Finally got the 2022 diesel rubicon.. review after 2300 miles

[TT32VGT]

I picked up my loaded white rubicon diesel gladiator from gupton last Thursday.. ordered 12/18. I drove from springfield, tn to new orleans, la.. hung out with family and friends for a week, and then drove it to colorado. all in all a little over 2300 miles.

Going in..
Ive had tons of sports cars, trucks, and regular cars.. I know theres pros and cons, and compromises that come with cool looks or capabilities. I went in knowing this..

the bad..
on the interstate it feels like im driving a van.. at 75+mph if theres any wind it blows me all over the place.. dealer put tires at 40psi, are yall running that high? seemed high but I havent checked yet. under 70mph its great for everything I do so far.
stereo sounds pretty weak. i think it might be weather proof, but you would think it would sound better in a 68k truck.
weird that driver window isnt auto up.
mopar heated stitched leather seats look great but bottoms are pretty uncomfortable during long trips. grand cherokee much more comfortable for ex.

the good..
looks better than I thought it would.
i like the diesel sound and decent pickup power.
drives and feels better than i thought it would.. feels like a 2022 should.
gets looks even stock.
interior feels nice.
gets the gas mileage I was hoping for, but not good enough with current insane price. avg 23mpg.
again... looks, drives, and feels good..

all in all I think its what I had hoped for.. its not the best at any one thing, but does everything good enough for what I need to do. plan is to do 2.5" aev, bfg k02 37s and method wheels, smitty gen 2 stubby front bumper/warn syn winch, rock slider power steps, and a few other things. sounds like 12k in mods with install, at least I saved a good chunk with gupton. they were great, esp renee. I plan to make this gladiator my snow/bad weather mobile and get an electric luxury car for the secondary. Just moved to colorado and my house is in evergreen. It has a tripple switchback long driveway that has some steep sections. sometimes with snow and ice.. the other day my grand cherokee 4x4 couldnt get up the driveway, probably bc of the somewhat warndown summer tires. the gladiator made it up today no problem in 2wd.

Sponsored

 

[TomPeak]

Assuming that your tires are the stock LT285/70R17, Take those down to about 32 pounds cold and your driving experience will change drastically. They will come up about 4lbs when rolling.

 

[Volksparts]

I felt that way when I drove my rubi non diesel from Tennessee all the way back to Cali about the handling. Seemed squirrelly on the road. These days with weight in the rear, a bed tonneau cover, a steering stabilizer and the Mopar lift I don't have the squirrelly feeling on the road any more. By the way, what stereo setup did you go with? I feel my 8.4 screen with the pioneer sound system sounds pretty great and equal to some if my other cars with higher end sound systems. I guess we all have different hearing so that equates to different reactions to hearing sound systems.

Congrats on the new truck. Looks great! Makes me miss mine when it was in stock form.

 

[willhonkforparts]

Fuel* mileage

If it's your first diesel, it'll take some time to train your mind to this.

 

[HampshireEcoD]

If you hadn’t driven/ridden in a wrangler/gladiator before this, the lack of seat comfort can be surprising. Always felt jeeps have a numb steering feel; was similar in my wife’s ‘19 GC, so not too shocking. We got 27mpg regularly in the summer/fall months, and has dropped down to 24 in the winter months - winter blend plays a role.

I’m also curious what sound system you have… we have the 8.4 Alpine and it sounds pretty good. Nothing compared to my Audi B&O, but still good.

Big fan of the white and color matched hard-top. Enjoy it

 

[TT32VGT]

thanks! it has the 8.4 system. its okay. guess it was meh when getting out of a new 5 series thats similar price. itll do.

I cant decide between a 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5" lift. better question is 35s or 37s. i lean towards the smaller k02 37s.. but i am at high elevation.

 

[aceisback]

If you are on the tall side DesertDoesIt seat jackers will make the ride more comfortable.
It may be here also but I know over on the JL forum there is a thread for making the windows auto up and down.
Many discussions about harsh/squirrelly ride associated with over inflated tires. Seems 33-36psi is the comfort zone.
Enjoy that new ride.

 

[NachoRuby]

thanks! it has the 8.4 system. its okay. guess it was meh when getting out of a new 5 series thats similar price. itll do.

I cant decide between a 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5" lift. better question is 35s or 37s. i lean towards the smaller k02 37s.. but i am at high elevation.

Keep in mind, most of the jeep's price isn't for luxury. It's so it can do Jeep stuff. The stereo/speakers are marine grade, electronics water resistant, etc. You'll have to wipe your mind of "normal" vehicles. Everything on the Jeep, especially for the price, are focus built for one purpose, and it's not on road comfort. It's a boisterous, noisy, off-roading machine. The top and doors come off. The interior is water resistant. It can go pretty much anywhere. It can ford water. That's why it's expensive. Don't mistake price for luxury. A 5 series is the antithesis of Jeep. One is meant for the best on-road experience, the other for the best all weather off-road experience.

Regarding the seats, I have the cloth ones, but they must be hit or miss. I find them comfortable on road trips. Yeah, the steering will be vague (giant tires and solid axles).

Also, once you lift it and put bigger tires on it, the things you don't like (steering, highway stability) will become worse.

