Why did you choose a Gladiator?

[Jonny A]

My story.
Truthfully I was never that Jeep Kinda guy. I had friends and family who were. I was always caught up in the Harley biking scene. Get that Softail as low as I could go. Stretch out forward to a set of straight drag bars. My feet forward, more so than my hands. Looked like I was tying to run up a hamster wheel. Love it. Gotta be loud too. In the breeze, helmetless. That was living.

Then came cell phones... Seemed like every other time I went out, some distracted driver would pull right out in front of me, or drift into my lane. Get me road ragin on their ass a few of them. Any way I finally lost interest a couple years back. Too much headache.

Then I saw it!

A naked Gladiator Sport S. 37”s and slight lift. Drove by me and pulled into a boat launch to go kayaking. I went to work and thought about that thing. I saw it again, not naked. I kept thinking how fun it would be to be in the wind again, even though my Softail is in the garage. Then I see more Gladiators. I love the look of the stock Rubicons. The others could be worked on. What it comes down to for me was the ability to go naked. No windscreen, top or doors.

Well about 8 months hitting all the showrooms and looking on line, I had all but given up on the idea I could afford a Gladiator. They are just so damned expensive. I received a ding on my phone, an alert of a Gladiator in my area going on sale. We were going down east for a vacation, but my wife says... “let’s go take a look.” We did, it was like those pictures you see in church, where the sun is shining onto Jesus and Angels. Except it was shinning on that Rubicon. Rubicon? No way that’s affordable!

What a beauty, silver, Black Rhino wheels with 35” BFG KO2, trifold tonneau and spray in liner, had other minor touches such as line x’d steel bumpers and after market line x’d rock rails and sliders. Really ready to go for me. And the price was reasonable.

So the salesman comes out. Says take her for a ride. I’m like... I don’t know. Wife says let’s ride. The salesman says “We close at 5pm, be back by then”. It was 10:00 am. We rode it around, regular roads, hi way, bumpy parking lot, a field and found some wheel grooved up dirt roads. We loved it, took the front part of top off. Nice. I found a parking lot. We pulled in and I scooted under. I looked for loose stuff, scratches, dings. That thing was clean, looked show room. I’m thinking how come this thing is going so cheap especially a Rubicon. Wife and I look at each other and say we want it, but we need to get over a certain amount for our trade. We were talking about this on drive back to the dealer.

Back at the dealer a few hours later we handed the keys back. We said it was nice, drove great. Then he says, “We will drop price by $3000.” Then asked If we going to trade the Colorado Z71. We said “Yeah, if we can get what we want”. They have a guy come out look at it. It was nice, but battle scared and has some wear. Torn seat upholstery. Mechanically in excellent condition. Now we are sitting at salesman’s desk. Looking at each other, wondering how much less than I want I will need to agree to. I have such bad luck when it comes to trades. Boom! The guy comes out with their buy offer. $6000 more than what I even thought. What the hell? And $3000 off the ad price? This gotta be a dream!

We are now happy Gladiator owners, and ride topless as often as we can. Can’t wait for spring/summer to ride naked.

Damn to those cell phone toting distracted drivers, this thing is a bit bigger than the bike. I can now ride in the wind once again. And go off road when I get the itch. The rest of my story is yet to be written, but it is happy right now.

Sponsored

 

[Jaxmax]

Johnny, I know your new at the Jeeping thing and going topless is cool, but Geeze man you and your wife need to put your shirts back on!!!
Welcome to the Jeep thing!.......Jack

 

[Mike the mechanic]

I had a JKU and was planning on buying another, but the rebates where so good on the Overland that is what I bought.

 

[Phljeeper]

Great story and welcome to the Jeep club! Once you have had a Jeep with the top down and doors off all other vehicles are just boring.

 

[KurtP]

many reasons.

-needed something smaller than my Ram 2500.
-mopar quality has really gone up over last several years
-tacoma engine and trans too anemic
-wont but a chevy. Ever. Period.
-ranger looked good, but i dont like ford infotainment or cheap feeling interior
-uconnect
-ill just say it. Jeep brand image.
-solid axle.
-my mojave suspension
-got a GREAT deal.
-great 8spd box with a naturally aspirated gas motor that has huge economy of scale and parts availability
-removable roof
-the aftermarket

i need a pick up bed. So the 4runner/bronco/JLU are less compelling for me. If a pick up bed wasnt a priority, i probably would have found the first year carplay was available in the gx460 and bought used. I cannot get over toyota charging top top dollar for bro trucks with 10year old tech. The bronco would have been compelling, but i wont buy the first year of pretty much anything thats all new, especially from ford or chevy. Been so burned over the years...although admittedly i think the bronco will be fine.

the gladiator was just the right mix of luxury, capability, utility, off roadability, and fun. Exactly what i needed.

