What’s the best trip you’ve taken in your Gladiator so far?

[Zachanadandy]

Wow this is great! Love the natural wood colour of the floor... can tell it's going to have a nice homey comfy vibe to it. Can picture the peaceful quiet mornings already.

Sunrise view out the front door. Worth every penny.

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[OldButStillJeeping]

2021, California to Wisconsin, solo trip. Covid was still a thing, so I camped out of my JT Mojave at mostly BLM campsites.

Pretty much nothing to say, just desert and such, until I crossed the Rockies. Wyoming and Montana were excellent.

Taking backroads; I saw wild antelope, bison, and old ghost towns.

Saw angry people even at the deepest further -in BLM campsites. They acted like they owned the place. It was really sad. Having CA plates on JT Mojave at the time didn't help me. I was judged besides my being a wonderful and helpful camp neighbor. I was judged once they saw the license plate.

Now a resident in another mid-west state.

Sad to see what is happening.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

It happens. Most only know the California they see in the news all the time. Least you had the experience of the cross country trip.

 

[Zachanadandy]

It happens. Most only know the California they see in the news all the time. Least you had the experience of the cross country trip.

We moved to PA for a year 2 decades ago. At least 50 people asked if it was the 1st time I'd seen snow every time it snowed. They watch bay watch and Beverley hills 90210 and think that's all of CA. Meanwhile most of them have never seen a mountain.

 

[ExoShield]

Sunrise view out the front door. Worth every penny.

Oh wow, that's a tough view to beat. The sunrise isn't bad either

 

[WanderingTrail]

We moved to PA for a year 2 decades ago. At least 50 people asked if it was the 1st time I'd seen snow every time it snowed. They watch bay watch and Beverley hills 90210 and think that's all of CA. Meanwhile most of them have never seen a mountain.

I know how you feel, every time there is a hurricane my northern friends ask if I'm going to be okay and I'm like it's 100 miles away and only a cat 1, they don't realize how big Florida is compared to Wisconsin. One of my friends was at my place when we got hit by Sally a few years ago, he thought I was crazy grilling burgers in the middle of a Cat. 2 Hurricane. Pfftt, just a little breezy. Now 1/4 inch of snow is terrifying down here.

Ron

 

[brsnow2585]

Toss up for me. My dad and I did a Jeep jamboree at Badlands off-road Park in NW Indiana, or me and my dog road tripped with my camper down to E Texas to go feral hog hunting with an old buddy.

 

[ExoShield]

Toss up for me. My dad and I did a Jeep jamboree at Badlands off-road Park in NW Indiana, or me and my dog road tripped with my camper down to E Texas to go feral hog hunting with an old buddy.

Those are two very different trips, but both sound like they made for some pretty great memories

And any road trip that includes your dog automatically gets bonus points

 

[Socket-Jockey]

Best trip for my '25 Gladdy Rubicon has been to Moab with my wife. When the trail gets knarly, she will pilot and I'll spot her through the rough stuff.
We are running 315/70R17 tires (small by today's standards). The actual tires are ATTURO Trail Blade ATS tires from Discount Tire. I was shocked at how well these AT tires did on the trail. Very impressive, underrated tires for this terrain.
Metal Cloak 2.5" GC mid-arm lift
One ASFIR transmission skid plate (it did come in handy on these runs)


After completing the entire Moab Rim trail, we grabbed a screen shot coming back down.

Hamburger Hill on Kane Creek in Moab. Talking my wife through tire placement on the largest ledge on Hamburger Hill. Yes, out of an abundance of caution, we did winch it up this ledge.

 

[ExoShield]

Best trip for my '25 Gladdy Rubicon has been to Moab with my wife. When the trail gets knarly, she will pilot and I'll spot her through the rough stuff.
We are running 315/70R17 tires (small by today's standards). The actual tires are ATTURO Trail Blade ATS tires from Discount Tire. I was shocked at how well these AT tires did on the trail. Very impressive, underrated tires for this terrain.
Metal Cloak 2.5" GC mid-arm lift
One ASFIR transmission skid plate (it did come in handy on these runs)


After completing the entire Moab Rim trail, we grabbed a screen shot coming back down.

Hamburger Hill on Kane Creek in Moab. Talking my wife through tire placement on the largest ledge on Hamburger Hill. Yes, out of an abundance of caution, we did winch it up this ledge.

Looks like an amazing trip. Those photos are incredible

Also, a good spotter is worth their weight in gold when the trail gets interesting.

If someone was heading to Moab for the first time, what's the one trail you'd tell them they absolutely have to run?

 

[Socket-Jockey]

Looks like an amazing trip. Those photos are incredible

Also, a good spotter is worth their weight in gold when the trail gets interesting.

If someone was heading to Moab for the first time, what's the one trail you'd tell them they absolutely have to run?

I think it depends on your Rig's capability. If you have a winch and 35" tires, I'd say Kane Creek. It's a beautiful run with running water in the canyon and some challenging obstacles getting out of the canyon. With a winch and some stacking of rocks for the smaller 35" tires and good spotting, it's a great run. If no winch, I'd say Top of the World, which provides a stunning view from a Cliff edge.

 

[ArcticDreadnought]

The one that just ended with these pics. Please go look at my build link for the whole story and pictures.

Anchorage-Hatchers Pass-Talkeetna-Denali National Park-Denali Highway.

 

[ExoShield]

I think it depends on your Rig's capability. If you have a winch and 35" tires, I'd say Kane Creek. It's a beautiful run with running water in the canyon and some challenging obstacles getting out of the canyon. With a winch and some stacking of rocks for the smaller 35" tires and good spotting, it's a great run. If no winch, I'd say Top of the World, which provides a stunning view from a Cliff edge.

That's a great answer.

I like that you gave different recommendations based on the vehicle setup instead of a one-size-fits-all answer.

We've seen Top of the World come up a bunch in here. That view alone seems worth the trip.

 

[Callsign_DISCO]

Not done yet but first solid camping and wheeling trip since I bought the new to me '24 JTR back at the end of March.

Towed our Flagstaff 206STSE 'off-road' pop-up from our home near Wichita to Table Rock Lake on Wednesday June 10th for the 3rd annual Jeep Branson event (our first time at this event). Averaged about 12 mpg over the 5 hrs drive down - pulls the trailer really well (roughly 3,000 lbs as we load it up) although more power would be nice. Heading home tomorrow.

Objective was to get first offroading done at a 1,500 acre terrain park near Branson (TexPlex at Fox Creek). Park was nice, great variety of trails from about a 3 to 'Holy Sh..'. Got to try out all the things in the Gladiator and was really impressed - I'm coming from a moderately built 2010 JKU Rubicon with the 3.8 and 6 speed manual so the tech and driveline changes have been a big jump.

Not lifted yet (will install an AEV 2.5" DualSport RT lift later this year) so had a couple skid plate/frame rail hits but surprisingly few given the longer wheelbase. Trail cam is great for blind break overs and the crawl ratio in 4 Lo caught me off guard, much closer to the 6MT than I expected for an automatic.

Just a really well balanced and useful machine, which is good for what they cost (even lightly used with 13K miles). Really enjoying it.

Highly recommend Table Rock Lake State Park Campground 1, really nice location and facilities.

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