Raven65
Well-Known Member
I'll just add that you can save yourself a lot of money if you're honest about how you intend to use the thing and don't care if there are stickers on the hood. The Mojave is designed for higher-speed off-roading - as in desert running (which is why its badge says "Desert Rated" instead of "Trail Rated"). The Rubicon is designed for slower, more technical off-roading/rock crawling. If you're only planning to do light-to-moderate trails, a Sport is plenty capable bone stock and can be easily upgraded if your needs change and you decide to start doing the tougher trails. There are videos on YouTube of people taking bone stock Sports on far tougher trails than I'll ever see.
I went with a Sport S (for anbout $10k less than what Rubis were selling for at the time) and bought a set of Rubicon take-off wheels/tires off of FB Marketplace for like $500 - and then did a 1.5" leveling lift on the front myself for $99. The Sport S comes with most of the nicer interior bits - and all the rest can be optioned if you wish. It can handle anything I plan to do with it for many thousands less than a Rubi would have cost. If I had it to do all over again, I'd go with the Sport S with the Max Tow option to get the 4.10 gears. My 3.73's handle the 33" Rubicon tires "ok", but 4.10's (standard on the Rubi) would be better - and I'd have the option of going up to 35's without regearing if I wanted to... but I can't see ever needing to do that. For my needs, the 33's are perfect. These things are like Legos... all the parts are interchangeable. I've seen complete Rubicon take-off suspensions online for just a few hundred bucks (from people who replaced their stock suspensions with lifts) that I could easily bolt onto my Sport S, but so far I haven't needed that - and the softer Sport springs/shocks ride smoother.
If you truly NEED the upgrades that Mojave/Rubicon offer (or just want the bragging rights that those hood stickers provide at the mall), great... go that route... they're great packages! ...but I bet the VAST majority of people who own them would have been just fine with a Sport/Sport S and kept that extra 5-10 grand in the bank.
I went with a Sport S (for anbout $10k less than what Rubis were selling for at the time) and bought a set of Rubicon take-off wheels/tires off of FB Marketplace for like $500 - and then did a 1.5" leveling lift on the front myself for $99. The Sport S comes with most of the nicer interior bits - and all the rest can be optioned if you wish. It can handle anything I plan to do with it for many thousands less than a Rubi would have cost. If I had it to do all over again, I'd go with the Sport S with the Max Tow option to get the 4.10 gears. My 3.73's handle the 33" Rubicon tires "ok", but 4.10's (standard on the Rubi) would be better - and I'd have the option of going up to 35's without regearing if I wanted to... but I can't see ever needing to do that. For my needs, the 33's are perfect. These things are like Legos... all the parts are interchangeable. I've seen complete Rubicon take-off suspensions online for just a few hundred bucks (from people who replaced their stock suspensions with lifts) that I could easily bolt onto my Sport S, but so far I haven't needed that - and the softer Sport springs/shocks ride smoother.
If you truly NEED the upgrades that Mojave/Rubicon offer (or just want the bragging rights that those hood stickers provide at the mall), great... go that route... they're great packages! ...but I bet the VAST majority of people who own them would have been just fine with a Sport/Sport S and kept that extra 5-10 grand in the bank.
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