Help! ZR2 vs. Rubicon

[JimBill]

I'm 6'4" and 295 (topped out at 325). Can you see the stop lights without tilting your head and ducking? Which has better visibility? Per your comments on the tightness of the Jeeps interior and lack of complaint about fitting in the Bison, the Bison sounds like the winner to me. Spending long hours in a vehicle you have to be comfortable, and when you miss the top half of the view you miss so much of the scenery. And bouncing your head off the roll bar, even once, might not be too comfortable either.

As I commented recently in another forum post, I sat in a FX4 Ranger and didn't even test drive it because there was nowhere for my shoulders or knees to exist within the confines of the interior. In my frustration I told the salesman it's a boy's truck, thanks but no thanks. For some of us, our options are limited!

 

[MMc]

I have to wonder why your are asking strangers what you should buy. Everything is a trade off, we don’t know you yet you are asking our advice.....

 

[bgenlvtex]

I'm 6'4" and 295 (topped out at 325). Can you see the stop lights without tilting your head and ducking? Which has better visibility? Per your comments on the tightness of the Jeeps interior and lack of complaint about fitting in the Bison, the Bison sounds like the winner to me. Spending long hours in a vehicle you have to be comfortable, and when you miss the top half of the view you miss so much of the scenery. And bouncing your head off the roll bar, even once, might not be too comfortable either.

As I commented recently in another forum post, I sat in a FX4 Ranger and didn't even test drive it because there was nowhere for my shoulders or knees to exist within the confines of the interior. In my frustration I told the salesman it's a boy's truck, thanks but no thanks. For some of us, our options are limited!

I'm 6'6" visibility is not a problem in the Jeep,my head doesn't hit the rollbar.
The adaptive cruise control IS an issue for me in the Jeep because it effectively lowers the roof line 6" or more.
Of the two vehicle which I drove both of before buying, I found more visibility issues in the ZR2 Bison I drove than the Jeep. The bump on the Bison hood , the upswept rear corners of the back doors, small back window and over all high window line in the ZR2 were far more critical issues than I found in the Jeep, and although that was not THE deciding issue it contributed greatly

 

[LostWoods]

I'm 6'6" visibility is not a problem in the Jeep,my head doesn't hit the rollbar.
The adaptive cruise control IS an issue for me in the Jeep because it effectively lowers the roof line 6" or more.
Of the two vehicle which I drove both of before buying, I found more visibility issues in the ZR2 Bison I drove than the Jeep. The bump on the Bison hood , the upswept rear corners of the back doors, small back window and over all high window line in the ZR2 were far more critical issues than I found in the Jeep, and although that was not THE deciding issue it contributed greatly

I will never buy adaptive cruise until I have to because it forces the mirror into my line of sight and blocks so much of my windshield. I was always ducking in my Tacoma to see around it and had similar issues in the Jeep on my initial test drives. As nice as adaptive cruise is on long trips, I made sure my final purchase didn't include it.

You can't beat the visibilty of a Jeep IMO. The Gladiator has a low looking bed rail because it had to carry over the low beltline from the Wrangler parts it shares. That means more window and lower door parts so even though the cab of a JL/JT is physically smaller than other mid-size pickups and SUVs, it feels much roomier to me and my broad shoulders. Pair that with the low and narrow hood and you can see nearly everything in a Jeep.

 

[bgenlvtex]

I have to wonder why your are asking strangers what you should buy. Everything is a trade off, we don’t know you yet you are asking our advice.....

Have you never recommended a brand of pickles to a random shopper in the grocery?

I mean back when people weren't terrified of contact with other people .

 

[MMc]

Have you never recommended a brand of pickles to a random shopper in the grocery?

I mean back when people weren't terrified of contact with other people .

Pickles don’t cost thousand of dollars and I have to live with them. There is a fashion aspect that seems to prevail for many, why roll around with traction pads and a Hi-lift 100% of the time? Before I ask for advice, I would like to know what you do and have done, lots of key board experts. There are plenty here I can learn from, we go do stuff and I value the knowledge base. I don’t do the same things as you so my needs a different, it goes for everybody here. I would be asking specific questions, lockers, upgrades.

