Car and Driver has posted a 10,000 mile update to their long term Gladiator review. Pretty negative

[brianinca]

Wow, it's got to be an inch of snow on top of a foot of mud before I'd run MT's in the snow. AT's are generally SO much better in snow, at least in my neck of the woods.

Im going to post my mileage after 1600 miles of travel. At 7000 feet with stock size AT3 tires I averaged 22.8 rising to 23.1 occasionally. Driving back to central Texas with thicker air and some headwinds it dropped to 20.2. That is at 70-72 mph. My city average in Texas is 18-19.
The truck has 6spd and 5000 miles on it.
Swapping AT3s for MTs it came with improved mileage and steering manners.
I see how the AT3 do in Colorado snow. The MT may go back on for winter.

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[seven30]

Wow, it's got to be an inch of snow on top of a foot of mud before I'd run MT's in the snow. AT's are generally SO much better in snow, at least in my neck of the woods.

Good to know! I never had MT's before. I may have a set for sale soon

 

[brianinca]

I've always have a set of MT's for my 4x4's for Spring and Summer, there is a use case. Don't have a set for my JTR yet because my YJ is still the better tool for that job. AT's in the snow for me, though.

Maybe don't sell them, just store them?

Good to know! I never had MT's before. I may have a set for sale soon

 

[seven30]

The only thing I agree with in the review is the steering issues. It didn’t bother me at first, but after 10K miles it’s starting to wear on my patience. I had a 2-door JK and it didn’t wander or have as much play in the steering as the JT. It was horrific on our last 8hr trip to FL. I could barely keep the MF in my lane when a stout crosswind would blow or another larger vehicle would pass us. I was getting passed all the time too. I don’t get in a hurry and run about 70. There were assholes in pickups and large SUVs running 90 past me that nearly pushed me out of my lane when they would go by. Shit was a nightmare.

Nothing else bothers me about the Gladiator.

That is not normal in spite of some dealer assertions. MT tires make it worse. Check suspention bolts are torqued to spec. Like 150lbs! Check if your steering damper is leaking. A new Fox is only $60 bucks on AZ.

 

[seven30]

Hmmm... you've got multiple drivers at C&D ragging on a Mojave (built for sand) in freezing Michigan conditions... just look at all the pictures they've posted over the last 10,000 miles...they are beating the crap out of that JT! On top of that, they have a manual transmission which had a recall (ref comment about ragging on)... seriously, how many of you have let other people drive your manual car/truck/suv and watch them stall or trash on the clutch? Look, It's a first year production vehicle with a few relatively minor issues that are being resolved quickly and that's the underlying story. In the end, C&D is offering an unfair opinion of a vehicle that for the vast majority is issue free and a lot more fun than an over rated Toyota. C&Ds article was a good reminder why I no longer have a subscription to them - they offer far to many biased opinions.

They just hate freezing in Michigan
I have 25K on my manual Mojave. Dirt, sand, snow and pavement does it all and does it well. My only issue so far was a failed steering damper from -14deg weather. I do note the idiot dual-mass flywheel design penalizes start off grunt. I suspect its a stop/start design compromise.

 

[Trippin01]

Please don't be offended, but I was not impressed with my stock JT either. I can't imagine, not even in my wildest dreams, being happy with a stock one for an entire 10k miles. After some significant mods it was fun, and useful.

 

[seven30]

Please don't be offended, but I was not impressed with my stock JT either. I can't imagine, not even in my wildest dreams, being happy with a stock one for an entire 10k miles. After some significant mods it was fun, and useful.

What mods really made the difference for you? I do a long 1600 round trip 2-3 times a year and mpg ranges from +22 at altitude to +17 near sea level.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Check suspention bolts are torqued to spec. Like 150lbs!

Try 190 for control arm bolts...........

Please don't be offended, but I was not impressed with my stock JT either. I can't imagine, not even in my wildest dreams, being happy with a stock one for an entire 10k miles. After some significant mods it was fun, and useful.

