They had the capability, they made it better, stronger, faster...

[RacerX00]

The max tow is just fine without any mods... seriously. I’ve owned a lot of Jeeps and driven a lot of off road miles. I am surprised at how capable the max tow is with the 4:10’s and the 8 speed auto. I’ve averaged 21 mpg on long trips and the thing is pretty quick with the little tires .

My jeep before this one was a JK Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock manual on 35’sl. The rear locker broke twice with a few mild, really mild, off road trips(under warranty thankfully).

At 40 with young kids 99.9% of your driving will probably be on the road. Drive it and enjoy, top down doors off. There isn’t another modern vehicle like it!

Get the auto, I love a manual but this German 8 speed auto is magic with the V6.

Yeah that's not entirely my scenario, I drive clay packed dirt roads regularly in the north east US. Nothing you wouldn't drive on with say my current VW GTI, you just obviously drive differently. Mainly talking about a 20,000 acre are and I'll be able to do roads I couldn't do before but nothing, anything coming close to approaching say, needing special lockers.

Things I "need" are covered on almost any truly off-road capable vehicle.

Ground clearance​

Traction at reasonable (non-sport) speeds​

Durability​

​

So I don't need a Rubicon for what it will afford me ability-wise. But is it still better for me? More durable in the situations I'll give it off-road? Again, I'm not an enthusiast but I'm also not just a guy looking for a cool car (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Edit: Let me put it this way, 98% of the time I drove on these roads as someone who serviced the area it was in whatever Ford van 1WD that was on its last leg probably third rotation in a fleet. I wasn't limited in what I could do because I didn't care about what happened to the van. I'd like to do those same roads without causing damage to a car I care about :D

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[XJADDICTION]

Yeah that's not entirely my scenario, I drive clay packed dirt roads regularly in the north east US. Nothing you wouldn't drive on with say my current VW GTI, you just obviously drive differently. Mainly talking about a 20,000 acre are and I'll be able to do roads I couldn't do before but nothing, anything coming close to approaching say, needing special lockers.

Things I "need" are covered on almost any truly off-road capable vehicle.

Ground clearance​

Traction at reasonable (non-sport) speeds​

Durability​

​

So I don't need a Rubicon for what it will afford me ability-wise. But is it still better for me? More durable in the situations I'll give it off-road? Again, I'm not an enthusiast but I'm also not just a guy looking for a cool car (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Edit: Let me put it this way, 98% of the time I drove on these roads as someone who serviced the area it was in whatever Ford van 1WD that was on its last leg probably third rotation in a fleet. I wasn't limited in what I could do because I didn't care about what happened to the van. I'd like to do those same roads without causing damage to a car I care about :D

​

The Rubicon isn’t any more durable than the Sport or the Overland. The Rubicon is more mechanically complex to a degree because of the electric lockers and electric swaybar disconnect. This IMOP makes the Rubicon less durable and more expensive to maintain.

The Jeep is a pretty durable platform with solid axles and a manual transfer case.

If you want to split the difference go with the Max Tow. Same axles and gears as the Rubicon without the swaybar disconnect and lockers.

 

[Gobi-Wan Kenobi]

Yeah that's not entirely my scenario, I drive clay packed dirt roads regularly in the north east US. Nothing you wouldn't drive on with say my current VW GTI, you just obviously drive differently. Mainly talking about a 20,000 acre are and I'll be able to do roads I couldn't do before but nothing, anything coming close to approaching say, needing special lockers.

Things I "need" are covered on almost any truly off-road capable vehicle.

Ground clearance​

Traction at reasonable (non-sport) speeds​

Durability​

​

So I don't need a Rubicon for what it will afford me ability-wise. But is it still better for me? More durable in the situations I'll give it off-road? Again, I'm not an enthusiast but I'm also not just a guy looking for a cool car (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Edit: Let me put it this way, 98% of the time I drove on these roads as someone who serviced the area it was in whatever Ford van 1WD that was on its last leg probably third rotation in a fleet. I wasn't limited in what I could do because I didn't care about what happened to the van. I'd like to do those same roads without causing damage to a car I care about :D

​

If you don't need lockers, sway bar disconnects, and skid plates then your best bet is to get a Sport with max tow instead of a Rubicon. Sport with max tow comes with the same axles as the Rubicon just without the lockers, and has slightly larger towing capacity and noticeably larger hauling capacity due to the lower weight from the lack of skid plates. Sport with max tow comes with the same beefed up alternator, cooling, and brakes as the Rubicon also.

 

[Gvsukids]

If you don't need lockers, sway bar disconnects, and skid plates then your best bet is to get a Sport with max tow instead of a Rubicon. Sport with max tow comes with the same axles as the Rubicon just without the lockers, and has slightly larger towing capacity and noticeably larger hauling capacity due to the lower weight from the lack of skid plates. Sport with max tow comes with the same beefed up alternator, cooling, and brakes as the Rubicon also.

There are skid plates on the max tow, just minimal compared to Rubicon.

 

[exfil offroad]

Sport and sink money into it if you do not anticipate parting with the rig. I don't see what in the world would cost $15k in upgrades.

