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One Jeep for the Long Term – Seasoned Advice Needed

392 XR or Rubicon XR for the long-term?


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TJJL19

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If money is no problem, then get the 392, you will never have to worry about, not enough power.
The only thing I would worry about, with the 392, is the transfer case from a Jeep Liberty and CV joints, but then you should have enough money to buy a extended warranty.
I'm not a fan of full time all wheel drive, it started with Mall crawlers (Sahara).
The 392 hasn't been out long enough, is too expensive for common people to take onto the trails and beat it, till it breaks!
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Jamrock

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you’re not completely wrong.
Oh please... It's obvious.

My guess is that you have always done the right thing. You have always been responsible and logical and disciplined. That approach has served you well over the years. You have achieved financial stability or even financial success.

Now you are faced with something you really want. Problem is you can't justify it by your usual standards. But you really want it. You are struggling with the decision.

I understand. Life is like that sometimes...

Put a recovery plan in place. How will you make things right if you don't like the choice you have made? That way it won't matter if you make a bad decision. You can fix it and move on.

We can't tell you what to do. You will have to make the decision for yourself.
 
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Rover72

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Get the 392 as you will never be happy if you don't and always saying to yourself "I should have".
I hate when I know what I should do and then try to rationalize my way around it.
 

TheBirdie72

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Devil: “Get the 392 you wimp! You know you want it! Power! Morrre powerrrr!! Heh heh heh!”

Angel: “Don’t listen to that guy! You’re a responsible, good person. Do the right thing and save the money for something more important, like helping poor starving children!”

Devil: “Powerrrrrr…!”

yeah… tough one. 😂



Jeep Wrangler JL One Jeep for the Long Term – Seasoned Advice Needed F4F557C3-7C46-41DE-A783-54A25B00057D
 

LVZen

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I'm a believer in specialized vehicles. I wouldn't get a Jeep if I was looking for muscle car performance. The Rubicon is the Jeepier of the two and does more Jeepy things. The 3.6L has been around for a decade now and is pretty dialed at this point. Lighter is better offroad. If I wanted a big, heavy powerful overlanding rig, I'd be looking at the Power Wagon. If I wanted a Hemi powered muscle car, I'd be looking at a Challenger. I wanted an offroad specialist, so I got a Rubicon.
 

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I appreciate everyone engaging in this conversation over the weekend! I've decided to go with the RXR. Daniel at Gupton has my specs and we are working through it this week.

No doubt the 392 would be awesome. In fact, I hope I have a chance to drive one some day.

What I keep coming back to is that the best choice is actually the Rubicon. Although there were a few new points that I learned this weekend which steered my decision.
  1. I said in my original post that price wasn't an issue. Its not. But that doesn't mean I want to overspend. If I can save a few bucks and get what I need then I'm not going to spend the extra cash. Related to that, the price difference is so great that I think I've convinced my wife that keeping the S5 AND getting the RXR is completely doable. An unexpected win win!
  2. How I'm planning to build this up will definitely add a lot of weight to the vehicle. I don't want to increase my risk of getting bogged down on some trails by having to deal with the added weight of the 6.4L. I also don't want to make the MPG issue even worse. There's some parallels here to the "tyranny of the rocket equation" - more range means more fuel, more fuel means more weight which hampers range.
  3. Timeline. On Saturday I was quoted 4-8 months for a sold-order 392 while the RXR is more like 2 - 3 months. Taking a long term view doesn't mean I want to wait a long time to start enjoying it.
  4. I was reminded yesterday that my local PD has been cracking down on a stupid vehicle ordinance put in place 30 years ago. The problem is that I don't think I'd be disciplined enough to keep the exhaust quiet all the time. We have a huge and visible police presence for a mid-sized town, and I don't want to deal with worrying about the attention.
  5. I've realized I don't want to stress long term about a high maintenance engine. Is my S5 a high maintenance engine? Maybe. But I don't plan on keeping that for another 5+ years. If I can convince the Mrs to let me hold on to it, I'll still end up trading it in for something before it hits 50k miles. As I've said, the plan is to keep the Jeep for a long time. But I'd rather spend my money on enhancing it, not maintaining its ability to turn over every morning. This is a bit of a cynical view, I admit, and perhaps even a bit dramatic. I've dealt with a busted engine at 70k miles. its an area of risk I'm not comfortable with taking on again.
Here's what I'm not looking forward too with the RXR. I'm sure there will be a day when I roll up next to 392. We'll wave and smile. And then he will do a burnout and a wheelie while I chock on the smell of burnt rubber. Damn, that will suck. :crying: ... To all you 392'ers out there on the other end of this stoplight duel, I'm envious.

Thanks again everyone! I hope my perspective here isn't taken personally by anyone who's been willing to help me over the last few days. We all have unique views and I do appreciate the thoughts all of you have provided. Cheers! 🍻
 

Jamrock

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Thanks again everyone! I hope my perspective here isn't taken personally by anyone who's been willing to help me over the last few days. We all have unique views and I do appreciate the thoughts all of you have provided. Cheers! 🍻
You are welcome. The forum gets boring when we don't get questions like these.

