Gladiator

[Randyzzz]

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Yeah.....no.

 

[HighSierra CJ]

Yeah.....no.

X2

 

[don87401]

I don't mind the stripes but they need to keep the Scrambler off the hood.

 

[designerRob]

I don't mind the stripes but they need to keep the Scrambler off the hood.

Totally agree. I'm guessing this is an aftermarket decal set. Why not have the GLADIATOR on the hood. It's a cool name. It just seems dumb to put Scrambler on the hood. I doubt most new Gladiator owners even know what a Scrambler is.

 

[trust]

my wife, aka the beloved parasite who is rather less the former right now has decreed that I close my hot shot hobby, sell the cummins, trailer and Scrambler and if I must then maybe a new gladiator.... Told her Id keep the Scrambler and she sorta paniced when confronted with travelling in her Renegade....Shoulda left decades ago. Good news(?) is the Diesel is still a year plus out as of late last week (Late Feb 2020). so the fleet remains temporarily... They do seem nice, and supposedly are capable but certainly not the cool factor nor cache of a modest Scrambler

 

[SKT]

 

[SKT]

 

[HighSierra CJ]

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So the picture by the rock with the paining on it, was taken at the goldfish pond near Darwin “an old mining town”. This is right on the edge of Death Valley, In the Panamint Valley. A natural spring/ pond that the old timers “miners” put goldfish in years and years ago. Goldfish offspring are still there. You don’t expect to see an oasis like this in the middle of a barren desert. Very cool place, I was just there a couple weeks ago.

 

[barrys]

I would beyond mad if I bent the frame on a new Gladiator because of a poorly installed lift. Not to say that is why they frame bent. Any idea what tires on on the Gladiator with the frowning frame?

 

[Belizeit]

Must be a lot of weight up forward in that tear drop trailer

 

[Kim Dawson]

Must be a lot of weight up forward in that tear drop trailer

Must be the weight and some serious bumps, but still must be minimum duty frame construction.

 

[Spieg]

I've never seen this listed, but is there a different weight limit for off-road towing vs on road? I doubt suspension bottoming on bump stops rather than the shocks would have prevented this (shocks/mounts should bend/break well before the frame fails).

 

[ag4ever]

I can’t see how shocks bottoming out would ever bend a frame. Bent shock shafts, yes. Broken shock mounts, yes. Bent frame, no way. There has to be more to the story, but an inferior frame from the factory HAS to be a contributing factor. I also can’t see a lift doing that, unless it uses non factory suspension points (ie long arm kit).

I wonder how fast they were running with a trailer to develop that kind of bending moment on the frame.

Also, they claim a 2,000 lb trailer did that. Considering the payload capacity is 1,700 lb, there is no way a 2,000 lb trailer should be able to do that. (I also doubt that tear drop only weighs 2,000 lbs, I’d bet closer to 3,500 lbs. still well under the tow rating of the Gladiator.)

That causes me some serious pause on buying one though.

 

[sdsupilot]

This reminds me of the Chevy Colorado ZR2 that had a similar post. Similar scenery, similar trailer. That guy claimed he hit a "bump" and thought he better check the trailer. Went out and his truck frame was bent. Posted all over social media without pics of the trailer or bump. Later others chimed in that he went over a 3' whoop at 40 mph and also bent the trailers axle. Who knows what really happened in either of these cases. It is surprising though how many small campers/overlanding rigs are experiencing this sort of damage. You wouldn't think a light trailer could ever do this.

 

[ag4ever]

Surprising how many "overlanders" travel at high speeds without knowing the trail and potential life threatening situations.

 

[spankrjs]

So the picture by the rock with the paining on it, was taken at the goldfish pond near Darwin “an old mining town”. This is right on the edge of Death Valley, In the Panamint Valley. A natural spring/ pond that the old timers “miners” put goldfish in years and years ago. Goldfish offspring are still there. You don’t expect to see an oasis like this in the middle of a barren desert. Very cool place, I was just there a couple weeks ago.

I would assume the trail up "Surprise Canyon to Panamint City" is still off limits to Jeeps?

 

[HighSierra CJ]

I would assume the trail up "Surprise Canyon to Panamint City" is still off limits to Jeeps?[/QUOTE
Unfortunately, I think it is. It seems like once they take something away, we never get it back. We ended up going up gohler Canyon which is always a neat drive. We also went up and checked out the charcoal kilns “bee hives”. The roads/canyon that takes you to Scotty’s Castle was closed as well, due to washouts. It’s supposed to be open in 2021.

 

[Mancunian]

I can’t see how shocks bottoming out would ever bend a frame. Bent shock shafts, yes. Broken shock mounts, yes. Bent frame, no way. There has to be more to the story, but an inferior frame from the factory HAS to be a contributing factor. I also can’t see a lift doing that, unless it uses non factory suspension points (ie long arm kit).

I wonder how fast they were running with a trailer to develop that kind of bending moment on the frame.

Also, they claim a 2,000 lb trailer did that. Considering the payload capacity is 1,700 lb, there is no way a 2,000 lb trailer should be able to do that. (I also doubt that tear drop only weighs 2,000 lbs, I’d bet closer to 3,500 lbs. still well under the tow rating of the Gladiator.)

That causes me some serious pause on buying one though.

Not sure - if the shocks were bottoming out the trailer could be putting a large bending load into the frame. If someone ignored that they could fatigue a weld or two. Jeep looks pretty dirty and the tyres looks as if it's been bouncing some.
Thought someone may have modified the trailer, but it looks stock rental

https://www.rentoffthegrid.com/towing-requirements/
Any Jeep, Truck or SUV with a class I or higher hitch and a minimum towing capacity of 2500 lbs.

 

[HighSierra CJ]

I’ve been on the Mojave Trail several times. There are quite a few areas that have whoop dee doos. It almost seems to me like they went over some at a fast rate of speed. But even if they did, it doesn’t seem like that should’ve happened. Kind of disappointing to see.

 

[spankrjs]

I still find myself looking at these damn things.

Going to test drive this one Wednesday:



BUT, the price needs to come down, way too much $$$$$$$$$$$$$$



Maybe they will have a big "named after a popular Mexican beer brand mass hysteria Discount Program"