Gladiator

Silly Rubicon.

Looks like that hole ate the Gladiator!

That begs the question... What's the back story?

jak inc said:

That begs the question... What's the back story?

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I don’t know. I just figured I’d come in here and post multiple pictures of the same Gladiator from multiple angles.

jak inc said:

That begs the question... What's the back story?

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The auto world always works a few years ahead of when the model is actually sold. Maybe this is a prototype of the next generation Gladiator. Possibly 2029 model???

In the news today: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/ama...ged-boulder-climbing-pickup/story?id=66223768

To be honest, I was not a fan of the Gladiator when they first came out. I saw a loaded, red Rubicon model at the local dealer ship, did not like it at all.

I have also seen an all black one, with fancier stock wheels at the local dealership, did not like it at all.

The local dealer now has a silver, I am guessing "base model", Gladiator, and I actually think it looks pretty cool.

The "sticker" was $33k, BUT it was bent over, so I am sure it has a lot of "added" options raising the total cost.

I might seriously look at buying a "base" model one of these next year, once the initial "rush" is past. If I could get one for under 35k..........

Might test drive one soon. A few things I don't like, but I am pretty sure all new vehicles have to come with, all the extra "bull$hit".

I guess I am "old school", but I don't want: back up cameras, tire monitoring, traction control, stability control, start/stop, big honking tv screen in the dash, etc.

But, I will honestly say these are starting to interest me.

Base model with "Max tow", an aluminum trailer, could be a Scrambler hauler

spankrjs said:

I guess I am "old school", but I don't want: back up cameras, tire monitoring, traction control, stability control, start/stop, big honking tv screen in the dash, etc.

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For a daily driver I love these features. My mom has a base model Renegade, and I have to drive it cross-country in a couple of weeks. No Bluetooth, no backup camera, no navigation - going from New England to AZ. I bought an aftermarket head unit I'm bringing with me to install just so I can have all of that. It does have a push button start which has started growing on me. Tire monitoring has saved me more than a few times on long road trips, too.

For my Jeep, no. Most I'm doing is putting in an amp with Bluetooth.

All the stuff you dont want is now federally mandated.

There are a few luxuries that I have grown to love. Proximity entry and push button start is just so easy to live with. Navigation in the dash helps when going to new places and prevents phone battery drain. Backup cameras make hitching trailers simple.

Unfortunately, a well equiped base model is not far off from a similarly equiped Rubicon, and that has delayed my purchase of a Gladiator or a JLU. Still on the fence which I want. Also discouraged by the ultimate price.

walkerhoundvm said:

For a daily driver I love these features. My mom has a base model Renegade, and I have to drive it cross-country in a couple of weeks. No Bluetooth, no backup camera, no navigation - going from New England to AZ. I bought an aftermarket head unit I'm bringing with me to install just so I can have all of that. It does have a push button start which has started growing on me. Tire monitoring has saved me more than a few times on long road trips, too.

For my Jeep, no. Most I'm doing is putting in an amp with Bluetooth.

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I drive my Scrambler cross country all the time with nothing but my crappy cell phone, but I'm definitely in the minority in the "don't need that new stuff", probably not right in the head, either


I drove JeepAddict's loaded Platinum Edition F150 to Arizona with him, all of that new stuff does come in handy. I went from that extreme, to driving my LJ back home, which only has AC and cruise, kind of a "shock"

But, I have been DDing my LJ for 6 years now, no complaints

ag4ever said:

All the stuff you dont want is now federally mandated.

There are a few luxuries that I have grown to love. Proximity entry and push button start is just so easy to live with. Navigation in the dash helps when going to new places and prevents phone battery drain. Backup cameras make hitching trailers simple.

Unfortunately, a well equiped base model is not far off from a similarly equiped Rubicon, and that has delayed my purchase of a Gladiator or a JLU. Still on the fence which I want. Also discouraged by the ultimate price.

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Yep, not blaming Jeep, all that crap is mandated

I don't care for the push button starts, nothing wrong with a key IMO. You are correct, the cameras are great for hooking up trailers

I will have to price one out and see what the total comes too. I am not spending more then 35K, IF I decide to buy one. Unless they give me 30K for my LJ on trade in

I still like my LJ Rubicon, and it is in super great shape. I finally replaced the windshield that has been cracked for three years, like driving a new car LOL

I hate that mandated 'bleep' stuff too. I like to think for myself. I don't even like cruise control. And I designed cars for 20 years. I especially hate tire pressure monitoring. What a pitass.

I do love a big azz nav screen though.

Without the Rubicon package (and even then, they really need 37s) these simply look like garbage. Waaaaaay too little tire for the body.

I want an update from @Moabite...

bigwalton said:

Without the Rubicon package (and even then, they really need 37s) these simply look like garbage. Waaaaaay too little tire for the body.

I want an update from @Moabite...

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Well...I'm lovin' mine. It's a Jeep. And it's a pickup. Kinda like another vehicle I used to have. There's plenty of room inside the cab (after I removed the back seat and built a flat floor) to haul all my photo and SAR gear even with the fridge pretty much permanently mounted. I always tried to cram my camera pack behind the seat in the Scrambler. It was a tight fit.

I didn't order all the optional electronic nannies...lane departure, blind spot monitoring, etc. I didn't really like the ESS but that can be defeated either by pressing a button every time the vehicle is started or by installing a device called SmartStopStart. I installed the SmartStopStart, which remembers the last setting. One thing I find annoying is that Nanny will not let me put the vehicle in drive without shutting the door all the way. I have to manually open the gate to my property, go through the gate, then get out and close the gate. I rarely shut the door just to drive 15 feet through the gate. But if it is not shut, the transmission indicator flashes when I try to put it in drive. I then have to open the door and shut it firmly, put the tranny in Park and then back in Drive before I'm allowed to move. First World annoyances.

I've grown used to back-up cams...very handy. I have to say I really like the forward-facing camera. Most of my backcountry trips are solo...so I am almost always my own spotter. The tire lines super-imposed on the cam have proven to be dead on...so I'm not stopping and exiting the vehicle to pick a line as often. But then, I'm not getting as much exercise.

As for the tires, I'm ok with the Rubicon's stock 33s. After driving with the Falkens, I don't think I'll ever buy another set of BFGs. Do I think it might look better with larger tires? Maybe. But I don't buy modifications just for looks anymore. I think the Gladiator looks just fine as is. At this point, I have no plans to lift it or install larger tires. That may change as I spend more time off-road with it. If I do lift it, I'll probably have the dealer install a Mopar lift, then go with 35s. But I've lifted enough vehicles and made enough modifications to know that just about every modification has its drawbacks. The stock Rubicon is incredibly smooth-riding, gets very good gas mileage (I'm averaging over 20 mpg), and is great fun on and off-road.

Yes, the Gladiators are pricey. But when they were first announced, long before the official reveal, I assumed I would be paying around $60K for one. I was pleasantly surprised when prices came out. I outfitted mine exactly as I wanted and MSRP was just over $54K. I paid less than invoice.

A couple of recent photos:

To be clear, I was only stating my personal bias for the way they look on 37s. I think the stock rubicon looks fine.

Glad to hear you love it and I’d love to see a non-scrambler build thread showing what you did to the interior. Hearing you talk about your plans got me excited to see how you made it all work in the end