Driving your gladiator off the paved road

[JAVIERGONZO]

When we are in snow, should we be in 4H auto on a stock Rubicon?

2WD unless a situation calls for something else.

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[MaysvilleStig]

I have a Rubicon JT and noticed if I drive on a dirt road in 4H it’s EXTREMELY bouncy and everything rattles. I know airing down will help, yet sometimes I can’t.
Let’s say your driving for a few mins on a dirt road but are back to pavement, how would you guys drive on the dirt road, and what settings would you use if you can’t air down? I was seeing Mini vans and Prius take the same road and they had no issues. What am I doing wrong?

For that situation try 4HI and disconnecting the sway bar. May take some stiffness out and give you a little relief. Otherwise you're not doing anything wrong, just have to slow down. The other cars you mentioned have IFS.

 

[BAT]

That's a feature not a bug.
You want to go slow over rocky terrain. 4 to 1 gives you that.

Switching between 4L and 4H/2H takes practice. I still have to get better at it.

I haven't even had the chance to try getting mine into 4L. I have put it into 4H on some occasions when I was off the pavement but not 4L

 

[Terminus33]

Since I have a Mojave, I just floor it at the mall and run over curbs, shopping carts, pedes.....

nevermind.

Be very careful man, you don't want to bend that reinforced frame...

 

[DocMike]

Do you scream "Send it!" or "Hold my beer!" first? wondering what the factory recommends for this.
Does it differ between the Raptor and the TRX? If you do this wrong will the factory void your warranty?

Asking for a friend.

Since I have a Mojave, I just floor it at the mall and run over curbs, shopping carts, pedes.....

nevermind.

 

[DocMike]

I added my Falcon sp2 3.5 eADJUST shocks for this. I can switch from firm to soft and back with a button in my cab. Still have to pop my sway bars off by hand like a peasant....but I got a button now!

I have a Rubicon JT and noticed if I drive on a dirt road in 4H it’s EXTREMELY bouncy and everything rattles. I know airing down will help, yet sometimes I can’t.
Let’s say your driving for a few mins on a dirt road but are back to pavement, how would you guys drive on the dirt road, and what settings would you use if you can’t air down? I was seeing Mini vans and Prius take the same road and they had no issues. What am I doing wrong?

 

[BAT]

I added my Falcon sp2 3.5 eADJUST shocks for this. I can switch from firm to soft and back with a button in my cab. Still have to pop my sway bars off by hand like a peasant....but I got a button now!

I was looking at those Apex Sway Bars

autoLYNX SWAY BAR DISCONNECT [Pair] – Apex Performance Products (apexdesignsusa.com)

 

[Papa Jawa]

So I took the sport (max tow) on a ride this past weekend on some trails. Nothing too crazy. Kept it in 4H the whole time. I noticed that I preferred to put the jeep in Manual mode and never got out of 1st gear. We were moving pretty slow along the trail. Is this a pretty common process, or do most of you just leave it in D and just go at it?

For those who have the rubicon, what does the 4:1 give you on the trails that the others do not?

It's trail dependent. If its an open desert road 2H or 4H with Off Road +. If its a trail with potential for falling off the side of the mountain or potential pain and suffering, to me or my jeep, its 4h without off road +; if it's dirt and unsafe 4h, I like having the control.

And then of course 4L when needed, I almost never lock. Mojave so no disconnect.

Just play with your jeep and you'll figure it out. Happy Trails!

 

[NC_Overland]

When I drive on the beach, I have to manually shift it and turn off the traction control or it can bog down sometimes and stop me in my tracks.

 

[ecidiego]

Mojave so no disconnect.

Worth it:

https://www.apexdesignsusa.com/products/autolynx-sway-bar-disconnect

 

[DocMike]

Those are sweet. I rationalized the shocks over a disconnect because if I need to disconnect, I am airing down as well.

I was looking at those Apex Sway Bars

autoLYNX SWAY BAR DISCONNECT [Pair] – Apex Performance Products (apexdesignsusa.com)

 

[Papa Jawa]

Worth it:

https://www.apexdesignsusa.com/products/autolynx-sway-bar-disconnect

Love my Mojave, and no disco, 4:1, and front locker are cheap trades for what you get in the Mojave... Suspension, suspension, suspension.

I know there are Jeepers on here who can build a better suspension, but I am not one of them. For me Jeep and Fox killed it with the Mojave's setup.

However, I've been eyeing those Apex disco's for a bit. With them the Mojave would be more than I ever need.

 

[Fouts]

4 wheel drive is really only for traction. When on the trails it usually becomes a contest of who can go the farthest without using 4x4. If you are on the same roads as a prius probably will never need 4 wheel drive.

 

[Jcsii]

To the questions in the original post..
I am in NC so probably ride some of the same roads as you. I have a rubi and have found that the 4:1 transfer case is a lot lower than I would like around here. The exception was on rocks at Moab, there it was great.
I have found that the swaybar disconnect helps a lot on rough roads (I would recommend you try a manual one, there are not too bad $), just don't forget to reconnect it. I air down to around 30psi so I don't have to immediately air up when I get on pavement. Usually ride in manual like you are doing, not so much breaking on the down hill.

 

[brianinca]

Sounds like your tires, if stock, are still very overinflated. I keep getting my truck back from service oil changes with 40+ psi. That's uncomfortable and upsets the suspension. On the stock 33's I wouldn't run more than 35 PSI, I run my 35's at 31-32. Tires make a big difference, tire PRESSURE makes a big difference.

Airing down is a different ball of wax, 17-18 PSI is airing down - some YT channel called 25 lbs airing down, I laughed out loud. You don't need beadlocks for airing down that far, single digit pressures, sure.

Another thing that can significantly improve rough road comfort is disconnecting the front swaybar - the Tazer is a gift to Rubicon owners. We spend our time transiting across rough roads in 2Hi with the rear locker on and the swaybar off. My wife calls it "scushy mode".

I have a Rubicon JT and noticed if I drive on a dirt road in 4H it’s EXTREMELY bouncy and everything rattles. I know airing down will help, yet sometimes I can’t.
Let’s say your driving for a few mins on a dirt road but are back to pavement, how would you guys drive on the dirt road, and what settings would you use if you can’t air down? I was seeing Mini vans and Prius take the same road and they had no issues. What am I doing wrong?

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