Introductions & Welcome Thread 👋

[TestMule]

I am Michael, I live in Arizona and the JT is my third Jeep vehicle.

I used to drive full size Ram Cummins powered pickups, so this is a bit of a change as far as pickups go.

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[DanD2]

Dan here from Southern Maine. After many many years of owning Ford trucks, I've downsized to a Gladiator. So far pretty happy with this rig. Many more mods to come, so far I've added some fog/driving lights, tonneau cover, LED headlights and backup lights in the bumper reflector pockets

 

[ZaOne72]

I am super excited about me owning the jeep that has not materialized yet. I know it's coming...I just need help and support as far as educating myself on the vehicle of my dreams. 2023 White with black hard top Willy's model.

 

[AZnative24]

Hello from Tucson! Sold my full size diesel and picked up this Max Tow in June. I have been super impressed with it! Doing a much simpler build this go around; function and simplicity over form. Added a switch module, some lights, rubicon rails, Alucab canopy, and a JK AEV front bumper (direct bolt on, perfect fit.). Planning for a Clayton 1.5” lift, 34s, and returning to the factory wheel (bought it with JK Smoky Mountain 18s)

 

[ArizonaJeeper]

Just got my 6th Jeep, a 2024 Rubi JT Mopar Edition.

With my other Jeeps I ran pretty much every trail in my 5 trips to Moab. I live in Prescott, Arizona so there are Jeep trails everywhere within 5 minutes drive.

I’m retired and my hardcore wheeling days are over. This black beauty will be my grocery getter and leisurely dirt roads ride. No pinstripes on this one. This will be my last Jeep and I intend to put miles on it all over Arizona.

 

[Coldjensens]

Better late than never... this is a place to introduce yourself and/or say hello to other members (new & old)
[

HI;

We may have finally found our Gladiator, but sure could use some information from people with experience with them.

We intend to retire in a few years (or less), and live in an RV with a Gladiator as a Toad. We intend to put a rack on top with two kayaks and E-bikes in the bed. We will use it on dunes, and fire roads in the forests, possibly some mid level off road trails out west, and bringing the Kayaks or bikes to remote cool locations. Also for running around town, short day or weekend trips, etc. Not a lot of freeway driving. We will flat tow it. We intend to stay off freeways while driving the RV (you do not see anything or meet anything while driving on freeways) so it will not often see high speeds even while being towed.

Two years ago (ish) my pickup engine seized. Since I had to get a replacement for my truck, I figured may as well go ahead and buy a gladiator now. I tried to go buy a new Gladiator, but they did not have any, there was a car shortage and many dealers had only 5 - 6 cars in the entire lot (one dealer had one Gladiator in stock but it was not at all what we wanted). We did get to drive a Gladiator. It was uninspring, but we are well aware that street driving is not what they are for. Gladiators are for fun. Topless cruing, off road ect. Ordering one was an 18 month wait, plus you would not get one with all the features working. They would add the chips later when they became available. So I bought another used RAM pickup as a stop gap.

Our spare/winter car (van) died a week ago. We need to replace it because my wife drives a 2004 Thunderbird and needs something she can drive when there is ice/snow on the roads. So we started looking at the possibility of buying our future Gladiator toad now and just use it rarely until we are able to hit the road in our RV .

We found a 2021 Gladiator in the color and model we want (Mojave) with very low miles (16K). It is at a dealer that sells only cars with "Branded" titles. Carfax says it was stolen and recovered with some vandalism damage. Dealer says there was no damage. It was jsut a salvage title becuae it was stolen and recovered. It is considerably cheaper than other Mojaves that I see listed, but the prices seem to be all over the place (from $35K to $44K).

The Gladiator looks essentially brand new, especially the engine. The felt cover over the battery is spotless, not even a flake of grass or dust caught in it. I suspect the engine may have been stolen and the dealer replaced it. I am not sure whether a stoen engine woudl be listed as "vandalism" in the car fax report. Maybe. We are having is inspected by a nearby mechanic.

Sorry for the long background. Here are some questions:

Any suggestions on what we may want to have the mechanic look for other than the obvious things.

