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Should I go Rubicon or Mojave?

Glendawg619

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for me it was diesel or bust, so the Rubicon is what i got. If the Mojave came with a diesel I probably would've ended up with that instead as I love the way the mojave hood looks and the shocks are nice as well. not to mention the beefed up frame
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JTmaybeTX

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One other thought - and smart of you to ask these questions before a purchase - have you considered the Sport Max Tow? You have a 3,000 trailer and while the standard tow rating for the Gladiator is 4,000 - 4,500 pounds, you might want to consider the Max Tow which will put you up to 7,650 pounds.

Copied from a Max Tow thread, this is what comes with the Max Tow ($1245) - might be an outdated price...
  • Trac-Lok® Anti-Spin Rear Differential
  • 4.10 Axle Ratio
  • Heavy-Duty Dana 44 Wide Front Axle
  • Heavy-Duty Dana 44 Wide Rear Axle
  • Daytime Running Lamp System
  • 240-Amp Alternator (Unavailable with some configurations)
  • 245/75R17 All-Terrain Tires (Unavailable with some configurations)
  • Class IV Receiver Hitch (Unavailable with some configurations)
  • Heavy-Duty Engine Cooling (Unavailable with some configurations)
  • Trailer Hitch Zoom (Unavailable with some configurations)
Max tow also includes anti-spin rear diff (limited slip).

Still a rugged truck that you can modify, but gives you a little extra towing capacity. Food for thought.
I did consider the Max Tow, which I priced out and compared to the other two, the problem is that it doesn’t have a rear locker, which I’ve needed on more than one occasion.
 

j.o.y.ride

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Yeah, I definitely plan on keeping her pretty much stock for a long while, but I feel like given the different terrains we encounter might give the edge to the Rubicon.
Do you get outside of Texas much or live in the hilly area? Because I would otherwise go Mojave all day in Texas esp if you leave it stock.
 

MojaveCT

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Howdy Truckers,

First off, I want to say thank you to all of you that post on this site; I’ve been lurking for a few weeks now, and the amount of useful information on this forum is astonishing!

I’ve seen a couple of other threads about Mojave vs Rubicon, but I wanted to get a fresh perspective from some of y’all, particularly when addressing my trucking needs.

I’m coming from a 2020 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X with the “updated” power train (3.8l V6, 9sp auto), which I use as my daily driver, primarily; however, it is also our adventuring vehicle to do off and on grid camping with our teardrop trailer, which weighs approx 3,000lbs fully loaded. We head out about once a month, and now that our son is a little bit older, we want to do more off the beaten path camping/overlanding in and out of state.

The Nissan has worked great for towing, daily driving, and light off-roading. With that said, the aftermarket for this truck is absolutely non-existent, and upgrading the suspension, wheels, tires, bumpers, lighting to where I want the truck to be with the available options to me is just not worth the time and money, IMO.

Seeing as I can get all of my money back and then some on the trade, I started researching Gladiators, specifically Ribicons and Mojaves. I’m pretty well versed as to what the differences are, yet I’m still unsure as to which truck is better for the needs I listed above. I think both trucks will provide more capability out of the box than the Frontier, and because of the awesome aftermarket support, I know I will be able to update the truck far into the future if need be. I test drove the Rubicon yesterday, and I was pretty impressed with the whole package. I don’t necessarily think I will need a front locker, but I do need a back locker, as I’ve had to use the one on my Frontier quite a bit. Unfortunately, there are no Mojave’s in my area at the moment, so the test drive will have to wait, but in y’alls opinion, which truck would you go with and why?

I know this is probably a redundant thread, but thank you in advance for kindly providing your input!

If you are looking for ride quality the Mojave is the better choice!
 

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JTmaybeTX

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Do you get outside of Texas much or live in the hilly area? Because I would otherwise go Mojave all day in Texas esp if you leave it stock.
We get out of Texas a few times a year, specifically New Mexico and Colorado, but most of our in state camping is in West Texas (Big Bend area). We are near San Antonio and Austin, so spend most of the driving in city and country roads.
 

j.o.y.ride

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We get out of Texas a few times a year, specifically New Mexico and Colorado, but most of our in state camping is in West Texas (Big Bend area). We are near San Antonio and Austin, so spend most of the driving in city and country roads.
I mean that to me answers your question. You live in the flats and have an occasional rock. What is more important to you, 360 days of more comfort in the Mojave or 5 days of more rock capability in the Rubicon. And it's not like the Mojave won't rock crawl its just the Rubicon is better.
 

NachoRuby

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One other thought - and smart of you to ask these questions before a purchase - have you considered the Sport Max Tow? You have a 3,000 trailer and while the standard tow rating for the Gladiator is 4,000 - 4,500 pounds, you might want to consider the Max Tow which will put you up to 7,650 pounds.
FYI:
Rubicons, Mojaves, and Overlands have a higher tow rating than most of the other (non Max Tow) Gladiators.
Max Tow - 7650
Automatic Rubicon - 7000
Automatic Overland -6000
Automatic Mojave - 6000
Auto Sport (and S) with (not Max) Tow - 6000
Manual Rubicon/Mojave - 4500
Other Manuals:4000
 
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JTmaybeTX

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I mean that to me answers your question. You live in the flats and have an occasional rock. What is more important to you, 360 days of more comfort in the Mojave or 5 days of more rock capability in the Rubicon. And it's not like the Mojave won't rock crawl its just the Rubicon is better.
Great points! Thank you!
 

Old Dogger

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If I was looking to buy, which I am not, It would be the Mojave. Tuned Suspension for high speed Desert, plus rear locker capability in 4H, what a great set up. My Friend, who is a retired Chrysler Sales Excecutive has one, and he says that it is awesome...........
 

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bleda2002

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If I was looking to buy, which I am not, It would be the Mojave. Tuned Suspension for high speed Desert, plus rear locker capability in 4H, what a great set up. My Friend, who is a retired Chrysler Sales Excecutive has one, and he says that it is awesome...........
Rubicon also has 4H locker, just fyi.
 

Challenger85

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Mojave, but that’s just my opinion. I think they look better stock, drive better stock and the shocks are awesome. If you’re going to rock crawl a lot, get the Rubicon. If you’re going to lift it and make the stock shocks expendable, get the Rubicon. Otherwise, the Mojave to me is the better all around truck.
 
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JTmaybeTX

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I know mpg is kind of subjective thing between the two since everyone drives differently, but has anyone noticed if either truck gets better fuel economy stock?
 

CFLgladiator

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Since overlanding is your thing it depends. If you keep most of the weight in the trailer get the Mojave for your purposes. If you also want to load up the bed while towing then get a Rubicon. Seems like most of the guys who get mojaves to overland spend a lot of time trying to deal with squat and keep the stock suspension. It's a great suspension for fast offroading but you can't expect it to get loaded down and act the same. I laugh when I read that some people wish the Mojave had a Diesel. Poor thing would live on it's front bump stops.
 
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JTmaybeTX

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for me it was diesel or bust, so the Rubicon is what i got. If the Mojave came with a diesel I probably would've ended up with that instead as I love the way the mojave hood looks and the shocks are nice as well. not to mention the beefed up frame
I drove the gasser and diesel yesterday, and I was quite impressed with that diesel. You can definitely notice the weight difference.
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