Talk me back into it.

[Sean L]

And comparing how easy it is to put my Harley on my utility trailer (without any help) vs trying to load it in the back of my Ram, I can say that a utility trailer is a lot better for such endeavors. But, there are always compromises... Toll roads might charge more for 3 axles vs 2 axles... Parking is easier for a pickup with a motorcycle in the back than for a JL with a utility trailer...

I generally avoid Toll roads, but that's pretty easy in NC.

All in all, the only times I've had to pull or carry a motorcycle was when one of my friends laid his Ninja down and broke his left grip off (we loaded it in the bed of my old Dakota) and then when I first bought my own motorcycle (pulled on a Uhaul motorcycle trailer by my old Ram) so the times I need to move that bike not on its own power are very few and far in between.

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[NavyVet1959]

I generally avoid Toll roads, but that's pretty easy in NC.

All in all, the only times I've had to pull or carry a motorcycle was when one of my friends laid his Ninja down and broke his left grip off (we loaded it in the bed of my old Dakota) and then when I first bought my own motorcycle (pulled on a Uhaul motorcycle trailer by my old Ram) so the times I need to move that bike not on its own power are very few and far in between.

I tend to avoid toll roads also, but I remember a trip down to South Florida many years ago when I was towing my boat and I discovered that Florida charges more for extra axles (regardless of whether it is on your vehicle or on a trailer) and regardless of how light the boat and trailer might be. And then there was the time when I made a wrong turn in Key West and ended up on a dead end street and had to do a multi-point U-turn with a trailer behind me. There's always compromises...

 

[Sean L]

I tend to avoid toll roads also, but I remember a trip down to South Florida many years ago when I was towing my boat and I discovered that Florida charges more for extra axles (regardless of whether it is on your vehicle or on a trailer) and regardless of how light the boat and trailer might be. And then there was the time when I made a wrong turn in Key West and ended up on a dead end street and had to do a multi-point U-turn with a trailer behind me. There's always compromises...

True, Venturing into unknown streets with a trailer is risky business. Once during a move my wife found herself caught in a dead end street and unfamiliar with how to back up and turn around with a trailer (She was in the old Ram with a Uhaul trailer, I was driving the 26 foot moving truck with her car on a dolly and not with her). It was very fortunate that a trucker lived on that street and was able to help her out.

 

[PGFDE121]

Maybe the JT Scrambler would be an option? Best of both worlds. Might have been mentioned already didn’t read the full thread.

 

[JeepJL18]

So I’ve been researching and waiting to buy my Wrangler next month. I’ve been very excited about finally getting one. Not that I’m a few weeks away I’m becoming hesitant on pulling he trigger. It doesn’t get the greatest gas mileage. It doesn’t have a ton of storage. It’s probably not as safe as most cars out there. And I’ve been hearing horror story after horror story about some people and their new JL. There’s no doubt it’d be fun but do I really want to drop 45k on fun? I have a 3 year old son. Is it gonna be an ok choice for him? I know there’s no logical reason to pay 45k on an off-road vehicle when it’ll probably only go off-road 5% of the time. HELP ME!!! Lol!
I’ve been starting to lean towards the new 2019 Ram 1500.

I can't imagine a RAM 1500 getting better gas mileage than a wrangler. In fact, I looked it up. 3 mpg diff isn't enough to sway me away from Jeep.

21 mpg city and 29 mpg highway - Dodge RAM 1500

18 mpg city and 23 mpg highway - Jeep Wrangler JL

I have a 17 month old daughter and there is nothing like seeing her face light up as I drive with the top back and her looking up at the sky.

There are are atleast 10 pick up truck manufactures - There is only 1 jeep.

 

[Cwu21]

If you need to be talked into a vehicle then its probably not right choice for you regardless if is a JEEP, RAM, MUSTANG...etc IMHO

 

[HUM]

2k miles and 0 kinks to work out. It’s been flawless in every way. So well designed. Get rid of your doubt and go with your gut feeling. Pull the trigger!

 

[Sean L]

I can't imagine a RAM 1500 getting better gas mileage than a wrangler. In fact, I looked it up. 3 mpg diff isn't enough to sway me away from Jeep.

21 mpg city and 29 mpg highway - Dodge RAM 1500

18 mpg city and 23 mpg highway - Jeep Wrangler JL

I have a 17 month old daughter and there is nothing like seeing her face light up as I drive with the top back and her looking up at the sky.

