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[futzin']

I've been lurking on the site for a week or two. A forum is largely worth what its' active members make of it; this forum is outstanding.

Thinking of buying a Gladiator to replace our soulless Venza. Boy, I hate driving that car (except on the highway). We spend a lot of time at a lake in the Daniel Boone Nat'l Forest. The JT would be ideal for running around the area, never mind the everyday goodness of it!

Wife's car is a 2015 Durango Citadel which we absolutely love. My truck is a 2006 Suburban 2500 with 496 (a dinosaur, but I love it!). The Toyota is a third car for us. It gets driven the most, actually. The Durango stays in the garage on rainy days. The 'Burban is in great shape, but a thirsty beast of course. I doubt I'll ever part with it. Hence the third vehicle.

Anyway, I'm envisioning a heavily optioned Sport S (but no safety pkgs for me, thanks) for its' towing advantages (boat, camper, cargo trailer, utility trailer). We sat in a Sport S recently at the local dealer; we both got the warm fuzzies! Brain is telling me to wait until next year (sell the Venza, the Harley, avoid first year bugs) but I have the fever bad!

Again, thanks for a great site with helpful, knowledgeable members.

Plywood.

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[JeepDreams]

Welcome to the Forum!

Now what COLOR Sport S are we talking?

 

[steffen707]

I've been lurking on the site for a week or two. A forum is largely worth what its' active members make of it; this forum is outstanding.

Thinking of buying a Gladiator to replace our soulless Venza. Boy, I hate driving that car (except on the highway). We spend a lot of time at a lake in the Daniel Boone Nat'l Forest. The JT would be ideal for running around the area, never mind the everyday goodness of it!

Wife's car is a 2015 Durango Citadel which we absolutely love. My truck is a 2006 Suburban 2500 with 496 (a dinosaur, but I love it!). The Toyota is a third car for us. It gets driven the most, actually. The Durango stays in the garage on rainy days. The 'Burban is in great shape, but a thirsty beast of course. I doubt I'll ever part with it. Hence the third vehicle.

Anyway, I'm envisioning a heavily optioned Sport S (but no safety pkgs for me, thanks) for its' towing advantages (boat, camper, cargo trailer, utility trailer). We sat in a Sport S recently at the local dealer; we both got the warm fuzzies! Brain is telling me to wait until next year (sell the Venza, the Harley, avoid first year bugs) but I have the fever bad!

Again, thanks for a great site with helpful, knowledgeable members.

Plywood.

Well you got your priorities right with that Plywood comment. When the apocolypse comes, that's how I'll know not to shoot people if they wave a piece of ply in my direction first.....

Anyways, are you planning to lease or get conventional financing on a JT? What do you plan to do with it, tow somthing, drive off road, rock crawl, weekend warrior stuff?

 

[futzin']

Can't decide on color. Since I don't care for all black interiors (and FCA seems to love them), I'd like the tan interior (unless seat covers). My fave color as of now is Gobi, but with tan interior not good. Gator or maybe white at that point, though the Mrs and I have had several white cars recently (two currently). My general preference is for a light color. Then again that red pops! Silver looks good, too. Frankly, I think it looks good in any color, and I've never said that about a vehicle before. I think the flat colors look somehow appropriate on it, though. See, can't decide.

Usage: it will be a daily driver between both the wife and I. Her, on rainy days; me the others. Both, at the lake. It will see a lot of miles. Will tow a few miles of camper (5000 lbs) from storage to camp ground. Also tow a 14' cargo trailer (with light camper conversion), unknown weight (shame on me). It's a tall Homesteader Hercules with A/C unit added. It blocks a lot a wind when towing. It's prolly my main concern with the JT. I frequently haul the thing about 140 miles to my buddy's farm to camp, hunt. Prolly won't ever need to tow my boat with it much, it at all (6000 lbs). Really wish it was available with a V8. I used to have a Dakota with the 318. Great power and torque for towing. My 8.1, long wheel base Suburban has spoiled me on towing.

