Evolution.... where did you start? Or is the Gladiator your first Jeep?

[AverageJoe]

My 1st one was a 1988 YJ, bought new. Put a 4" spring lift, 33" Gateway Buckshot mudders, and a Ramsey 8000 lb. winch on it and went places I probably shouldn't have. My 2nd was a '92 YJ. Both were good Jeeps. My 3rd Jeep was a '06 TJ, bought new. Those TJ's were pretty much bulletproof. Had 32" mudders and a Smittybuilt winch on it. Loved that Jeep and regret ever selling it. My 4th one is a '21 JT Willys. I bought it used, very clean, with low miles. So far, I love it. I've done a few "light" mods and plan on replacing the TracLoc with a Truetrac helical limited slip in the future, (maybe 2 of them ). I'm older now and don't do any serious wheeling these days. It is a daily driver, but I do have 34's and a Warn winch on the front, just in case I need to go where I probably shouldn't.

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[MPMB]

Gladiator is the first Jeep for me. Decades ago my wife drove a Comanche at her job.

When I got sick of daily driving the Expedition (and it started to get long in the tooth), the wife and I started looking for a replacement.

The must haves:
4x4/AWD
Truck
Sunroof
Heated Seats
Blind Spot Notification
Backup Cam
Not a Ford

Those requirements left us with Toyota or Jeep. Wife was happy with a Tacoma, and I was ok until I drove it. We test drove a TRD and I felt like a 6' 5" guy in a Jeep. I'm not a tall guy, so why did I feel so cramped? On the drive I gave it a little pedal going up a damp hill and it spun the tires. Well that's no bueno.

While the JT doesn't have a sunroof, it's a convertible, and that sold the wife. And the ability to drive with the doors off.

 

[jcarbs]

My first was a '99 TJ with a manual and the anemic 4, but it still holds a special place in my heart. Man it was a blast to drive in the snow. Also had a '14 JKU that was followed up by a '10 JK. The Gladiator is my 4th Jeep and it's been a great vehicle.

 

[cranbiz]

My first Jeep was a Grand Waggy. Then a TJ, 2 Liberty's, a JK, WK2, WJ and now the Gladiator.

I still own the JK, the WK2 and obviously the Gladiator.

 

[MWarren]

 

[Archie12]

Embarrassed to say Jeep Gladiator Mojave 2023 is my first. Prior to this I drove a…Honda Accord. I was driving home a few months ago stuck in highway traffic and I saw the back of a Gladiator and kind of fell in love with the looks. Researched them for a while and when the local dealer was giving like 10-15K discounts recently I decided to buy. Didn’t really get the model or color I had planned, but there was limited selection. After completing the purchase I just remember sitting in the driver seat trying to figure everything out and the salesman came up to my side and was gesturing to me to lower the window - I didn’t even realize the window buttons were centralized lol. Anyway I’m about 1800 miles in, have kept it totally stock because my parking garage has a really low height limit. I drive over to the Olympic Mountains on the weekend for work, and I’ve taken the Jeep on some easy off road trails about 6 times now. Super fun. I also have fun just driving it around on pavement. Already had a whited out Uconnect box pop up and go away in 2-3 days, so I’m bracing myself for reliability issues, but oh well it seems well worth it. Thanks for letting me share.

 

[Empty Pockets]

My first was a ‘55 Willys M38A1 mil-surp back in high school. I attended a private prep-assed school and, of course, nobody got it (or got me, for that matter). It wasn’t a ‘vette or an MGB so…..weird. I’ve had a couple dozen over the years. Some that bought to fix up and flip, some I drove for years.

Other than that first one that got me hooked, my favorites were a ‘67 Wagoneer with a 232 IL6 and “3 on the tree” transmission, a Kaiser M715 military truck and, though not officially a Jeep, a mid ‘70s M151A1 Vietnam era 1/4 ton. My Gladiator is my favorite, though. I’m older now and have come to appreciate creature comforts like AC, heat and heated steering wheel/seats.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Almost forgot - we also had a Liberty for a while when finances were impacted and we had to drop back from Grand Cherokee.

