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Thinking of getting a Gladiator. Sport or Mojave?

Yolobaggins

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Use to have a Wrangler but had to trade it in to get a more family vehicle for road trips. Loved the coolness, the ruggness, and everything that came with the Wrangler (outside of road noise on highway, roughness on long trips, etc).

However, my wife now has a 3 row SUV for the family with all the bells and whistles and I am in the market again.

Since I don't need a top of the line truck with all of the coolest technology, I am looking at a Gladiator. I want the bed for utility and towing. This is mainly going to be a utility vehicle, not for road trips, but just there for when we need it.

My question is should I just go Sport S and build how I want it or just straight go to Mojave because I love how it looks and the upgraded suspension, tries, seats, etc.

I love the idea of starting from scratch and building one how I want it but I am unsure if it is worth it ($$$$, warranty, etc)

Anyone have experience or advice on this?

Thanks
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wachuko

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Drive both... That will help you decide...

Me? Wife did not wanted me to get a Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator... We managed to go of a test drive after dropping off another car for service... I kid you not, before the test drive, she was like "you know I do not like how Jeeps ride...plus I had a bad experience in one... wah wah wah wah..." We went to test drive a Jeep JLU Rubicon and the Gladiator (at the time, I did not have one on mind... was going to drive a Rubicon Gladiator as well)....

We saw the gray Mojave and I was sold on looks... but did not say anything... We test drove a green Gladiator Mojave first, drove for a few miles then I stopped and we switched places...

Jeep Gladiator Thinking of getting a Gladiator. Sport or Mojave? IMG_9092 (1)


Ride quality was so good that it was my wife that told me "Honey, you need to buy this Jeep. It is nothing like I remembered..."

I did not hesitate... we got to the dealer and told the sales guy, give me the gray one right now! 🤣

Jeep Gladiator Thinking of getting a Gladiator. Sport or Mojave? C0C50BA3-DCB2-400A-8EC6-924F0DBB2E64

Jeep Gladiator Thinking of getting a Gladiator. Sport or Mojave? A40D9802-14EC-475D-9BB1-0267ED351036


In my case, I do not plan to make any changes to suspension and whatnot... Only will install pizza cutter tires when the time comes... that is it.

So yeah... drive both and then decide.
 

Donny WA

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I bought a Mojave in ‘21 and love it. Slowly I have been upgrading all the things that make it a Mojave to much better aftermarket parts. If I had to go it over again, I probably would just get a max tow and take the money I saved making it how I want it. Not as cool but would have saved me a lot of money. I guess it boils down to how much truck you want. If a stock Mojave is your goal then buy that. If you want a truck with capabilities greater than what the Mojave offers the upgrading a Max Tow might work well for you.
 

jay21mojave

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You noted Towing,, what is the weight and check the specs on each.. Max Tow =Yes.. Mojave, as you have read above, is reported to have the best hwy ride of all the JLsJTs.. I agree.. What Upgrades and use beyond tow do you plan or do? In the end.. It's your $$ GWYW ..(get what you want).
 

JRobes

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As others mentioned, if it being a "truck" is important take a look at the payload/towing tables as they actually vary quite a bit between trims. If you're looking to eek out every bit of legal payload/towing, max tow is the best bet but it may ride a bit harsher due to the purpose built suspensions.

Edit: Here's a table, but I actually think it may be minorly outdated as some of the stats increased on 2023 models. But this gives you an idea of how much the capacities change trim to trim. The 2023 Sport/Sport S max tow has 1710 lb payload and 7700 lb towing capacity.

Jeep Gladiator Thinking of getting a Gladiator. Sport or Mojave? Capture.PNG
 
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Reo Cook

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For me it was about personality and equipment. I bought a max tow for the attributes it has, but plan to change most everything on the suspension as well as interior. I like to customize and it almost feels sac religious to rip apart a Mojave or Rubicon (and share the same sentiment for Raptors, ZR2s, etc). You pay extra from the factory just to rip it out and upgrade. And while I do like leather having the ability to pick my leather with Katzkin is way more fun than black or tan
 

Puch

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Use to have a Wrangler but had to trade it in to get a more family vehicle for road trips. Loved the coolness, the ruggness, and everything that came with the Wrangler (outside of road noise on highway, roughness on long trips, etc).

