear end, this wasn’t ideal. We found forcing the Wagoneer into its Aero height gave us the best balance of performance.

It wasn’t quite as confidence inspiring as a four-door short-bed Ram might’ve been, but our Jeep Wagoneer nevertheless proved more than up to the task of towing a trailer. Its sole demerit in this instance was its slightly underdamped rear end—a trait that’d likely go unnoticed by all but the driver. This behavior wouldn’t deter us from towing with the Wagoneer again, though. We’re all about using the right tool for the job, and when it comes to horse trailers, the standard-length Wagoneer works in a pinch but is ultimately like using a screwdriver as a pry bar. However, if we were regularly towing boats, ATVs, or a utility trailer, we wouldn’t hesitate to make the Wagoneer our primary puller. 

More on Our Long-Term Jeep Wagoneer Series II 4×4: 

• Can This Big Jeep Handle Big Jobs? 
• The Good and Bad From Our Wagoneer’s 3 Rows 
• Going Gas-Backwards From an EV to Our New Jeep 
• Family Life in the Jeep Wagoneer 
• Beats Flying! 
• Is the Wagoneer Any Good Off-Road? 

• Meeting a Cold War Legend 
• Everything We Love And Hate About This Jeep