1987 Comanche........

 

[KevinC]

I've bought, built, wrecked, sold more than I care to remember. In order of purchasing
84 CJ-7 304 V8 - the OG
92 YJ 4.0L Sport - kept it stock
95 YJ 2.5L Rio Grande - 33" tires made it a dog, good beach Jeep though
94 YJ 4.0L Sport - someone swapped a 4.0L into a 2.5L VIN and I got taken
95 XJ 4.0L Sport - work vehicle daily driver
93 ZJ 4.0L Laredo - took it to Tellico once, it got brag up and scratched
97 TJ 4.0L Sahara - one of my favorites
99 WJ 4.0L Laredo - work vehicle daily driver
01 TJ 4.0L Sahara D44 3.73 - one of my best off road built
06 TJ 4.0L Rubicon - problems that I never could get right
99 TJ 4.0L Sahara - bought in 2011 with 8000 miles
13 JK 3.6 Rubicon - good one - had for 6 years
20 JTR - hard to trade this one in but had to with current incentives
22 JLUW 2.0L - still have, wife drives
23 JTM - still have

That's 15 in my 41 years of owning a drivers license

KevinC

 

[Lmtz1633]

Started with a 1998 Tj 2.5 5 speed, didn’t know about the lack of power at the time. Sold and bought a 01 automatic Tj with the 4.0. Then bought an 05 Ljr 6 speed(fav til this day). Traded the 01 Tj for a 83 J10, sold the Ljr and bought a JLRU. Sold it and just bought a TJ 01 project. Sold that and now just have my JTRD and J10. And I think I’m good for a while ?

 

[Walldo]

It all started in 1986....
86 CJ7
90 YJ
98 TJ
81 CJ8
86 CJ7
05 LJ
08 JKUR
06 LJR
Currently have.
2020 JTR and 2016 JKURHR
Wish I still had the Scrambler and the LJ's

 

[SoK66]

‘94 YJ bought in ‘95, became a money pit rock crawler w/ Dynatrac 44/60, etc. Add a ‘96 XJ daily driver that gave way to a new ‘01 Grand Cherokee, alongside a ‘76 CJ5 that became a retirement restoration project. The YJ gave way to a new ‘09 JKUR crawler that I refer to as where my 401(k) went to die! It remains , the JT is going to be a daily so I intentionally avoided a Rubicon and got a Willys. Friends are betting how long it will be before the JT has crate axles and 38s under it.

 

[Redleg37]

Started with an 88 YJ that someone had used a "my first welder" kit on extensively. Massive tires, shoddy metal fabrication, 4 cylinders of power. I have a picture of my then 1 and 5 year old daughters the first time we drove it with the top down; they're waving their arms in the air and have huge smiles. We've had at least one jeep since.

YJ, named "Bessy", was all black, soft top. She had a habit of catching fire. While moving from Oregon to South Dakota she caught fire on the road. My wife ran into an autoparts store, grabbed a fire extinguisher off the shelf, yelled "I'll pay for it when when the fire's out" as she ran past the counter..... My cousin took a flat bed and picked it up from the dealer lot when we got our JK, he got her running again and sold her to a guy who wanted to do an engine swap. He stored it in a barn. The barn mysteriously caught fire. She died as she lived, on fire.

We used to take Bessy to a local mud park when we lived in Oregon and she did one trip to the Oregon dunes on the coast, where after a few bumps she lost 4 wheel drive and then one of the remaining wheels stopped working. My brother's old 4 runner towed her out on 1 wheel drive.

We traded it in for $0 on our 2 door black JK sport. She was named "Jeep Jeep" by my ladies and "Bessy 2.0" by me. She has 130k miles now.

Jeep Jeep has sway bar disconnects and 33" tires on rubicon rims with 3.21 gears, although the plan is for her to get 4.88's and dual truetrac LSDs. She's my snow beast. She's only got stuck in snow twice where she couldn't recover, and both times she got larger tires after. She's done a bit of light offroading on trails in the Black Hills of South Dakota and is the car my ladies are learning to drive with.

We also have a Cherokee trailhawk, which has done a lot of light offroading (it fits our family better now that my girls are taller), and is basically our family minivan.

And finally, as of a couple of months ago, we have our gladiator. I'm not sure what his name is yet. I think eventually it will have a truetrac in the rear and a selectable locker in the front with 35" tires.

 

[WestwallNF104A]

My first was a ‘55 Willys M38A1 mil-surp back in high school. I attended a private prep-assed school and, of course, nobody got it (or me, for that matter). It wasn’t a ‘vette or an MGB so…..weird. I’ve had a could dozen over the years. Some that bought to fix up and flip, some I drove for years.

