Thinking of trading my Sport for a Rubicon

[Lunentucker]

The only real answer is to get a Mojave.

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[WILDHOBO]

If your goal is to try and tackle tough obstacles and generally do 4 wheel drivey stuff then the lockers sound like the way to go. Personally I get attached to vehicles and if that time comes I'd just add the axles with lockers to my truck. I just couldn't trade it for another JT. Your truck is beautiful. I couldn't see parting with it. But since I use my truck to just explore and pull people out of ditches in snowstorms I probably won't ever need lockers. Doesn't mean I might not still get them though. ??

The big difference that can’t be affordably added is the transfer case. 4:1 low range changes things DRAMATICALLY.

 

[Vanishing Point]

The big difference that can’t be affordably added is the transfer case. 4:1 low range changes things DRAMATICALLY.

I think this is true if you rock crawl or if you go up steep slopes. I don't do the first and I rarely do the second. Most of my getting stuck is sand, gravel, snow or mud. Once you are spinning the tires I'm not sure that more torque is the answer. Better applied torque might be. Better traction certainly is.

I used to have an FJ40 with a 350 Chevy, 6:1 granny gear, 2:1 transfer case and 4.11:1 differentials. No doubt there are times when getting a 49:1 gear reduction was useful. Just idling that truck would creep forward and creep over things very easily. Like rocks, fallen trees, creek banks, etc. All while just barely moving forward. Good truck but not needed for what I do these days.

 

[whiteglad]

The only real answer is to get a Mojave.

I agree! The Mojave has lots of significant upgrades in strength and capability. Your JT may have significantly better trade-in as it sits vs. stock; find a good dealer and check out the value of your upgrades. In my case, I left most stuff on the 2020 JT but kept the Rock Hard rails which now cost $900 plus shipping.
Over several decades I have found that when I get the "new vehicle" disease, the only cure is to buy one. Just do your research first and buy the right one for your use.
The stock traction control helps quite a bit and you may never need more than a rear locker. The front locker is of limited utility because you can't steer with the front locked.

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

My two cents (coming from a JTR owner that’s happy with it)…your rig is paid off. Add lockers and new new axles and call it a day.

Hell…even if you’re dead set on the 4:1 t-case, you can probably get one from a junk yard and still come out ahead.

If you want a JTR though…go get one. Just keep in mind that as you’re tinkering inclined…it’s not going to be a one and done purchase. It’s just going to be starting out with another blank canvas (though I’m assuming you can transfer most of your aftermarket parts over to the JTR).

 

[cafecito]

This isn't going to be a popular opinion in this group, but if you REALLY want to get into doing the most difficult trails out there, a Gladiator is never going to be your best choice. The long wheel base and big booty are problems that you will always have to work around. If I were in your shoes, I'd be looking at a Wrangler.

But, to your original question, this isn't really a fair question to ask. Your decisions are basically the financially responsible choice, or the fun choice. Jeeps are not cheap, and trying to justify something you want with financial reasons is just going to send you into a spiral (ask me about the 392 I have on order).

No one was ever happy in the long run about saving money. It's hard to be disciplined and responsible.

 

[Dryfly24]

You are basically where I was when I bought my Rubicon. I was sitting on a brand new Toyota Tacoma that had been paid off. I had already spent thousands on mods so I could wheel it and there was nothing wrong it whatsoever - but it didn’t scratch that itch. I traded it in on my JT Rubicon and never looked back.

 

[Firestarter]

Many will say, and have said, just add lockers. I say drive a rubicon with the 4:1 transfer case and off road plus. Then make your decision. It’s truly night and day on rocks. Plus you can likely trade your sport and get much closer to the new one than the cost of lockers and gears. And to address the “lockers aren’t necessary” viewpoint, I’ve personally been on several obstacles where they absolutely were. Meaning the rigs without them didn’t make it up those obstacles. It doesn’t happen often, but those obstacles exist without question. Your Jeep though. And its a very nice one.

very true, just walked up an obstacle 4 lane cruisers and a 4Runner were stuck diggin in on with their rear lockers.

sliding off obstacles trying to get traction sucks, and the 4:1 low range is amazing. So low it pisses people off waiting for me to crawl obstacles and just does it with ease.

