Why or Why Not - Sahara Trim?

[Sean L]

No rock crawling? No Mudding?

Bull

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[ThirtyOne]

It all depends on what off road work you're going to do. Not to take anything away from non-Rubicon owners, but a stock JLU Sahara is going to have a tough time following a JL Rubicon that is being pushed to its limits. It was a huge difference in offroad performance when I changed from a nicely equipped TJ Sport to a TJ Rubicon, a 4 door non-rubicon while more capable than most every other SUV/truck out there does not have the same off road capability as a JL Rubicon. People like to talk about lockers and sway bar disconnects, and those are awesome, but don't forget about the 4:1 low range as well.


Not true for me, if I'm on the road in my JL it's almost always because I'm on my way to or from a trail. I have cars or a motorcycle for pavement work, I have a JL for trail work. For the JLU rubicon owners you're probably right, but most of us with JL Rubicons probably intend to use the Jeep for what it is engineered to be.

I said there is no question a Rubicon is more capable off-road than a modded Sahara. That wasn't the point. And a dedicated buggy is much more capable than a Rubicon - that is a vehicle that is engineered to be used off-road. A Wrangler is engineered to be used on-road and off-road.

Clearly your use case is completely different than the OP. I never get why the hardcore off-roaders always want to comment on these threads. It's just humble bragging.

 

[Thill444]

I was just out at Moab and rented a JL Rubicon for a few days and it was amazing on the trails. On several occasions I ran into both stock JL Sahara's and Sport's and neither had any issues navigating all but the very hardest of trails. I also saw a few JL Sports and Sahara's with lift kits and bigger tires which helped with clearance. Make no mistake any Jeep is very capable off road but the Rubicon has a lot of advantages. Being able to detach the sway bar electronically was awesome, and I did use the lockers a handful of times. They are confidence inspiring

But I don't live in Utah or really near any major rock trails, so the Rubicon really seemed like overkill for me. I ended up looking at Sahara's and Sport S models and settled on an Unlimited Sport S with exactly what I wanted. The money I saved will go towards upgrades

You can't go wrong with any JL in my opinion.

 

[TJ2018]

No rock crawling? No Mudding?

Bull

PERFECT example that EVERY JL is more capable that most off-road badged vehicles out there today. Awesome wheeling pic's Sean! Still jealous

 

[Sean L]

Weren't you the one who said we all spend 95% of our time on pavement? I'm just pointing out that is not the case. Not trying to start some model/trim war (although this is jlwranglerforums, not jluwranglerforums ). We all have different reasons for buying Jeeps, of various models and trims. I agree with OP (and I believe with you as well) that the JLU Rubicon is often purchased where a Sahara trim would be a better fit. But some of us with Rubicons do know what we bought and why we bought it.

I think what I can add to this conversation here is that one should not automatically dismiss the inherent capabilities of the non-rubicon models. Sometimes this comes across as a smug attitude (not saying this for you) and it rubs the rest of us the wrong way.

I personally think a Rubi is a great way to go if you wheel on the regular, but I still feel my Sahara is still a great off road machine. The only time I've had difficulty was when I high centered on a big rock last Saturday. But once I got freed from that position all I had to do was take a slightly different line and I was good. There was a stock JKU Rubicon that did a lot of scraping at the same spot, so even Rubi's need mods for the heavy trails.

 

[Wanted33]

No rock crawling? No Mudding?

Bull

Somebodies been to Uhwarrie. I can tell by the red mud.

 

[Sean L]

Well that particular pic wasn't at Uwharrie but the other two were. Same state though.

 

[Wanted33]

Well that particular pic wasn't at Uwharrie but the other two were. Same state though.

Dang, I was sure that was Uhwarrie. The last time I was down it was dry as a bone. I had red dust in crevices I didn't know I had, and the Jeep got quite dusty too.

 

[Sean L]

Dang, I was sure that was Uhwarrie. The last time I was down it was dry as a bone. I had red dust in crevices I didn't know I had, and the Jeep got quite dusty too.

lol, well that first pic was up here in Winston.

 

[Wanted33]

lol, well that first pic was up here in Winston.

Sean, get me a little closer. You know I ain't that far away.

 

[Sean L]

Sean, get me a little closer. You know I ain't that far away.

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0670537,-80.1863848,232m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

[Wanted33]

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0670537,-80.1863848,232m/data=!3m1!1e3

Thanks bud.

 

[Sean L]

Thanks bud.

Not exactly a "trail" but I wanted to see what she could do, and this was before I met @chevymitchell and @UNC Rubicon that knew where to go for some legit off roading.

 

[Charmagne]

I feel like the 80th Anniversary was basically a Sahara. It says the base is a Sport S but it had all the options that are available for the Sahara - might have gone a lil crazy adding all those but the result seems like a two-door Sahara with grey accents instead of all the chrome (a definite plus IMO)

 

[vegasblue]

All depends on individual wants and needs. I knew what I was going to do with mine both in terms of wheeling and of modifications. My friends knew what they were going to do with theirs. I have a Rubi, they have a Sahara 4xe. Theirs is pimp. Mine is not. They can't understand how I can take a new Jeep off-road and put it through it's paces, I can't understand how they can't. But, we are still very good friends. Too bad that does not translate into other areas.
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