However, my wife now has a 3 row SUV for the family with all the bells and whistles and I am in the market again.

Since I don't need a top of the line truck with all of the coolest technology, I am looking at a Gladiator. I want the bed for utility and towing. This is mainly going to be a utility vehicle, not for road trips, but just there for when we need it.

My question is should I just go Sport S and build how I want it or just straight go to Mojave because I love how it looks and the upgraded suspension, tries, seats, etc.

I love the idea of starting from scratch and building one how I want it but I am unsure if it is worth it ($$$$, warranty, etc)

Anyone have experience or advice on this?

Thanks
I purchased my first jeep with the same thinking. For me it was base JT or Rubicon.
I ended up with the SportS Max tow. Now I wish I had purchased the Rubi.
Dont get me wrong, I like the way my Sport looks and I had a blast with the build. However, if I do the math, I’m not sure it was worth it.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
Ended up wanting disconnect for front so I purchased Rock Jock sway bars for front and back. Spent est $2500+. Probably would have saved $1200 because the Rubi has front disconnect.

Ended up wanting at least one locker. Spent est $1700+ for front locker with truss front axle. Would have saved all $1700 because the Rubi has lockers front and back and I probably wouldn’t have had the truss installed.

Ended up wanting armor for the underneath. Sport has none. Spent est $2000+. Probably would have saved all of that because the Rubi has some armor already.

Everything else that I purchased would have been the same for the Rubi.

So basically I spent about $4900 (that’s being very conservative) in upgrades that I would not have spent on Rubicon upgrades.

I guess it’s good to have an idea what you’re planning on doing and carefully do the math. And of course you have to consider what the price difference is for the two models. Problem for me was that it was my first jeep and other than a lift, I had no idea where I was going with the build.
 
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Yolobaggins

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Thanks for all the responses so far!

So I guess to better say what I am going to be doing with it, it will basically be my toy. Haul stuff to and from the store, dump and tow smaller things (jet skiis). Utility as my wife has the family vehicle

No major offroading. So all my upgrades would be quality of life (interior) and looks (lift with shocks, bigger tires, fenders, bumper, etc).

Pretty much, its going to be my fun vehicle but not sure if "building" it is more fun than just to get it from the factory with warranty, etc
 

glassjawkid32

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If you're only trying to tow and haul I'd go max tow. Only go mojave if you know you absolutely aren't going to touch the wheels and suspension EVER. I have a max tow with "incomplete" icon stage 2 and 35 mts and its comfy as all shit imo. Even on 14 hour drives. Moral of the story though, I wouldn't go mojave if just for tires and suspension. I'd go sport s and do that yourself with better parts.
 

redfish

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I maybe in the minority but I wanted as few electrical things as i could get , no power windows no power locks etc. Wanted it as bare as i could get it. So got a Sport with two splurges limited slip and auto
 

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azmojave

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I bought the Mojave because it’s already set up how I want and need it. If you plan on modifying the suspension and everything else, you may as well save money up front and get a Sport or Willys.
 

THE SANDALORIAN

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The suspension is one of the major selling points of the Mojave. If you are planning a lift with shocks, you might be better off going with a Sport S Max Tow.
 

Rburns1776

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I made a really crappy youtube video about this exact topic if you can bear to sit through it. I compare the Sport S, Rubicon, and Mojave and talk about how I ultimately made my decision, as well as a couple options I couldnt live without

 

Gvsukids

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Sport has none. Spent est $2000+. Probably would have saved all of that because the Rubi has some armor already.
Only armor different on the Rubicon than the Sport is the front one under the metal bumper.
 

JRobes

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Only armor different on the Rubicon than the Sport is the front one under the metal bumper.
He may have meant the Rubicon rock rails too, though you're spot on as far as the belly skids.
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