 

[DailyMoparGuy]

Like others mentioned, drop that cold tire pressure down to 32-36 psi and you’ll be in heaven. I tend to go with the lower side of that range.

Nothing much you can do about the wind effects unfortunately. Drag coefficient is a son of a bitch. However, you’ll get better at anticipating the JT’s movement in high wind situations with a few more windy drives.

Congrats on the purchase and can’t wait to see it with the lift!

 

[CorvusOver]

thanks! it has the 8.4 system. its okay. guess it was meh when getting out of a new 5 series thats similar price. itll do.

I cant decide between a 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5" lift. better question is 35s or 37s. i lean towards the smaller k02 37s.. but i am at high elevation.

JTRD owner here in CO Springs. I went 37 Micky Baja Boss AT with a 3.5 Clayton lift, which is being installed today.

Why 37?
I've regularly heard 37 is the tallest you can go on the diesel without needing to regear. Also to help with the breakover angle...and I thought I'd want them if I went 35 initially. I think you can do 35 on the Rubicon w/o a lift.

Why 3.5" Clayton?
IF I decided to go 35 I would have done the 2.5" lift as it's plenty of clearance. The Clayton 2.5" is actually enough for the 37's but you might miss just a bit of articulation. I will also be adding an Alu-Cab Canopy Camper so I expect the weight in the back plus the bumper and winch to see the ride settle closer to 3". I decided on Clayton because they were the only company that had zero negative reviews and I'd seem others switch to their springs as they handle a heavier load.

Why those tires?
The Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT is a hybrid and the only 37" that I know of that still has the 3 peak mtn snow rating. It's hard to avoid the snow in CO especially on the passes. Ergo, legal on the passes in winter, better traction in snow than mud tires, lower sound than others, good wear mileage, great reviews. FWIW - I've run KO2s on other vehicles and prefer these now. The 37" KO2 is actually significantly shorter so why buy a 37 that's actually 35?

 

[ilovebikes99]

1) as others have said drop to about 33 psi, that's what I did. My ride was harsh too, dealer put tires at like 40+ psi from factory and it was bumpy. I run 33 now and it's great. Not sure what the deal is with the overinflation

2) the diesel needs to be broken in to get best MPG. I was about the same MPG or even worse than you. Now at 4500 miles I'm getting 25 MPG hauling my bike and gear in the bed on mud terrain tires.
Keep in mind it's not a mileage dependent thing, it's load. If you load it up with a trailer it'll break in way sooner than just driving around unloaded

3) 70-72 mph is the golden ticket on the interstate. It will do 80 easy too but it'll require more steering input.

4) for snow and ice I would have gone with a model that has the LSD rather than rear locker. Mine is awesome in inclement weather

5) I too came from sports cars and this is probably the best vehicle purchase I made, I like it more and more as time goes by

 

[2TH MVR]

Love the color choice. Just remember it's a Jeep designed to do jeep things and all the annoying nuances will be insignificant.

 

[willhonkforparts]

Keep in mind, most of the jeep's price isn't for luxury. It's so it can do Jeep stuff. The stereo/speakers are marine grade, electronics water resistant, etc. You'll have to wipe your mind of "normal" vehicles. Everything on the Jeep, especially for the price, are focus built for one purpose, and it's not on road comfort. It's a boisterous, noisy, off-roading machine. The top and doors come off. The interior is water resistant. It can go pretty much anywhere. It can ford water. That's why it's expensive. Don't mistake price for luxury. A 5 series is the antithesis of Jeep. One is meant for the best on-road experience, the other for the best all weather off-road experience.

Regarding the seats, I have the cloth ones, but they must be hit or miss. I find them comfortable on road trips. Yeah, the steering will be vague (giant tires and solid axles).

Also, once you lift it and put bigger tires on it, the things you don't like (steering, highway stability) will become worse.

I love this answer. The following is my signature here, and was a quote I came across on a forum back in....2008? 2009? or so, and is so true. I don't own a sxs, sled, atv or any other offroad toy, and this is why (I added the sleeping quarters part just recently):


It is an expensive rock climbing, mud slogging, sand throwing, snowmobile with a heater, convertable toy that as a bonus happens to provide daily transportation - now with attached sleeping quarters

 

[Trailman]

Just moved to colorado and my house is in evergreen. It has a tripple switchback long driveway that has some steep sections. sometimes with snow and ice.. the other day my grand cherokee 4x4 couldnt get up the driveway, probably bc of the somewhat warndown summer tires. the gladiator made it up today no problem in 2wd.

Hello from Idaho Springs! Welcome.

 

[ajkaz]

Yeah, the steering will be vague (giant tires and solid axles).

Also, once you lift it and put bigger tires on it, the things you don't like (steering, highway stability) will become worse.

I don't quite agree here, I feel stock the Gladiator has a lot of steering play and wander that can actually be easily improved as you upgrade. MY JKUR on coilovers with high steer handles like a modern SUV, not a Jeep or a Gladiator. Its all in how you build it. Most people throw on a small lift and say "rides better than stock" which is usually BS, but if done right, even with bigger tires and lift it really can handle and steer like a "car". Which isn't a bad thing....

Sponsored