Mojave vs Rubicon On-Road Ride Quality

[JarHeadLV]

I drove both on the street. I liked the Mohave a little better. I ordered a Mohave specifically because I didnt want to rock crawl, but I wanted to run out in the desert. (former Marine, I like to shoot alot) Drive offroad and it's NIGHT and DAY - the Mohave soaks up terrain like the Rubicon could only dream of doing. Hence Terraflex's Gladiator video where "Dennis" from Terraflex drives both and reports the same as I have mentioned.

Ultimately it depends on how you want to use your Jeep. If you're truely concerned about ride quality, I would buy a cheaper, lower end Gladiator and put that money into a better suspension system exactly how you want it. If you really wanted to rock crawl....lets face it, go buy a Wrangler!

My Gladiator is my 1st Jeep ever, I've always had 1 ton diesel trucks. What I have noticed is that tire pressure can make a HUGE difference on how the truck rides. When I first had the 37's put on my truck they set them at 38psi.....later (from learning here on this website) It was a littel "bouncy" on the road, so I lowered them to 32 psi and what a difference!!

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[Rahkmalla]

the generally held opinion is the mojave handles on-road duties better than the rubicon. it is not a universally held opinion, but it does happen to be one i agree with.

 

[Pioneer7]

I never test drove a Rubicon as I wasn't interested in that trim... But my Mojave rides great on the cruddy Waco roads and I35. No regerts!

 

[jac04]

I test drove both a Rubicon and Mojave on the same loop of crappy CT roads, and I much preferred the Mojave. I love how the Mojave just soaks up all the crazy potholes and bridge construction bumps here in New England, even when lightly loaded.

 

[Tank43]

Did you by chance compare the tire pressures of the Mojave vs Rubi? I test drove a rubicon and it nearly turned me off gladiators. It felt like a pogo stick. I did not test the tire pressure of the demo model, but a friend who bought another gladiator from this same dealer had his tires set to 44psi when he picked it up. So possible the rubi tires were overfilled as well.
If I was trying to choose the model based on ride quality, I’d bring my trusted tire gauge with the bleed valve and be sure to set them both to 36, or whatever is on their door stickers.

I second this. Same on my test drive in a Rubi. I was almost turned away from the Gladi. They didn't have a Moji to compare. I wasn't sure I'd like the ride, but the tire pressure on my ordered Rubi was 36/37 when I picked it up and I love the way it feels.

 

[Gvsukids]

Is the ride quality of the Mojave really all that much better than the Rubicon on the road (both completely stock)? I've test driven both but it's not like I have railroad tracks to blast over or a field of potholes to traverse to really test out a suspension, much less any jumps to fly over. For the around town driving I did, I came away preferring the Rubicon. The Mojave felt kind of floaty and rocked side to side more. Am I crazy? Is the Rubicon so scary bad on railroad tracks, bridges, potholes, and other irregularities while a Mojave will just glide right over them?

Further reading, https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/mojave-vs-rubicon.37518/

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

Like pretty much everyone else…my JTR tires were inflated to 42 PSI when I took delivery. If you just jumped in and ran it down the road, you’d be like “damn, this REALLY rides like shit.”

Don’t get me wrong…I don’t think it rides great (I like it…it’s what I wanted), but it rides MUCH better around 36 PSI.

As folks have said…you’d really need to bring a pressure gauge with you and air down a bit to REALLY get a sense of how either of them ride. I doubt very much that many folks do that. I can only imagine how many folks drove a single JT at 42 PSI, said “this rides like shit,” and went off and bought something else.

 

[Badunit]

I ended up with a Rubicon. 36 psi is perfect for the front, slightly high for the back (when empty) according to the chalk test.

The Mojave handled bumps and bridge abutments and all that stuff more smoothly but I still felt like it was too floaty/soft feeling everywhere else. That and the $4500 cost of shocks. $1500/ea (x2) for the fronts and $1500/pair for the rear from what I see. Expensive if one goes bad out of warranty.

 

[betsy]

1997 TJ here.

I suppose 1" additional front upward travel and $3,000 shocks make a difference. They better. But I question in the future what I would do if a shock went bad or they wore out (Fox Racing apparently says good for 50K road miles from what I have read here, which sounds ridiculously low). $3000 for a full replacement set or $1500 for front or rear is pricy versus normal shocks. I know they can be rebuilt, but the wait (and down time) may be long and who knows if these models will still be serviced in the future.

I am wondering why the Mojave is not more expensive than the Rubicon. $3K shocks, hydraulic bump stops, and some beefed up frame/suspension parts sounds like more money than a factory front locker, sway bar disconnect, and steel rear bumper. Everything else is a kind of a wash with regards to price.

I know I am overthinking this but I tend to hold onto vehicles for a lot of years so I consider everything.

Check your prices again, I was at my jeep dealer the other day and one of our local body shop guys came in to pick up some parts and needed a price on a Mojave front shock for an estimate, even the parts guy was shocked, $2200 each, we didn’t price the rears , I haven’t checked yet, but I wonder if being FOX if they are rebuildable, or if they are a one time deal because they are a mopar part .

 

[Badunit]

Yes, I was wrong about the $3,000 for all four. It is more like $4500 (roughly) if purchased online from a Mopar OEM parts place. Buying directly at the dealer parts counter will be higher. I believe they are rebuildable but I was reading that the wait time for a rebuild is counted in months. Hopefully they will last the lifetime of the vehicle, if spent mostly on the road versus flying down desert trails at high speeds.

I feel if you picked up a Mojave and dropped it straight down back on the ground, both ends would compress and rebound the same, like a well tuned suspension should. And no hard bottoming out. Doubtful with a Rubicon. The Mojave is a sweet ride and I can see why people want them. But I liked a Rubicon more.

 

[bigcanoe]

Aren't the seats "better" in the Mojave too? More bolstering and padding? Might improve the ride and handling feel.

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