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How many people have already bought and traded in their Gladiators?

Fastbusa

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I know why I have a four door! I posted this before, but I can't find anything that is better for my kids to get in, so like you, I like my Jeep, four doors and hard top enclosed.

army-dogs-jpg.jpg
Put my English Mastiff in the back of my JLU once, spent a week attempting to get dog hair out of it.
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Jteakus

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I have a JLURD and will add a Glad to the fleet soon but it will be a low mileage used one. They sure don’t have the resale value of the JL’s.
I would LOVE to bob the bed on one. Rear departure angle is horrible unless you are on 40’s
 

Jteakus

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Hey Fastbusa, what year bike do you have?
 

GabeB007

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I got a Gladiator Sport with the Altitude Pkg and I love. I can out of a Ram so I didn’t miss the storage. It is smaller and not quite the horsepower I had, but it works for me.
 

DrPerez007

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As I said in one of the threads the day the Gladiator was introduced, I prefer my pickup to do what pickups do best, and my Wrangler to do what Wranglers do best. And the Gladiator was neither, IMHO. It is the reason I own Jeep Wranglers and went out and bought a Ford Ranger. My Jeeps do Jeep things and my Ranger does pickup things. I never confuse the two.

Am I glad Jeep built the Gladiator? Absolutely. The more variations that Jeep produces the more consumer choices, the more likely Jeep will stay in business, and the better the chance they will ultimately produce the J6 (two door pickup). I am tickled by the introduction of the diesel engine option, the 4xe hybrid, and the 392, regardless as to whether I would ever personally own one (the 4xe does have me eye, however). It also jacks up the competition among other manufacturers which is ultimately good for all of us (Bronco is the best thing that has happened to Jeep since it introduced the JL/JLU in 2018).

Having read what some say about 2-door pickups not selling, I wholeheartedly disagree. There is a difference between a Wrangler and a pickup truck and I honestly believe a J6 type two-door pickup would sell much better than a 2-door JL. The J6 purpose is different, as is the target audience. In fact, just a wild-ass guess, but I am willing to bet that a J6 two-door pickup properly equipped would outsell the Gladiator. Lots of guys went with the 4-door JKU in ‘07 when it was introduced because they could talk their spouses into it being a “family” vehicle. And then it just became a “thing.” As we know, the JKU/JLU outsold the JK/JL versions by a 2 to 1 margin. But the J6 doesn’t have those demands necessarily and I even think you would find people like me who would own both the JKU/JLU and the J6. Would I trade my Ranger in on a J6? If Jeep built it right, with the appropriate options and towing capacity, the answer is, “Yes.”

Having said all of that, for what it’s worth, the best looking Gladiators are those with at least 35’s, if not 37’s. It just gives it a better proportional look. Like the look of yours, WhatExit?!
 

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Jteakus

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Much safer. I had a Burnt Copper Metallic Anniversary. Stock wheel base, intake came on exhaust side, Yoshi cube and a 30 shot of nitrous. Best pass was 9.53@156 Sold it to (start) building motor for my Chevelle. Had a lot of good times on it and glad The Lord saw fit to let me survive it.
 

angrynewyorker

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I bought a diesel Gladiator Rubicon in October 2020 and traded it in March 2021 for a 2 door manual JL Rubicon. Couldn’t be happier.
 

moparcruiser

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I think this is just another case of "get what you need/want" but with the caveat of "know what you really need/want before you buy in".

Going back some 9 years to 2012, I had a 2003 Durango.....360 V8, truck frame, big tires/wheels, 4 doors, enclosed rear space. LOVED it. Perfect size for vacations and commuting, I was able to haul my antique car on a trailer behind it, and it went offroad great....within reason.

When I went to get rid of it due to being nickle/dimed to death on repairs, I found I couldn't find an affordable similar sized SUV with the same traits. So I was looking at the Ram pickups. At the time I already had a 2 door Dakota pickup but that was too small for our growing family. Was gonna get a club cab Ram but we had at that time growing boys so my wife thought we should get the crew cab. And at the time there were GREAT prices on the crew cabs.

Loved it for a while....still do.....but it is NOT a trail vehicle or a vehicle that is made for traffic, tight city streets etc. It just isnt.

IT. IS. BIG.

That doesnt make it bad or a "miss" by the manufacturer.

I knew it was huge when I bought it.

I still have that Ram and like it a lot. Have had it off road on beaches and wide mud roads a lot but tight trails? Nope. We took it on many family vacations using a BackFlip hard cover all our crap in the bed. Worked great.

