THINKING About Trading For A Gladiator

[ChoSunJuan]

Gladiators are great for overlanding, but for more serious trails, because of the length, you'd probably need 3.5/4.5" lift and 37s.

I've driven my friends JTR on a challenging trail, not sure how I made it through one spot, it was beyond tight, it was actually an ATV trail. I was unfortunately committed, no damage, so that was good.

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[Jeep Wick]

I think you should keep your awesome Rubicon Wrangler, sell the truck, and get a utility trailer.

This is what I did.

 

[Guv]

I have a paid off 2019 F-150 and a 2018 JL. I have had this same thought for sometime. One thing that’s keeping me from doing it is the lack of engine selection in the Gladiator.

 

[Remorseless]

I have a paid off 2019 F-150 and a 2018 JL. I have had this same thought for sometime. One thing that’s keeping me from doing it is the lack of engine selection in the Gladiator.

As someone who has both a 2 door JL and a JT, skip the JT if you wanna wheel your Jeep. The thing is a dagum land whale by comparison. Works great as a beach rig/camping Jeep if you're gonna keep it stockish, but it's not a wheeler, especially not for anywhere that has trees.

 

[3TV]

As someone who has both a 2 door JL and a JT, skip the JT if you wanna wheel your Jeep. The thing is a dagum land whale by comparison. Works great as a beach rig/camping Jeep if you're gonna keep it stockish, but it's not a wheeler, especially not for anywhere that has trees.

Agreed, stay out of the trees. But for typical western 4-wheeling it is all a matter of the degree the Jeep is built. A JL on 33s, equals a JLU on 37s, equals a JT on 42s. Just be sure to make the required upgrades to support the tire size you need to run.

 

[Remorseless]

Agreed, stay out of the trees. But for typical western 4-wheeling it is all a matter of the degree the Jeep is built. A JL on 33s, equals a JLU on 37s, equals a JT on 42s. Just be sure to make the required upgrades to support the tire size you need to run.

Fair enough, still a land whale though

 

[Guv]

As someone who has both a 2 door JL and a JT, skip the JT if you wanna wheel your Jeep. The thing is a dagum land whale by comparison. Works great as a beach rig/camping Jeep if you're gonna keep it stockish, but it's not a wheeler, especially not for anywhere that has trees.

Mine just sees dirt, mud and cow shit.
Guess a Gladiator would work… if it had a 5.7.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Guess a Gladiator would work… if it had a 5.7.

Yep.

That would be nice.

 

[Wabujitsu]

Here’s another option you may want to consider. We’ve owned pickups most of our adult lives (my wife and I). Now we have two JLUs. For Lowe’s and Home Depot trips, I bought a trailer from Tractor Supply, 5.5’x9’, for less than $2k.

 

[Zandcwhite]

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Just get both. My wife has the 24 JLU, I have the 22 JTOD. The long wheelbase actually helps when rock crawling, I have more torque than a v8 Toyota and get twice the mpg as one too. My truck does truck things just fine.

This . And no the gladiator isn't a super duty, but I've towed an 8200lb trailer with it and loaded 1800lbs of pavers in the bed. It does truck stuff just fine. It will never be as good as the JL in big rocks or tight trails though.

 

[Wabujitsu]

By the way, I forgot to mention, the trailer I bought has a load capacity of 2165 lbs; the trailer weighs 895 lbs empty. The jeeps pull it just fine at max capacity. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/karavan-trailer-55-x-9-pro-475-00004-bt-fa

 

[Jaym]

This . And no the gladiator isn't a super duty, but I've towed an 8200lb trailer with it and loaded 1800lbs of pavers in the bed. It does truck stuff just fine. It will never be as good as the JL in big rocks or tight trails though.

I’ve had both JLU and JT. Indeed the JT really excels on certain rock crawling trails in Moab, but you definitely have to compensate with a bigger lift and tires. I ran 37s and nearly a 4” lift and felt unstoppable off-road. I imagine tight forest trials would be a different story. In Moab I had zero issues with the JT.

Having said all that, the gladiator lacked in towing for me. If I lived in Florida or a flat state it may have been fine, or if I got the diesel, but the 3.6 is underpowered for towing at elevation. I live in Utah and I had a 5000lb trailer and the jeep struggled. The 4000lb trailer it pulled “okay” but it was nothing to write home about. I believe the 3.6 has under 270 lb ft if torque. Comparing to other mid size trucks with turbos its gutless.

BUT… I love the gladiator and it’s unmatched for off-roading trucks and is amazing for camping and overlanding. My JLU I often run into space issues. The truck bed is small but very usable on the JT.

 

[JLJKLJ]

I have a JL, JT, LJ, and a Ram 2500. There's no way I could consolidate into a single do it all vehicle. Especially since I might be walking a bit due to Stellantis's legendary reliability.

The JL with the 2.0T is on 35s with 4.10 gears feels peppy, and can even tow my 2000lb camper build fairly well.

The JT is also on 35s but has been re-geared to 4.88s. It drives OK and can tow a trailer with a SXS on it, but still feels gutless compared to the JL around town. It does fairly well off-road for forest service trails but the rear overhang is a bit much for anything exciting. I do use it to run to lowes for small stuff like a few bags of landscaping rocks or whatnot instead of firing up the diesel truck.

The Ram is for towing the one ton LJ to places like Moab or taking my tractor somewhere.

 

[Jaym]

I have a JL, JT, LJ, and a Ram 2500. There's no way I could consolidate into a single do it all vehicle. Especially since I might be walking a bit due to Stellantis's legendary reliability.

The JL with the 2.0T is on 35s with 4.10 gears feels peppy, and can even tow my 2000lb camper build fairly well.

The JT is also on 35s but has been re-geared to 4.88s. It drives OK and can tow a trailer with a SXS on it, but still feels gutless compared to the JL around town. It does fairly well off-road for forest service trails but the rear overhang is a bit much for anything exciting. I do use it to run to lowes for small stuff like a few bags of landscaping rocks or whatnot instead of firing up the diesel truck.

The Ram is for towing the one ton LJ to places like Moab or taking my tractor somewhere.

It’s very hard to tow with a gladiator or a JL after towing with a 2500. I had a 6.7 2500 and it was a dream to tow anything. And in the mountains, spectacular.

 

[JLJKLJ]

It’s very hard to tow with a gladiator or a JL after towing with a 2500. I had a 6.7 2500 and it was a dream to tow anything. And in the mountains, spectacular.

Yep, 1075 ft-lbs of torque and a good exhaust brake are hard to beat.

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