Spicy Pumpkin
Member
- Thread starter
- #16
Thank you for the detailed reply, that does make some sense with the limitations you've had on other ACC systems. I guess that means that I'll need to test the Gladiator's ACC pretty thoroughly on test drives.
You are looking at exactly my use case. We have a High Altitude diesel and we got a set of JLU Rubicon take-off wheels and tires for it. Those go on for winter and off road fun. I put the stock 20ā wheels and āminivanā tires back on in the summer for ride comfort, mileage, and noise.
We had the Rubi wheels and stock 33ā KO2ās on this spring for the Jeep Adventure Academy at the Badlands off-road park. I also added a hitch skid (that was very needed). The Gladiator in stock trim is extremely capable, far more than my skill level. There were people at the Academy with HA and Overland Wranglers with the same 20ā āminivan tiresā ours came with and they did just fine. Our Jeep with the KO2ās was much more sure footed.
The LSD rear/open front of the High Altitude was more than capable. In that particular situation I never felt āunder gunnedā by not having lockers or sway bar disconnect. If you are going to do hard core rock climbing the lockers would be valuable. For 90% Highway plus possible inclement weather/occasional off roading the LSD rear/open front is the way to go.
"Summer setup"
Ready to play in the dirt
Playing in the dirt
After playing in the dirt
The hitch skid
I should have clarified, I won't use a Gladiator for wheeling where lockers are needed because I don't want to use something that expensive.
What you describe as light to medium off-roading could easily be handled by a High Altitude with good AT tires as long as it doesn't get too muddy. If muddy, something more aggressive than an AT tire would still get you through quite a bit.
Here's mine with a 2.5" Clayton lift and 35" Goodyear Ultraterrains on stock wheels with 1.5" wheel spacers:
Thank y'all so much for sharing your experiences with the HA, especially with the photos and video! This is pretty much the extent that I can expect I'd be really off-roading, in addition to navigating bad weather such as heavy rains, snow and ice. It's looking like now I'll have to see if I can get any of the Jeep dealers with High Altitudes with the safety features I'm wanting are willing to budge on the price since the 2023 models are starting to come in (I know two dealers in particular have had their HA's sitting on their lots for at least four months).
Really weird side question for you High Altitude drivers: is there any reasoning behind some of the Jeep Gladiator having white leather seating? I can't seem to find it as an option on the website and I pretty much only see it in High Altitude models.
I did really look into just ordering one from the factory but with current build times and supply chain issues I don't feel good about waiting 4+ months. If I'd moved faster on my financing this might have been a possibility but I'd like to be able to take something home immediately upon payment, and if I'm being totally honest I could live without the ACC and other features on the HA in favor of the more readily available Mojaves and Rubicons.
I've been thinking about this a lot over the weekend. I got to drive both a Mojave and a Rubicon, and surprisingly I preferred the ride experience of the Rubicon over the Mojave; maybe it's ignorant of me to have this position but while I liked the higher stance of the Mojave I wasn't a huge fan of the seemingly larger hood that obscured a bit of the road from my view...in contrast I liked that the Rubicon seemed to sit a bit lower, be slightly easier to see over the hood and that I could "feel" more of the road. The only issue now between those two particular Gladiators is that the Rubicon in question didn't have anywhere near as many extras (Auxiliary Switches, Cold Weather Group, LED Headlights) as the Mojave.
Sponsored