There are are atleast 10 pick up truck manufactures - There is only 1 jeep.

With Comparable engines the ram gets pretty much the same mileage as the JLs do. The JKs were the ones that were measurably lower than the Ram.

 

[MSteeves]

So I’ve been researching and waiting to buy my Wrangler next month. I’ve been very excited about finally getting one. Not that I’m a few weeks away I’m becoming hesitant on pulling he trigger. It doesn’t get the greatest gas mileage. It doesn’t have a ton of storage. It’s probably not as safe as most cars out there. And I’ve been hearing horror story after horror story about some people and their new JL. There’s no doubt it’d be fun but do I really want to drop 45k on fun? I have a 3 year old son. Is it gonna be an ok choice for him? I know there’s no logical reason to pay 45k on an off-road vehicle when it’ll probably only go off-road 5% of the time. HELP ME!!! Lol!
I’ve been starting to lean towards the new 2019 Ram 1500.

We have a Sport JLU, with the 24S package, factory trailer/tow, the absolutely marvelous 8-speed, standard UConnect 3/5" display, and none of the other feaux-feaux. It was a lot less than 45K, and does everything we want, and we can add selected whistles and bells as we go along (Magellan TRX7 is awesome). Storage is adequate (it is, after all, a mini-van), but there's only two of us what with the kids all up and gone so YMMV; love the ride - ours steers well and is solid; looks really good in silver and black. ESS is spooky till you get used to it, we punch it off for our bucolic rural driving but use it on our rare trips to The Big City. Love the Freedom Top ejection hatches, too. Easy to pull off and put back on. Would prefer something like the Wrangler AT tires rather than the All-seasons but all things in good time. Safety? Might not be high up on the list, but it is hardly a death trap.

It has done well for us off-road, on what 'Colorado Backroads and 4-Wheel-Drive Trails' calls 'moderate' expeditions. The factory skidplates are light compared to the after-markets but on those 'easy' and 'moderate' trails are adequate. So far. No oil pan skid, though, which baffles me. I'd like to add one but don't need that pricey armor plate of the aftermarkets.

I have no horror stories. My Accomplice in Life thinks getting it was one of our better decisions.

Had wild thoughts about a Rubicon before sanity set in; most of the Rube owners around here I know of fit into that 'off-road 5% of the time' but that 'off-road' really doesn't require all the hard-core Rubicon whistles and bells. Outstanding babe magnets, though, from what I see. No young cop or fireperson should be without one. If I were forty years younger ... well, maybe fifty years younger ...

And, as others have said, the lesser Wranglers are still pretty awesome machines in their own right. I'm in agreeance with that.

"Never take counsel of your fears" might be a bit of an overstatement, but within reason, it's good advice. Bet your boy would love it. Years ago I had an FJ40; my daughter remembers that thing as the 'funnest car ever.'

 

[SOON]

We have a Sport JLU, with the 24S package, factory trailer/tow, the absolutely marvelous 8-speed, standard UConnect 3/5" display, and none of the other feaux-feaux. It was a lot less than 45K, and does everything we want, and we can add selected whistles and bells as we go along (Magellan TRX7 is awesome). Storage is adequate (it is, after all, a mini-van), but there's only two of us what with the kids all up and gone so YMMV; love the ride - ours steers well and is solid; looks really good in silver and black. ESS is spooky till you get used to it, we punch it off for our bucolic rural driving but use it on our rare trips to The Big City. Love the Freedom Top ejection hatches, too. Easy to pull off and put back on. Would prefer something like the Wrangler AT tires rather than the All-seasons but all things in good time. Safety? Might not be high up on the list, but it is hardly a death trap.

It has done well for us off-road, on what 'Colorado Backroads and 4-Wheel-Drive Trails' calls 'moderate' expeditions. The factory skidplates are light compared to the after-markets but on those 'easy' and 'moderate' trails are adequate. So far. No oil pan skid, though, which baffles me. I'd like to add one but don't need that pricey armor plate of the aftermarkets.

I have no horror stories. My Accomplice in Life thinks getting it was one of our better decisions.