The Gladiator, to me, when it came out looked like they took a new body and stuck it on the Ram frame. I know thats not the case.....but size wise, I mean. I think they are cooool. And I wouldnt say no if someone gave me one to drive. But I already have a pickup that is paid off.

When the wife recently decided to trade her '19 Cherokee lease in for "something" she mentioned Wranglers.....

And then a whole new decision came into play.....2 or 4 door.

Having had plenty of 4 doors for a while, we were ready for a two door, what with the kids grown and doing their own thing.

The 4 door is "longer"......though not by a whole lot I suppose......and that, to me, makes it less fun. I test drove one for a week and liked it a lot but I still felt it was too long.

Then we drove the 2 door Wrangler and fell in love.

I did a "vacation dry run" the other day -- packed all our crap...fishing poles, coolers, folding chaise chairs, folding regular chairs, pop up tent....plenty of room with the seat out.

For some that wont be enough room, I know. If you frequently need people to ride in the back seat, I'd say the 4 door is the ticket. Its a pain for an adult to climb into the rear seat of the 2 door. Lord knows *I* will never do it at over 6 feet tall pushing 300. But my wife has been back there.....so was the 5'10" car salesman......didnt look confy to me.....but in a pinch....

And for some, being longer on the trail wont bother them....heck, I would bet a lot of these wranglers will NEVER see a trail worse than a wide clear cut fire road.

So get what ya want, what ya need.

If ya need a way to haul gravel, lumber, motorcycles, etc without trailering and still want a Jeep, then get the Glad. Wranglers aint doing that.

If you need to haul kids or stuff that is too valuable or dainty to live in an open bed and you do not want to get a cover etc, then get the wrangler that suits your space needs.

Personally I love how spritely the 2 door feels (I have told my wife I feel like a grasshopper when I am driving the 2 door) and the SUPER tight turning circle.....as compared to the 4 door. I grew up around and wanting the old CJ etc.....and those were 2 door...so maybe that factors in too...LOL

But I agree with others here that many folks went ouyt and bought cause of the cool factor and then realized how BIG a crew cab pickup really is....
 

sfurash53

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My wife an I debated Willys JLU or Willys JT
Ultimately settled on the JLU.
We came from a 2014 Willys JK 2dr.
While it would have been nice to have the pickup for when we need it the size for when we don't was the buzz kill for us.
We still have to parallel park from time to time.
My wife actually mentioned today that compared to the 2dr JK the 4dr JLU doesn't quite feel like a Jeep.
The JLU suits our needs though
I do wish we could have gotten it with 4:10's.
That would make it perfect.
 

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Rodeoflyer

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The guy (trailrecon) in the video some posts back made the absolute right choice. A truck that can work AND play and a Jeep with an enclosed, secure, easily accessible in bad weather conditions, cargo area. Also can sleep in it out of the weather.

I looked at gladiators when they were first released because its such a unique vehicle but they were $60k+ back then and that price for one was a hard no.
 

moparcruiser

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Some data for comparison in this discussion, from the Chrysler/Jeep sites

RAM crew cab with 5'7" bed (what I have)-
Turning radius- 23.1 feet
Bed - 5'7" long Min 51" wide and max 66.4" wide
Wheelbase - 144.5"
Overall length - 232.9"
Curb weight - 4906

Gladiator 4 door
TR- 22.3 feet
Bed - 5'3", min 44.8" wid, max 56.8 inches wide
Wheelbase 137.3
Overall length - 218" (only 14" shorter than the RAM crew cab)
Curb weight - 4650

Wrangler 4 door
TR- 20.4 feet
Wheelbase - 118"
Overall length - 188.4" long (about 30" shorter than the Glad)
curb weight - 4167

Wrangler 2 door
TR - 17.3 feet (woohoo!)
Wheelbase - 96.8 inches
Overall length 166.8" long (22" shorter than a 4 door Wrangler)
curb weight 3948
 

betsy

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We traded our 2018 JL rubicon 2dr for a 2020 gladiator, we both love it, I retired last year and after not owning a pickup for 25 years it was great, we then purchased a used renegade for the errands and quick trips, hated that, just picked up a 2021 JL rubicon that we ordered 4 weeks ago , we really love having both
Jeep Wrangler JL How many people have already bought and traded in their Gladiators? BFB38B34-D32B-4DFE-81E1-66C6FBE5A2D2
Jeep Wrangler JL How many people have already bought and traded in their Gladiators? 14A853B6-B47A-4B9C-A573-9F25D2987FDE
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