Lockers: $2500
Lift: $3k

Now, I don't know if you'd want the transfer case specific to the rubicon or mojave or how much that would cost, or the cost of an electronic swaybar disconnect.

That's a cheap lift.. unless your not factoring in labor, a lot of people aren't comfortable doing their own lift. I will say 15 K is about right and that will vary little labor. Lift 3k without labor, re-gear 2K with labor, tires and wheels 4k, led upgrades for fog and headlights likely with a sport add another 1k. Winch ready bumper 600 to 1200, winch anywhere from 400-1300, on board air 300, cold air intake 600, taser 300. Thats about 13 K without going overboard on some things, and no lockers, bed rack or labor for anything besides re-gear.

 

[exfil offroad]

If you don't need lockers, sway bar disconnects, and skid plates then your best bet is to get a Sport with max tow instead of a Rubicon. Sport with max tow comes with the same axles as the Rubicon just without the lockers, and has slightly larger towing capacity and noticeably larger hauling capacity due to the lower weight from the lack of skid plates. Sport with max tow comes with the same beefed up alternator, cooling, and brakes as the Rubicon also.

buy a willys (they come with interior upgrades such as aux buttons, 8 inch screen, and heated seats and steering wheel) and smash out them upgrades, rubicon parts are really not that good of a value actually. For example the shocks alone cost the factory like 50 bucks each.

 

[PyrPatriot]

That's a cheap lift.. unless your not factoring in labor, a lot of people aren't comfortable doing their own lift. I will say 15 K is about right and that will very little labor. Lift 3k without labor, re-gear 2K with labor, tires and wheels 4k, led upgrades for fog and headlights likely with a sport add another 1k. Winch ready bumper 600 to 1200, winch anywhere from 400-1300, on board air 300, cold air intake 600, taser 300. Thats about 13 K without going overboard on some things, and no lockers, bed rack or labor for anything besides re-gear.

He was comparing the Sport to the Rubicon. At the time, Rubicon did not come with need for a re-gear, nor did it come with $4k tires and wheels, winch, taser, on board air, etc. At the time, a Rubicon was about $10-15k more than a Sport with Max Tow

 

[exfil offroad]

He was comparing the Sport to the Rubicon. At the time, Rubicon did not come with need for a re-gear, nor did it come with $4k tires and wheels, winch, taser, on board air, etc. At the time, a Rubicon was about $10-15k more than a Sport with Max Tow

am i missing something? I responded to him saying he had no idea what could cost that much in upgrades. What are you referring to exactly?

 

[Trippin01]

If its an only vehicle for you, or DD, buy it the way you want it. If its a part time vehicle, for recreation, buy simple as you can, like a Max Tow, to Build up. This is what I did. Have a back up or other vehicle for a DD, for the times upgrades are being installed or dialed in, by you or your favorite shop. This has been a life/job saver for me. JMO.

 

[PyrPatriot]

am i missing something? I responded to him saying he had no idea what could cost that much in upgrades. What are you referring to exactly?

You were responding to me. My post was saying I dont know what would cost so much in upgrades to get to the level of a Rubicon. The original post was a choice between a Rubicon and a Sport with upgrades to get to a Rubicon. I saw it that way anyway. As such, I failed to see what would cost so much to make a Sport with Max Tow package into a Rubicon. Take off suspension and tires from a Rubicon plus lockers would not amount to $10-15k. Even a Mopar lift and new tires with lockers wouldnt amount to the price difference between a Sport and Rubicon

 

[brianinca]

An Atlas transfer case won't be cheap and would need to be electronically integrated. Steep transfer cases are costly, full stop.

As for a $10K difference to a Max Tow vs a Rubicon, mid-2020 prices didn't reflect that with other equipment options being the same, let alone $15K. If you were spending $30K on built D60's and the other things to run 40's, then the Rubicon package gets you NOTHING you won't throw away, I totally agree!

The analogy would be the dealership that was selling 700 HP Mustangs for $40K with a warranty - same as a GT 500 on some metrics! BUT, definitely NOT a GT 500 in the whole.

A factory warranty period has value as well.

You were responding to me. My post was saying I dont know what would cost so much in upgrades to get to the level of a Rubicon. The original post was a choice between a Rubicon and a Sport with upgrades to get to a Rubicon. I saw it that way anyway. As such, I failed to see what would cost so much to make a Sport with Max Tow package into a Rubicon. Take off suspension and tires from a Rubicon plus lockers would not amount to $10-15k. Even a Mopar lift and new tires with lockers wouldnt amount to the price difference between a Sport and Rubicon

 

[exfil offroad]

You were responding to me. My post was saying I dont know what would cost so much in upgrades to get to the level of a Rubicon. The original post was a choice between a Rubicon and a Sport with upgrades to get to a Rubicon. I saw it that way anyway. As such, I failed to see what would cost so much to make a Sport with Max Tow package into a Rubicon. Take off suspension and tires from a Rubicon plus lockers would not amount to $10-15k. Even a Mopar lift and new tires with lockers wouldnt amount to the price difference between a Sport and Rubicon

got it, thought you were just talking general upgrades, but reasonably speaking I think most people should research and upgrade over buying factory.

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