There is actually a pretty good aftermarket for Ranger accessories, maybe because of its established popularity in Australia, Philippines and South Africa.
I’d buy the gladiator here in Australia, but the Ranger is the best selling Ute (as we call em here) - meaning the accessories choice is vastly greater then that of the gladiator
It was a pleasure meeting Roman and Blaze on Peru Creek Rd in Keystone with my Berner pup Bodhi (same age!) over the summer. I was in my Forester and spotted the duo real quick. Wheeler lakes is just down the road from me in Blue River. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the fleet and hopefully be able to let the pups romp around someday. Just wanted to say hey from your local viewer! ✌️
I have been following the Gladiator build and decided to pick one up myself just yesterday. Looking forward to more videos from you guys in the JT! Keep up the good work.
Tommy, never apologize for being honest about the quality of the Jeep Diesel engine, or any other car/truck you test, one reason we watch is to get honest reviews, don’t sugarcoat it, let the viewers know so we don’t make a very expensive mistake. Now you know the dog is a babe magnet, keep him close.
I find it interesting that out west snow is considered sketchy and 1000 ft drop offs aren’t; whereas in the Midwest and northeast we find rocks sketchy and snow just an everyday drive!😄
The snow here in Colorado gets combined with 1000 ft drop offs. That’s what makes it sketchy. Not to mention it’s much easier to get stuck in the snow, and there’s no service in most of the Rockies unless you have a satellite phone
I’m about to pickup my Gladiator Sport with the max towing package. I plan on replacing the front seats with some replacements from PRP. Also you should really look at gearing to get some of that power back.
I have a stock Gladiator Rubicon and tows my 6300lb travel trailer wonderfully. Although, I only get up to about 7700' elevation, at most. Plus I don't have several hundred LBs of equipment attached to my Gladiator. I do love this truck.
I absolutely love the build. I really don't, however, like the Gladiator. I think that exact build on a 4-door Wrangler would be awesome. The steelies really set the whole look off. That was a stroke of genius on your part, guys.
The Pentastar is outstanding. I've not seen a single one of the MANY in my Jeep clubs that has had even one issue. Not one. Great video! I'd hang onto that truck for years! Nothing else out there like it!
You haven't seen much then. Cylinder head issues. Rocker arm issues. Timing chain issues. Cheap ass plastic oil filter bypass that fails, making the oil filter useless. And the new one plaguing Galdiator is a mystery ping/detonation that FCA can't figure out yet.
@@terrencejones9817 I've seen and know plenty about this engine. The percentage of engines affected by the 2012 cylinder head issues is miniscule, as in about 8k. In spite of so few affected, FCA warranted all 2012 Pentastars to 100k miles, and fixed those with the problem. There are 11 million plus Pentastars on the road. You will find those kinds of things in ANY engine on the market produced in even a 10th of those numbers. Statistically, it is among the very best mass produced engines in the world.
@@danwilson2560 i couldn't care less about stats. I work in this industry. 20 years now, Pentastar has many issues beyond the cylinder head. As mentioned one of the important ones is the rocker arms and the hydraulic lash adjuster that failed often. I can't tell you the number to 3-5 to year old Caravans that come into our shop on a trade inspection that have serious issues under 60k miles. It's actually ludicrous to call this a good engine. According to this class action lawsuit, the cylinder head issues isn't resolved. m.carcomplaints.com/news/2020/chrysler-pentastar-tick-lawsuit-warranty.shtml
@@terrencejones9817 I have industry connections, too, so that does not impress me and a statement like that literally means nothing on the internet. Besides, you now say couldn't care less about stats? Then I think that says everything we need to know. I can't argue with someone who won't look at data. Sorry if you had a bad experience with one Pentastar. Millions have had great experiences with it, including me. Take care.
@@danwilson2560 your "connections " are meaningless to me. Again, I'm a 20 year professional. I see dozens of these a month. They are junk. A copy of GMs high feature V6 made cheap.
Mines stock and I really enjoy it. It's a truck when I need a truck and a jeep when I need a jeep. I don't tow anything and the loads might be a load of rock or bark. And lumber on the racks now and then.
I have a 2 door JL Wrangler Sport S, stock standard. I have been out with the Sydney Jeep Club many times. Your course would be easy peasy for my Jeep. Anyhow, great video!
Nice review. I’m happy with my Gladiator. I did have the steering gear tsb done. Mine was all over the road. Fixed. Mine is also lifted with the same kit as your. I have the cloth Rubicon seats. I find on long trips there too hard. I live in California our elevation runs from 50ft to 900:ft above sea level. The power is ok. It does pull my car trailer with my classic car adequately. I took a long trip at the end of September and went to Moab. I did Fins and Things and was blown away how well the truck did. I then went to Canon city Colorado . I took HIWAY 50 that took me through Monarch pass. That’s where I found the truck really was working. I was blown away by the fuel mileage round trip. Over 20 mpg.
Regarding the Decked drawer system. Check out Go Fast Campers. Their platform camper is like a pickup cap with an integrated rooftop tent. It does not sacrifice any storage, in fact it's got better accessibility because all sides open up. Plus it has a rooftop tent that's accessible from either a ladder on the outside or a hatch on the inside.
Glad to hear you plan to keep the Gladiator- awesome vehicle to use as a benchmark for testing. Those decked systems look cool at first, but terrible waste of space. Get some builtright or jcr molle panels for the bedsides, a swingcase toolbox and a tonneau- I have my Gladiator set up that way and carry all the essentials without sacrificing my bed.
