Trip report

WilliamA

I just returned from a 5,000 mile trip to Az. My brother and I attended a funeral for my Uncle in Surprise, Az. We took the liberty of goofing off on the way down and back with plenty of hijinks, camping and side-trips. There's a lot to unpack and we're still downloading/swapping photos so I'll make a post when all the photos get sorted.

The short version is that the trip went well. Unlike many of my unfortunate northern brethren, we (narrowly) avoided spontaneous immolation when stepping out into the Phoenix areas balmy summer/weather of Venus by cleverly packing our shirts and shorts with freezer packs. Other than melting some solder connections in our phones, we did okay.

I'm really pleased to report that the new trailer suspension was the star of the trip. Historically, whenever I'd take a long trip, I always found the trailer contents to look like I'd loaded it with a snow shovel. This trip, arrival at various destinations both on and off road resulted in nary a thing out of place. I'll post about the suspension in more detail later, but can't be more happy with the results. This was my first long trip since replacing the suspension.

Places visited:

Oregon Trail/Platte river crossing site

Bent's Fort

Petrified Forest (drive-through)

Montezuma's Castle (drive-through)

Sedona (drive-through)

Navajo reservation (various stops for photos and swag)

Monument Valley

4 corners

Mesa Verde

We made a stop on I-17 just south of Flagstaff before heading down the hill to Phoenix where I swapped out the coolant for liquid sodium. We swapped out our spf-20 sunscreen for spray paint. Those things seemed to work well enough to get us through three days in Phoenix.

The Gladiator seemed to take the trip well, but nonetheless seemed MUCH happier once we got back to the point where rivers had actual water in them. The highest engine temp I saw was 221F. Highest trans temp was 212F. Highest engine oil temp was 241F. Those temps were far too hot for my paranoia to take but we made it fine. I ran the Norcold 100% of the time and am happy to report it was able to maintain 41F the whole trip, although the compressor ran pretty much the entire time in Phoenix. Highest battery usage I've ever recorded.

More to come once I get things sorted out....

WilliamA

Sharon_is_SAM

What gladiator?  New TV?

Dutch061

Hmm, Transmission Temperature is on the high side, or much warmer than I would like to see. Here is a chart for reference. 

WilliamA

I agree. Too hot for longevity. I'll have it serviced at 20,000 M. It wasn't lugging but sitting in stop and go traffic in Phoenix. On the highway it saw a high of 212 or so...

DougH

@WilliamA If you read:

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/

...212F for transmission temperature isn't that hot. That forum is a good source to see what quirks other Gladiator owners see.

Michigan_Mike

Alright William, sounds like another great trip and have been to many of the places you
listed.  Post up a shot of that petrified wood!  😂👍🏻😉

webers3

Trying to understand this @WilliamA: you are towing T@G XL, about 1400lb with Jeep Gladiator which has towing capacity of 7500lb? And the transmission temp is over 200F, something doesn’t add up here