Had wild thoughts about a Rubicon before sanity set in; most of the Rube owners around here I know of fit into that 'off-road 5% of the time' but that 'off-road' really doesn't require all the hard-core Rubicon whistles and bells. Outstanding babe magnets, though, from what I see. No young cop or fireperson should be without one. If I were forty years younger ... well, maybe fifty years younger ...

And, as others have said, the lesser Wranglers are still pretty awesome machines in their own right. I'm in agreeance with that.

"Never take counsel of your fears" might be a bit of an overstatement, but within reason, it's good advice. Bet your boy would love it. Years ago I had an FJ40; my daughter remembers that thing as the 'funnest car ever.'

I’m getting a wrangler. Test drive one the other day and loved it. I’ve been wanting to get a Rubicon but now I’m debating between a Rubicon and a sport S. I know I’m not going to take advantage of everything the Rubicon can do but there are things that come standard on it that I think will save in modification cost down the road. Mainly the gearing. Running 35’s on the 4.10 gearing won’t be an issue at all with an automatic. And if getting in and out isn’t going to be a chore for the family upgrading to 37’s is a possibility without having to regear. I’m nervous that the Sport S might struggle with 35’s or 37’s. Plus the cost of suspension mods to make those fit on a Sport vs a Rubicon.
I know a lot of people are going to tell me the money I’d save from a sport to a rubicon will be enough to do the mods I want but im going to be leasing (will allow me to have easier to swallow payments and we’ll be in a better financial situation at lease end to either buy it out or start over with a new one) doing the math with money factors and residuals sport s vs rubicon there isn’t a huge difference in monthly payment between the two.

 

[JeepJL18]

I’m getting a wrangler. Test drive one the other day and loved it. I’ve been wanting to get a Rubicon but now I’m debating between a Rubicon and a sport S. I know I’m not going to take advantage of everything the Rubicon can do but there are things that come standard on it that I think will save in modification cost down the road. Mainly the gearing. Running 35’s on the 4.10 gearing won’t be an issue at all with an automatic. And if getting in and out isn’t going to be a chore for the family upgrading to 37’s is a possibility without having to regear. I’m nervous that the Sport S might struggle with 35’s or 37’s. Plus the cost of suspension mods to make those fit on a Sport vs a Rubicon.
I know a lot of people are going to tell me the money I’d save from a sport to a rubicon will be enough to do the mods I want but im going to be leasing (will allow me to have easier to swallow payments and we’ll be in a better financial situation at lease end to either buy it out or start over with a new one) doing the math with money factors and residuals sport s vs rubicon there isn’t a huge difference in monthly payment between the two.

Get the Sport S, then upgrade to better stuff later.

 

[JLBuyer]

So I’ve been researching and waiting to buy my Wrangler next month. I’ve been very excited about finally getting one. Not that I’m a few weeks away I’m becoming hesitant on pulling he trigger. It doesn’t get the greatest gas mileage. It doesn’t have a ton of storage. It’s probably not as safe as most cars out there. And I’ve been hearing horror story after horror story about some people and their new JL. There’s no doubt it’d be fun but do I really want to drop 45k on fun? I have a 3 year old son. Is it gonna be an ok choice for him? I know there’s no logical reason to pay 45k on an off-road vehicle when it’ll probably only go off-road 5% of the time. HELP ME!!! Lol!
I’ve been starting to lean towards the new 2019 Ram 1500.

For goodness sakes man stay away from Dodge Ram. Buy anything Ford or Chevy. if you buy a Dodge Ram you can look up the statistics it's a super hot selling truck but has the least Customer Loyalty of any of the big three nobody returns to buy another Dodge Ram after owning one and I found out the hard way why that is.
I've got 50, 000 miles on my Dodge Ram and I can't wait to get rid of it.
So far at 50k (I drive 50k a year and have for the past 30 years due to my job.)


