VIDEO : JEEP GLADIATOR Truck Highlights & Close Up Look at the 2018 LA Auto Show

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StormTrooper_JK said:
So, I think I like this rig, god knows I’ve been looking forward to it. But, I’m concerned about break-over and departure angles with its length. Will this be trail capable? Are these valid concerns? It’s significantly longer than my JK and I know that can be tight on some trails. I don’t know that it would have been able to do the Arizona trail that Eddie just posted that awesome video of. Just my 2 cents. I could be wrong.


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It's a truck...so yes, break over and departure angles are not as good as any shorter wheel based rig with a bed...but my Brute has a similar wheelbase and 5" bed as the new Gladiator, and I have wheeled it in a lot of different places including most of the trails at Moab...where it excels is hill climbing and off camber situations...

As far as the Arizona JLX trip, they had a full size pick up support truck running the entire trail...
 

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Very good video under slightly chaotic conditions. This bad boy looks way better with the camera rolling than pics alone. My wife just said, “That would be all the vehicle we would need, right? “ We’re still keepin’ our ‘92 Comanche though, the last of the last generation. I am excited!:yup:
 
Strainger said:
Something that struck me was the spare tire mount. It can hold a 35 with no modifications. Does that mean we will not be able to run 37s or does it mean that modifications can be made to accommodate larger tires? In any case, I really really like this truck and the towing capacity. My co-driver has been looking at trailers lately with an eye on road trips.
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If you go up to 37's or 40's, you will have to put the spare in the bed like I did with my Brute...
 
Great to see some of the folks from the “Heart and Soul” series’s still doing what they do. Emotional for them no doubt. It’s great that the engineers that have been pushing so hard for his to come to life to finally be rewarded for their hard work with an epic launch. Well done!!!
 
Great video as always. You can really see that the designers care about this vehicle...which is cool.
 
Brute said:
View attachment 315411

It's a truck...so yes, break over and departure angles are not as good as any shorter wheel based rig with a bed...but my Brute has a similar wheelbase and 5" bed as the new Gladiator, and I have wheeled it in a lot of different places including most of the trails at Moab...where it excels is hill climbing and off camber situations...

As far as the Arizona JLX trip, they had a full size pick up support truck running the entire trail...
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Good info, thanks. I feel like if I’d thought it through a little more...um, yeah. 3 days of day drinking in Vegas will do that to you.


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Brute said:
If you go up to 37's or 40's, you will have to put the spare in the bed like I did with my Brute...
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I thought as much. Lose a little in the back for storage but worth it to have the spare along with you. I could live with that.
 
Brute said:
View attachment 315411

It's a truck...so yes, break over and departure angles are not as good as any shorter wheel based rig with a bed...but my Brute has a similar wheelbase and 5" bed as the new Gladiator, and I have wheeled it in a lot of different places including most of the trails at Moab...where it excels is hill climbing and off camber situations...

As far as the Arizona JLX trip, they had a full size pick up support truck running the entire trail...
Click to expand...

thank you for the common sense answer! I hear so many complaints from people all over the internet about how long it is. It's a (real) truck so it's going to be longer than your Wrangler and that's OK. So it may not do everything a Wrangler will do. It will still do WAY more than any other pick-up out there. And once the aftermarket gets rolling, who knows? I like it. I could do most of the wheeling that i want and still be able to tow a decent size trailer to camp.
 
Being a truck guy at my Core.... I REALLY like the Gladiator. I think they did a fantastic job and it has a shit ton of potential as a Dual purpose Rig. Great coverage as usual, and really enjoy your interaction with industry members. :thumb:
 
Rcm3691 said:
thank you for the common sense answer! I hear so many complaints from people all over the internet about how long it is. It's a (real) truck so it's going to be longer than your Wrangler and that's OK. So it may not do everything a Wrangler will do. It will still do WAY more than any other pick-up out there. And once the aftermarket gets rolling, who knows? I like it. I could do most of the wheeling that i want and still be able to tow a decent size trailer to camp.
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The good news is that the Gladiator will have a slightly shorter wheelbase than the Brute at 135.40"...my Brute is at 139"...
 
Sharkey said:
^^ probably more overhang in the rear though, don’t you think?
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It looks the same to me, but hard to tell without actually measuring...the Gladiator frame is slightly shorter than the Brute...I'm sure with all the input the FCA engineers had from the Brute build, they decided to shorten up the wheelbase because of the turning radius...the Brute is like driving a boat...my F250 has a tighter turning radius, hence why another reason I changed the front axle to an XD60...I'm often the guy doing 3-point turns on the trail, especially on tight switch backs...cameras definitely help here...
 
Brute said:
It looks the same to me, but hard to tell without actually measuring...the Gladiator frame is slightly shorter than the Brute...I'm sure with all the input the FCA engineers had from the Brute build, they decided to shorten up the wheelbase because of the turning radius...the Brute is like driving a boat...my F250 has a tighter turning radius, hence why another reason I changed the front axle to an XD60...I'm often the guy doing 3-point turns on the trail, especially on tight switch backs...cameras definitely help here...
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I like the separation of cab to bed on Brute better than the new Gladiator.
 
Well that really sucks I think I’ll have to get rid of the jlu to get a gladiator, there’s some wicked upgrades from the jl. Thanks guys for the coverage, must be time for a vacation eh?


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Very cool! I like that they went with Gladiator...just wish they had maybe tried to give the front end more of the Gladiator's profile than just keeping the JL front end. Not saying it's horrible but really, that classic Gladiator grill!

Shouldn't be too long before someone bob's that bed down to 4' or less giving it a better departure angle than even a 2 door JK. For the rest, it's just a matter of getting used to it. Have wheeled the Tacoma for 20 years and it's not too bad even stock. The newer trucks definitely sit higher but the JT bed looks like it's actually exaggerated over what the newer Tacomas and Canyons have for departure angles. Guess that's the price to stuff a 35" tire up under the bed. It'll be a truck so it's not going to out perform any of the stock JK's or JL's in its stock form. Different use philosophy. I'm sure Eddie's build will be sweet as can be but it'll still be a truck. Looking forward to watching that progress. It'll have to satisfy me until I can put a down payment on a diesel for 2020. Or maybe 2021... Disappointing that the diesel won't be matched up with the 6 speed manual though. 4.71 1st gear in the auto vs 5.13 in the manual I believe. Not an insane difference for daily driving but quite a jump when you shift a Ruby into 4lo. Reverse has an even worse gap. Meh...maybe things will change in the future.

Now do I trade off the '98 Taco TRD or say screw it and have all three... Tough question. :thinking:
 
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