Should I go Rubicon or Mojave?

[sass JT]

I have a buddy that right now is trading in his JLU wrangler for a diesel rubicon gladiator. He will be lifting it for his take off 37” tires and he will be towing a 3000lb offroad trailer. He also came from the Nissan Frontier/xterra world originally to the dark side of us jeeps. Now he does do more rock crawling with his vehicles so he is going a rubicon.
Honestly op, it’s a tough choice between the Mojave and rubicon. Each has pros and cons… good luck with your choice.

Sponsored

 

[JTmaybeTX]

I have a buddy that right now is trading in his JLU wrangler for a diesel rubicon gladiator. He will be lifting it for his take off 37” tires and he will be towing a 3000lb offroad trailer. He also came from the Nissan Frontier/xterra world originally to the dark side of us jeeps. Now he does do more rock crawling with his vehicles so he is going a rubicon.
Honestly op, it’s a tough choice between the Mojave and rubicon. Each has pros and cons… good luck with your choice.

I appreciate it! Definitely a tough choice, but with there being more Rubicons available rn, my choice might be made for me, unless I special order…

 

[Guns_N_Rosaries]

I prefer the Mojave to the Rubicon. It seems to me like it can do everything the Rubicon can do arguably better UNLESS you plan on doing rock crawling and very intense trails. In that case the Rubicon is better. I however don't have the guts to take a $50k vehicle out on intense trails, so for me given the two, I'd go for the Mojave.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/how-does-the-jeep-gladiator-mojave-compare-to-the-rubicon/

https://www.motortrend.com/news/jeep-jt-gladiator-mojave-vs-gladiator-rubicon-whats-difference/

Edit: The Fast Lane guys preferred the Rubicon:

 

[sass JT]

I appreciate it! Definitely a tough choice, but with there being more Rubicons available rn, my choice might be made for me, unless I special order…

i think one of the posters here had a great idea… if you do go rubicon, you can step up the quality of your shocks to get more of the Mojave ride. I’m lifted with falcon adjustable shocks and myride is waaaaayyy better than stock.

 

[JTmaybeTX]

I prefer the Mojave to the Rubicon. It seems to me like it can do everything the Rubicon can do arguably better UNLESS you plan on doing rock crawling and very intense trails. In that case the Rubicon is better. I however don't have the guts to take a $50k vehicle out on intense trails, so for me given the two, I'd go for the Mojave.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/how-does-the-jeep-gladiator-mojave-compare-to-the-rubicon/

https://www.motortrend.com/news/jeep-jt-gladiator-mojave-vs-gladiator-rubicon-whats-difference/

Edit: The Fast Lane guys preferred the Rubicon:

Great resource, thank you!

 

[COmtnbiker]

Towing and daily? I'd suggest neither. Sport S max tow

 

[cotnballs2000]

I would definitely go Sport w/Max Tow, but I actually need a rear lock at least. I’ve used the on on my Nissan quite a few times.

You don't think Trac-Lok® Anti-Spin Rear Differential option will do it for you? I started out with it on my JKU Sport and did a lot of trails like Imogene, Engineer, Stoney, Cinnamon pass, Cork Screw, California Gulch, Yankee Boy, Red Mountian, and a bunch more here in Colorado without a problem.

 

[NachoRuby]

Towing and daily? I'd suggest neither. Sport S max tow

Rubicons tow 7000 lbs. Mojaves tow 6000. That's plenty for a 3000 lbs. trailer. Any Gladiator will pull that, easily.

 

[JTmaybeTX]

You don't think Trac-Lok® Anti-Spin Rear Differential option will do it for you? I started out with it on my JKU Sport and did a lot of trails like Imogene, Engineer, Stoney, Cinnamon pass, Cork Screw, California Gulch, Yankee Boy, Red Mountian, and a bunch more here in Colorado without a problem.

I don’t have experience with the LSD in Jeeps, but just working around the family farm in muddy conditions., I’ve needed the locker.

 

[JeepTaco]

Howdy Truckers,

First off, I want to say thank you to all of you that post on this site; I’ve been lurking for a few weeks now, and the amount of useful information on this forum is astonishing!

I’ve seen a couple of other threads about Mojave vs Rubicon, but I wanted to get a fresh perspective from some of y’all, particularly when addressing my trucking needs.