1) "on typical Vehicles" the OEM Factory windshields usually last a hundred K miles and once you change out that OEM Factory windshield you're constantly changing out those cheap China windshields that the auto glass companies sell you.
I have never had a truck with this few miles have about 8 Rock chips in the windshield already. the windshields are complete joke you can smack it with your finger and chip it
2) the third brake lights leak and put ugly water stains in it your headliner.
There's a YouTube fix for that.
3) the doors are the heaviest doors I've ever felt since a 1970 Chevelle I had. driving on curvy mountain roads they pull away and break the seals and make a bunch of wind noise through the doors on every Bend.
4) the cloth interior is junk especially since I use all my trucks for work trucks. You just look cross-eyed at the interior and it instantly stains.
5) again interior materials, my driver seat is all ripped up with foam sticking out. Yes Iat only 50k miles it's ridiculous!
6) key switch issues. Plastic junk constantly needing warrantied.
7) the Hemi 6. 4 is a complete joke. I've heard good things about the 5. 7 but I have nothing good to say about the 6. 4 it's terrible. It's hard to crank over sounds like it's not going to start when it runs it does not sound good and when you jump on it and need the power to do a passing maneuver you got to wait forever for it to decide to downshift and go.
8) don't get the factory hubcaps on the dually those Chrome hubcaps all they do is fly off look around at any duly and you will see black wheels because nobody wants to keep buying those hubcaps they're cheap China junk.
9) those dumb-ass Dumbo ear freaking mirrors are not adjustable. notice they either stick out in the way too far out, or when you flip them they're way too far in if you've got a service bad or a camper trailer behind you.
10) the Aaissin heavy-duty transmission upgrade is the slowest Reaction Time slowest shifting biggest turd I'm a transmission I've ever had the displeasure of driving.
11) recall after recall. I just got a notice yesterday that says I got to take it in for a parking gear brake interlock problem. I mean seriously how many years has it been and we have not perfected how to make the damn break have to operate before you can shift it out of park?
12) my foam steering wheel is falling apart in the Arizona Heat.

I think that's about it for now. We'll see how it goes for the next 50k miles if it makes it that far before I just cut my losses take it in and trade it in.

 

[JeepDrvr2018]

So I’ve been researching and waiting to buy my Wrangler next month. I’ve been very excited about finally getting one. Not that I’m a few weeks away I’m becoming hesitant on pulling he trigger. It doesn’t get the greatest gas mileage. It doesn’t have a ton of storage. It’s probably not as safe as most cars out there. And I’ve been hearing horror story after horror story about some people and their new JL. There’s no doubt it’d be fun but do I really want to drop 45k on fun? I have a 3 year old son. Is it gonna be an ok choice for him? I know there’s no logical reason to pay 45k on an off-road vehicle when it’ll probably only go off-road 5% of the time. HELP ME!!! Lol!
I’ve been starting to lean towards the new 2019 Ram 1500.

Ok, I don't have a JLX, I have a 2013 Sahara JK. I have owned two of them, and I am waiting for the JL Truck next year, provided it will be offered with a 6 speed manual, no manual, I will get the JLU Rubi. I like my jeep, it is not a sports car, it's not a mileage vehicle, it's not a truck, but I can put lots of stuff back there 10-12 bags of mulch/fertilizer, without putting down the seats, if I put down the seats, could get maybe 30 bags of stuff back there (2cuft bags). Can pull my utility trailer with my Kubota B2650 tractor w/loader with it, up some very steep north Georgia Hills, going to hope the PU has more towing but can get by with the JLU in a pinch. This vehicle is not for everyone, it going to ride rougher than the PU, and will not be the mileage vehicle you want. Don't buy one, get what you need to make you happy, it's your money. But get a friend with jeep and have him take you for long ride, highway, freeway, backwoods roads, get him to let you drive it, give that thoughts. But, if push comes to shove, or SHTF, this vehicle can go anywhere, and I mean anywhere, under horrible conditions, bad weather, muddy roads, you just have to use your head and be careful. If unsure, have someone experienced with 4x4'ing show you the ropes. Play in the sand, you will learn. My next one I am going to outfit with a stinger mounted winch on the back, which would make it portable, for those bad days around here in the snow and ice.

 

[MALL R8D]

Had wild thoughts about a Rubicon before sanity set in; most of the Rube owners around here I know of fit into that 'off-road 5% of the time' but that 'off-road' really doesn't require all the hard-core Rubicon whistles and bells. Outstanding babe magnets, though, from what I see. No young cop or fireperson should be without one. If I were forty years younger ... well, maybe fifty years younger ...

I am attracting no babes with my Rubicon...maybe because I am the wrong gender.

 

[MSteeves]

I am attracting no babes with my Rubicon...maybe because I am the wrong gender.

Apparently these days, there is no such thing as 'wrong gender.' 'Wrong orientation' perhaps, but not 'wrong gender.'

Not that there is anything wrong with that. We are, after all, in The New Millennium.

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