Should I upgrade to the Rubicon?

AstroNormical said:
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.
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The capability, straight from the dealership, is surprising. I forgot to mention the electronic sway bar disconnect, which is handy. A set of JKS quick disconnects or a used Rubicon sway bar will fix that.


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notnalc68 said:
The capability, straight from the dealership, is surprising. I forgot to mention the electronic sway bar disconnect, which is handy. A set of JKS quick disconnects or a used Rubicon sway bar will fix that.


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Click to expand...


My suggestion would be to stick with the Sahara if you "TRADE UP" you will be losing a lot of money 5k-10k minimum on trade in and yes the Rubicon has lockers, swaybar disconnect, and a better TC but everything else is exactly the same. No difference in suspension otherwise and unless you get a hard rock with some options 3.73 gears are most likely what are present in the axle housings..


If you were to just put a lift and skids on your Sahara, you would be amazed at how capable of a setup it is even without lockers.

And for the 5k-10k you lose that could end up being a nicer set of axles like the PR 44's with ARB lockers. Maybe a couple other items too.

A RUBI TC will run you 1500-2300 roughly.


And depending on the wheel size you go with you may end up needing to swap out the axles anyways.

Just my .02
 
AstroNormical said:
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.
Click to expand...

Go for 35's, everyone that does 33's eventually regrets not going 35s from the get go, me included...
 
Djordj said:
My suggestion would be to stick with the Sahara if you "TRADE UP" you will be losing a lot of money 5k-10k minimum on trade in and yes the Rubicon has lockers, swaybar disconnect, and a better TC but everything else is exactly the same. No difference in suspension otherwise and unless you get a hard rock with some options 3.73 gears are most likely what are present in the axle housings..


If you were to just put a lift and skids on your Sahara, you would be amazed at how capable of a setup it is even without lockers.

And for the 5k-10k you lose that could end up being a nicer set of axles like the PR 44's with ARB lockers. Maybe a couple other items too.

A RUBI TC will run you 1500-2300 roughly.


And depending on the wheel size you go with you may end up needing to swap out the axles anyways.

Just my .02
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I normally do overlanding with occasional rocky trails. However, nothing like those metal crusher type stuff.

My 2007 Sahara always could do and go through all the stuff Rubicons did.
In a couple snow runs having lockers would have helped. However, my winch and the tracks I take with me helped going through. I might install an ARB locker in the future but so far it hasn't been a prime need. By my Jeep's year you can have an idea. [emoji6]





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AstroNormical said:
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.
Click to expand...

my last jku i owned i went 33's w/TF leveling kit & 4:88 gears with detroit truetracs front & rear. noted it was a stick with the 3.8 but it was an amazing little billy goat. you may want to check the truetracs out cause they're awesome on & off the road.
i just recently purchased a used 2013 Rubi because the deal was a great one & couldn't pass up but if i would do it again...same deal.


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jorgelrod said:
Go for 35's, everyone that does 33's eventually regrets not going 35s from the get go, me included...
Click to expand...
Hands down probably the best advice. You'll need some quality spacers to make them fit with stock wheels but getting a good set of 35s was the second thing I did when I bought my new 16 JKR last year. First was a good winch and mounting system.

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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...

I did the same thing back in 2012. Got a sahara because I said "hey, Im in NY, Ill never need a rubicon." A few months in and Im driving to Moab having fun. I decided that it was financially smart to get the rubicon. You get a lot of stuff for less than aftermarket, under warranty. Also, thanks to the amazing residual value of the wrangler, after 2 years and 23000 miles, I only lost $2400 on my Sahara trading it in. Got a 14 rubicon to replace it, which will be going bye bye when I can get my hands on a diesel JL. I say do it.
 
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...
I had an 08 JKUR. loved it, but family reasons forced me to get rid of it. I remember the day i sold it, felt like i was abandoning a dog at the pound.

Fast forward 6 years and i got the green light to get another Jeep. I could have purchased the $65k AEV JKUR, but from my past experience i knew i would ditch a lot of factory stuff and it was to much crap (leather seats, embroidered head rests, high end stereo, power windows and door locks, auto start, etc). Plus, to engage the lockers on a JKUR you have to be in 4 low, which always irked me for some reason. Im sure some wizard on this forum figured out a bypass for that. Plus, its a single button activation for the lockers. You cant lock the front without the back, but im just nitpicking i guess.

Long story short, i got a semi painted canvas, 2014 Jeep JKU Willys Wheeler for $33K brand new. No power windows, no power door locks, and a hard top. I have created my own monster over the last three years. AEV has been great with honoring their parts, broken shock replaced for free two years after install. ARB has excellent customer care if a locker goes bad. Plus i regeared to 4.56.

I really enjoy building, doing research, reading this forum for ideas. My jeep is my creation, the way i want it, how i want it. Thats important to me.

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The only thing I personally ever wanted from a rubicon is the sway bar. Everything else I wanted to build with better parts and do it my way as I learned and grew.

If you want to swap out the t-case get an atlas, there's no real advantage going to a rubi case for the money. There's nothing "better" about the rubi case, it's just a different ratio in 4lo. Even Mel from ORE swaps out rubi cases to sport cases.... It's all about how you wheel and who you are.

Lockers? Absolutely essential, in my opinion the first upgrade any non rubi owner should do, but hey light bars are dope. Swap in some axles of your choice. Rubicon 44's with c's and axle shafts are very formidable. Want something that will inspire confidence? Dynatrac PR44/60 semi float for 37's is BOMB proof.

Again, it's all about who you are and what you do to enjoy yourself on the trail. That's what is MOST important. Everyone is different, the key is to know yourself and what kind of person you are. If you don't like redoing things over and over then save for what you think the end game is.

If you want a rubicon because a stock type vehicle that is VERY capable with a nice warranty gets the job done (and trust me, they get it done very well) does it for you, then go ahead and trade that Saraha in. If you want to personalize it and make it yours along the way well then you've come to right place. Keep asking questions, be willing to learn and most importantly let us all spend your money for you. :beer:
 
Tgoss gave you some good info, there. I had a 2 door Sport. Would I have traded it for a 2 door Rubicon? No. The reason I traded, was for 2 more doors, but I did get a Rubicon, when I traded. I knew my build timeline would be over years, not months, and I wanted lockers and the transfer case, right away.


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It's no Atlas. It's roughly the same size as a Sport case, so I'd guess the only difference is the ratio. I've swapped one into a Sport, before.


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I would look at what is it you intend to do?. This question had been asked a few Times on here. I agree with what Eddie had said many times. If you are looking to upgrade everything quickly then no. If however you are looking at slowly building your ride over a long period of time then go with the Rubicon. The Rubicon is a very nice set up or of the box, and will give you better off-road capability from get go. But if you have the money to spend on one shot then stay with a sport or Sahara.

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