Head of Jeep Brand NA is bullish on Gladiator future

[Wheelin98TJ]

The point of STLA architecture is that it's modular.

But aren't the IFS and IRS parts sized accordingly? They would use the same suspension on a compact SUV and a midsized truck?

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[Janster]

Lok-tite them next time you snug them up.

With my experience with loctite - you don’t apply it to fasteners you plan on taking apart often. It’d need to be re-applied every time. That’ll create other issues….clogged threads.

We’ll see how loose they are by the end of the winter.

 

[biodiesel]

Data says the majority of people are.

And they're in business to sell as much as possible, not appease niche buyers at bargain prices.

I understand the SFA purists, but that's not why I bought the Gladiator. I just wanted the utilitarian midsized truck with a diesel engine. I'd buy a Wrangler if I really wanted the SFA.

 

[Sweetums]

With my experience with loctite - you don’t apply it to fasteners you plan on taking apart often. It’d need to be re-applied every time. That’ll create other issues….clogged threads.

We’ll see how loose they are by the end of the winter.

A wire brush does wonders to clear thread lock out of threads. Use a regular one on fasteners and circular one on a drill for parts.

 

[Gvsukids]

2024 Mojave here….. (owned since March). We take the top off several times a season.

Every-time we take the hard top off, the bolts are extremely loose, you could remove them with your finger tips. When we install them, we tighten them up pretty good without being too tight (don’t want to crack the fiberglass).

We haven’t had any vibrations from it…. It’s something we’ve noticed every single time we take it off. Normal? Or should I be worried they’ll pop out completely?

Never had a problem with mine loosening, but I only use them in the wintertime now. I tighten them down smugly and they never come out.

 

[Wageslave]

Never had a problem with mine loosening, but I only use them in the wintertime now. I tighten them down smugly and they never come out.

2024 Mojave here….. (owned since March). We take the top off several times a season.

Every-time we take the hard top off, the bolts are extremely loose, you could remove them with your finger tips. When we install them, we tighten them up pretty good without being too tight (don’t want to crack the fiberglass).

We haven’t had any vibrations from it…. It’s something we’ve noticed every single time we take it off. Normal? Or should I be worried they’ll pop out completely?

You can get rubber washers to keep the bolts from loosening, or use a little PTFE thread tape. It also doesn't hurt to drive it down a gravel or washboarded road for a few miles, then retorque it .

 

[Janster]

You can get rubber washers to keep the bolts from loosening, or use a little PTFE thread tape. It also doesn't hurt to drive it down a gravel or washboarded road for a few miles, then retorque it .

Rubber washers would make more sense…… easier/less hassle.

 

[Minty JL]

We're in a similar situation. Bought the gladiator when we only had two kids, now we are a family of 5. It's cramp with a baby car seat. We picked up a '24 Sequoia and boy is that thing roomy in comparison. We can easily fit 3 across with baby carseat and a booster seat with room to spare. I've toyed with trading JT in for a full size, but I'd be taking a blood bath. Also, the bigger point is that I would miss this truck dearly. Dispite all the complaints, I love this thing. We got rid off a subaru outback and 5th gen 4runner cause it would just sit there. I would always pick the JT everytime I had to drive. It just feels good, even on the streets.

If you trade you for a Ram you might be good.

My buddy who owns a shop just traded his '22 Ram Cummins dually for a '24 Ram Cummins dually and cleaned up. His '22 was $92k when he bought it, he got the '24 for $67k (before trade which was paid off) and he went from the Big Horn trim to the Laramie trim. He/business walked away with money in his pocket on the deal. NOTE: He writes the trucks off under Section 179 IRS tax code for business.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

If you trade you for a Ram you might be good.

My buddy who owns a shop just traded his '22 Ram Cummins dually for a '24 Ram Cummins dually and cleaned up. His '22 was $92k when he bought it, he got the '24 for $67k (before trade which was paid off) and he went from the Big Horn trim to the Laramie trim. He/business walked away with money in his pocket on the deal. NOTE: He writes the trucks off under Section 179 IRS tax code for business.

He’ll pay tax on the gain and it’s all gain since it was fully depreciated.

 

[Aleph]

I'm going to get yelled at but a Mojave with an IFS and ballsier motor could be a Ranger Raptor killer.

I agree with this. I love my solid front axle but the nice Fox shocks aren’t enough to compete with the Ranger Raptor or the ZR2 Desert Boss. Trophy trucks use IFS. I could add the $13k EVO double throw-down long arm suspension and Kings but it would still be a lot less controlled in the whoops than “rivals.” My opinion is that the Mojave is inherently compromised both as a desert runner and as a rock crawling truck (though you can remedy the latter with money).

Just look at the market offerings. Stellantis sells the full-size Ram RHO to compete with the F-150 Raptor but doesn’t have a comparable go fast off-road midsize truck. They might have a similar trim on the upcoming Dakota. To really compete you have to have IFS, a more proprietary shock design, and more electronics involved with the suspension.

Jeep’s off-road heritage is bar none and Stellantis will want to get more in on the desert runner bandwagon which is hot right now. An IFS Gladiator (that hurt to type) would be a logical choice.


1. A completely different, heritage-based exterior design (based off the actual old Gladiator) with IFS + solid rear axle to compete with the Tacoma. Make a true Mojave out of it that’ll kill the Raptor. The doors still come off but roof is fixed for rigidity and daily comfort/NVH.

2. The SFA Wrangler truck sibling we know and love with more focus on improving payload, towing, and power through the motor and changes in the bed/rear half of the frame. Keep the Wrangler front end.

