Black Diamond vs Rubicon

[JMiles74]

So, in my final push to talk myself into a Badlands, my current order is for a Black Diamond Sasquatch. I've always wanted a Jeep Rubicon but now that I am getting the Bronco, just wondering if the Black Diamond Sasquatch will have the same off-road capabilities of the Rubicon?
I haven't done much research on the Rubicon, but was pricing one and see that alot of the features that are on the Badlands were add ons for the Rubicon, (ie front mounted camera). And of course the 35" wheels, larger axle was not available on the Rubicon (that I could see).

Love to hear your thoughts as this will be my first true off-road vehicle.

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[linbackr99]

Easy call for the - the Ruby is a Jeep . . . I'd take a Base Bronco over that any day of the week and twice more on Sunday . . . but that's just me!

 

[Atomicdog]

A sasquatch, Badlands, and Rubicon will be quite similar in what trails they can conquer.

 

[Greens05]

In terms of offroad capability I think the disconnectable swaybar is going to be the biggest difference particularly if you doing more rock crawling. Rubicon with a solid front axle and disconnectable swaybar will be more capable in a rocky environment. A better comparison therefore would be Badlands vs Rubicon for that environment(as you sort of mentioned). That's said if you are looking at doing more high speed offroading the Bronco seems to be hands down the better option from early reports in either BD or BL configurations.

 

[Mattwings]

In most cases the larger tires would perform better than smaller tires with sway bar disconnect. Certain rocky trails ebbing the possible exception. My next guess, in most situations the SQ Bronco be more capable. It is likely down to driver being the biggest variable.

 

[Jwall]

The rubicon gets the Dana 44 front axle. Anything Sasquatch will make it very comparable. The only hold back is the sway bar disconnect if you don’t get a badlands. I’ll end up just doing a manual disconnect.

 

[Brongo]

Both are plenty capable despite what diehard fans of either side will say. So for me it came down to having the “newer” thing.

Also the tech on the Bronco is light years ahead of the Jeep.

If this is your first true off road vehicle, you’ll appreciate the GOAT modes of the Bronco.

 

[hemiblas]

I think it boils down to rock crawling...If you plan on doing a lot of rock crawling the solid front axle will give you more flex and better articulation vs independent front suspension. The solid front axle will also be more reliable vs the CV axles in the IFS setup for the Bronco and again this will be more important for rock crawling as that will put a lot of stress on drivetrain components. For street driving the Bronco will have a better ride and probably feel more stable. For all other types of offroading the Bronco should do better as well. It really just depends on what are you going to use it for..

 

[JMiles74]

In terms of offroad capability I think the disconnectable swaybar is going to be the biggest difference particularly if you doing more rock crawling. Rubicon with a solid front axle and disconnectable swaybar will be more capable in a rocky environment. A better comparison therefore would be Badlands vs Rubicon for that environment(as you sort of mentioned). That's said if you are looking at doing more high speed offroading the Bronco seems to be hands down the better option from early reports in either BD or BL configurations.

The automatic swaybar disconnect sounds like a must if doing much rock crawling. As a newbie off-road enthusiasts, i don't know how much aggressive rock crawling I'll be doing. I guess its easier to have it and not need it versus needing it and not having it...
Thanks for the response.

 

[JMiles74]

In most cases the larger tires would perform better than smaller tires with sway bar disconnect. Certain rocky trails ebbing the possible exception. My next guess, in most situations the SQ Bronco be more capable. It is likely down to driver being the biggest variable.

Exactly this, I am new to the off-road world so I don't see myself taking my $50k+ toy on anything too aggressive anytime soon. I have a lot to learn before that happens...

 

[JMiles74]

The rubicon gets the Dana 44 front axle. Anything Sasquatch will make it very comparable. The only hold back is the sway bar disconnect if you don’t get a badlands. I’ll end up just doing a manual disconnect.

How hard is to manually disconnect and reconnect? Is it a real pain when off-roading?

 

[JMiles74]

I think it boils down to rock crawling...If you plan on doing a lot of rock crawling the solid front axle will give you more flex and better articulation vs independent front suspension. The solid front axle will also be more reliable vs the CV axles in the IFS setup for the Bronco and again this will be more important for rock crawling as that will put a lot of stress on drivetrain components. For street driving the Bronco will have a better ride and probably feel more stable. For all other types of offroading the Bronco should do better as well. It really just depends on what are you going to use it for..

Not alot of rock crawling at first, maybe a few years down the road. Mostly fire roads and moderate off road trails. I'd like to take it to White Rim and Alpine Pass in a few years. Would I need swaybar disconnect for those types of trails?

 

[Garemlin]

I'd say the Black Diamond would be more comparable to a Willys. Which is basically a Rubicon lite. Badlands and Rubicon would be a better comparison.

 

[dgorsett]

Not alot of rock crawling at first, maybe a few years down the road. Mostly fire roads and moderate off road trails. I'd like to take it to White Rim and Alpine Pass in a few years. Would I need swaybar disconnect for those types of trails?

Neither of those would require SBD

 

[kodiakisland]

The automatic swaybar disconnect sounds like a must if doing much rock crawling. As a newbie off-road enthusiasts, i don't know how much aggressive rock crawling I'll be doing. I guess its easier to have it and not need it versus needing it and not having it...
Thanks for the response.

A must? No, not hardly. Nice to have for sure if your uses need it, but we've been wheeling for many years without such a device. Plenty of ways around it if you don't get the disco.

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