Common electronic failures?

Anything that will clue us in to whether the engine was replaced? Any likely problems that may occur if the engine was replaced?

The tops of the doors and the window surrounds are black to match the hard top. It looks nice, but I have never seen this before. Was this an option? Is it a common mod? The thought occurred to me that it may have been rolled and the door tops repaired. However I do not think this would be reported as "Vandalism"

I did find the 2021 Gladiator listed as the worst year Gladiator to buy on a website. This was apparently based on statistics for repairs. It makes sense because it would have been built during 2020 when everything in the USA was in shambles and workers were spread really thin, parts were hard to come by etc. Anyone know whether the 2021 models are generally worse than other years?

I am already getting caught up in the Jeep cult (Just Empty Every Pocket) looking at upgrades. A winch, insulation for the hard top. A soft top. Added armor for some of the undercarriage parts, added exterior lighting. What else might we want to do? I am looking forward to working on a car just to upgrade it, not laying in the gravel in the winter trying to break free a rusty bolt because I need the car on Monday. Obviously I will drive the Jeep a bit before I start buying things to see what items are actually useful.

I ran this Gladiator through my insurance and they came back with $272 per month for full coverage. I have five other cars and our house on this policy. Two of the cars have full coverage (including my truck which is considerably more expensive than a gladiator), and our total for all five cars is $500 per month. Can a gladiator really cost well over half of the cost to insre five other cars? Are they that crazy expensive to insure, or is something wrong with this quote? At that price, we may just self insure for collision.

My wife is the director at a library. The have small rubber ducks that they give away at various municipal events. Whenever I see a Jeep it seems to have dozens of those small rubber ducks on the dash. How many Rubber ducks do we need for proper Jeeping?

Any other suggestions or comments, thngs we may want to know?

Thank you.

 

[ArizonaJeeper]

Welcome! Enjoy your JT and keep the dirty side down!

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

Hi, my name is Kelvin and we have a 2022 Willys Hydro Blue.

It's great to be a part of the forum and contribute!

 

[EverydayGetaway]

Hey everyone. After saving for the down payment since launch (among the other bills that come with the 2 kids I've had since) I finally got my Gladiator on Saturday after being back and forth with dealers working on a price I was happy with for a month.

2020 Rubicon, broke it in on a local camp road yesterday.

 

[LUCIFUR 10]

Good morning everyone. Just got a 2020 Overland edition in "Sting Grey" color. Not my first Jeep product but my first proper Jeep so to speak. Realy liking this rig. Comfortable...more so than the Tahoe it replaced. Lot of convenient features. Reside in W Mass but please don't hold that against me! Well, off to the driveway to start some modifications . Pictures and more posts to follow.

 

[CyberShanks]

Been long-time Jeeper, have 4 at the house currently, wife's '12 JKURubicon, youngest's '13 JKSport, my new '24JTWillys & the old '01TonTJ for when things get real... The Gladiator is primary vehicle for when weather isn't good enough for the Challenger, will occasionally tow and I needed a bed. Traded in my '10 Ram 2500 Cummins for it, and boy was that a decrease in tow capacity.

I'm too much of a Jeep guy at heart though and this rig is welcome in our stable:

 

[chevymitchell]

Good evening, All.

Long time JL Forum Member. Moved over to the JT Forum today as I took advantage of the current pricing craziness for the JT's.

Picked up a 2024 JTRX w/lower half doors ($73,500 MSRP) for $39,950 after trading in a 2017 Crosstrek with 105k miles. Couldn't pass on it. Good time to buy a Gladiator, that's for sure. 30+% off these days.

https://www.chrisnikel.com/new-Brok...ium=referral&utm_campaign=autotrader_listings

Anyway, looking forward to working with you guys. Thank ya.

 

[ScottBeach]

2024 JTMX purchased 3 weels ago to upgrdae feom a 2020 JT sport. Florida is all sand. The Mojave is a better fit. Often in Ocala park playing in the sand

Prior JT

 

[LUCIFUR 10]

My "new to me" 2020

 

[Minty JL]

Welcome to the party

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