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Why I didn't buy a truck and maybe should get a 2-door

MacBigButt

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I like exploring and that means you don't necessarily have full control of the situation. Today, I was following an old trail up a very steep hill along a very very tall cliff and it stopped. No warning, it just stopped 2/3 of the way up the side of a cliff.

Not sure if these pictures do justice to the situation.

On the other side of the popular trees in the first picture there is nothing but a long long drop. Up until then it was a nice, although somewhat precarious trail. How long you ask? look at the next picture.

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Way at the bottom you can see a narrow brown strip, that's the main logging road. You can see the corner of my bumper in the bottom right of the picture. That's basically soft soil from my bumper to the edge and near vertical drop.

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Because of the steep trail and loose rock, backing down was not a good option so multi-point turn was the way to go. Here's the Jeep half way turned around. I didn't do a good job of capturing the drama but the front of the Jeep is on the edge of soft soil and the back of the Jeep only has about 1 foot before dumping into a deep ditch. The turning radius of the JL managed nicely, with out much excitement. I've learned I can pretty much turn it around in it's own width plus a bit. If I can go down the trail I can probably turn around on the trail
HpXEJTKKSwCmaAGUiUi5Rw.jpg


If this had been my old Ram truck, I'd probably still be there doing tiny little 3-point turns. I could have bought a Raptor or a Ram Power Wagon. I could have spent an hour backing down this very steep trail.

Or I could drive a JL, spin it around and just carry on.

I love this thing!
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ryandamartini

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I have a lot of love for the 2 door Jeep but the JLU is so close and just far more friendly on the day to day in nearly every aspect.
 

Mattius1337

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is.. is this out by the jail in chilliwack? i looks super familliar
 

C7-JL

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Buy both. :)

I just got my JLU Rubicon, but while waiting for shipping I bought a Colorado ZR2.
 

Joe

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Buy both. :)

I just got my JLU Rubicon, but while waiting for shipping I bought a Colorado ZR2.
I am a member of the ZR2 group on Facebook and see waaaay too many problems to ever own one. Glad I joined that group before making a decision. The latest is the random side curtain airbag deployment issue...crazy stuff.
 

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C7-JL

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I am a member of the ZR2 group on Facebook and see waaaay too many problems to ever own one. Glad I joined that group before making a decision. The latest is the random side curtain airbag deployment issue...crazy stuff.
I'm not worried... but I have a great relationship with the service director at what is arguably the best Chevy dealer for service in California. I've had four Corvettes (C5, C6 GS, C7 Z51 and C7 Z06) and numerous other Chevy's serviced there in the last 18 years and they've covererd me on things that others would try to deny the claim.

There's lots of issues out there, even on the JL, but they are not as widespread as you would think by reading forums or FB groups... remember, the forums are often a concentration of people looking to complain. :)

Seriously though, the thing has been great so far, and I know a guy that has had one since it debuted and has literally beat the crap out of it in the mud and snow and had no issues to report. I'm actually more worried about my JL seeing as they built it and included an option I didn't pay for and was not on my order sheet and is not on my monroney sticker. The lack of attention to detail makes me think I should be looking up torque specs and checking every critical fastener.
 

Joe

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I'm not worried... but I have a great relationship with the service director at what is arguably the best Chevy dealer for service in California. I've had four Corvettes (C5, C6 GS, C7 Z51 and C7 Z06) and numerous other Chevy's serviced there in the last 18 years and they've covererd me on things that others would try to deny the claim.

There's lots of issues out there, even on the JL, but they are not as widespread as you would think by reading forums or FB groups... remember, the forums are often a concentration of people looking to complain. :)

Seriously though, the thing has been great so far, and I know a guy that has had one since it debuted and has literally beat the crap out of it in the mud and snow and had no issues to report. I'm actually more worried about my JL seeing as they built it and included an option I didn't pay for and was not on my order sheet and is not on my monroney sticker. The lack of attention to detail makes me think I should be looking up torque specs and checking every critical fastener.
Oh wow, what option?

As far as the ZR2, I hope you are right. I really liked what I saw and it is a VERY capable truck!
 

C7-JL

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Oh wow, what option?

As far as the ZR2, I hope you are right. I really liked what I saw and it is a VERY capable truck!
They gave me the free wheel upgrade. Not a big mistake, but a pretty obvious one and something easy to correct since they had my JL in "storage" for 5.5 weeks.

I actually liked the upgraded wheels, but wasn't going to drop the cash for them since I will be going aftermarket. After 12 weeks the thing showed up with the upgraded wheels on it.