 

[WILDHOBO]

very true, just walked up an obstacle 4 lane cruisers and a 4Runner were stuck diggin in on with their rear lockers.

sliding off obstacles trying to get traction sucks, and the 4:1 low range is amazing. So low it pisses people off waiting for me to crawl obstacles and just does it with ease.

Exactly. Or it pisses people off when terrible obstacles are so accessible. I let a friend of mine who’d never done any off road driving drive poison spider and top of the world while I spotted. He quickly realized that he could just point it in a direction and let it crawl. We got in a spot on the Sunday where we were a bit low on gas. My fault. I didn’t account for the distance to the trailhead. I did fill up before heading out that morning, but needed a few spare gallons. Whoops. So we turned off off-road plus to lower the rpm’s. Only then did I truly realize the difference off-road plus makes for throttle control. Taking a Jeep with a 96-1 crawl ratio and just disabling off road plus made it a way different vehicle. Way less self-crawling or descent control. We still left it off so we could conserve some gas.

 

[Firestarter]

Exactly. Or it pisses people off when terrible obstacles are so accessible. I let a friend of mine who’d never done any off road driving drive poison spider and top of the world while I spotted. He quickly realized that he could just point it in a direction and let it crawl. We got in a spot on the Sunday where we were a bit low on gas. My fault. I didn’t account for the distance to the trailhead. I did fill up before heading out that morning, but needed a few spare gallons. Whoops. So we turned off off-road plus to lower the rpm’s. Only then did I truly realize the difference off-road plus makes for throttle control. Taking a Jeep with a 96-1 crawl ratio and just disabling off road plus made it a way different vehicle. Way less self-crawling or descent control. We still left it off so we could conserve some gas.

yeah off road plus is amazing, though it can be a bit weird transitioning from high idle to a little brake and back.
I’ve used it the ghost ride it up some obstacles out with some crossovers that didn’t have the torque to full throttle up. Honestly didn’t realize it wasn’t on sports

for me, the 4:1 allows me to keep the 4.10 rear end with 35s and still have excellent control off road. I still have 8th on the freeway.

like you said, it basically auto crawls up stuff.

 

[WILDHOBO]

yeah off road plus is amazing, though it can be a bit weird transitioning from high idle to a little brake and back.
I’ve used it the ghost ride it up some obstacles out with some crossovers that didn’t have the torque to full throttle up. Honestly didn’t realize it wasn’t on sports

for me, the 4:1 allows me to keep the 4.10 rear end with 35s and still have excellent control off road. I still have 8th on the freeway.

like you said, it basically auto crawls up stuff.

It might be on Mohaves. I don’t remember. But it’s not on any other trim.

 

[Zero_Accel]

You might be looking at this upside down...What exactly is your Sport (preventing, or making it difficult) for you to do out in the "wild" that would require you to get a Rubicon???

Hmm, it's hard to say, at the moment, I haven't 'needed' the things that the Rubicon offers over the Sport, I've gotten by on the same trail that I've been on with other Rubicon JT's. Some things have been a bit more difficult, but I haven't been stopped in my tracks. Usually a different line, a bypass, and on one occasion my winch were enough to get me through. BUT, I would like to be able try out some of the harder stuff, I feel like I'm slowly creeping towards the limit of what the truck can handle.

The lockers and 4:1 are my main reasons I'm looking at the Rubicons now. I'm not 100% on board with adding lockers to my axles when the Rubicon already has them built in with stronger housings to boot. There's the other route of putting in drop in options from Curie, Teraflex, etc. which would come with some nice upgrades like stronger knuckles and housings, but I'm keeping those on the bench for now. And I would still have to source/build a new tranfer case, and I'm not on board with dropping the cash for something like an Atlas. Off-road plus is another thing that I wouldn't be able to add.

