Rubicon vs Moab

[Covet]

Lecter to Clarice: "What does he do, this man you seek? What is his nature?...What need does he serve?"
Clarice: "Anger. Social resentment, sexual frustration, a Moab for more money than a Rubicon..."
Lecter: "Nooo. That is incidental...He covets. That is his nature. And how do we begin to covet, Clarice? Do we seek out Rubicons to covet?"
Clarice: "No. We just..."
Lecter: "No. Precisely. We begin by coveting what we see on JLWrangler Forum every day. Don't you feel eyes moving over your Rubicon, Clarice? And don't your eyes move over the Rubicon you want?"

Sorry. Your call sign makes me want some liver with fava beans...

HAHAHAHAHA!!! One of the best movies ever imo. Sorry the call sign makes you want especially liver. Ugh, ate it once and will not make that mistake again. Great use of the name/word it is all about what it is all about, want.
Great post!

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[Sean L]

Sean, thank you for the awesome post. You may be one of the most intelligent people around her. I get way too wordy when i try to say what you said lol!

Well I try to be reasonable and have fun. Too often these types of threads turn into mud throwing contests. Its best to make a quick entrance before that happens. lol.

 

[4X4]

I would buy a Rubicon because it is offered in a 2 door model however my new JL is not a Rubicon but a Sport S because I do not go offroading but it is a 2 door because a Jeep is not a Jeep with 4 doors

 

[RubiRob]

I would buy a Rubicon because it is offered in a 2 door model however my new JL is not a Rubicon but a Sport S because I do not go offroading but it is a 2 door because a Jeep is not a Jeep with 4 doors

A Jeep is not a Jeep if it doesn't go offroad.

 

[grady2hig]

Either get a Rubicon...
or get a MOAB and change the tires and take off the MOAB decal.

Rubicon does great in snow... I'd just do the Rubicon. Selec-trac is overrated.

 

[WyoTex]

My wife and I each own The JlUR, i looked hard a the Moab edition and thing it is a great looking Jeep, we have neither one had any trouble driving on snow or ice and we get both here in Northern Wyoming. One ice you have to drive smart either way. I think long term the Rubi probably holds its value better but I don't plan to ever sell.. We had an 09 JKUR that my daughter drives now and has Cooper SST pros on it and she does just fine on snow and Ice. I personally like the Rubicons and feel they are the best production made 4wd on the market off road platform ever. I think what ever you choose you will be happy with and a proud owner of a Jeep. Tires are replaceable items, so I personally wouldn't let that determine your purchase. I will warn you though once you have a Jeep your mind will begin to warp and you will start to take you places that are further and further from the pavement. When that happens it gets expensive, but hey its only money and you cant take it with you. I choose Rubis because my mind keeps dragging me further away and I love having Lockers that help me get there.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Hello, I’m the next few days I am looking to buy a wrangler jlu. I will be using it for heavy deep snow and other off-roading conditions (parts of rubicon possibly etc.) my price range is around 52 msrp and naturally the Moab and rubicon seem like good options. I like the leather and steel bumpers on Moab standard and the rubicon for that price point doesn’t have that. Also the v6 is normally in the Moab which I like. The rubicon however has lockers which I’m not sure their necessity and a slightly different ride height with bigger tires. I don’t loook to do to many modifications to either. If anyone has any input that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

If you're going to wheel on parts of the Rubicon trail, I see the answer as obvious...get a Rubicon. Where the Rubicon (Jeep) will do things easily, the Moab might be at or above it's capability. The Rubicon has a transfer case that has 4.0:1 low ratio vs the Moab 2.72:1. This alone will be a big advantage when in some tough spots, let alone the larger tires (you said you didn't intend to modify, but if you do, the 4.0:1 will help with tires larger than the stock Rubicon 33") Also, obviously a 2 door will be more maneuverable and lighter than a 4 door.

 

[Patsloft]

Here is what I have found.

#1. If you plan on getting a winch, don't get the Mopar steel bumper, get something better that will cost about the same and have better options like d-ring loops and more importantly will have a spot to use a high-lift jack.

#2 the added ground clearance from the Rubicon will be invaluable for deep snow. And if you decide to get some AT/MT tires they will fit better under the Rubicon fenders.

#3 Lockers kick ass. If you don't end up getting the Rubicon, then you will end up investing in ARB Air Lockers for $900 a piece and then needing to buy an on board air system. (I have a sport and did the ARB lockers because I wanted lockers but not a 52k price tag lol)

#4 Rubicon has 4.10s which will be what you want when pushing through the heavy Tahoe snow. The "smaller" axles will work but will be prone to damage, especially if you get bigger tires.

