Mojave Vs Rubicon - help me decide

[wanderer]

Gettin ready to order my new Gladiator. I have always been a jeep RUBICON owner but the way I see it the Gladiator may make more sense. MY primary use would be overlanding. That siad I would still do som epretty rocky trails. NO names and not as tough as the rubicon. The big advantages to the Mojave are better shocks, stronger frame , sits abit higher .
Disadvantages are no front locker. higher t case ratio
Questions, are
witht it sitting higher is that enough for 37s off road or just 35s. Can I still put a winch on the front end without squishing down the suspension.?


What are your thoughts? what am I not seeing, or thinking of?

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[Jrkrocks]

I went down this same thought pattern and ended up with the Rubicon. Although the mojave would be great for going fast in sand or dirt roads the Rubicon is far more versatile. And if i wanted to i could easily spend the extra money (difference between the two) to build it like the mojave and retain the rubicon features that the mojave lacked

 

[49Gramps]

I notice there's no option for a winch bumper on the Mohave, probably because adding 100+ pounds up front will ruin the responsiveness designed into the suspension. As for 37s, I would think you'd need a small lift, so again, there goes any suspension advantage you paid for with the Mohave package. As the tire circumference is about 12% greater with 37s versus 33s, you'd probably also need to regear, so at that point an ARB in the front (and on-board air) might not be a bad idea. With 35s, you'd be gaining an inch of ground clearance and lose just a bit of gearing (circumference being about 6% greater) and some towing capacity.

 

[AJ-MJ]

I wanted front and rear lockers...… EQUALS RUBICON!

 

[whiteglad]

I have owned two Wrangler Rubicons. I did not end up ever needing the lockers for what I did. I did not like the 4:1 transfer case because it is for going very slow. Anything over about 1 mph, the standard 2.72 case is more versatile, particularly with the new 8 speed auto.
The above does not mean that I recommend the Mojave for you; consider what you will most likely want or need. I prefer the Detroit (or Yukon grizzly) locker to the electric locker in the rear, and might get one if they become available.
If you want a winch in the front, I suggest a fairly light front bumper like the Rock Hard aluminum, so you don't have so much weight hanging off the front end.
You might get a better deal on a Rubicon because there are a lot of them at dealerships, while the Mojave will almost certainly be special order and might not be discounted much.

 

[whiteglad]

Also you should realize that the Mojave wheels are unique in that they are offset to the outside more, for shock clearance. That means you won't be using any other stock wheels and will have to choose aftermarket wheels carefully.

 

[WhatExit?]

Not sure if this has been posted in this thread: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...ension-flex-test-rti-ramp-travel-index.30651/

 

[Apollak19]

In my research I found that Mojave is a good choice if you plan on driving fast. I ultimately went with Rubicon bc it has 1,000 more pounds of towing capacity and there is a boat in our future.

 

[johnparjr]

I had this decision 10 days ago and I went with the Mojave just for 2 simple reasons

1. Too many Rubicons around my area

2. I don't rock crawl and have no urge to I like forrest trails and off the beaten path roads

Oh and the orange that's a winner for me too

 

[MoparToYou]

You can add a front locker at some time, pretty easily. It is harder to add the reinforced frame, the properly geared t-case, the stronger front control arms, the stronger front trackbar, the thicker walled tubes on both axles, the cast iron knuckles on the front axle, the softer rate front and rear sway bars, and the hydraulic bump stops. $1600 a pop shocks are pretty nice too. So I got the Mojave.

Then again, who am I kidding? I'm an ex desert racer. My first and my last AMA National desert racing trophies are 30 years apart, so I've spent a lot of time in the desert. I've owned several Jeep Rubicon's before. When Jeep released the Mojave, it was a no brainer for me. And after one test drive, it confirmed I was making the right choice. I snagged the first one our local dealership got.

 

[WhatExit?]

You can add a front locker at some time, pretty easily. It is harder to add the reinforced frame, the properly geared t-case, the stronger front control arms, the stronger front trackbar, the thicker walled tubes on both axles, the cast iron knuckles on the front axle, the softer rate front and rear sway bars, and the hydraulic bump stops. $1600 a pop shocks are pretty nice too. So I got the Mojave.

