Help me make up my mind

[Seal]

My (biased) opinion is to just get a Mojave and call it done. For a daily driver, the Mojave rides super nice and the Mojave-specific seats & steering wheel are very comfy. It also has just a touch of 'lift' from the factory, which gives it a more Jeep-ish look without having to install a lift. IMO, if it is going to be your DD, don't mess around with installing anything that will give the dealership any opportunity to dispute a warranty issue.

I'm a lawyer and know a thing or two about warranties. Generally speaking, unless the thing you modify is directly related to a failure, there is no legal basis to say that it voids a warranty. I realize from reading this forum that Jeep dealers are apparently saying that a lot, and it bothers me.

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[AZCooWhip]

If you have the cash for the Rubicon, that’s where I’d be. Out of the box it will handle 95% of what you may throw at it. You say light today, but I can almost guarantee you will “up your game” a bit once you get more experience.

This vehicle now takes me to places that most mere mortals will never experience and I’ve added all my own touches along the way to make it even better.

In my build I never wanted to ever be behind the curve on what I wanted to do.

Good luck in your decision. Either way you are selecting a very capable vehicle. Have fun And enjoy the hell out of it!

 

[jac04]

I'm a lawyer and know a thing or two about warranties. Generally speaking, unless the thing you modify is directly related to a failure, there is no legal basis to say that it voids a warranty. I realize from reading this forum that Jeep dealers are apparently saying that a lot, and it bothers me.

Agreed. My point is simply that leaving the vehicle bone stock is your best bet for a daily driver, assuming that you would want to take advantage of the factory warranty if something happens. Notice that I did not say that they would void your warranty if you modified it, I simply stated that you don't want to "give the dealership any opportunity to dispute a warranty issue".

Now, if you don't plan on relying on the warranty, then do what you want as far as modifications to make the JT exactly the way you want it.

 

[Seal]

Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[Gvsukids]

Thanks everyone for your input!

There's also about 20 other threads debating Mojave versus Rubicon, if you want some light reading.

 

[DocMike]

It's a disease....really.....
This was once a stock Sport S I picked up for "light wheeling"
Only thing I regret was not getting the electronic sway bar disconnect from the Rubicon and the higher clearance fenders....looking at some for $350 a side now.
I'm at 4.88 so no need for 4.10.
Adding ARB lockers soon.

 

[Seal]

FWIW I test drove both the Rubicon and the Mojave and had a preference for the Mojave in terms of ride. But I like firm rides and well-controlled suspension, and don't mind some well-damped jolts.

 

[Matts4313]

My original plan was to get a max tow and build it as desired. I put one on order, then my other vehicle had a major shop induced failure, so I needed a rig fast. Ended up buying a Rubi off the lot with only the 15 miles from the factory testing.

I cannot be happier. Later on I 'counted the costs' of what I would have had to do to get the Max tow to the level of the Rubi, and it would have been a much bigger headache than I truly wanted. I never though I would ever use lockers, and I don't hard core rock crawl. But there have already been a few times in snow while spring hunting, or going up some steep gravel trails that I used lockers, not out of need, but simply to make it easier on a steep shelf road with minimal room for mistakes.

I hands down recommend the Rubi option instead of the max tow and building it up. Of course it comes at a cost...which I think is excessive but given todays market, thats what it is. I also dislike some of the things I did get from it being a 'lot' truck, like the extra soft top (trying to sell but nobody seems to want it), and leather seats. But other than that, I am very happy with getting a Rubi over the other way. After having it for 6 months, I would have been very disappointed in myself had I not gotten the Rubi

Disclaimer - I have not seen nor been in a Mojave.... So unsure how they compare.





I disagree with this completely...

The cost difference between a max tow w/AUX and a base rubi was less than $1500 when I ordered. So for me, personally, it was "do I want a more capable towing truck or e-lockers for off roading". Seeing as I have no clue what lockers even do - the choice was obvious. I wanted my truck to be more capable to do truck things.

That $1500 difference went straight into the Mopar 2" lift, which is actually closer to 3.5 on a Sport S MT.


The rest of the upgrades were going to happen either way, such as stereo, bumper, wheels, marine grade seats, etc.

 

[kyoung05]

My 2022 Gladiator Sport is my first Jeep, and first truck. Never thought I'd be a "Jeep Guy" as I've always preferred smaller, sportier cars, but here we are.

Given that this was going to be my first time owning both a Jeep and a truck, I wanted to start off slow and figure out (1) whether I really enjoyed the thing, and (2) if so, what else I wanted to add to make it more enjoyable.

This wasn't a vehicle I needed, but figured that it was something fun that would allow me to try some light off-roading while also offering the utility of a pickup truck. It's also turned into my daily driver - so maybe my use case is similar to yours.

Because I was looking to start off slow, I specifically limited my search for one that was as close to a base model as possible. I also specifically wanted one with the manual transmission, which meant having to get the V6 engine, and no max tow package. I ended up getting a pretty good deal on a Sport with the only option being the rear differential. I knew that I could add the larger tires, different wheels, lift kits, etc. after the fact - based on whether I decided I actually wanted or needed those things.

