All differences between Rubicon and Sport with Max Tow?

[Alabama Mud Machine]

Truth ^^^
37s=4:88!

I may be new to Jeeps, but I damn-sure ain't to 4x4's and building offroad trucks. I mainly always stuck to old Chevys (73-87), OBS Fords & Broncos, Dodge 2500's, etc... Used to do custom off-road fab, and custom bumpers, etc...

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[Reasons]

I have a Rubicon and my door jam says my Max Payload is 1245lbs. All Max Tows that I have seen states that Max Payload is 1535lbs - 1560lbs. That is 300ish lbs difference. Not that much of a difference. (At least for my application)

At the end of the day, I think both models are great. I was torn between both Rubicon and Max Tow trims. I finally made my decision when I spec'd out a Sport S Max Tow to the same specifications as a Rubicon, and the price the difference was only $3,700 invoice. I thought the extra's that came in the Rubicon was well worth that price difference and... I hope this never happens to any of you, you get into an accident and you will realize the Rubicon holds its value more than a modded Sport S model. Happened to my wife in her Wrangler JL.

Higher Fenders, side and rear rock sliders, Transfer case, Swaybar disconnect, Fox Shocks, front and rear lockers, and nicer hood was worth the extra $ for me. I don't see myself ever towing more than 7,000lbs. I also calculated the weight of my family of 4, plus all of camping gear, safety gear, food, water, and other essentials and I never came close to the 1245lbs. Max Payload capacity of the Rubicon. Your experience may vary.

 

[Elanachan]

If your going with 40's just plan on a sport S because you'll need new axles, gearing, complete suspension with new control arms, etc. if you were planning on staying near 37's or under the rubicon is a clear winner.

If I'm going to be swaping out both the axles and the suspension, should I even bother with the max tow package?

 

[LostWoods]

If I'm going to be swaping out both the axles and the suspension, should I even bother with the max tow package?

The added engine cooling is nice and it's good to have the higher GVWR on the door jamb in case you find yourself dealing with someone trying to hassle you. The real benefits to the package are the 4.10 gears and the beefed up brakes otherwise and that won't do you any good swapping out axles.

IMO if you plan on rolling around stock for a while it's worth it to be able to push 35's but if you plan on doing axles early, I'd pass and put the money towards something more useful.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

If I'm going to be swaping out both the axles and the suspension, should I even bother with the max tow package?

Based on your target build, swapping to dana 60's is probably your best move between the lift and the 40's. They are 8 lug so you are going to need new brakes, wheels and drive shafts just to start.

Putting on my PM hat here, I would be advising you to get the absolute cheapest truck on the lot, de-contented as far as you can go but retain the max tow for the door tag. Assuming you have a +3 suitcase of cash and could start work on acquisition, you about 2 work weeks worth of labor pulling off the stock parts for resale, preparing and installing the new bits and getting them sorted out. It will be an expensive 2 weeks.

 

[whiteglad]

My max tow door jamb sticker says 1569 lb. payload.

 

[Bobzdar]

The main thing, imo, is that everything on the Rubi has a full factory warranty. All of the stuff you add to a max tow won't and can affect warranty on other related parts. This is important, at least for me, as I had my transmission fail not long after off-roading fairly hard (they found a chunk of log in the t-case skid plate and the rocker guards and skid plates were scuffed) but it was covered under warranty. They could easily blame a lift, bigger than stock tires, lockers etc. for causing added stress on the trans and breaking it, but as my Rubi was stone stock there was not much they could do - they commented I used it for what it was designed for and there was no discussion on whether it would be covered. Plus, it will cost more to add all of those parts than to just buy a Rubi - but that only matters if you really want all of those parts (which I did - I obviously make use of them). I was surprised how much I used the rocker guards and the underside protection was well used (and undamaged, so I wouldn't consider them weak). The only thing they found 'damaged' under the chassis was a loose wire loom clip, and they replaced it for free.

If I'd gone in there with a lift, bigger than stock tires and aftermarket lockers, it might be a different story....

 

[Bobzdar]

Based on your target build, swapping to dana 60's is probably your best move between the lift and the 40's. They are 8 lug so you are going to need new brakes, wheels and drive shafts just to start.

Putting on my PM hat here, I would be advising you to get the absolute cheapest truck on the lot, de-contented as far as you can go but retain the max tow for the door tag. Assuming you have a +3 suitcase of cash and could start work on acquisition, you about 2 work weeks worth of labor pulling off the stock parts for resale, preparing and installing the new bits and getting them sorted out. It will be an expensive 2 weeks.

