IF I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW, PURCHASE DECISION

[RH 67]

Check out this article from Jalopnik....: https://jalopnik.com/the-engineering-behind-the-jeep-gladiators-tow-rating-1833657453

+1.

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[jurfie]

If you don' t need to tow almost 8,000 pounds, like in my case I'll likely tow a max of 5,000 pounds with my new lighter car hauler, I went Rubicon as most of the time it will NOT be towing.

I think you meant to say Overland.

(Yes, I stalk everyone on here and know what y'all drive).

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I think you meant to say Overland.

(Yes, I stalk everyone on here and know what y'all drive).

Whoa - my bad. yeah, good catch. I had another tab open and was flipping back and forth and, well..........
As far as stalking - I'll only be concerned when you can name all of my cats.
But what's really scary is you made it to the end of my post LOL

 

[jurfie]

Whoa - my bad. yeah, good catch. I had another tab open and was flipping back and forth and, well..........
As far as stalking - I'll only be concerned when you can name all of my cats.
But what's really scary is you made it to the end of my post LOL

I spend far too much time on this forum...if I didn't read posts to the end, I'd run out of content sooner and start jonesin'.

<twitch>

I'm fine.

 

[Proximo]

I went Max Tow bc I had a JK Rubi 2door that I rarely used the discos on trails. Parked it on a steep hill in my yard, thought it would be cool to disconnect so people could see the articulation while we were having a party. Yeah cool, lotsa comments. Next morning went to park it in the driveway and it wouldn't reconnect. Drove to flat ground, got it to reconnect, and bam! the Disco motor was frozen. That damn motor is $2200 alone. Never swapped the motor and traded it in on my JT. I know, not a reason bc just empty every pocket, but I just wanted less with the truck. Less stuff to go wrong. Yes the truck is all electrical, one big ass computer, but I wanted less with more. I think in the truck category, payload and tow rating is worth more. I'll still hit trails, and off-road parks, and hell I'm going to Drummond Island after winter. I think my Sport Max will do just fine. I do want to add quick discos b4 Drummond, but not worrying about lockers. So far, as a DD, it's been a damn fine truck.

 

[Adawg1203]

Or you could have gotten a lemon like most of us got with our LEs, which I haven't swapped out at the dealership yet LOL

Are you sure it’s a lemon speaker. The problem wasn’t that the speakers were defective but rather the instructions on hoe to pair a device to them was incorrect. I had the same issue everyone else was having with the LE’s and someone in this forum provided the instructions on how to correctly setup. The manual is incorrect on what to do.

 

[SleepyJeep]

Are you sure it’s a lemon speaker. The problem wasn’t that the speakers were defective but rather the instructions on hoe to pair a device to them was incorrect. I had the same issue everyone else was having with the LE’s and someone in this forum provided the instructions on how to correctly setup. The manual is incorrect on what to do.

I basically turned the speaker on and pressed the bluetooth button (the one in the middle) for like 5 seconds you hear a beep and then look for it on your phone but it never shows up. Lots of the folks here had to get the speaker replaced. I literally tried it like 10 times and I am a tech guy so I know these things really well and still couldn't get it to pair...

 

[Reasons]

Ive been struggling with the decision to choose between the Sport S with Max Tow and the Rubicon going on for 4 months now. I finally pulled the trigger today and bought a Rubicon. Here is why:

Both similarly optioned with:
7" Uconnect
Convenience Group
Max Tow/Tow Package
Automatic
Black Hardtop

Sports S = $44,120 -> Best Quote I got out the door in my area was $42,500
Rubicon = $48,485 -> Best Quote I got out the door in my area was $46,500 (Purchased)

$4000 difference

But here is where the Rubicon has the advantage to me:
+Higher fenders to fit larger wheels without needing a higher lift. Rubicon can fit 35" tires stock
+Bigger tires and nicer wheels stock
*These first two points for me was the eyeopener because I hate the stock wheels and tire size on the Sport S. I priced out a nice set of wheels, 35" tires, and a 2" lift (Daystar) for the Sport S and it came out to be $2,500. So now the price difference between the Rubicon and Sports S was only $1500. I actually like the stock Rubicon wheels and it comes equipped with 33" tires. I will replace those when the time comes with 35" tires but I dont feel the need to IMMEDIATELY spend more money on a lift, tires and wheels with the Rubicon.

+OffRoad+ tune when off-road
+Lockers
+More robust body armor underneath,side, and rear of the truck
+Nicer hood
-I don't like the 4:1 transfer case in the Rubicon. It is too low and I don't rock crawl so I don't really see this as an advantage for me... but to most this is definitely a plus over the Sport S. I feel the same way with the electronic sway bar disconnects. You can easily and cheaply install sway bar disconnects to your Sports S so this also does not seem like an advantage for the Rubicon.
-The actual difference in payload capacity between these specific similarly optioned Sport S and Rubicon is only 400lbs and NOT 550lbs. Not that big of a deal to me.

I do not plan to tow anything past 6000lbs. so the extra 650lbs towing capacity advantage of the Sports S did not appeal to me.

