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To Mojave, or Not to Mojave...

Jaxmax

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The axle tubes on the Mojave are 10mm thick compared to the Rubicon's at 8mm, and an article I had read said that going forward the Ribicon will have the thicker tubes also, I assume either 2020, or 2021. The Artec truss goes way beyond that, scoring the Ruby axles was a great move.........Jack
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Dewyaw

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And if you lift it most of that goes away. The sway bar doesn't even disconnect.

it does have its place...but I bet its a dead model in a year or 2.
I’ll take that bet...
 

KurtP

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Everyone knows the only jeep that can actually go off road is a rubicon.

2.5” bypass reservoir shocks and frame reinforcements are pointless and worthless. You dont need them to park on the mall snow banks.

if the mojave goes away in a couple of years, id bet they add all the things about the mojave to the rubicon if not the rest of the gladiator line up, sans the shocks. It is unquestionably the superior spec in the gladiator line up by a country mile.
 

wannajeep

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if the mojave goes away in a couple of years, id bet they add all the things about the mojave to the rubicon if not the rest of the gladiator line up, sans the shocks. It is unquestionably the superior spec in the gladiator line up by a country mile.
Not necessarily. For example, the Mojave's hollow front sway bar might be better (softer) for higher speed desert running, but the Rubi's solid front sway bar might be better (more durable) for slower rock crawling. On road, the differences might not matter. Off road (be it desert or rocks) these two rigs seem to be tuned or tailored to different applications.

And that's not to say a Mojave can't crawl on rocks or a Rubi can't run fast in the desert, but rather, at the enthusiast level, each might be a little better at one or the other.
 

steffen707

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And that's not to say a Mojave can't crawl on rocks or a Rubi can't run fast in the desert, but rather, at the enthusiast level, each might be a little better at one or the other.
This is why i'm thinking for myself who uses my JT 99% of the time on roads that may or may not be shitty, that a Mojave that can crawl a little bit on some rocky trails a few times a year is probably the better route to go, than a Rubicon that is awesome twice a year, and rides poorly 99% of time time (compared to the Mojave)......

thoughts?
 

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Kent5

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This is why i'm thinking for myself who uses my JT 99% of the time on roads that may or may not be shitty, that a Mojave that can crawl a little bit on some rocky trails a few times a year is probably the better route to go, than a Rubicon that is awesome twice a year, and rides poorly 99% of time time (compared to the Mojave)......

thoughts?
Is the ride of the Mojave really noticeably better than the Rubicon? It doesn't seem logical to me that shocks aimed at high speed desert running would be *softer* than shocks made for low-speed rock crawling, where articulation and droop are king.

All the tests and comparisons I've seen and read -- haven't seen it mentioned except on this board. I freely admit I haven't seen them ALL, but if it was so marked a difference, you'd think it would be bigger news.

PS: I'm not a Mojave hater. I would strongly consider one except around here, Mojave's are too new, and the Dealers won't discount them like they do the Rubicon's.
 

PastV1

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Is the ride of the Mojave really noticeably better than the Rubicon? It doesn't seem logical to me that shocks aimed at high speed desert running would be *softer* than shocks made for low-speed rock crawling, where articulation and droop are king.

All the tests and comparisons I've seen and read -- haven't seen it mentioned except on this board. I freely admit I haven't seen them ALL, but if it was so marked a difference, you'd think it would be bigger news.

PS: I'm not a Mojave hater. I would strongly consider one except around here, Mojave's are too new, and the Dealers won't discount them like they do the Rubicon's.
LA isn't far. Not bad deals at Trachtman I hear.
 
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kickingaz

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I can't believe this post is still going on. After contemplating trading my wife's Jeep, we decided to keep it and build her JLU Rubicon that is her daily driver as we do a lot of difficult trails that the Gladiator's rear overhand just would not handle. The dealer offered me $44,000 for my Max Tow Sport S and I traded it in, but not for a Rubicon or Mojave, not even for a Jeep.
 

AzRob

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The dealer offered me $44,000 for my Max Tow Sport S and I traded it in, but not for a Rubicon or Mojave, not even for a Jeep.
What did you decide to buy instead?
 

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kickingaz

kickingaz

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Prior to owning my 2014 JKU and the 2020 Gladiator, I always had performance cars that I would sometimes take on road courses or SCCA events. I missed that and I decided to buy a 2020 Challenger R/T 1320. I was waiting for a T/A model to come in but the dealer had a 1320 edition in the same Hellraisin color that he made me a great deal on.
 

Nine Ball

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Is the ride of the Mojave really noticeably better than the Rubicon? It doesn't seem logical to me that shocks aimed at high speed desert running would be *softer* than shocks made for low-speed rock crawling, where articulation and droop are king.

All the tests and comparisons I've seen and read -- haven't seen it mentioned except on this board. I freely admit I haven't seen them ALL, but if it was so marked a difference, you'd think it would be bigger news.

PS: I'm not a Mojave hater. I would strongly consider one except around here, Mojave's are too new, and the Dealers won't discount them like they do the Rubicon's.
Autoweek compared the Rubicon and Mojave on the desert terrain. Read how different they performed on the "whoops" and dry lake bed.

Autoweek - Mojave vs Rubicon in Desert
 

steffen707

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Is the ride of the Mojave really noticeably better than the Rubicon? It doesn't seem logical to me that shocks aimed at high speed desert running would be *softer* than shocks made for low-speed rock crawling, where articulation and droop are king.
a few forum members and owners have stated as much. I'll have to check it out for myself of course. @studiodfw had a lengthy post about it.
 

steffen707

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Kent5

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Autoweek compared the Rubicon and Mojave on the desert terrain. Read how different they performed on the "whoops" and dry lake bed.

Autoweek - Mojave vs Rubicon in Desert
Yes, I read that. Nothing in that article supported the statement that the Rubicon "rides poorly 99% of the time (in comparison to the Mojave)". Certain areas/terrains the Rubicon was smoother (usually the slower rockier sections), other times the Mojave was better (high speed runs over whoops, etc). Exactly as you might expect from their different setups and targets.

So the "99% of the time" statement seems overblown -- unless of course you spend 100% of your time desert running. However, the poster's qualification statements of "a few times year", "twice a year" sure seems to indicate he is talking about all-around usage:
" a Mojave that can crawl a little bit on some rocky trails a few times a year is probably the better route to go, than a Rubicon that is awesome twice a year, and rides poorly 99% of time time (compared to the Mojave)"
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