Also, to show how on top of it Jeep is.... as of yesterday (10 days after it got to the dealership) my salesman sent me a pic of the Jeep dealer tracking system that says my Rubiconis still sitting in Marion, Ohio and hasn't even shipped yet with no ETA. :facepalm:

Yeah, I hope the ZR2 is problem free as well. If not, I'm sure I'll just dump it for something else since I have a bad addiction to buying vehicles. I've got 2500 miles on it and think that when I hit 5,000 next month I might buy the Mallett/Magnuson supercharger for it and get some bigger tires and a lift.
 

Joe

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They gave me the free wheel upgrade. Not a big mistake, but a pretty obvious one and something easy to correct since they had my JL in "storage" for 5.5 weeks.

I actually liked the upgraded wheels, but wasn't going to drop the cash for them since I will be going aftermarket. After 12 weeks the thing showed up with the upgraded wheels on it.

Also, to show how on top of it Jeep is.... as of yesterday (10 days after it got to the dealership) my salesman sent me a pic of the Jeep dealer tracking system that says my Rubiconis still sitting in Marion, Ohio and hasn't even shipped yet with no ETA. :facepalm:

Yeah, I hope the ZR2 is problem free as well. If not, I'm sure I'll just dump it for something else since I have a bad addiction to buying vehicles. I've got 2500 miles on it and think that when I hit 5,000 next month I might buy the Mallett/Magnuson supercharger for it and get some bigger tires and a lift.
In all honesty...seeing all these JLs with aftermarket wheels and I like the factory wheels better!

One more reason I didn't go with the ZR2, I have a tall German Shepherd and another dog I rescued that is just under 40lbs. The big boy wouldn't really fit in that truck. I want to take the dogs on lots of rides. I live less than a mile from Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and it's a good ride to take them on.
 

C7-JL

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In all honesty...seeing all these JLs with aftermarket wheels and I like the factory wheels better!

One more reason I didn't go with the ZR2, I have a tall German Shepherd and another dog I rescued that is just under 40lbs. The big boy wouldn't really fit in that truck. I want to take the dogs on lots of rides. I live less than a mile from Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and it's a good ride to take them on.
Ah..

Yeah, I have a Black Lab and put in an Orvis seat cover/hammock in the rear. She fits fine, but if I bring my friend who owns her sister, it might be kinda snug for the two dogs. They used to lay in the back seat of my JKU on hunting trips though, so they probably won't care. The JL is the primary dog vehicle here. The JKU was awesome for the dogs, I contend that they are the best dog vehicle out there and Subaru commercials lie.
 

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BostonBilly

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I have driven trucks since my first in 1988. I traded a Tacoma for my 15 JKU and will never go back. Yes I miss the pickup bed some days when running to the big box store or grabbing some loan but just love the versatility of a Jeep. This one will be a 2 door cause my kids are grown and I dont need it as a DD
 
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MacBigButt

MacBigButt

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MacBigButt

MacBigButt

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In all honesty...seeing all these JLs with aftermarket wheels and I like the factory wheels better!

One more reason I didn't go with the ZR2, I have a tall German Shepherd and another dog I rescued that is just under 40lbs. The big boy wouldn't really fit in that truck. I want to take the dogs on lots of rides. I live less than a mile from Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and it's a good ride to take them on.
I was going to stick with factory wheels but wanted more offset and a wider rim. I was fine with the looks of them.

What you can't see because of the tinted windows is my dog Romeo, a Standard Poodle. He was a little WTF when he went to jump in after the lift kit but got used to it pretty quick. The King shocks are working well for him, he stands up and just rides out the rough stuff now, kinda like a rodeo bull rider. With the stock shocks he was getting tossed around a bit. If I put a pad down for him he pushes it out of the way so he can be on the solid carpet and get traction. The back of the JLU is the perfect for big dogs.

I used to have 2 100lb Italian Spinone...they were pretty cramped in the back of my Ram truck!
 
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Joe

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I was going to stick with factory wheels but wanted more offset and a wider rim. I was fine with the looks of them.

What you can't see because of the tinted windows is my dog Romeo, a Standard Poodle. He was a little WTF when he went to jump in after the lift kit but got used to it pretty quick. The King shocks are working well for him, he stands up and just rides out the rough stuff now, kinda like a rodeo bull rider. With the stock shocks he was getting tossed around a bit. If I put a pad down for him he pushes it out of the way so he can be on the solid carpet and get traction. The back of the JLU is the perfect for big dogs.

I used to have 2 100lb Italian Spinone...they were pretty cramped in the back of my Ram truck!
Cramped is a GSD with a wither height of 28” and his smaller companion with me, in a 2008 Mustang GT. I fold the back seats down and the German Shepherd puts his two front feet on the console and rear feet on the seat backs. It is quite interesting, but they love to ride. I can only imagine what they will do when I finally get my Jeep!
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