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Long road trips with JT

capercrew02

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If these vehicles are so great for the highway: what's up with the 97mph speed limiter on the Gladiator?

We've owned a 2012 4-door Rubicon, a 2018 2-door Rubicon, and this 2020 Gladiator Mojave. Compared to the 2017 RAM 3500 Cummings we also owned, all of these Jeeps scare the crap out of me at 70mph on the interstate, they feel unstable. I felt safer in the 3500 with a 3.000 pound truck camper on the back than I do in any of these empty on the interstate. In fact, that first 2012 Wrangler couldn't tow a 12' Uhaul trailer at 55mph without the trailer starting to sway all over the road.




And please do read the comments on this video.
perhaps something is off with your steering or suspension setup. Asside from road noise my jtr will happily cruise at 80+ mph for hours. I can drive with one hand loose on the wheel with no fear or issue of being “scared to crap”. The long wheelbase of the jt is a drastic difference than a jk, or a 2 door jl. Its no 1 ton, but its not a standard jeep driving experience either.
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LostWoods

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If these vehicles are so great for the highway: what's up with the 97mph speed limiter on the Gladiator?
Tires. The Rubicon's ATs are only Q rated which is 100mph so regulations state the vehicle can't go faster than that. Since there's no special Rubicon tune for the truck, they all have the same limitation.

Any live axle vehicle will be less stable than an IFS, it's just the nature of the design and the sacrifice to be made. It's going to be even worse the narrower you go and the shorter wheelbase you have so Jeeps just naturally are less stable than almost anything out there.

If you really want to get scared shitless, go drive a TTB Ford on a bumpy freeway. That's about the worst experience I've ever had in a truck.
 

Tapped_Out

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You said:

"perhaps something is off with your steering or suspension setup."
There sure is. The vehicle has the TSB steering gear problem. Already verified by the dealer, and parts on order.
 

Rocksalt

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mine is dd... twice per year I drive from central Illinois to NE MN... 670 miles each way. All good
 

#HuckleberryJeep

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Just wondering how comfortable the JT is for long drives. We generally go from KC back to Texas several times a year... About 10 hr drive. Just wife, myself and my 7yr old daughter. Currently have a 2013 f150 crew cab. Will be getting something new soon and trying to decide between Ram Rebel or Laramie vs JT Rubicon or Mojave.
We’ve taken many long trips. The last one was 19 hours with 2 adults and 2 boys (19 & 13) and we have no complaints. These things are Cadillacs compared to our other Jeeps.
 
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shrinkhead

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Doable. Not as comfy and floaty and quiet as in our 2019 Raptor but with adaptive cruise control and wifi it does well. I say the two issues are mostly noise and the strangely shaped foot well. Not much space there for both in the front
 

JTMana

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surprisingly very comfortable! In my JKU I'd get antsy after the first hour or so. JT is awesome on long drives in my opinion. did a drive from miami to west texas, no complaints.
 

ShadowsPapa

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People are spoiled today. Our grandparents transversed this country in model t’s and model a’s. Before that, covered wagons. A JT would have been a gift from God to them.
No kidding. My kids rode in tractors, combines, my truck, my grain truck, an AMX, a Gremlin, etc. and never a complaint. My first car had no power steering and non-power drum brakes, manual transmission, no AC. In fact, can say the same about my second car and my first pickup. There were no car seats when we were kids. We rode in the back of pickup trucks.
And people are worried about a kid falling out of a Jeep that sits about the same height as my pickups, and lower than my grain trucks that my kids rode in. They got up and down into the biggest 2 wheel drive Case tractor that Case made at the time, and my IH 1086 without issues, at ages 5 and 7.

My boss where I worked after college went to Alaska with his new wife before there was an "Alaska Highway".
 

B-RAD

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Just wondering how comfortable the JT is for long drives. We generally go from KC back to Texas several times a year... About 10 hr drive. Just wife, myself and my 7yr old daughter. Currently have a 2013 f150 crew cab. Will be getting something new soon and trying to decide between Ram Rebel or Laramie vs JT Rubicon or Mojave.
Reading some of these trips I feel like an amateur so far. I picked up my JT on Monday and Wednesday did three hours from Long Island NY to Ocean City NJ and I was shocked at how comfortable it is. Yes the cockpit it not huge but It it blows away any Jeep I have owned including my wife’s Grand Cherokee. I was also surprised that I averaged 18.4 mpg since picking it up and found 6th gear a few times even though I really didn’t need to.
Love that truck
 

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ShadowsPapa

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Reading some of these trips I feel like an amateur so far. I picked up my JT on Monday and Wednesday did three hours from Long Island NY to Ocean City NJ and I was shocked at how comfortable it is. Yes the cockpit it not huge but It it blows away any Jeep I have owned including my wife’s Grand Cherokee. I was also surprised that I averaged 18.4 mpg since picking it up and found 6th gear a few times even though I really didn’t need to.
Love that truck
IMO, Jeep screwed up -although my wife may disagree. I much prefer being in my JT than her GC.
I mean, really? A TRUCK more comfortable than a GRAND Cherokee?
I don't like the seats in the GC and it's not nearly as fun to drive. My WJ (2004 Grand Cherokee) is to me more comfortable than her modern Grand Cherokee - but then I think Chrysler really blew it on the GC design in later years. But my wife loves 'em, so what I can do - keep buying her new ones every 3 years or so.
 

Donkey Fluffer

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Regularly drive 10 hours to Tennessee from Virginia in my JT Rubicon with 2" Mopar lift and 35" KO2 BFG's set at 32 psi. Sometimes I turn around and drive back, doing 20 to 22 hours with only a nap or two, using the reclining heated seats to catch some Z's. I'm 58 years old, and have enough VA documented disabilities to make most people wince and I find it pretty comfortable.
 

j.o.y.ride

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Last week we did this with our 8 year old for baseball and then vacation. He used the trucks hot spot for distance learning Friday, no problems.

6.5 hour drive to Oregon on Friday
4.5 hour drive to CA coast on Monday
5 hour drive back to SF Bay on Thursday

Nobody complained, not even my L5/S1.
 

Sparty

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People are spoiled today. Our grandparents transversed this country in model t’s and model a’s. Before that, covered wagons. A JT would have been a gift from God to them.
Again - it's all relative. Before the Model T and Model A it was buck board or horse and buggy.

....and if you traveled the Oregon Trail, you were screwed:

Jeep Gladiator Long road trips with JT 1603107276439
 

DobaMark

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In the past few months I've made the trip from Pittsburgh, PA to Jasper, GA in three vehicles.
First was my 2018 Ram 1500. Nice drive, plenty of room.
Second was the 2017 Wrangler 2 door. Not as nice as the Ram, but it was an up level trim (Winter Edition) and the seats are very comfortable. Really nice on road, even with BF Goodrich KO2 tires.
Last trip was the 2020 Gladiator Sport. Comfortable, but not fun to drive - in fact exhausting. I blame it entirely on me not pursuing the steering box fix before leaving. Oddly, I took of my BF Goodrich KM2s and put the stock tires and wheels back on. I found the Gladiator was worse with the stock tires. Quieter but steered worse.
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