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Why Not A Rubicon?

Karnak

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It comes from 2 places.

One is the case Is on pretty serious builds. if you are going to 40s, Dana 60s, an Atlas transfer case, 5:13+ gears, and you are going to strip out the interior and add a roll cage, then don’t buy a Rubicon. Buy a Sport.

The other case is where you can save 10,000 and then use that money to build it over time. Some parts are Rubicon take-offs. Some are better. Some you fabricate with your bare teeth. You do all the work yourself and create a truly personal vehicle thats as good as a Rubicon all things considered and you had a great time building it.

Neither of those cases apply to the majority of Jeep buyers.

I think the other case where it makes sense is you buy a Jeep thinking you are going to go to Moab every weekend and instead you never take it off-road. You put a lift and tires on it and it looks great but it doesn’t really need to be a Rubicon and you can save thousands. That is probably more common.
This...^

in the old days and beginnings of the Rubi, going above 35-36 tires usually meant you would go for a Dana 60 and thats where it comes from mainly like stated above by Thirthyone.

I will add that I "feel" because I have no stats to back my statement just my own experience, that the Jeep industry has change also. You see a lot more of casual off-roaders as opposed to the ones who make off-road their lives when not at work.

In the old days, people would buy a jeep "mainly" to off-road it and not as a street vehicle because in the old days it kinda sucked for road driving. Fuel efficiency was bad compared to other vehicules, you did not have heated seats or steering and it was coldish or even cold in winter cause the heater could barely keep up in very cold climates etc and because of all that, the demographics who decided to buy jeeps where a lot more into modifications and "hardcore" wheeling. As such, the purchase of the Rubicon was a tought decision to make if you knew that in 4-5 years down the road you'd be on 36-37+ tires if not 40's and in rare cases some people did regret paying the rubicon (in those years) because they went big in the end. But like stated above also, those parts were often times easily swapped to a Sport TJ for example so technically, didn't lose all the money invested.

Nowadays, I'm not sure its relevant anymore except if you are going "full-out" because even the new axles are a lot better than before and you can probably run 37's all day on the trail with Rubi axles if your not a heavy foot guy etc because the axles are stronger so the Big build gap has been reduced a lot between a very nicely Built Rubi and a Fully build sport and like stated above, it now really comes down to a few things like if you want to put the Atlas and Dana 60 etc.

And in technicality, if someone plans on going with Dana 60's and Atlas, then they don't have money problems in general they can most probably afford to waste some money on a Rubi and then still upgrade in the end. Call this additional money spent a "Rubi Rental Fee" that happens in the meantime you get your 60's and Atlas...;)

My humble opinion...;)
 

Notorious

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Lets be real. How many Wrangler owners really EVER off-road? And how many ever really off-road seriously enough to use lockers or feel the difference in the transfer case gearing?
These are great questions!!! I know where you’re going with this and I agree with you.

I’d really like to ask the silent majority - the people who aren’t posters on this forum.

If you ask the people who post here, most of us do. But is the sample size on this forum large enough for us to generalize our findings to the rest of the population? Is it statistically significant?
 

Jamrock

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I get the impression that Rubicon owners are insecure.

First of all, they need for everyone to know that they are driving a Rubicon. The name has to be written in big bright letters so everyone can see it.

I do so hate to see a Porshe with the word Porshe in big letters across the side of the car. Yeah dude. We know you can afford a Porshe. We are impressed.

Secondly, they find it hard to accept that other people have different goals and tastes. Not everyone wants to go rock climbing. Some people are just happy to drive a Jeep to work during the week and to the beach on weekends.

Some people buy a Jeep because they just like how Jeeps look. They have no intention of ever getting it dirty. They just want to profile with their friends and look cool.

Some people just want a Jeep that will handle snow to asphalt to snow to asphalt easily without driver intervention.

Some people don't want to spend the extra money. Some don't even have the extra money. They had to save real hard just to afford the basic Sport that they bought.

We all know that the Rubicon is the most capable Jeep available. Some of us just don't care.
 

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OldGuyNewJeep

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Over the past year, I have seen more than one recommendation to buy a Sport (or other models) and build it out versus buying a Rubicon. Why is this? What is it that is discarded on a Rubicon and replaced that would not be on a different model?

Genuine question here...
Haters gonna hate. If you can afford one and it will bring you joy, but one. I did, and have no regrets.
 
