Jeep The RME4x4 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Figured I'd better quit hijacking the Gladiator thread with my personal plans... ;)

First off, this is the first time I've ever bought a brand new vehicle.... those that know me know I usually buy used vehicles, sometimes projects, and build them up. I finally have the chance to buy new and choose all my options! I was lucky to have my JKU paid off when I listed it for sale and I've also been saving money up for sometime, planning on replacing it. This will be the most I've ever spent on a vehicle! :oops: More than likely, this will be the only time I buy new.

I figured I'd start at the beginning and document this one from the get go. I ordered my Gladiator at my local Jeep dealership in Grand Junction, CO. I selected a Rubicon and added quite a few options. I put my $500 down to get the process started on May 11th, 2019 but my order didn't go in until the next business day, May 13th. My salesman estimated a 6-8 week build time at that point. It has been about a week and a half and today I heard that my Gladiator has a VIN# assigned to it! From the sound of others that have ordered before me, 6 weeks is a pretty accurate estimate. So as of today, we have less than 5 weeks to go and I should see it around the middle to end of June.

Here's what my build looked like on the Jeep site after selecting my options. I really wanted the body color Gobi, but I'm impatient.... and selling my JKU left a huge hole in my life. :( I choose White, just like the JKU. The price is MSRP, I should be about $5k less than that and get it under invoice, as that was the deal. I added nearly $15k in options, the 8 speed automatic, Cold Weather package, LED lighting, Aux switches, bed liner, Alpine stereo, Safety Group, etc, etc.

buildout-jpg.120048




So now it's a matter of waiting, but we can still make plans... I want to run around 3" of lift and 37's, to help with the breakover and departure angles. I've been a fan of Teraflex and like supporting the local businesses, so I plan to run their suspension with Falcon shocks. I have a set of new AEV Salta wheels and I'm planning to mount a set of 37" BFG's on them. I plan to add a Warn Zeon 10 for recovery and eventually some aluminum bumpers and sliders. I loved my last ARB dual air compressor, so eventually one of those will get added too. Probably some Baja Designs LP6 lights and perhaps some kind of bed rack for mounting the RTT when I don't want to take the OUT adventure trailer. I want the Gladiator to remain freeway friendly, so we can drive to amazing places (Baja!), but capable enough to get us thru nearly anything.

Stage 1; Stock, 33" Falkens, stock suspension (Fox 2.0 shocks), stock bumpers & sliders.

Stage 2; Teraflex 1.5" leveling kit, Falcon 2.1 shocks, AAL High-Line fenders and inners, 37" KM3's and AEV Salta wheels.

Stage 3; Teraflex RT3 suspension, Falcon 3.3 shocks, 5.13 gears, 39" BFG KM3's & Nomad Wheels

Stage 4??; TBD



So that's the plan! :D
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Did you see Artec is running 37s on theirs? with stock lift, their inner fenders and fender trimming.

I did see that, I think it's pretty neat but IMO the Gladiator needs a few inches of lift, combined with bigger tires to get it off the ground and make it capable of rougher trails. I'd also be curious what uptravel looks like with stock suspension and 37's.
 

Bart

Registered User
Location
Arm Utah
Love the plan and congrats. Can't wait to see the build. That's pretty close to how I would order one also. NICE!
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Love the plan and congrats. Can't wait to see the build. That's pretty close to how I would order one also. NICE!

Thanks Bart, I'm excited and looking forward to using it.


Awesome! Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Me neither! There will be plenty of trips in the future for this thing, for sure.


The f150 and the gladiator. That's a killer combo that covers all the bases!

Yeah, seriously! It's funny that we didn't have a truck for a few years, now we have a few!


Very nice. What are those rated to tow?

They're rated to tow up to 7,000#'s and have 1,500#'s payload capacity. IMO 7k is a LOT of weight for these, I don't plan to tow anywhere near that... but it sure would be neat to tow the Willys around with the Gladiator!
 

Anchor_Mtn

Work Less, Travel More
Vendor
Location
Fruita, CO
Sounds like a solid plan @Greg , Im trying really hard to be patient for the Sting Gray to become available. I still havent decided between a Rubicon or Sport S model either.
 

Anchor_Mtn

Work Less, Travel More
Vendor
Location
Fruita, CO
If anyone is desperate for a Gladiator, Sunset Jeep in Sarasota, FL has 12 on the lot right now: 1 Rubicon, 6 Overlands and 5 Sport S models. The Gladiator Soft top is pretty badass since the "sunrider" completely clears the backseat and the rear window comes out very easily. I really think Ill be sticking with a premium soft top like my current JKU. However, the tan cloth interior option is too light and looks weird.
 

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
If anyone is desperate for a Gladiator, Sunset Jeep in Sarasota, FL has 12 on the lot right now: 1 Rubicon, 6 Overlands and 5 Sport S models. The Gladiator Soft top is pretty badass since the "sunrider" completely clears the backseat and the rear window comes out very easily. I really think Ill be sticking with a premium soft top like my current JKU. However, the tan cloth interior option is too light and looks weird.

When we ordered my wife's Jeep, we probably could have had something that would work shipped in, but we weren't in a rush so ordering it in saved at minimum the +$1K in shipping on top of whatever you negotiate the price for.

More importantly, Greg, what's the status of your order?
 
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