3. Heritage-based design, keep both solid axles, but otherwise deviate from the Wrangler completely to give it more interior room and feel more like a truck and less like a Wrangler with Ram 1500 rear end. It would be a unique vehicle with its own aftermarket. This seems most exciting to me but least likely.

 

[BourbonRunner]

1. A completely different, heritage-based exterior design (based off the actual old Gladiator) with IFS + solid rear axle to compete with the Tacoma. Make a true Mojave out of it that’ll kill the Raptor. The doors still come off but roof is fixed for rigidity and daily comfort/NVH.

2. The SFA Wrangler truck sibling we know and love with more focus on improving payload, towing, and power through the motor and changes in the bed/rear half of the frame. Keep the Wrangler front end.

3. Heritage-based design, keep both solid axles, but otherwise deviate from the Wrangler completely to give it more interior room and feel more like a truck and less like a Wrangler with Ram 1500 rear end. It would be a unique vehicle with its own aftermarket. This seems most exciting to me but least likely.

That's more or less where i was headed with it.
(in response to above)
#1 STLA is missing the boat on this end, bigly. They could do something silly like slam the RHO's Hurricane in and turn it up to 11 to make the ultimate whoop machine.

#2 Once again, a Hurricane would only help. I'd love to see a diesel again but the regs are tight and consumer demand are not there. Was a real shame the diesel was not rated for higher payload/towing.

#3 I like it but you're right. Highly unlikely. One thing is for certain- if they went full on M715 with it, that giant open grille would probably solve any cooling issues.

 

[biodiesel]

I'd love to see a diesel again but the regs are tight and consumer demand are not there. Was a real shame the diesel was not rated for higher payload/towing.

I wouldn't count the diesel out completely. Consumer demand was there for the diesel. As a matter of fact, FCA/Stellantis had said multiple times that the EcoDiesel exceeded demand in both the 2nd gen (2014 - 2019) and 3rd gen (2020 - 2023). They had an enormous number of pre-orders, which is why Stellantis expanded the EcoDiesel into more platforms. At one point, they were talking about putting the EcoDiesel into the Wagoneer but later said that production was already at full capacity and couldn't be expanded into more platforms.

When they designed the 3rd gen EcoDiesel, it was intended to go at least 5 - 6 years. Once Stellantis issued the HPFP recall, they didn't have the parts to satisfy both the recall and new engine production.

Stellantis has recently announced a few new diesel engines for Europe that meet stringent emissions. So, the technology is there, it's just a matter of Stellantis bringing it to North America.

 

[BourbonRunner]

I wouldn't count the diesel out completely.

**snip**

Don't get me wrong, the diesel was a great option. Its just never been able to take hold in the USDM for some reson. Maybe the Olds V8 really really was to blame. ROW small diesels are quite literally everywhere.

VW Dieselgate definitely soured the USDM on them. (even though VW was exploiting a loophole the law created). I don't think the issues FCA/STLA had with their own emissions scandal helped.

Coincidentally, last year I rented a Dacia Duster diesel 6MT in Iceland and it was a perfectly fine, basic vehicle with decent pickup. If Renault brought them here badged as Nissans i bet they'd sell well. It had power locks, windows, and no frills.

 

[biodiesel]

Don't get me wrong, the diesel was a great option. Its just never been able to take hold in the USDM for some reson.

In the 1980s and 1990s, diesels were never quiet enough, clean enough, and refined enough for the North American market. But times have changed and Sergio pushed the diesel into North America when VW was having great success with them. Then Ford and GM pushed out their 3.0L diesels.

I agree that diesels are fighting an uphill battle with modern emissions, but it wouldn't take a lot to bring one of these engines over. Check it out:
Stellantis Line-Up Fully Compatible with Green HVO Fuel | Corporate Communications | Stellantis

 

[seven30]

I agree with this. I love my solid front axle but the nice Fox shocks aren’t enough to compete with the Ranger Raptor or the ZR2 Desert Boss. Trophy trucks use IFS. I could add the $13k EVO double throw-down long arm suspension and Kings but it would still be a lot less controlled in the whoops than “rivals.” My opinion is that the Mojave is inherently compromised both as a desert runner and as a rock crawling truck (though you can remedy the latter with money).

Just look at the market offerings. Stellantis sells the full-size Ram RHO to compete with the F-150 Raptor but doesn’t have a comparable go fast off-road midsize truck. They might have a similar trim on the upcoming Dakota. To really compete you have to have IFS, a more proprietary shock design, and more electronics involved with the suspension.

Jeep’s off-road heritage is bar none and Stellantis will want to get more in on the desert runner bandwagon which is hot right now. An IFS Gladiator (that hurt to type) would be a logical choice.


1. A completely different, heritage-based exterior design (based off the actual old Gladiator) with IFS + solid rear axle to compete with the Tacoma. Make a true Mojave out of it that’ll kill the Raptor. The doors still come off but roof is fixed for rigidity and daily comfort/NVH.

2. The SFA Wrangler truck sibling we know and love with more focus on improving payload, towing, and power through the motor and changes in the bed/rear half of the frame. Keep the Wrangler front end.

3. Heritage-based design, keep both solid axles, but otherwise deviate from the Wrangler completely to give it more interior room and feel more like a truck and less like a Wrangler with Ram 1500 rear end. It would be a unique vehicle with its own aftermarket. This seems most exciting to me but least likely.

I think the core Gladiator should not me messed with too much. If they want to make a Raptor competitor use the Comanche, name. Make it light (as it was) simple and effective. One thing that would help the Mojave is a turbo V6 and sequential 8spd manual. Turbo v6 keeps it balanced and fast shift tranny would be massively fun on a desert runner.

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