***The biggest eyeopener for me was looking at how much used 2019 JLU Wranglers were going for in my area. The price differences were so huge between similarly optioned Sport S and Rubicons that I knew the Rubicon was the trim level I needed to get. Rubicons truly hold their value better than similarly optioned Sport S in my area.

 

[Adawg1203]

I basically turned the speaker on and pressed the bluetooth button (the one in the middle) for like 5 seconds you hear a beep and then look for it on your phone but it never shows up. Lots of the folks here had to get the speaker replaced. I literally tried it like 10 times and I am a tech guy so I know these things really well and still couldn't get it to pair...

1. Power speaker up
2. After power up hold the “play/pause” button and “-“ button down until you hear it beep quickly
3. Check your phone BT for “Jeep Speaker”

I’m not going to take credit @Sorbs found the fix

 

[WXman]

Just because the "asking price" on used Rubicons is higher than Sports, that doesn't mean they're selling for more. If Rubicon truly held value much better, why do all the banks give Rubicons lower residual values?

Here's the bottom line: there are two types of buyers. Those who primarily want a Jeep, and those who primarily want a truck. It's obvious in every one of these threads that pops up.

If you primarily want a Jeep, you're going Rubicon for the off-road goodies. If you primarily want a truck, you're going Sport Max Tow for the payload/towing capability.

People act like $4,000 is no big deal. That's at least $100/month added to most loans.

9% more towing capacity might be significant to some, but 33% more payload (which directly affects real-world towing capacity) is far more significant in my opinion.

Like I said, I love the Rubicon too and I've always wanted one. But it really comes down to form vs. function.

 

[ZTMAN]

Just because the "asking price" on used Rubicons is higher than Sports, that doesn't mean they're selling for more. If Rubicon truly held value much better, why do all the banks give Rubicons lower residual values?

Here's the bottom line: there are two types of buyers. Those who primarily want a Jeep, and those who primarily want a truck. It's obvious in every one of these threads that pops up.

If you primarily want a Jeep, you're going Rubicon for the off-road goodies. If you primarily want a truck, you're going Sport Max Tow for the payload/towing capability.

People act like $4,000 is no big deal. That's at least $100/month added to most loans.

9% more towing capacity might be significant to some, but 33% more payload (which directly affects real-world towing capacity) is far more significant in my opinion.

Like I said, I love the Rubicon too and I've always wanted one. But it really comes down to form vs. function.

I agree WXman, $4k is not chump change. However, if I got a Sporrt S I would want to get rid fo the stock tires. Also, I would want to add rock rails or something else to cover up that pinch seam. So probalby looking at about $1,500 for tire/wheel takeoffs, and rock rails

 

[BruteForce]

When I spec'd out a Sport S and Rubicon, both equipped as similarly as I could get them to how I wanted my truck, the difference was thousands of dollars. Like, several thousand dollars. The two are not nearly as close as people think, apples to apples.

If I was doing over again today, I'd still strongly consider a Rubicon simply because I've wanted one since 2003 and I have never owned one, and because you can get body color fenders on the Rubicon. But, that 33% reduction in payload is just a massive issue for me, and it's what pushed me back to the Sport when it was time to lay down the money.

Same here. Other than having owned some Grand Cherokee's over the years, this was our first "REAL" Jeep. We should have gone with the Rubicon, but the Firecracker Red got us hooked and it was a spontaneous purchase..

 

[SleepyJeep]

Is there a place or a method to test a towing capacity of a modded Jeep Gladiator besides the brute force method of just towing different things?

 

[Reasons]

I agree WXman, $4k is not chump change. However, if I got a Sporrt S I would want to get rid fo the stock tires. Also, I would want to add rock rails or something else to cover up that pinch seam. So probalby looking at about $1,500 for tire/wheel takeoffs, and rock rails

Which is EXACTLY what is said in my reasoning. I effin despise the look of a Stock Sport, so FOR ME, I would feel compelled to spend an additional $2500 just so I WOULD BE HAPPY. Which is what I also said.

$4000 is not chump change and never alluded to it as being chump change However, $1500 difference is small compared to the overall price.

And last, BASED IN MY AREA IN NC, prices of used Rubicons out the door command a much higher value than a similarly equipped Sport S.

 

[Southbayglad]

Just because the "asking price" on used Rubicons is higher than Sports, that doesn't mean they're selling for more. If Rubicon truly held value much better, why do all the banks give Rubicons lower residual values?

Here's the bottom line: there are two types of buyers. Those who primarily want a Jeep, and those who primarily want a truck. It's obvious in every one of these threads that pops up.

If you primarily want a Jeep, you're going Rubicon for the off-road goodies. If you primarily want a truck, you're going Sport Max Tow for the payload/towing capability.

People act like $4,000 is no big deal. That's at least $100/month added to most loans.

9% more towing capacity might be significant to some, but 33% more payload (which directly affects real-world towing capacity) is far more significant in my opinion.

Like I said, I love the Rubicon too and I've always wanted one. But it really comes down to form vs. function.

Thank you! Finally someone said this. I was trying to avoid it. LOL

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