Remember to post pictures when you get your Jeep. :like:
 

five9dak

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I've had plenty of performance cars, and built/modified trucks and jeeps for street performance. The novely wears out and you just want to cruise the jeep slow. The 3.6 is more than sufficient. Enjoy the ride.

A tool for every job. Wrangler is not the tool for on road performance, no matter how many horsepower they cram into it.

If you are in a hurry or want a rush, get in your sports sedan, or get a proper sports car instead.
 

Kansas JL

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RXR is sweet. You getting a Jeep! Congrats on your choice!
 

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Congrats! I’d bet your new, box stock, Jeep will go anyplace you want to take it. Get yourself some basic self rescue gear and drive the thief whereYOU want to take it. You can always add extra goodies whenever. My JL Sport S with limited slip, Rubi takeoffs with KO 2’s, rock hard Patriot aluminum bumpers and a Smittybilt 10k is probably the single most capable 4x4 I’ve ever owned and I’ve fiddled with them since the early 70’s and go wherever the urge takes me. I don’t “try” to get hung up or stuck, but if it happens I can extract myself. I’ve hunted, fished, and explored in 4x4’s and never needed more capability that a vehicle with decent tires and a winch can provide. A plain old “come along with a long strap, an entrenching tool and you can get out of some darn tough spots😳
 

Whaler27

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Get a Sahara



Get a Sport S or a Willys
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The Sahara drives best on road. Together with it's creature comforts
The Sport S / Willys is better off road than a Sahara

I use my Sport S for Overlanding, rock crawling and mall crawling.

My Jeep is stock standard. Lifts and big tyres are not needed!








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This post underscores the diversity of taste and preference you’ll find in the Jeep community. As you can see from the “likes“ on this post, lots of folks agree with it. Not me. I’m not suggesting these guys are “wrong”. It’s just a matter of personal taste.

I prefer the Rubicon. You're making a great choice. Aside from price, I found nothing about the Sahara or the Sport which I preferred, including the driving sensations, and I’m not aware of any creature comforts on the Sahara that I want and my Rubicon lacks.

I agree that Jeeps of every trim level are capable without modification. They’re all great. I wish I’d never sold my TJ Sport 6-speed to buy more parts for my JL, but the Rubicon is more capable.

If you intend to do a really top-end, whole-hog build that would replace all of the Rubicon components from the axels up, I’d start with a Sport, because there’s no sense in paying for a bunch of expensive components you’re going to replace. On the other hand, if you’re going to stop short of that uber-build, I’d start with a Rubicon and enjoy the modification process. (See Marco's latest Jeep.)

I’m 44 years into Jeep ownership, and I’m still learning a lot from the folks around here and YouTube. They’ve been helping me build my 2019 JLUR for almost three years now.

I’m over $30,000 into my build. My wish list is still growing, and I’m having a great time. Unfortunately, I‘m tight on money, so I’m hitting the pause button after finishing the brakes I’m working on now, but I still want to re-gear, swap axels, and add an ARB fridge, a roof-top tent, a batwing awning, an iPad, half-doors, radios, a soft top, and an interior storage system. I’ve run out of stuff I want to sell, so buying all that is going to take me a long time. :like:

The Hemi sounds fantastic, and I love horsepower, but It’s easy to drop $60k on cool stuff to customize a JL. For me, the first $25k in mods I did is worth more than the Hemi, as is my list of future mods -- even if I pine for that cool sound at the stoplight. I’d only buy the Hemi if I had a whole lot more money, I planned to tow a heavier camp trailer, and I could safely add more fuel capacity. With the right gearing the 3.6 is extremely capable and more than enough power for an overlanding Jeep.

If money really is no object, and you love the Hemi, you should buy one. It’s a great motor. I’m on my third Hemi-powered Charger. They have all spent a LOT of time idling, and all were run hard every day. I turned the first one in with over 145,000 miles, the second went away at 115,000 miles. Both were running strong and trouble free when they went away,, and the third is running strong too. It’s a great motor.
 
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coupedncal

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I'm sure there will be a day when I roll up next to 392. We'll wave and smile. And then he will do a burnout and a wheelie while I chock on the smell of burnt rubber. Damn, that will suck. :crying: ...
Yes you very likely will. ie smell the burnt rubber and lots and lots of burnt fuel as well from the 392. :)

In all fairness, it takes courage to tame the horse so to speak and purchase what you need vs what you don't need but might want at some point. You should pat yourself on the back for having the clarity of mind to make this decision.
 

Cajun21

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Keep the Audi, if you're rock crawling and it will happen something gets broken, and you have that vehicle while fixing the broken item. Yet leaving a nice fast Audi and getting into A Wrangler even a 392 will be a change- reason I kept my 392 challenger. Yet even though everyone will give you their two cents-you 're the one that have to make that final decision and it's never easy. Good Luck
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