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CarbonSteel

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I get the impression that Rubicon owners are insecure.
Speaking for me, I am not insecure, I just wanted to understand what would be a "waste" on a Rubicon as you upgrade components. From what I can tell, nothing that I am upgrading would be a waste since the same things would be upgraded on any model that I bought (but that may not apply equally to everyone).

There were definitive options that I wanted and the Rubicon I found in the color that I wanted had them all. I am good with my choice and may recover a little of the money from the upgrades by selling the OEM stuff.
 

Jamrock

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If it makes you happy, go for it. If you love serious off roading, nothing else will do. I would never buy a Sport or a Sahara if I loved hard core off roading. I don't have the patience to build up a Sport or Sahara. It just wouldn't work for me.

I have seen posts of people who wished they had bought a Rubicon. That sucks.

Not everybody wants this. Some just want to get a basic Jeep and put on some 35' tires and a lift. Just because it looks good.

They are not buying a Jeep because of the great mileage and the superior steering.
 

Rogueman_1

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I get the impression that Rubicon owners are insecure.

First of all, they need for everyone to know that they are driving a Rubicon. The name has to be written in big bright letters so everyone can see it.

I do so hate to see a Porshe with the word Porshe in big letters across the side of the car. Yeah dude. We know you can afford a Porshe. We are impressed.
I ain't apologizing for having coin and enjoying life. If it makes a difference, my Porsche doesn't say "Porsche" in really big letters and my Rubicon doesn't say "Rubicon" on it either.

And yes, I offroad. And yes, I enjoy the hell out of my Porsche. That shit didn't come overnight. I certainly didn't buy them to impress anyone.

(My wife's Maserati GT doesn't have a big billboard on the side of it either) ;)

Jeep Wrangler JL Why Not A Rubicon? 50063373691_9a3af282b0_c
 

entropy

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They are not buying a Jeep because of the great mileage and the superior steering.
Lol I didn't mind the steering of the Jeep, until a few weeks ago I bought a new 2020 Camry and I can't believe how loose the Jeep is now!.

But hey, it is a high clearance 2 solid axles vehicle. Before the Camry I had a 2013 corolla as my daily commuter, and in all honesty, the difference was very small.
 

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Jeepsk8

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I get the impression that Rubicon owners are insecure.

First of all, they need for everyone to know that they are driving a Rubicon. The name has to be written in big bright letters so everyone can see it.
Insecure?! Lol, that's rich right there. I haven't seen any evidence that Rubicon owners are insecure in this thread at all. If anything, we (me specifically) are lazy and don't want to put in the time and effort to build a Sport to the level (or better) of a Rubicon. I wheel my stuff, I'm on my 3rd Rubicon for Pete's sake. I do go to the effort to install stuff to better prepare it for the trails (legit rock sliders, skids, bumpers, winch, etc), and if something breaks, I upgrade it to better stuff. I don't feel I'm insecure in how I approach wheeling. I got the best rig I could so that I can hit the trails. I would have gotten the Rubicon even if it didn't have the stickers on the hood, but they are part of the package. I'm not about to go strip them off either, I'm paying for them, y'all can look at them!
 

Litfuse

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This was me...I mostly bought the Rubicon because it's the top trim. I also got an amazing deal on it (11.5k off msrp) which I couldn't pass up.
Since purchasing your Rubi, have you used any of the features that are specific to the trim level? For example, the front and rear lockers. Have you purposely taken it off-road?
 

Jamrock

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Hmmm... Where is Notorious??? It is not like him to be so quiet. Perhaps I will hear from him tomorrow.:CWL:
 

RubiSc0tt

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I get the impression that Rubicon owners are insecure.
.... you sure you're not projecting, there? I mean, you are the only one in the 4 pages of this thread to give that hot take. Everyone else pretty much stated the stats of their Jeep and why they bought it.

I'll apologize in advance to anyone who feels intimidated by my big scary hood decals.
 

Yellow Cake Kid

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I settled for a JLU Rubicon because I liked the convenience of buying a package.

A neighbor owns and operates this elegant hand made beauty,

Jeep Wrangler JL Why Not A Rubicon? _nc_ohc=e4GxTwAZFtwAX__5IF0&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-2


The new kids in town showed up with this super cool contraption just a few months ago.

Jeep Wrangler JL Why Not A Rubicon? {filename}
Jeep Wrangler JL Why Not A Rubicon? _nc_ohc=--XVaS09HdAAX_PXaVS&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1



I may not have a tricked out Sport, but at least I get to brag about my power windows and the 7" u-connect interface.
Jeep Wrangler JL Why Not A Rubicon? {filename}
:)
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