The payload on the door sticker doesn't matter tbh - the gvwr is the same between a rubi and max tow so if you add a bunch of crap to a max tow and replace a bunch of stuff on a rubi and they end up weighing the same, your payload will be the same on either. You might gain 200lbs (can't remember) on gcwr with a max tow, but that's it. If you add a bunch of aftermarket goodies, your payload will be reduced by the amount of weight you add, the gvwr is the part that matters and the rubi and max tow have identical 6250 gvwr.

 

[Reasons]

...also, You will have no problems selling Rubicon takeoffs (side and rear sliders, Axles with lockers if upgrading to D60 axles, 33" tires, Fox shocks, Rubicon coils, etc.) You will almost make-up the $3,700 difference between a similarly spec'd Sport S with Max Tow and a Rubicon. Good luck trying to sell anything you take off on a Sport S trim.

 

[Elanachan]

...also, You will have no problems selling Rubicon takeoffs (side and rear sliders, Axles with lockers if upgrading to D60 axles, 33" tires, Fox shocks, Rubicon coils, etc.) You will almost make-up the $3,700 difference between a similarly spec'd Sport S with Max Tow and a Rubicon. Good luck trying to sell anything you take off on a Sport S trim.

Going off of MSRP, the difference in cost between the max tow Sport S I'd build from and the Rubicon is $10,030.

 

[Reasons]

Going off of MSRP, the difference in cost between the max tow Sport S I'd build from and the Rubicon is $10,030.

I'm not sure what you are adding to the Rubicon to inflate the MSRP so much.

Like I said, a similarly spec'd Sport S Max Tow and Rubicon is only $3,700 in invoice price difference.

Rubicon: $48,900 MSRP
-Black Hard top
-Automatic
-Tow package

Sport S: $42,300 MSRP.
Add all of the options to spec it out like the Rubicon.

-7" Uconnect and all other mandatory options that go with including the 7" Uconnect
-black hard top
-Automatic
-Max Tow Package

However, the difference in invoice pricing bridges that gap. Looking at the latest prices (I bought my Rubicon back in October) the invoice price difference is over $4k now.

 

[Bobzdar]

I'm not sure what you are adding to the Rubicon to inflate the MSRP so much.

Like I said, a similarly spec'd Sport S Max Tow and Rubicon is only $3,700 in invoice price difference.

Rubicon:
-Black Hard top
-Automatic
-Tow package

Sport S:
Add all of the options to spec it out like the Rubicon.

-7" Uconnect and all other mandatory options that go with including the 7" Uconnect
-black hard top
-Automatic
-Max Tow Package

Even without doing that, make them stripped down models, just add auto trans and tow package/max tow. Max tow is $41.5k, Rubi is 47.7k, so ~$6k difference in MSRP. Even installing the parts yourself, you couldn't upgrade a max tow to a rubi equivalent for that.

 

[PyrPatriot]

Even without doing that, make them stripped down models, just add auto trans and tow package/max tow. Max tow is $41.5k, Rubi is 47.7k, so ~$6k difference in MSRP. Even installing the parts yourself, you couldn't upgrade a max tow to a rubi equivalent for that.

Yah, I compared similarly spec'd Sport Max Tow and Rubicon, the difference was closer to $8-9k.

 

[Bobzdar]

Yah, I compared similarly spec'd Sport Max Tow and Rubicon, the difference was closer to $8-9k.

If you similarly spec them, the price difference is less, not more. The Rubi comes with other, non off-road stuff standard that the sport S doesn't. With both at base, it's $6k. If you add the 7" uconnect and other stuff to the sport S that the rubi comes with, the price difference is reduced, not increased.

 

[PyrPatriot]

If you similarly spec them, the price difference is less, not more. The Rubi comes with other, non off-road stuff standard that the sport S doesn't. With both at base, it's $6k. If you add the 7" uconnect and other stuff to the sport S that the rubi comes with, the price difference is reduced, not increased.

Sport S with Max Tow, Hard Top, Aux Group, Alpine Stereo, 8.4” Uconnect - Net Price $44,310

Rubicon with Automatic transmission, Hard Top, Alpine Stereo, 8.4” Uconnect, Tow package - Net Price $50,905

$6500 in price difference

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