 

[mike921921]

For me, it was simple, I'm a 'Jeep Guy' and wanted a pickup. No choice for me. It's really kind of a niche vehicle, if you just want a pickup, there are plenty of (and more cost effective) commodity pick ups out there - but none are Jeeps......

 

[RacerX00]

I forget what stupid auto-mag site said it, it might've actually been Consumer Reports but what it comes down to is it's a damn fucking cool truck in the middle of lack-luster options at the same price point.

There's no truck that offers the complete "fun" package at this price point.

I haven't bought one yet, but it doesn't get any easier than that. Perhaps, maybe the Bronco can do it. I dunno, I still think the Jeep is better.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

Needed a truck and had a 2010 JKU. Wanted to keep the Jeep feel and didn't make since to hold on to the JKU since I got a 2017 BMW 440i and 2017 Mustang 5.0 sitting in the yard. The JKU was pretty beat up, dents and scratches all over it AC didn't work, Winch didn't work, slightly torn soft top, 2 inches of water in both floorboards and I was on my 2nd transmission with 132,000 miles on it plus drivers side seat was torn, also cracked windshield. They offered me $8,000 in rebates on the Gladiator so I was out the door at $37,000 plus they cut me a check for $11,000 for the JKU. I bought it used in 2013 for $22,900 with 15,000 miles on it and didn't think I would get that much for it based on the condition but hey what do I know, I gladly took their money. I hope the check engine stayed off long enough for them to get it sold.

Basically sold this

And bought this

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Wow...another riveting forum topic that caused my irritable bowel syndrome to flare up!

 

[Willys2Gladiator]

My reason for a Gladiator.

1. I'm a Jeep guy
2. Needed a new rig and absolutely nothing would excite me and keep me up at night thinking and dreaming about owning it. Until the Gladiator came around!!!
3. Very few things I've purchased has me excited from day 1 to all the days after. My 09 Harley Softail and now this. Stare at them and dream every day and they still makes me feel like the day I got it.

That's why!
It's what moves you down deep inside.

 

[PDiddy]

I needed to tow a travel trailer with something that looks badass. The choices were slim.

 

[Jonny A]

I forget what stupid auto-mag site said it, it might've actually been Consumer Reports but what it comes down to is it's a damn fucking cool truck in the middle of lack-luster options at the same price point.

There's no truck that offers the complete "fun" package at this price point.

I haven't bought one yet, but it doesn't get any easier than that. Perhaps, maybe the Bronco can do it. I dunno, I still think the Jeep is better.

The option of no top, doors and windscreen down is what lured me, then the awesome looks with large tires.

Took awhile to find the perfect match, but it just kinda fell in my lap.

So strange, but in a great way.

Keep up the hunt, that was half the fun.

 

[Jonny A]

My reason for a Gladiator.

1. I'm a Jeep guy
2. Needed a new rig and absolutely nothing would excite me and keep me up at night thinking and dreaming about owning it. Until the Gladiator came around!!!
3. Very few things I've purchased has me excited from day 1 to all the days after. My 09 Harley Softail and now this. Stare at them and dream every day and they still makes me feel like the day I got it.

That's why!
It's what moves you down deep inside.

My ‘97 HD Softail will always be there, in the garage maybe. But I may get back into the bike riding mood one day. I still stare, but also wishing I kept my ‘84 Softail, chain drive, kickstart and all. That was one of a kind to me, we put 200,000 miles on that ole girl.

 

[Shackleton]

I’ve owned trucks for 20 years but always wanted a Wrangler or convertible but mostly a Wrangler . Its a convertible in the summer and a 4x4 in the winter. I just always bought the practical truck that could haul and tow. The Gladiator can now do everything I need. It can tow my boat, I just moved a couch and loveseat at the same time, it will continue to allow me to bring lumber and mulch back for diy projects, is a convertible, and a 4x4. On top of all of that it’s fun. I love this truck and am just hoping it can be problem free for me for 130000 miles or so. So far so good

 

[BLK HOLE]

Wanted a new truck, wanted a new Jeep.
Already have a Wrangler.

Easy choice.

Sponsored