I’m coming from a 2020 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X with the “updated” power train (3.8l V6, 9sp auto), which I use as my daily driver, primarily; however, it is also our adventuring vehicle to do off and on grid camping with our teardrop trailer, which weighs approx 3,000lbs fully loaded. We head out about once a month, and now that our son is a little bit older, we want to do more off the beaten path camping/overlanding in and out of state.

The Nissan has worked great for towing, daily driving, and light off-roading. With that said, the aftermarket for this truck is absolutely non-existent, and upgrading the suspension, wheels, tires, bumpers, lighting to where I want the truck to be with the available options to me is just not worth the time and money, IMO.

Seeing as I can get all of my money back and then some on the trade, I started researching Gladiators, specifically Ribicons and Mojaves. I’m pretty well versed as to what the differences are, yet I’m still unsure as to which truck is better for the needs I listed above. I think both trucks will provide more capability out of the box than the Frontier, and because of the awesome aftermarket support, I know I will be able to update the truck far into the future if need be. I test drove the Rubicon yesterday, and I was pretty impressed with the whole package. I don’t necessarily think I will need a front locker, but I do need a back locker, as I’ve had to use the one on my Frontier quite a bit. Unfortunately, there are no Mojave’s in my area at the moment, so the test drive will have to wait, but in y’alls opinion, which truck would you go with and why?

I know this is probably a redundant thread, but thank you in advance for kindly providing your input!

I recently purchased my gladiator and was torn between all different trims.

My top pick was a Mojave since i didn't anticipate doing any crazy rock crawling. However, the pricing was much higher than the willys I purchased (basically a sport S)

My deciding factors were:

Is a lift planned in the future esentially paying for suspension that will be removed anyways?
Answer: yes

How often (realistically) was I going to go on off road where i needed all the extra good stuff the mojave and rubicon offer?
Answer: my daily and plan on doing some off road

Do i want higher payload and towing than what the mojave and rubicon are capable of?
Answer: Higher payload and towing was better for me.
Yes, I know i could go for a full size but i wanted to stick to a midsize truck.

Can I fit my kids car seat without feeling like the airbag would cause more harm than good?
Answer: Yes, more space behind driver and passenger seats vs the competition.

Im more than thrilled with my willys.

Edit: this is also my first jeep.

Good luck and Cheers!

 

[JeepTaco]

Rubicons tow 7000 lbs. Mojaves tow 6000. That's plenty for a 3000 lbs. trailer. Any Gladiator will pull that, easily.

For some reason i thought towing was much less on the rubi and mojave.

I know payload is better on sport / sport s.

 

[NachoRuby]

For some reason i thought towing was much less on the rubi and mojave.

I know payload is better on sport / sport s.

Sort of. If you get max tow, yes it is. Otherwise payload, looks to be about the same across the board.

 

[JeepTaco]

Sort of. If you get max tow, yes it is. Otherwise payload, looks to be about the same across the board.

Looks like One of my reasons in my previous post needed more researching hahaha good looking out!

 

[NachoRuby]

Looks like One of my reasons in my previous post needed more researching hahaha good looking out!

The Jeep site might be wrong again too. It has different payloads for sport and sport S. Like drastically different. Not sure if that's right. 1225 for sport and 1700 for sport S at the top under Manual Trans seems off.

 

[JTmaybeTX]

I recently purchased my gladiator and was torn between all different trims.

My top pick was a Mojave since i didn't anticipate doing any crazy rock crawling. However, the pricing was much higher than the willys I purchased (basically a sport S)

My deciding factors were:

Is a lift planned in the future esentially paying for suspension that will be removed anyways?
Answer: yes

How often (realistically) was I going to go on off road where i needed all the extra good stuff the mojave and rubicon offer?
Answer: my daily and plan on doing some off road

Do i want higher payload and towing than what the mojave and rubicon are capable of?
Answer: Higher payload and towing was better for me.
Yes, I know i could go for a full size but i wanted to stick to a midsize truck.

Can I fit my kids car seat without feeling like the airbag would cause more harm than good?
Answer: Yes, more space behind driver and passenger seats vs the competition.

Im more than thrilled with my willys.

Edit: this is also my first jeep.

Good luck and Cheers!

Your point about the car seat is an important one. My wife and kid constantly struggle with the the leg room in our Frontier. She has to adjust the passenger seat way up for him to have enough room in his seat. Not to mention the airbag dilemma…

Sponsored