Any max tow owners regret not getting a rubicon?

[guarnibl]

telling people you “did moab” in anything less than a wrangler on 40’s with diffs locked and sway bar disconnected is liable to get you burned at the stake on account of witch craft.

i have a video of my xterra doing a trail in moab, and the jeep club is in the background snickering away. “Is he gonna try that?” “Pft. Xterra. Get a winch ready” “no way he makes it” “what is he thinking?”

up we go.

“....huh. Didnt expect that”

People have some warped view of Moab that I’ll never quite understand

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[ShadowsPapa]

................. and that the axles are not worth anything as take offs unless they’re from the rubicon.

Hmmmm, maybe, but not necessarily - if i wanted the wider axles with 4:10 ratio I'd likely look for something from max-tow as I don't need the extra Rubicon baggage for what I do and could likely get them cheaper that way.
My reason for swapping would be for the gear ratio - and perhaps for width as I do tow occasionally. Cheaper option - Sport S max tow take-offs.

 

[guarnibl]

Hmmmm, maybe, but not necessarily - if i wanted the wider axles with 4:10 ratio I'd likely look for something from max-tow as I don't need the extra Rubicon baggage for what I do and could likely get them cheaper that way.
My reason for swapping would be for the gear ratio - and perhaps for width as I do tow occasionally. Cheaper option - Sport S max tow take-offs.

Yeah potentially — 3-4K for rubicon take offs depending where you live means a take off from sport S should be very cheap

 

[Willys2Gladiator]

Should have also mentioned price was also a Huge factor. Hell for $34k I could have got 2 for what I priced out a Rubicon for.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yeah potentially — 3-4K for rubicon take offs depending where you live means a take off from sport S should be very cheap

Yeah, niche market - for people like me who would save the money and not need lockers - unless the price was near even, but still can't say the max tow take-offs would be worthless.

 

[Gunnuts]

Well.........mine might come up for sale so we will see....

 

[PDiddy]

Exactly but the same applies to a Rubicon if you remove the bumpers and add on aftermarket bumpers which will be heavier then add larger tires the it's going to tow less as well. I'm not saying a Max Tow is better or a Rubicon is better all I'm saying is if you are going to take stuff off of a Rubicon then it makes more since to get a Max Tow and build it.

I would agree with that.

 

[PDiddy]

Absolutely not....

I completed all the mid/harder trails in Moab without lockers...

Moab

telling people you “did moab” in anything less than a wrangler on 40’s with diffs locked and sway bar disconnected is liable to get you burned at the stake on account of witch craft.

i have a video of my xterra doing a trail in moab, and the jeep club is in the background snickering away. “Is he gonna try that?” “Pft. Xterra. Get a winch ready” “no way he makes it” “what is he thinking?”

up we go.

“....huh. Didnt expect that”

I don’t think a lot of Moab is very difficult. That’s what makes it so popular.

 

[PDiddy]

Should have also mentioned price was also a Huge factor. Hell for $34k I could have got 2 for what I priced out a Rubicon for.

Then your comparing a base model of one trim with a completely load version of another.

 

[Gren71]

First, I’m not saying the Rubicon is better. I think the max tow is probably the best way to go with the Gladiator. My comment is regards to people mentioning they add on all this stuff and say it still has this high tow rating. That isn’t true

There are three things that allow the max tow to haul and tow more.
1. Curb weight
2. Tire size (effects drive ratio)
3. Rear springs

If you Lift it, add larger wheels and tires, and add metal bumpers and such, you take away all three of its stock advantages, and it won’t tow or haul as much as it would stock. You can’t turn it into a Rubicon and say it still tows and hauls more.

increase curb weight = reduce GCVW

Increase tire size = reduced torque and increase braking distance

Replace rear springs = increased rear squat

I can’t put the Mojave suspension on my Rubicon and still expect it to tow or hall more than a stock Mojave. It probably would because of the final drive ratio, but I can’t say for sure what my actual safe towing and hauling numbers would be, once I made that change.

​

true and a fair point. I can’t speak for everyone but i knew that going in.

All ive added are rubi rock rails, rear bed rock rails, rubi rims. I have the plastic bumper with the steel skid but I haven’t decided if im adding that or not. And my tires dont weight much more than stock tires did. So really not a huge change in overall weight. Not enough to make a notable difference with what I tow atleast.

its more of a cost saving measure IMO. I only wanted specific parts from rubi, but didn’t want to pay the huge mark up on them when i could get them all at %50 or less of their original cost.

That being said my travel trailer + family could be pulled by a rubi. I personally wouldn’t max out my max tow rating by choice.

 

[Willys2Gladiator]

Then your comparing a base model of one trim with a completely load version of another.

Loaded with nothing I want or need. The reason for a Base model. Not interested in all the fluff, bells and whistles.

 

[PDiddy]

true and a fair point. I can’t speak for everyone but i knew that going in.

All ive added are rubi rock rails, rear bed rock rails, rims. I have the plastic bumper with the steel skid but I haven’t decided if im adding that or not. And my tires dont weight much more than stock tires did. So really not a huge change in overall weight. Not enough to make a notable difference with what I tow atleast.

its more of a cost saving measure IMO. I only wanted specific parts from rubi, but didn’t want to pay the huge mark up on them when i could get them all at %50 or less of their original cost.

That being said my travel trailer + family could be pulled by a rubi. I personally wouldn’t max out my max tow rating by choice.

Yeah, I think hands down the Max Tow is the best value.

I just couldn’t say no to that sexy Rubi in the showroom. I have already used my lockers twice. Probably could have done it without them, but it was a lot easier with them.

 

[PDiddy]

Loaded with nothing I want or need. The reason for a Base model. Not interested in all the fluff, bells and whistles.

Your the one that said you priced the rubicon. Why did you price it with a bunch of options you don’t want?

 

[Willys2Gladiator]

Your the one that said you priced the rubicon. Why did you price it with a bunch of options you don’t want?

Prices were dealer lot rigs. There's a lot that comes standard on Rubicon's that you cannot delete if special order.

Don't get me wrong. Love the Rubicon. Just don't need or want what it comes with. Lots of nice off-road features for folks really wanting to wheel.

 

[Undecided]

Still waiting for delivery but I do not have regrets.

Pricing a Max Tow and a Rubi with options trying to make them as close to the same as possible with what I wanted —The Rubi was about 5.5k more. Add sales tax to the loan and it’s just out of budget for me.(8.5 f**king % where I’m at. )

Coming from a trailhawk I’ve seen how much can be done without excessive mods and it’s plenty for me Lol. I’ve stressed enough in the tiny trails. I doubt I’d really use the real Rubi features.

the JT being a truck won’t be able to do anything crazy anyway. Might as well make it more truck.

the tow difference is small but the payload isn’t. I’d much rather have a high rating and tow at 50% than a lower and 80%. Just a comfort level

from all this I really feel the Max Tow is the way to go for me. Especially now that you can option LEDs, have Trac-Loc and Selc-Trac. Can’t wait to pick it up!!

huge thank you to everyone in this forum too. I spent near a year researching and reading and learned so much that helped make this decision.

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