Thoughts after Two Months of Ownership

[Stan H]

Hey Everyone - it’s been two months since I brought home my Gladiator. I traded in my 2020 Punk’n JLUR with about 85,000 miles on it. I had added 2.5 inch lift and 35’s with Fuel wheels. I got a really nice deal on a leftover 2024 Willy’s in Firecracker Red. Below are some thoughts and questions if anyone cares to read on…

- I love the Firecracker Red, but man…still missing that Punk’n.
- My Wrangler was the 2.0 engine…I definitely DO NOT miss the sound of that engine lol. I’m enjoying the “quieter” (no whine/rattle) of the V6. I do miss the “punch” of the 2.0 though…this V6 is not as responsive.
- I would like to put a 3 inch lift and at least 35s, however, I’m concerned about the 3.73. If I’m already feeling a lag, how much more will it be with heavier tires?
- I’m not sure why it’s so hard to determine my tow capacity. I think I’ve confirmed my trim is only 4000 pounds. I know it’s not a tow vehicle, but was def hoping to have more of an increase over the Wrangler.
- The longer wheelbase improved the road manners.
- I didn’t realize that this one didn’t have the blind side monitoring or rear alert. I didn’t think I would miss it as I always double check mirrors, etc. but wish i had that extra check as i’m getting used to the longer vehicle.
- It seems to idle pretty rough - vibrating. Not sure if this is normal or not. The RMP doesn’t jump up or anything, but the engine makes some different noises. Again, I’m used to the 2.0 engine, so it may just be in my head.
- I’m enjoying the 87 gas…saves a little bit at the pump.
- Speaking of that, I’m getting really low MPG…like 14. I’m in FL so it’s flat, but mainly city driving. Maybe my lead foot leads to that as i’m still trying to get the acceleration i had with the 2.0. I have 3500 miles…is the engine still in a break in period?
- There’s much more I want to do with it, but mainly keeping it simple upgrades while I continue to get used to it. I haven’t used the bed for much and I think the biggest decision is … which will I get the most use out of? the truck bed or the wrangler cargo area.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Any suggestions or tips for a first time Gladiator owner are much appreciated.

Go trade it off and get one that has what ypu want in gearing ,such as a Mojave or Rubicon with 4.10's or regear. IMHO

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[Stan H]

Punk’n is beautiful. That’s what I wanted.

My mpg increased at around 6k miles. That said I see now 17-18 around town and 19 freeway. Less in winter on that lousy winter fuel. I also have the Mojave so not directly comparable to you since I have 4.10 gears and larger tires. I’ve never driven the 2.0 but I did drive a Willys and a Mojave and I definitely felt the 4.11 gears made it feel punchier/ more responsive than the Willys with the 3.73’s.

A rough idle is definitely not the norm. For the V6. Mine idles so smooth that I often can’t even tell if it’s running without looking at the tach. Might want to keep an eye on that.

Its funny how we all have different taste in color , I dislike the orange punkin color , I work in safety see orange all the time it reminds me of work and Halloween. I just want out of sight out of mind . Give me gray or silver or green . My 3 cents worth.

 

[Deleted member 67086]

I went with 35’s on my 2022 Willys and a 2.5” AEV Dual Sport lift. Drove it for about a month with the 3.73 gears before making the change to 4.56 gears. I feel that was the perfect gear for me, but there are a lot of variables to consider. I went with 35x12.5,17 Toyo Open Country AT3 load range C tires, which were only 11 pounds (each) heavier than the stock KM2’s. I could probably run 37’s with these gears if I chose a light weight tire. If I planned on towing or adding a bunch of weight (ex overlanding rig), I would have went with 4.88 gears with the 35’s.

A lot of people look at simple graphs that show X gear ratio with Y tires, but additional weight, towing, engine, transmission, etc also factor in.

Mileage wise I get 16-17 in all around driving. On the highway I could probably push 20 if driving 70 MPH, with very little headwind, but I’m usually driving 75 MPH on roadtrips, and there always seems to be a 25 MPH headwind no matter which direction I am going, and mileage drops to the 15 range. With the aerodynamics of a shoebox, the mileage for these vehicles drops the faster you drive on the highway.

 

[legacy_etu]

Its funny how we all have different taste in color , I dislike the orange punkin color , I work in safety see orange all the time it reminds me of work and Halloween. I just want out of sight out of mind . Give me gray or silver or green . My 3 cents worth.