The only mods mine needed to get it right was the new steering gear. Now we take this truck EVERYWHERE, I mean everywhere. Mountains of Colorado, plains of Indiana, boring KS and NE, the hills around home, long trips with 11 hours straight driving with stops only for gas or the call of nature, and my wife is used to the steering and handling of a Camaro or Grand Cherokee and she's got no complaints about driving my truck for hours on end and she keeps it between the lines with the new steering gear.
I think more caster can help - get it in the area near the max of 5.5-5.7 and it should do even better, but these should need no mods.
Even my service writer/advisor said there's no reason for these to wander or be loose and it's not a Jeep thing. When the service department says it's not normal, then it's not normal.
Mine is fine - no mods.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That is not normal in spite of some dealer assertions.

My dealership shop says it's not normal, it's not a Jeep thing and the Gladiator should steer fine without wander or loose steering. On this, I'll take their word for it LOL

 

[seven30]

haha,
https://www.motortrend.com/features/131-0308-4-wheel-off-road-desert-truck-setups-prerun-fun/

.......
"For a four-wheel-drive IFS truck, though, there are very few kits on the market right now that will add any travel to your suspension. Hopefully that will change someday soon, but in the meantime, you're limited to the amount of travel that you have in stock form. If you have $50,000 to drop on a custom IFS front end, then nothing is going to catch you in the whoop-de-doos. But if not, then it is much easier to work with a solid axle."
.......

 

[seven30]

I've always have a set of MT's for my 4x4's for Spring and Summer, there is a use case. Don't have a set for my JTR yet because my YJ is still the better tool for that job. AT's in the snow for me, though.

Maybe don't sell them, just store them?

Slow followup to this. I switched out my MTS for some AT3s which last a lot longer on pavement. But, I just discovered the AT3s are not even close to the MTs in the greasy mud we have around here. I guess that makes sense as the MTs look more like a tractor tire!

I wonder how the MTs do in sand compared to ATs.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

haha,
https://www.motortrend.com/features/131-0308-4-wheel-off-road-desert-truck-setups-prerun-fun/

.......
"For a four-wheel-drive IFS truck, though, there are very few kits on the market right now that will add any travel to your suspension. Hopefully that will change someday soon, but in the meantime, you're limited to the amount of travel that you have in stock form. If you have $50,000 to drop on a custom IFS front end, then nothing is going to catch you in the whoop-de-doos. But if not, then it is much easier to work with a solid axle."
.......

IFS is absolutely limited. There have been 4 decades worth of trying on the Eagles and when someone gets truly, really serious, they put Jeep axles under the front of their cars. You simply can't make IFS articulate like a solid axle. You would have to mount the IFS control arms clear on the opposite side of the vehicle to get even similar articulation.

 

[Orange01z28]

IFS is absolutely limited. There have been 4 decades worth of trying on the Eagles and when someone gets truly, really serious, they put Jeep axles under the front of their cars. You simply can't make IFS articulate like a solid axle. You would have to mount the IFS control arms clear on the opposite side of the vehicle to get even similar articulation.

 

[Orange01z28]

haha,
https://www.motortrend.com/features/131-0308-4-wheel-off-road-desert-truck-setups-prerun-fun/

.......
"For a four-wheel-drive IFS truck, though, there are very few kits on the market right now that will add any travel to your suspension. Hopefully that will change someday soon, but in the meantime, you're limited to the amount of travel that you have in stock form. If you have $50,000 to drop on a custom IFS front end, then nothing is going to catch you in the whoop-de-doos. But if not, then it is much easier to work with a solid axle."
.......

Man, a lot has changed in the truck world since 2003

 

[Geoarch]

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a34761896/2020-jeep-gladiator-mojave-reliability-maintenance/

Four Wheeler has a different take: https://www.motortrend.com/s/jeep gladiator/

Who would you believe?

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