Then there would be other things that would come with the Rubicon upgrade, mostly the nicer interior trim, leather, a 8.4 radio upgrade thrown in, and the hood. But those would be a bonus if I went trade in route.

One last thing, insurance! It's a lot easier to explain to my agent that I would like to insure a Rubicon JT vs a Sport JT with custom axles, driveline, etc.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Hmm, it's hard to say, at the moment, I haven't 'needed' the things that the Rubicon offers over the Sport, I've gotten by on the same trail that I've been on with other Rubicon JT's. Some things have been a bit more difficult, but I haven't been stopped in my tracks. Usually a different line, a bypass, and on one occasion my winch were enough to get me through. BUT, I would like to be able try out some of the harder stuff, I feel like I'm slowly creeping towards the limit of what the truck can handle.

The lockers and 4:1 are my main reasons I'm looking at the Rubicons now. I'm not 100% on board with adding lockers to my axles when the Rubicon already has them built in with stronger housings to boot. There's the other route of putting in drop in options from Curie, Teraflex, etc. which would come with some nice upgrades like stronger knuckles and housings, but I'm keeping those on the bench for now. And I would still have to source/build a new tranfer case, and I'm not on board with dropping the cash for something like an Atlas. Off-road plus is another thing that I wouldn't be able to add.

Then there would be other things that would come with the Rubicon upgrade, mostly the nicer interior trim, leather, a 8.4 radio upgrade thrown in, and the hood. But those would be a bonus if I went trade in route.

One last thing, insurance! It's a lot easier to explain to my agent that I would like to insure a Rubicon JT vs a Sport JT with custom axles, driveline, etc.

You’re thinking clearly I think. There’s a difference between making it through, and succeeding at tough lines without bypasses. If you’re after that, which happened to me, you’re on the right track.

 

[Pedal Metal]

Sometimes there’s a clear choice and sometimes it’s shades of grey. Myself, I like to run the numbers a couple times and a couple ways whenever I make a decision. So, I’d strongly suggest checking / searching sales, auction sales (MMR) and buying opportunities in your area from multiple sources to help build your best case either way.

As an additional consideration, in as much as your car is your car, few people keep things for life and even then it’ll be passed on and typically eventually sold, totaled or scrapped. It’s not that I’m cold hearted as I am sentimental, but just saying that any given day that you take your pride and joy out on the streets, you run the risk that it may get totaled in an accident. So, it’s in that vein that I mention the more customizing you do the more you may well paint yourself in a corner of limiting your Return On Investment. Now, please don’t mistake me saying that a Rubicon is better or that customization / modification is bad or wrong, as there may well be times that customizing is better, but I think that there is a lot of evidence to show that the secondary market prefers things closer to their original form in terms of ROI. There are certainly exception to this as there are people who pay an unholy amount of money for modifications, but i think that tends to follow the form of someone building their dream vs buying someone else’s dream. So, based on the law of large numbers, a stock Rubicon will likely bring a greater ROI in the secondary market than a sport modified in kind to become a Rubicon. However, not all decisions should be based on the dollars and cents as something should be said for the joy realized in doing something your way for your own amusement, satisfaction, growth and attainment.

Best of luck as this is just my $.02’s.

 

[Dryfly24]

Many will say, and have said, just add lockers. I say drive a rubicon with the 4:1 transfer case and off road plus. Then make your decision. It’s truly night and day on rocks. Plus you can likely trade your sport and get much closer to the new one than the cost of lockers and gears. And to address the “lockers aren’t necessary” viewpoint, I’ve personally been on several obstacles where they absolutely were. Meaning the rigs without them didn’t make it up those obstacles. It doesn’t happen often, but those obstacles exist without question. Your Jeep though. And its a very nice one.

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