When at the lake, we run around the area a lot and plan to do more. There are a lot of forest roads and trails to explore. The area is beautiful. Also the Daniel Boone Backwater Byway is not far. And simply running from camp ground to marina and back with an open truck would be fantastic. So, weekend warrior duty I suppose. No serious rock crawling or mudding; not intentionally anyway! I do see a steel bumper and winch in my future, just in case. Been hung up before with no one around, no fun.

Will likely finance about half the purchase price . . .

 

[smlobx]

Welcome from another East Coaster!

Since you have/love the Suburban and won’t part with it I wouldn’t worry about the Gladiator towing larger toys. Driving around on back roads and trails with the top off will definitely bring a smile to your face!

Colors and Plywood is all we talk about!

 

[futzin']

Gotta get to your lake one day. I hear it's beautiful.

Certainly the 'Burban tows with ease. But I'd really like for the JT to be able to handle some of the lighter jobs comfortably. At 70 mph, the Suburban gets 13 mpg highway and 9 towing. Sometimes we drive it 250 miles to/from/around the lake and tow the camper 4 miles. We're committed to keeping the 'Rango clean and low miled (yeah, that's not a word).

Driving around on back roads and trails with the top off will definitely bring a smile to your face!

Absolutely! I've been doing the Jeep salesman's job by picturing that very thing.

 

[jjarrell13us]

Welcome aboard! I'm probably living pretty close to where you are (Huntington, WV) and I'm a little familiar with the Daniel Boone National Forest myself. As most folks will tell you, go test drive one first - Jeeps are bit different from most other vehicles - but that's also what makes a rabid fan base. If you are considering a local dealer, that's cool, but I think a lot of folks on this forum will also point you toward to Travis@TriCityJeep (in Eden, NC) for a better deal than what's being offered locally (I've looked at 5 dealerships within WV, Ohio and KY). Hope to see you out there!

 

[steffen707]

I think gator with tan cloth or a katzkin leather would be best,imo.

Gobi with tan is too tanish for me.

That being said I don't think I can wait for Gator, also I wanted to score a good deal on a lease and from what I hear leases for new models are cheaper close to their launch.

 

[futzin']

As most folks will tell you, go test drive one first - Jeeps are bit different from most other vehicles

I absolutely will, and really looking forward to it too. It's gotta drive better than my 3/4 ton Suburban. It drives and handles like a concrete truck, as I often say. Even the ride of our Venza is unpleasant. Now the Durango, on the other hand . . .

I think gator with tan cloth

This combo is my front runner, yes. But I love the lighter Gobi. We shall see. The Rubi in Gobi with the brown leather would prolly look nice, but that's a different animal than I need and at a higher price point.

The lease deals I've read about do seem good. I've considered it to maybe get into one for two or three years. See if they come out with a stronger engine. I tend to keep my vehicles a long time.

 

[steffen707]

The lease deals I've read about do seem good. I've considered it to maybe get into one for two or three years. See if they come out with a stronger engine. I tend to keep my vehicles a long time.

Yep, that's what I'm doing. Drive for 2-3 years, make sure the JT is for me then buy one with a turbo engine (there are rumors of a 3.0 straight 6 coming out), or a plug in hybrid. We love our plug in hybrid Pacifica.

 

[futzin']

Yeah, I've also heard that engine is coming. I'd rather have the 5.7, but I don't think that's gonna happen. I like the Pentastar in our Durango, but I'd rather have more grunt in a truck, even a midsize. I'll put it to work a little, not just play.

 

[Bgs133]

Sell the Harley????
Shame Shame

 

[futzin']

Sell the Harley????
Shame Shame

VERY difficult decision; I've not yet fully decided. I really think it's one too many toys for me. I have ridden very little in the last two years. I think the JT can scratch a similar itch, unfortunately without the sweet sound of my Vance & Hines Longshots! It's a really nice soft tail, just isn't being used like it should.

 

[Bgs133]

VERY difficult decision; I've not yet fully decided. I really think it's one too many toys for me. I have ridden very little in the last two years. I think the JT can scratch a similar itch, unfortunately without the sweet sound of my Vance & Hines Longshots! It's a really nice soft tail, just isn't being used like it should.

Getting rid of a toy or two is a hard choice. I have 2 in the garage a d hardly get to ride because of my job.
Good luck on whatever you choose.

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