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

[sf5211]

Since this is a "Let's Bash the Gladiator" thread I'll be your poster boy...

I happily sold my JKUR and got a Gladiator. You KNOW your JK's and JL's have very limited carrying capacity (not talking about weight). It's why interior shelves and exterior racks and massive rear bumper systems for tires, jerry cans, coolers, etc. are made and sold.

This forum is filled with happy Wrangler owners and that's great. I"m a very happy Gladiator owner and with the wheeling I do I don't have issues due to the longer breakover angle or tail (departure angle). Of course the 3.5" lift and 37" tires help a lot.

And yes, it's been drive off road. A lot...

Dude I think your JT is sweet! I'm sure others will agree

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[Fastbusa]

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.

Agree, love them.

It's all relative.

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2019...e-charged-after-boating-over-lake-zumbro-dam/

 

[TJJL19]

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

Also, the slim from their Jabba Jaws, like kids, they are worth more then, all the hassles.
The hair on my Boxers is short and weaves right into the fabric.

 

[Fastbusa]

Also, the slim from their Jabba Jaws, like kids, they are worth more then, all the hassles.
The hair on my Boxers is short and weaves right into the fabric.

Yep, next to impossible getting out. Definitely makes me consider getting floor boards lined and pulling the cheap carpet.

 

[Thegrants82]

Since this is a "Let's Bash the Gladiator" thread I'll be your poster boy...

I happily sold my JKUR and got a Gladiator. You KNOW your JK's and JL's have very limited carrying capacity (not talking about weight). It's why interior shelves and exterior racks and massive rear bumper systems for tires, jerry cans, coolers, etc. are made and sold.

This forum is filled with happy Wrangler owners and that's great. I"m a very happy Gladiator owner and with the wheeling I do I don't have issues due to the longer breakover angle or tail (departure angle). Of course the 3.5" lift and 37" tires help a lot.

And yes, it's been drive off road. A lot...

I mean, you chop a foot or two off and that’s nice.

 

[Ogre_FL]

Never even considered trading our 2 door, but recently added a Gladiator.
The 2 door "feels" like a jeep.
The Gladiator is a convertible truck with some jeep capabilities to me.

 

[Sparty]

Never even considered trading our 2 door, but recently added a Gladiator.
The 2 door "feels" like a jeep.
The Gladiator is a convertible truck with some jeep capabilities to me.

This is my only gripe about the Gladiator (and soft top)

 

[SH556JL]

I think if I was to get a Gladiator, I would go for a hard top because it looks so ugly with the soft top back. Plus I seen some videos that makes it look easy to take the hardtop off buy yourself with a bed cover.

 

[Ogre_FL]

This is my only gripe about the Gladiator (and soft top)

Didn't care for it at first myself, now I don't really care.
Its super quick to just throw it back and you dont really gain much by removing the back panels and window.
if you want to run with less, the top itself comes off pretty quick and easy, just 4 bolts.
Its quite practical to remove it and keep it in the back under the bed cover.

The Gladiator open like this is MUCH less noisy or blustery than my JL hard top with the freedom panels removed.
It also feels a lot more open than just removing the freedom panels.
I was on the fence about doing another hard top until I drove a soft top Gladiator open.

 

[Thegrants82]

Never even considered trading our 2 door, but recently added a Gladiator.
The 2 door "feels" like a jeep.
The Gladiator is a convertible truck with some jeep capabilities to me.

That pickup is like 5 feet longer than the two door with a trailer. Lol

 

[Firestarter]

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

This is interesting because all the used JTRs I've seen on Autotrader when looking for mine were more expensive than the new ones. Right now within 100 miles of me on Autotrader, there are zero JTR at or below the price I paid for mine, and the cheapest one has 15k miles. And those say "KBB Great Price".

 

[Firestarter]

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.

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.”

What truck things can a ranger do but not a JT? Personally I think the Gladiator name is dumb, but that's not really an issue. I had a 2010 Tacoma TeRD and 98 Ram 12v Cummins before this, the Tacoma couldn't do truck things and the 12v was massive. You can tow 7500+ lbs in either Ranger or Gladiator, they have roughly the same size beds and I think the JT has more room in the back seat. While I'd prefer more torque from the v6, it does just fine and is a reliable and inexpensive to maintain engine.

FCA... Stellantis now?... is a multi-billion dollar international organization... They spend a lot of money research and measuring what their customers want. If there was a rewarding market for a 2 door JT, then they'd build it. Simply because you and I like the way a 2 door JT would look doesn't mean others would want something with such little practicality. This is called consensus bias. Vast majority of JT buyers are going to having different preferences. This is called a long-tail strategy where you find a niche in the long-tails of a statistical distribution where 2.5% of people hide... they are willing to pay a premium for the product no one else wants. Jeep wants to be a broad market competitor in which they appeal to 68% of people so they can leverage economies of scale and dilute costs over millions of units. This is why Ferrari was not solvent as an independent manufacturer and why Chevy can make a similar product for 1/5th the cost.

 

[Walker Texas Wrangler]

When they announced the Gladiator Concept back in 04/05 I swore I was going to get one. I had just replaced my TJ for a Ram Pickup. But when the production was green lighted over a decade later it had changed a lot. The side tire carrier, shorter bed and extra cab that opened up suicide door style were great touches that really had the right dimensions (for me). Don't get me wrong, I like the Gladiators. But to me they really needed to be lifted and have 37's to look right in my eye. When I bought my JLUR a couple months ago, I gave them another look. I'm happy with my decision, to each their own.

 

[Strommen95]

But when the production was green lighted over a decade later it had changed a lot.

Personally, I think a JL looks fairly better than the JK did. With that said the JKs appearance on a Gladiator looks much better than the current Gladiator IMO. Just looks more right.

 

[Jteakus]

This is interesting because all the used JTRs I've seen on Autotrader when looking for mine were more expensive than the new ones. Right now within 100 miles of me on Autotrader, there are zero JTR at or below the price I paid for mine, and the cheapest one has 15k miles. And those say "KBB Great Price".

Hmmm. I’m in North Louisiana and searching on Car Fax JTR’s with around 20K miles within a 500 mile radius seem to be about $15-20K off what I can build one for on Jeep’s website. Disclaimer: I have been wrong before. A lot.

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