Yeah, I'd feel the same as you if it reminded me of work. Ugh. Who wants to think of work in their off hours. Hell, counting down the time left to retirement over here, LOL.

 

[Stan H]

Yeah, I'd feel the same as you if it reminded me of work. Ugh. Who wants to think of work in their off hours. Hell, counting down the time left to retirement over here, LOL.

Good Lord me too

 

[legacy_etu]

Good Lord me too

Funny, I used to drive for UPS. Now I never liked the color brown, but after driving those trucks and working that job I really can't stand the color brown.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

- There is no such thing as it's not a tow vehicle. Any vehicle is a tow vehicle as long as you stay within your towing capacity.

Except a 1982 Eagle SX4 with the Iron Puke GM engine. From what I can find, there is no tow rating and no payload rating.
LOL - true, but messing with you, too.

My 2022 Overland with 3.6 and 3.73 gears, and the same 6,000 tow rating towed my 5,000 pounds of car hauler just fine.
Towing anything less would have been absolutely simple.
Larger tires and a lift would have taken some of that away, but I'd still bet on 4,000-5,000 without any real issue as long as there were good trailer brakes.
Even NOT towing, I'd regear if increasing tires sizes much at all. I ran Rubicon take-offs for a while (32.8") and didn't see 8th much at all. 34's would have been my tipping point. 35s - I'd absolutely regear away from the 3.73. Our hills would just plain dictate it.

 

[Badunit]

Funny, I used to drive for UPS. Now I never liked the color brown, but after driving those trucks and working that job I really can't stand the color brown.

Brown is a dark shade of orange. Fun fact of the day.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Brown is a dark shade of orange. Fun fact of the day.

While white is a perfect mix of all, and black isn't even a color, it's lack of any color, every silver lining has a touch of grey, and then there's a whiter shade of pale.

 

[aujeepgirl23]

Go trade it off and get one that has what ypu want in gearing ,such as a Mojave or Rubicon with 4.10's or regear. IMHO

Yeah im almost using this one as a “test” drive. I feel like I need to drive it at least a year to get used to it and to decide which Jeep will be better for my everyday use… Gladiator or Wrangler.

 

[aujeepgirl23]

Its funny how we all have different taste in color , I dislike the orange punkin color , I work in safety see orange all the time it reminds me of work and Halloween. I just want out of sight out of mind . Give me gray or silver or green . My 3 cents worth.

True lol. I’m a project manager at a bank and sit in an office full of white/grey/ neutral colors… so for me, I love the bright vibrant colors that Jeep comes out with.

 

[OldSarge]

- I would like to put a 3 inch lift and at least 35s, however, I’m concerned about the 3.73. If I’m already feeling a lag, how much more will it be with heavier tires?

No need to put a 3” lift for 35s unless you just want to. A 1 1/2 or 2” lift is plenty FWIW. You’ll get much better throttle response if you regear, but obviously comes with a price tag.

 

[Scott0700]

I average 15.3 on my Rubicon with 4.10 gears. Stock tires and I drive very easy. My 2018 JKU with 6 speed and 3.73 gears averaged 18 - 19. Very disappointing economy on the JT. I average 18.5 in my F350 crew cab diesel. Yes, I know it’s a diesel, but with the equipment and boxes on it, it weighs close to twice what the JT does.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I average 15.3 on my Rubicon with 4.10 gears. Stock tires and I drive very easy. My 2018 JKU with 6 speed and 3.73 gears averaged 18 - 19. Very disappointing economy on the JT. I average 18.5 in my F350 crew cab diesel. Yes, I know it’s a diesel, but with the equipment and boxes on it, it weighs close to twice what the JT does.

You even try to compare diesel to gas?
The diesel Gladiator does upper 20s.
You drive a brick, and a Rubicon with the high fender flares acts like wind cups, catching wind as you drive - massive drag. The truck has no such thing catching wind like that.

 

[handyman98]

I bought a 2024 left over also early in the year. It's a Rubicon with about 2300 miles now. We average 16-17mpg on highway so far. Ours idles smooth so you may want that checked out. We went offroading yesterday and lightly scraped going over a big hump as we were breaking over. I want 35s that would have avoided that. The v6 is laggy to me also which heavier tires would not help with so I'm on the fence about it.

All that said we didn't buy it for fuel economy and love it especially for offroading. We accidentally ended up on a level 5 trail and got back in 4L with no issues. That would have been an issue in our other vehicle.

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