Other than that first one that got me hooked, my favorites were a ‘67 Wagoneer with a 232 IL6 and “3 on the tree” transmission, a Kaiser M715 military truck and, though not officially a Jeep, a mid ‘70s M151A1 Vietnam era 1/4 ton. My Gladiator is my favorite, though. I’m older now and have come to appreciate creature comforts like AC, heat and heated steering wheel/seats.

I love the look of the 715, just a beautiful truck!

 

[Flyboy2109]

I guess I am the oddball with evolution containing mostly non-Jeep DNA, a few kangaroos and wallabies thrown in, I guess.

My 4x4 life started with a move to Alaska in 1982. I bought a '61 GMC Carryall (Suburban if you will though not named that). V-6, lifted 6", manual tranny, manual transfer case, manual hubs (how I miss that feature!).

Moved south to Texas, sold the GMC in Washington. I still miss that ride. Went through truck withdrawal for 2 years.

Moved to Utah. Hmmmm, want a convertible? Want a pickup with 4x4? A friend shows up with a car magazine with column called 'Future Collectables?'. Featured, the '87-'90 Dodge Dakota Sport 4x4 Convertible. It was early 1991, but hey, that's the ticket! Searched and found my new Dakota in Billings Montana, the dealer happy to ship it to Utah-what respectable Montanan would be seen in a small mid-sized, single row cab, convertible roadster pickup? Still have that Dakota with 106K miles: 5 speed stick, V-6, manual transfer case, electric hubs. My sons want it, too sad; only after I am dead and their Mom is done with it, too.

Moved to Washington, want a boat. Need a tow vehicle, bought a '78 Ram charger. The Ramcharger was not up to the job. Bought a new '94 Suburban, standard 350, automatic, manual transfer case, electric hubs. Gets real good gas mileage for the size, I was impressed. At 150K I long blocked a 383 stroker in and we are still going at 246K miles. I love this thing!

In 1996 I bought a flat fender 1949 Dodge Power Wagon to restore. Manual transmission-the real kind with double clutching and speed matching on down shifts. Manual two lever transfer case. Had full time hubs where everything always spun driven by the front wheels. I replaced that with Selectro manual hubs to reduce wear and tear. Sold this last summer, it was fun to drive around getting the finger on the road for only being able to cruise at 42mph, but I could climb a brick wall.

Bought a recreational property and bought a used 2002 GMC Sonoma in 2010 to leave there. Cute little fella, quad cab, automatic, V-6, automatic trans, push button pneumatic front hubs and transfer case-this would be it's demise. (and the 4' bed length). Talk about a low cube interior but very comfortable. In 2021 the 4x4 started to refuse to engage. I changed all the actuators and as much vacuum hose as I could and installed a vacuum storage tank. Then I tried to remove the hub vacuum actuator with a cable. Nothing really worked so I sold it last year as a nice little 2-wheel drive quad cab. This is what my Gladiator replaced.

I also have a 2001 Tahoe with a 6" lift at the same property with a V-8, auto, push button 4x4, electric hubs (I am assuming electric hubs anyway). This is our 'beach bus'.

The Gladiator was selected because I could get a manual transmission and a manual transfer case. I don't want the oversized giants that the big three make, can't hardly toss stuff over those too tall side rails. God help you finding a parking space big enough that the guy or lady next to you doesn't smack your truck with their door. I would be OK with a Colorado if it had a manual trans but I won't put up with push button 4x4 and the failure rates I expect to see there. I want a stick for engine braking, sadly, the JT doesn't engine brake well at all, the rpm just climbs until that V-6 is screaming. I love to row my own gears otherwise.

I wish the JT had manual hubs or option for that-I only see the electric front end engagement as a failure point. I have never regretted getting out in rain or snow to engage my hubs! People complain about the cube of the JT interior-try a Sonoma! I am liking the bed size over the Sonoma a lot. I don't care for the ESS or the other computer controlled foolishness: what? I have to tell the Jeep if I change the lighting configuration or it goes nuts? What? there is a baby battery hidden in the fender that fails and the Jeep goes nuts? Simplicity of the old Jeeps would be better for my ancient vintage 1955 self that grew up with simpler vehicles that worked just fine and lasted a long time. Heck, then air conditioning and automatic headlight dimming was just for Cadillacs, the rest of us sweated.

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