Then again, who am I kidding? I'm an ex desert racer. My first and my last AMA National desert racing trophies are 30 years apart, so I've spent a lot of time in the desert. I've owned several Jeep Rubicon's before. When Jeep released the Mojave, it was a no brainer for me. And after one test drive, it confirmed I was making the right choice. I snagged the first one our local dealership got.

You're an ex desert racer so you'll likely actually use the Mojave as designed. But the Rubicon can be modified to do anything the Mojave can do and still do trails and rock crawling. And many are modding their Gladiators so upgrading the shocks, reinforcing the axles and steering, etc. can all be done. And having the ability to disconnect the sway bars by pushing a button adds the cherry on top.

My point is most people won't drive the Mojave like you will and they likely wouldn't know the difference between a Mojave and a Rubicon when off roading unless they looked at the hood decals.

 

[Kent5]

You can add a front locker at some time, pretty easily. It is harder to add the reinforced frame, the properly geared t-case, the stronger front control arms, the stronger front trackbar, the thicker walled tubes on both axles, the cast iron knuckles on the front axle, the softer rate front and rear sway bars, and the hydraulic bump stops. $1600 a pop shocks are pretty nice too. So I got the Mojave.

Then again, who am I kidding? I'm an ex desert racer. My first and my last AMA National desert racing trophies are 30 years apart, so I've spent a lot of time in the desert. I've owned several Jeep Rubicon's before. When Jeep released the Mojave, it was a no brainer for me. And after one test drive, it confirmed I was making the right choice. I snagged the first one our local dealership got.

Just FYI -- The Mojave doesn't have thicker tubed axles than the Rubicon -- they are the same. Both the Rubicon and the Mojave have the same, thicker axle tubes than are found on the other JT's*.

*Not sure about the MaxTow package axles available on the Sport -- I know they are Rubicon/Mojave WIDTH, but am not 100% certain that they are the thicker-tubed variety. Probably are, but I don't know for certain.

 

[MoparToYou]

The push button sway bar disconnect on the Rubicon is kind of a pain. They are limited to too low of a speed, or they reconnect. So I end up spending all day with the sway bar connected-disconnected-connected-disconnected-connected again, endlessly, all day long. the push button disconnect on the Rubicon is better than nothing, but I have preferred the Anti-Rock when I have used it before. The 20% softer rate sway bars on the Mojave is a meager OEM attempt at an Anti-Rock. It works well on the Mojave though

 

[MoparToYou]

I read in another thread that the Rubicon rear axle tube was 6.5 mm wall thickness, and the Mojave is 10 mm

 

[Kent5]

I read in another thread that the Rubicon rear axle tube was 6.5 mm wall thickness, and the Mojave is 10 mm

I read that the JL tubes were .282" (7.1mm), and JT axle tubes were .4" (10.1mm). Let me try to find a source.

EDIT: Here are some bits of publicized info regarding JT/JL axle tubes:

Dynatrac says: "JL axle tubes are 2.75" diam x .282" thickness (so JL has 7.1mm thick tube walls, as compared to the JK's 2.5" x .25" or 6.3mm thick tube walls)
--- they also state that they THINK the JLR tubes are the same, but had not yet cut one open to verify.

FourWheeler says: " To better cope with the rigors of pounding through unforgiving terrain at speed, the Mojave front axle required an increase in axle tube wall thickness to 10mm, which is thicker than the Rubicon technically required. So Rubicon can thank Mojave for its 10mm axle tube wall thickness"
--- The above makes it sound like both the Mojave and Rubicon have 10mm axle tube walls. However, the way its worded is imprecise.

FCANorthAmerica says: "The standard heavy-duty Dana 44 front and rear solid axles on the Gladiator also have extra-thick tubes and forgings for additional strength, rigidity and durability."
--- The above makes it sound like ALL Gladiators have thicker axle tube walls than JL Wranglers?

Quadratec says: (regarding JT Axles) "Jeep contracted with Dana utilize the company’s third generation Dana 44 heavy duty front and rear axles throughout all trim levels. With Wrangler, you get these just in the Rubicon edition. "
---This makes it sound like ALL JT's have the thicker axle tube walls, but only the JL Rubicon has the thicker tube walls. (?)

I'm still looking for something more definitive. However, it does sound like some of the confusion revolves around the differences between JL Wrangler and JT Gladiator axle specs.

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