The Gladiator is really well done....the trail seems epic... I'll look forward to the full ride to the lake ....almost makes me want to move out to Colorado..... Blazin!
Thanks for the review on the bed system. I saw those and thought they might be cool to have but I saw a lot of wasted carrying ability. You confirmed it. I can see it being very useful for people that have jobs or do things where they carry more tools and equipment than just general hauling. Once again, The Fast Lane comes through with great reviews. BTW, Fast Lane Doggo is the best!
Tommy you need to get a dog back seat car cover for your dog. I have one in my gladiator and it's perfect for having a dog since it keeps my seats clean and also it gives the dogs more room to lay around since it goes over the foot area for the back seats. It just connects to the head 4 headrests. Couldn't recommend a product more. Amazon has them for cheap and they are waterproof if your dog has an accident on the road.
I love black steel wheels. I bought a set with my snow tires so I wouldn't have to swap the tires on & off my Subaru's alloys. About $60ea. I like the way they look so much I'm prone to leaving them on well into warm weather. :)
Thanks big snow storm coming and I am headed to the San Juan Mountains Thursday for a week of the high country in a tent. :) I think I will have to put on the tire chains :(. TC
Glad you guys are keeping the Gladiator. I didn't feel like you gave a definitive answer to the question of whether it was worth spending $10k to mod the Gladiator. Or is that your question to us? Enjoyed the video, hope to see more Gladiator off-road content!
For years I was a big fan of Mopar parts and accessories. I'd literally spend thousands of dollars on Mopar-branded accessories because they were good quality, worked well ans looked great. Plus there was an implicit understanding that the dealer would honor the warranty as long as I adhered to using Mopar parts. Unfortunately, all that changed with my 2018 JKU Rubicon Recon. With an MSRP of $52,000, that was the most expensive Wrangler I had ever bought. I added a 2" Mopar lift, 35" KO2s, and mounted a Warn Zeon 10 on the factory steel bumpers. Unfortunately, the Jeep was poorly assembled: the body panels came poorly aligned, by 5,000 miles the dashboard rattled loudly and the driver seat squeaked to no end. After three attempts, the only Jeep dealer in town refused to repair the rattles and squeaks pointing at my Mopar mods as an excuse to weasel his way out of it. That left a bad taste in my mouth and opened my eyes. Now that I own a JL, I realize that Mopar does not always offer the best quality, the best design or the best value any more. These days, more often than not, Mopar accessories are poorly designed and overpriced. For instance, Mopar launched the 2" lift for JL with defective springs that bowed under pressure; the Mopar door sill guards look pretty but are so small they don't guard against anything, etc. Plenty of aftermarket manufacturers have upped their game to the point that they offer superior quality and design for a fraction of the price of a Mopar part.
Wow. You guys have so much content it's hard to watch it all. I do like the snow videos if you can do them in a less sketchy way. We snow deprived people will take what we can get.
I'd get the diesel every day for those elevations because they just don't lose power as ambient air pressure decreases with altitude. Turbo gas might have the same characteristics. Anything but a naturally aspirated engine.
I watch a video where they were driving it in the snow and because it doesn't have more blower vents on the windshield that the windshield wiper freezes up and more than half the windshield freezes up.
I tend to agree with you about the towing comments. I recently completed a West Coast trip towing my off-road trailer that weighs about 2500lbs. We went from Sea level to 7800’ sometimes doing that gain decent several times per day. My 3.6 JLUR performed admirably considering towing is probably its lowest ranking on the priority list of a Rubicon. I had to back off the throttle in favor a keeping the RPM’s in a range (
Tommy you take the camera, I will talk to the pretty lady Blaze found. Quick one there Roman. Loved to see Blaze. Little motor works great in low range off road it is a lot lighter. You can tow an offroad camper or small boat. I like my jeeps, I work on them more than my other vehicles and they are louder to ride in but I still like them, my daughter says I have to like them. Need to do a tshirt with Blaze Blazing new off road trails.
I"m glad they "emphasized" this is a 55,000 dollar jeep ! Because it seems WAY TOO HIGH.. Would love to have one.. But some dealers are doing Platinum F150 in that range, and may other vehicles. That's nearing F250 Prices, Just seems SO HIGH..
One last thing to mr Tommy, girls dont just appear out of thin air like that, n when they do is cuz ur moving boulders to accommodate ur path. hope u put it into 4lo and cruised in on that!
These gladiators are growing on me. Not enough to buy it. But yeah, it is one of the most capable off-road trucks. I know many Jeep people that have 200k on their Pentastar and 8 speeds with no issues. That is the only reason I looked at Jeep when buying a mo the ago (ended up with a 4runner).
Thanks for another stellar Gladiator video! I've been trying to find a vehicle I can tow our 4,200 lb. Micro Minnie trailer and still take wheeling/overlanding and I think this may be just the solution.
You guys mind if I use a small clip of this in my trail guide of wheeler lake I’m about to edit? Of course, I’ll tell people to check out TFL (granted I’m sure they already do).
That dog is like a giant teddy bear; I really want one lol. Also I’m very curious to see how that keep holds up over a number of years, not just 8k miles; I.e. don’t sell it anytime soon. The one thing holding me back from ever considering a jeep is reliability, coming from a Toyota. The engine will last I’m sure, but will all the electronics? I doubt it
Another great accessory would be a cheap cover for the back seat. Paws with claws aren't what you want on a new vehicle's leather seats. Don't ask me how I know.