I've had the truck for about 3 weeks, and am finding that I really like a lot about it as-is. As a daily driver, it's really great, and the simplicity of everything is kind of refreshing. I've already bought a few things for it - all weather mats, bed mat, nerf bars - as I think of these things as more "quality of life" improvements. Next, I plan to get some 33' tires - mainly for aesthetics, but I'm sure the added height and more off-road capable tires will come in handy for any of the off-roading I might do. From there, I'll probably do a level kit (one that includes the springs/adjustable LCAs/etc.) and maybe a rear sway bar to improve the driving dynamics - although as I said, I am pretty happy with the way it drives now.

After that, I think I'll be done for a while other than cosmetic stuff like tint, decals, etc.

I'm probably looking at $3k in mods total (maybe a bit more for labor). I paid just under $37k for my Sport. So, I figure I'll be at just around $40k even all in, which is at least $10k less than the starting price of a Rubicon or Mojave. The way I'm looking at it, I'll end up with something that is probably 90% as good as either of those higher end trims for my use cases. I think the only things I that I'd probably get use out of but won't have are the better great ratios and power windows/locks/remote start. The fact that the Mojave and Rubicon are more off-road capable out of the box don't mean much to me - at least not yet. And, being that this is a Jeep, if I ever wanted to upgrade to a lift kit, add lockers, etc. that's all doable.

Now, if the higher trims came with a better engine like the 5.7 or 6.4, I would have definitely had a harder time choosing the Sport because swapping engines or adding power is not something that is easy or inexpensive to do. It also isn't something that can be done in stages like the suspension stuff - it's either keep the engine more or less stock, pony up $8-10k for a supercharger, or $40k for an engine swap. So, in that case, I would've probably bitten the bullet and gotten the engine I wanted from the get go.

 

[Matts4313]

It's a disease....really.....
This was once a stock Sport S I picked up for "light wheeling"
Only thing I regret was not getting the electronic sway bar disconnect from the Rubicon and the higher clearance fenders....looking at some for $350 a side now.
I'm at 4.88 so no need for 4.10.
Adding ARB lockers soon.

Where did you get the light and covers on your bumper? Was the cost reasonable?

I want them for the aesthetic, I am not sure I will actually use them except on rare occasion. Going for the Marty McFly look with the KC lights tho..

 

[Dryfly24]

Daily driving and light offroading = Definitely not Rubicon. That's like buying a sledgehammer to hang pictures on drywall. In fact, I've heard some people say that because the Rubicon is so built for hardcore offroading that it makes a worse daily driver than other trims. (Obviously you CAN daily drive one - my wife does - but it's not ideal.)

I'm going to vote for the Mojave in this case. As a previous poster mentioned, it already has a slight lift compared to the Rubicon, and for light offroading, it has absolutely everything you could ask for. The big shocks make for a cushy daily driver, and the high fender flares give you the option to go up to 35s if you want.

Ultimately, I'm highly skeptical that you would really save money going with a lower trim. I ended up buying my Mojave specifically because of all of things I would have ended up wanting to do to a Sport/Overland, it came within a couple grand. Which, over the span of years, is basically nothing.

My Ruby is my DD and I love it. I’m curious why you think it would be so horrible? I’ve had zero issues and I’ve been cross country on it many times already.

I put almost 30k miles on it the first year, and in fact find it blows away the 2019 Tacoma I had prior to it - which many people think is an ideal DD.

Honestly, I’ve never had a truck I enjoy as much as this one.

 

[Matts4313]

My 2022 Gladiator Sport is my first Jeep, and first truck. Never thought I'd be a "Jeep Guy" as I've always preferred smaller, sportier cars, but here we are.

As a previous sports car guy (Camaro, Stang, Vette), the worst part of the JT is the incredibly loose feeling pedal. I just ordered a pedal commander to hopefully get back to touch-level-sensitivity. Just a heads up since it is on sale. Dunno if that annoys you as much as it does me.

 

[cafecito]

My Ruby is my DD and I love it. I’m curious why you think it would be so horrible?

Well, just to be clear, I never said it was or would be horrible. I said I have heard *other* people saying that they find Rubicons less road-friendly than other trims, not that they're horrible at all. I personally find the fact that Jeeps are tolerable on the street at all to be pretty damn impressive from an engineering standpoint.

I only said what I said because the OP was asking about a 1) daily driver, with 2) light offroading. No one needs a Rubicon for that use case.

But, since he said his choices were a Max Tow, Rubicon, or Mojave, I voted Mojave simply because of the "unlikely to truly save any money modding a Sport" argument.

Hope that clears things up.

 

[kyoung05]

As a previous sports car guy (Camaro, Stang, Vette), the worst part of the JT is the incredibly loose feeling pedal. I just ordered a pedal commander to hopefully get back to touch-level-sensitivity. Just a heads up since it is on sale. Dunno if that annoys you as much as it does me.

Actually, I am pleasantly surprised at how decent the performance is. Based on everything I had read about the V6, and the manual transmission specifically, I had very low expectations. My wife as a 4Runner Limited with the standard 4.0 V6, and that's about as slow as I'd want a car to be, and I was expecting the Gladiator to be worse. However, that doesn't seem to be the case at all. Sure, it doesn't rocket off the line or effortlessly accelerate past 90mph like some cars, but it definitely doesn't feel slow to me. Maybe it's because it's on the stock wheels/tires, or maybe because with the MT I can rev it out as much as I want, or maybe it's because I've only been running 93 octane. Whatever the case, I am finding it more than adequate.....for now. But, I am definitely going to check out that pedal commander now that you've mentioned it ?

 

[Seal]

Related question, will 35s fit on a stock Sport S with no lift?

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