Opinions needed. Old truck or trade for glad

[sf5211]

Could you get by with the Wrangler and a trailer?

This^^^ is exactly what I did. I bought 11 acres of land in upstate NY. I figured cutting trees, hauling tools, a Gladiator was good for me. I even joined the JT forum.
Then reality set in…this would be my 2nd trade in, the JT would only leave 4” of clearance to close my garage door which means doors have to go back on every day, no power roof option and last, I love my JL.
I ordered a 5 x 8 enclosed trailer similar to the one pictured. It’s due any day now.

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[mwilk012]

You should get an old truck, there's just no question. A gladiator will never be a work truck.

 

[StaindReality]

Thanks. It’s great hearing what others have done also. Puts things in better perspective I guess.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

My other vehicle is an XLT F150 crew cab 4x4 with a 6.5’ bed. It feels huge compared to my 2 dr Jeep.

It is nice to have a truck around to haul stuff you don’t want to put in the Jeep. Things like half a dozen 5 gallon fuel cans, bags of salt, pool chemicals etc. when I had the JK I used a utility trailer for that stuff, but a pickup is better. Plus it’s paid for so it only costs me fuel and insurance to keep it around. It keeps me from racking up the miles on the Jeep and vice versa.

 

[Odierub]

Older truck. You will be surprised how much you will enjoy having a second vehicle to compliment the Jeep, not just for work.

 

[emptyminded42]

I'm definitely in the Gladiator camp. You can get one used that will help alleviate the cost and the anxiety of beating it up because it'll probably already have dings and dents. I also just fundamentally don't understand why people are all worried about using a new vehicle. They're made to be driven and used every day. Forget about the next owner, it's like saving your S.O.'s virginity for their next partner...

It's plenty capable of towing a trailer, hauling stuff in the bed, while still being a Jeep. It's a truck and a Wrangler. Find one with the max tow package and other features that enable it to serve as a work truck for you.

I wish they were more affordable when I bought my JLU but they were literally just hitting showrooms - I'd love having a bed for Home Depot runs for little DIY projects around the house but I didn't want to pay the almost $10k it would've taken to get into a Glad at the time.

I don't know what sort of work you need to do with it and how much you really need to haul but you may also really want to consider - is an older truck going to be reliable enough to support what am assuming is your means of earning an income? Every day you suddenly have to cancel bringing materials/getting to the job site because your old truck is broken is a loss of income and reputation.

Food for thought.

 

[cripton805]

I traded to a Gladiator. I actually liked my Wrangler more. I really do like my Gladiator, but I liked having the space in the back enclosed and the Wrangler is far more capable offroad.

Reasons I traded. A truck is more useful. I used my Wrangler to carry furniture numerous times. My Wrangler was having a ton of corrosion problems, manual trans problems, and I got the Gladiator 15% under MSRP. It was a no brainer.

I would just like to throw out there. I haven't dealt with a single dealer that was complete crap when dealing with Warranty problems. On top of FCA calling me at 5am to give me crap about reporting my issues. The lady was extremely rude while I was still half asleep. Honestly, I have never dealt with worse customer service from any other manufacturer and I've owned a lot of cars.

 

[rikity]

If you're unsure, the best answer is to get both. Keep the wrangler, buy an old truck and a gladiator

 

[Pig-Pen]

you can pick up a decent old truck for the price of a set of jeep wheels/37s lol.

 

[mnjeeper]

Old truck. For me...old would be subjective, I still want some comfort.

Don't worry about not driving the JL, it'll be fine. Mine is 9 months old with 4500 miles. Remove coming home from the dealer and a couple wheeling trips the poor thing only got like 350 miles a month. My car...well, I got my driveway sealed in late May...it's in the same spot. I gotta go drive that for some reason soon.

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