#5 Not sure if Moab has it, but the sway bar disconnection is fantastic. Beats having to jump out and under the jeep every time you want it off/on

#6 a Rubicon has the "prestige" factor to it, if you care at all)

A few other things to consider that I dont know about the Moab...
Does it come with rock rails like the rubicon? (you will want them to protect the body of the jeep)
How much off road driving do you do vs on road? (Rubicon comes with great tire options, like BFG KO2s)
Does the Moab have the off-road pages for UConnect?

Agree with you 100 percent

 

[danotje]

My wife and I each own The JlUR, i looked hard a the Moab edition and thing it is a great looking Jeep, we have neither one had any trouble driving on snow or ice and we get both here in Northern Wyoming. One ice you have to drive smart either way. I think long term the Rubi probably holds its value better but I don't plan to ever sell.. We had an 09 JKUR that my daughter drives now and has Cooper SST pros on it and she does just fine on snow and Ice. I personally like the Rubicons and feel they are the best production made 4wd on the market off road platform ever. I think what ever you choose you will be happy with and a proud owner of a Jeep. Tires are replaceable items, so I personally wouldn't let that determine your purchase. I will warn you though once you have a Jeep your mind will begin to warp and you will start to take you places that are further and further from the pavement. When that happens it gets expensive, but hey its only money and you cant take it with you. I choose Rubis because my mind keeps dragging me further away and I love having Lockers that help me get there.

I think you brought up some good points! Your mind does start to think differently in a Jeep, and you see the world in a new way. Once you go over, up or across something, you’ll want to do it again and again. It’s addicting and what I think “It’s a Jeep thing” really is.

I also wouldn’t let tires determine my choice of vehicle. They’re consumables, so whether you swap them out in the beginning or later, you will swap them. One point on tires, the three peak snowflake symbol is more important than m+s. It speaks to siping and the compound staying soft at lower temps—allowing the tire to remain pliable and maintain a good contact patch. Having gone through two Fairbanks’ winters now with hardpack, multiple inches of snow and -50 degree temps, I think I’m qualified to say the K02s (and Falken WP AT3WS on our GC) work just fine. We haven’t needed dedicated snow tires, and I didn’t see much difference in the Falkens from our Blizzaks when it came to sheer ice. Additionally, our Rubicon handles ice just fine. 4 auto would be nice, but that short lever on any Jeep can do nearly the same thing when it comes to ice. I just shift out when I’m back on dry roads.

If I was making my choice again, I’d go Rubicon for the lockers. You may not need them now (I didn’t), but then you start Jeepin, and you’ll find a place to use them (and the winch you don’t need ). That said, I’ve seen some Moabs here, and they look awesome. Like many said, you really can’t go wrong with either. Good luck!

 

[Pig-Pen]

A Jeep is not a Jeep if it doesn't go offroad.

A jeep is not a jeep unless its two doors, manual transmission, roll up windows, no ac and leaks from every where it can leak

 

[Sean L]

or get a MOAB and change the tires and take off the MOAB decal.

Or just get a Sahara and put a Rubicon hood on it?

 

[Patinito]

MOAB is a very capable offroader aside from what everyone says. Dana 44 anti-slip diff and on demand auto 4x4. 2 features that the rubicon does not have including better rock rails.

 

[roaniecowpony]

MOAB is a very capable offroader aside from what everyone says. Dana 44 anti-slip diff and on demand auto 4x4. 2 features that the rubicon does not have including better rock rails.

Agreed. A Rubicon is also a very capable offroader. More so than the Moab in certain terrain.

He said he might do parts of the Rubicon trail. The Rubicon trail has plenty of rock crawling. What makes a Moab with a 2.72:1 xfer case, taller gears, and open front diff a better fit for him than a Rubicon?

 

[Patinito]

Agreed. A Rubicon is also a very capable offroader. More so than the Moab in certain terrain.

He said he might do parts of the Rubicon trail. The Rubicon trail has plenty of rock crawling. What makes a Moab with a 2.72:1 xfer case, taller gears, and open front diff a better fit for him than a Rubicon?

The OP stated "I like the leather and steel bumpers on Moab standard and the rubicon for that price point doesn’t have that." He wants options. Thats what we here are talking about is it not? Yes a Rubicon is more off-road capable, there is no disputing that. We all know because rubicon owners love to remind us all the time. But the MOAB is no slacker either. It has more capable off-road hardware than a sport and a sport is a VERY capable off-roader too. Never seen a Sahara or Sport on the rubicon trail?

 

[SecondTJ]

But the MOAB is no slacker either. It has more capable off-road hardware than a sport and a sport is a VERY capable off-roader too. Never seen a Sahara or Sport on the rubicon trail?

If Jeep wanted to make the Moab more off road capable, they would've given it a rear locker, and/or e-disco like they did on some JK special edition, non-Rubicon models. Because they didn't, the Moab isn't any more off road capable than a Sport to Sahara. They are the same.

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