Should I upgrade to the Rubicon?

AstroNormical

AstroNormical

New member
Back in December, I thought to make the jump in to the Off-Road world and purchased my Sahara Unlimited thinking that I would only go on some small trails and dirt roads.
6 months have gone by and after my last off-road trip I am thinking about trading in my Sahara and pulling the trigger on a Rubicon Unlimited.

The question is... should I do it? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
 
AstroNormical said:
Back in December, I thought to make the jump in to the Off-Road world and purchased my Sahara Unlimited thinking that I would only go on some small trails and dirt roads.
6 months have gone by and after my last off-road trip I am thinking about trading in my Sahara and pulling the trigger on a Rubicon Unlimited.

The question is... should I do it? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
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Add a set of 60s and you have a better set up for about the same price.
 
I'd say the biggest benefit of the rubicon over the build is the factory warranty. If your build will be limited to what a rubicon can do, you don't do alk the work yourself, and you can somehow not lose your shirt in the trade the Rubicon makes more sense.

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notnalc68 said:
The transfer case & lockers. You could weigh out the cost difference of upgrading your current Jeep.

https://www.dynatrac.com/trail-leader-axle-package.html


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Click to expand...

Clay is right with the transfer case. That's about the only thing I would really want in a Rubicon. I bought a sport and upgraded just about everything, with the exception of the TC...for now. Dynatrac offers some really good pricing on their sets to upgrade to.
 
Mike_JK_Houston_711 said:
Clay is right with the transfer case. That's about the only thing I would really want in a Rubicon. I bought a sport and upgraded just about everything, with the exception of the TC...for now. Dynatrac offers some really good pricing on their sets to upgrade to.
Click to expand...

Right. When I went from 2 to 4 doors, I bought a used Jeep and went with a Rubicon, but since the OP has a 2017, he may want to just upgrade, unless he's thinking about warranty situations.

Edit: The Trail Leader package will leave him with superior axles over a Rubicon, also.

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I'd think about it a bit more and compare based on what you're doing with your current vehicle. If you're not wheeling quite hard, a sport/sahara is already a good starting point. Rubicons definitely have upgrades, but if you're going to end up using a locker once or twice every twenty plus trips for example is it really worth it? Maybe a budget boost and better tires might be more beneficial. Maybe you want to run 37s 40s etc. It's hard to say without knowing your build plans (if any). Personally, after owning a sahara (that is now quite built) I would have started with a Rubicon being that I ended up staying on 37s. If I wanted 35s I would've done a sahara (which I did originally). Same goes for 40s, I would've started with a sport/sahara since you'd be going 15k deep in axles.

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When I was searching on what to get for myself I knew what I wanted to do /end up with the jeep but also knew that I was getting a lone for the jeep and didn't have any other money for upgrades hell I barely had a down payment the rubicon was the best platform for me I can do most of what I wanted with less upgrades for the time being


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XJADDICTION said:
This is good advice. What you would lose in a trade to a Rubicon you could upgrade your Sahara to better than the Rubicon.




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Better than a stock Rubicon maybe. Tire size plays a big factor in the choice. A Rubicon with the same mods still has a better transfer case, and would equate to about the same spend since you can sell the stock parts.
 
The question is... should I do it? What are the advantages and disadvantages?[/QUOTE said:
It depends on what your plans are with the jeep. Do you want to run 35s, 37s, or 40s? What type of wheeling do you like to do? Rock crawling? Mudding? Bombing through the desert?


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Trade up to the Rubicon, you will not be disappointed. Add some gussets for 37's or up and I highly doubt you will ever need more Jeep, and you will have the most capable factory rig out there, Just my 2 cents :)


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Mike_JK_Houston_711 said:
Clay is right with the transfer case. That's about the only thing I would really want in a Rubicon. I bought a sport and upgraded just about everything, with the exception of the TC...for now. Dynatrac offers some really good pricing on their sets to upgrade to.
Click to expand...

got one up here on cl for 1200 mike if your interested .. don't got the funds for it myself or I woulda picked it up already
 
You have a loan and barely down payment money. You will void most of your warranty when start swapping axles and tcase, etc. Unless you have a pile of money or plan to max a credit card go with the Rubicon.

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XJADDICTION said:
This is good advice. What you would lose in a trade to a Rubicon you could upgrade your Sahara to better than the Rubicon.




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Click to expand...

nmwranglerx said:
It depends on what your plans are with the jeep. Do you want to run 35s, 37s, or 40s? What type of wheeling do you like to do? Rock crawling? Mudding? Bombing through the desert?


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Click to expand...

This is ALL great advice and I greatly appreciate you all chiming in. I have decided that I will be going to the aftermarket route just by checking the prices and totals.
My Jeep (stock) is my daily driver and I have been on 2 wheeling sessions. The first one was more dirt road trails.
The second one however did involve much more obstacles and 4 low. I did hit the differentials a few times and utilized my stock skid plates plenty which made me cringe every time I heard them. I was still but very impressed to see that nothing important was hurt in the process.
I was really amazed at how much my Jeep could do right out of the box hence the thought of upgrading to a Rubicon to try my Jeep at harder trails. I guess I did catch the bug and have to control it becoming a monster. :shock::crazyeyes:
I am not planning any axle or t-case upgrades and I will probably stay away from trails that require lockers for now for two reasons, money and money...
Tires and a lift is what I'm currently looking for now and will probably settle on 33's and a 2"-2.5" lift kit only so I can still fit in my apartment garage.
 
AstroNormical said:
Back in December, I thought to make the jump in to the Off-Road world and purchased my Sahara Unlimited thinking that I would only go on some small trails and dirt roads.
6 months have gone by and after my last off-road trip I am thinking about trading in my Sahara and pulling the trigger on a Rubicon Unlimited.

The question is... should I do it? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Click to expand...
Depends, trading it in means a bigger payment whereas upgrading axles is a bigger purchase. I traded in my 12 JKU for a 13 JKUR and I'm happy.

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