Raptor & Gladiator

[None]

Currently own a Raptor but recently began to take notice of the Jeep Gladiators with bed racks and how functional they seem. Never been a Jeep guy and always had Ford pickups but don't care for the new Ranger style. Been looking to get another pickup since donating my last to a family member and a Gladiator would be sufficient if I build some side racks to hold another yard of material in the bed. It also appears fully capable for the overloading with a few mods (tire, lift, rack, etc..). Anyone have experience with both Bronco and Gladiator?

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[broadicustomworks]

I was strongly tempted to get one while waiting for my Bronco.
I see them with a bit of lift, 37's, the overlanding racks and love the look as well.
However, there are pros and cons to it.
Some of it is subjective, some of it fact.
The rear overhang is huge.
If you aren't planning on doing anything where those departure angles are going to matter, no big deal.
But it is an issue I have seen first-hand on some trails here.
One thing to note is that if you do end up with one, go for the Oracle flush tails.
not only are the stock ones extremely out of place looking, but they stick out and just beg to be damaged.
My best advice is to go test drive one, see if it fits what you want and drives like you expect.
That's what I did.
Drove one, went directly and drove a 2.7 Wildtrack. In the end decided to wait out the Bronco, as the good points of the Bronco outweighed the good points of the Jeep.
Better comfort
Better Power
Better seats
Larger-feeling interior
More substantial-feeling doors and overall feel.

I very much would like a truck bed to throw gear in, muddy boots, etc.
Once the Bronco is paid off completely I'll either get a Gladiator or a Bronco truck if and when they ever build it.

 

[None]

No much into rock crawling, a bit to monotonous for my taste. More moderate speed 4x4 backcountry trail kind of driving with some occasional obstacles. Definitely keeping the Raptor but want to add a pickup to the fleet. Don't mind having a more utilitarian style as nothing will compare to the Raptors comfort.

 

[Silver-Bolt]

Look at the dimensions of a Gladiator and an F150. Not much difference. The F150 will haul more, tow more, more power, drive better.

 

[330SMG]

Look at the dimensions of a Gladiator and an F150. Not much difference. The F150 will haul more, tow more, more power, drive better.

And get better fuel economy. My buddy had a gladiator for 1 month got rid of it and bought a f150 5.0. He got 14 on the highway.

 

[Blackcat]

I'm in the same boat. I currently have an F150, but do like the looks of the Gladiator, especially the Mojave. That said, my wife has a 2021 Wrangler with the SFA, which I absolutely hate to drive. Since the Gladiator has the SFA as well, I'd be hard pressed to leave my F150 for a Gladiator. At the end of the day though, it's about what YOU like. My truck is my daily driver, work truck and what we use on long trips, so ride quality is important to me.

 

[Lèòn]

Only reason(s) you’d choose a Gladiator over a F150

(Bonus if its stick as well. Not mine btw)

 

[cbrenthus]

I would consider a Gladiator if I needed a pickup and could only have one vehicle, as I'd like to remove the top and doors. But, the cab is still the same as a Wrangler and a big reason for me trading in my Wrangler on the Bronco is the roomier interior. So you might feel cramped in the Gladiator.

Steering should be better on the Gladiator than the Wrangler due to the longer wheelbase, but I haven't drove one. I can tell you that the cast iron steering box made a huge difference to my Wrangler, and they updated the dampener at the same time. If I had had that done prior to test driving a bronco, I might never have considered the Bronco. I never got around to upgrading my control arms, which would have made the steering and tracking even better.

I think the Gladiator is a great "dual sport" but not really good at either. If you want it as a single vehicle, maybe, but if you are going to keep the Braptor then you already have a vehicle with removable doors and roof, and capable off road, so just get an F150 for when you need a pickup. Or get a Ram Power Wagon - V8, lockers, sway bar disconnect, basically the rubicon of pickups!

 

[None]

https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/gladiator-vs-f150

All great points. A few things are swaying me to the Gladiator:

1) Doors/Roof off make it WAY more fun
2) Much narrower compared to F150 74" vs 97"
3) Have a Bronco Raptor so would use that on long road trips which is more comfortable
4) Prefer the more utilitarian appearance of Gladiator. If they still made old school Defenders I would have that.
5) Towing capacity & gas mileage aren't that important to me.
6) Resale, probably both similar.

 

[Broncoblk23]

Gladiator is cool if you’re looking for something to take doors and roof off but I would hardly call it a pickup truck. I was driving a Ram 2500 and bought a 2022 gladiator rubicon back in May because I was originally told I wouldn’t see my bronco for another year or two. When my bronco was built in November I couldn’t wait to get rid of the gladiator. If you’re using it for strictly off-road then it’s more than capable. However, for normal on road use it’s absolutely terrible. It steers like shit, the wind noise is atrocious and the inside is extremely tight. The first thing I did was put a fox racing ATS steering stabilizer on it, which helped but on the highway it’s near impossible to keep straight. The bed is tiny and doesn’t fit a lot depending on what you’re using it for. The gas mileage was better than the ram but the tank is tiny so gas goes quick. I got about 16 MPG. Bottom line, If you’re looking to get a pickup in addition to the bronco I would look at a full-size truck or just get a utility trailer to hook up to the bronco.

 

[Mlarv]

I would look at issues with the Jeep line in general. I had a 2014 JKU and hated every minute of owning it. My wife had to have it. I had the TIPM replaced 4 times under warranty became it kept getting water in it. (They placed it under the hood on the passenger fender well). The 3.6 Penstare engine with the 3.21 gearing couldn't pull a hill on the highway I could ride a bike up.

If they have fixed the TIPM problems that would be a good thing. The springs broke after 25,000 miles of no off roading the shocks went bad at the same time. I had a check engine light the could never fix.

The ride was crap.

With all that said, they are really nice looking. If they have fixed the problems from the last gen, I might think about it. Do a few Google searches on TIPM problems with the Gladiator to see if it still has them.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/frustrating-problems-with-the-jeep-gladiator/

 

[kodiakisland]

I seriously looked into getting a Gladiator but for the price it didn’t make sense. The only reason I could find for me was the availability of the manual, but it still didn’t beat a manual Tacoma. I kept my manual Tacoma and added a manual Bronco. I’m glad I did.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Currently own a Raptor but recently began to take notice of the Jeep Gladiators with bed racks and how functional they seem. Never been a Jeep guy and always had Ford pickups but don't care for the new Ranger style. Been looking to get another pickup since donating my last to a family member and a Gladiator would be sufficient if I build some side racks to hold another yard of material in the bed. It also appears fully capable for the overloading with a few mods (tire, lift, rack, etc..). Anyone have experience with both Bronco and Gladiator?

The Gladiators look cool, but are really underpowered, safety is lacking, interior room is tight, and price is high. The Raptor is extremely superior to the Gladiator, and trumps the Gladiator in every category.

 

[jasonkosi]

The biggest issue for me with the Gladiator is that it’s trying to do two things so in effect it’s a compromise in every way. It’s still a Jeep, but with longer wheelbase and larger rear overhang it’s not as good at Jeep things. As a pickup it’s too small and cramped and because it’s also trying to be an off-roader the payload and tow ratings take a hit.

 

[MNBigfoot]

What makes the Gladiator cool is the same thing you already have in the Bronco. It would be off the table for me.

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