 

[Pretzel]

Pickles don’t cost thousand of dollars and I have to live with them. There is a fashion aspect that seems to prevail for many, why roll around with traction pads and a Hi-lift 100% of the time? Before I ask for advice, I would like to know what you do and have done, lots of key board experts. There are plenty here I can learn from, we go do stuff and I value the knowledge base. I don’t do the same things as you so my needs a different, it goes for everybody here. I would be asking specific questions, lockers, upgrades.

If someone is new to this hobby, or comes at it from only one aspect (off-roading but not camping for example) they may not specifically know what to ask. General questions might give them answers to questions they didn't even consider. I don't think there's been a census, but I wouldn't expect most people active on this board to be the mall-crawler type.

 

[bgenlvtex]

Pickles don’t cost thousand of dollars and I have to live with them. There is a fashion aspect that seems to prevail for many, why roll around with traction pads and a Hi-lift 100% of the time? Before I ask for advice, I would like to know what you do and have done, lots of key board experts. There are plenty here I can learn from, we go do stuff and I value the knowledge base. I don’t do the same things as you so my needs a different, it goes for everybody here. I would be asking specific questions, lockers, upgrades.

Which s why I don't accept a opinion as empirical data, but I will aggregate it with other opinions to see general trends that can be useful.

I was being somewhat sarcastic about the pickles although that was the first thing that came to mind, BUT to revisit that and build off my first paragraph in this reply, if I'm in the pickle aisle and one person says "Those are great." It may register. If 14 people say those are great it carries more weight, and as is the case here I can ask for clarification if their motives are suspect

 

[tjZ06]

Which s why I don't accept a opinion as empirical data, but I will aggregate it with other opinions to see general trends that can be useful.

Exactly! You shouldn't need to defend why you asked for input. People tend to be pretty open and honest about their experiences with their vehicles on this forum, so I don't see any reason why you wouldn't try to gather data here. It's not realistic to buy a Rubicon to try for a while, then buy a ZR2 and try it as well. Next, maybe then sell the ZR2 and get a Taco. After that a 4Runner. Then, once you've tried every option decide which one you'll keep for the long-term. But oh wait, by the time you do all of that the Bronco will be out so you'll need to try it too! Obviously nobody is going to do that, so asking for input from people that have actually owned and used them is the next best thing. @MMc doesn't seem to understand this concept.

-TJ

 

[bgenlvtex]

Exactly! You shouldn't need to defend why you asked for input. People tend to be pretty open and honest about their experiences with their vehicles on this forum, so I don't see any reason why you wouldn't try to gather data here. It's not realistic to buy a Rubicon to try for a while, then buy a ZR2 and try it as well. Next, maybe then sell the ZR2 and get a Taco. After that a 4Runner. Then, once you've tried every option decide which one you'll keep for the long-term. But oh wait, by the time you do all of that the Bronco will be out so you'll need to try it too! Obviously nobody is going to do that, so asking for input from people that have actually owned and used them is the next best thing. @MMc doesn't seem to understand this concept.

-TJ

He understands, he just made an off the cuff comment, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

For overlanding, I'd have no problems with the Gladiator axles on 35-38's.

For wheeling, theyll snap like twigs if you aren't careful. I prefer Dana 60 / 10.5" on buggies and wheelers. And we break plenty of those

If you are hard on crap you can break anything. 37's on stock jeep axles are fine if you are aware and not a hammerhead. I would run 37's on my dana 30 and not think tiwce.

 

[SalmonSlicer]

Drove a ZR2 yesterday. Nice truck. Interior needs an update otherwise I liked it.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

When I drove it, I found the seats extremely uncomfortable.

 

[SalmonSlicer]

When I drove it, I found the seats extremely uncomfortable.

I felt the same. They weren't that great. I really liked the overall truck a lot. The interior is definitely average, but some of the others in the mid size aren't that great either.

I was surprised the 4Runner I drove was as nice as it was. TRD OR.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

I had a TRD sport taco out for a drive and it was nice. Found the suspension super stiff though.

 

[SalmonSlicer]

I had a TRD sport taco out for a drive and it was nice. Found the suspension super stiff though.

I need to drive on again. It's been a while. Apparently they fixed the programing of the automatic.

 

[LostWoods]

I need to drive on again. It's been a while. Apparently they fixed the programing of the automatic.

Biggest piece of advice I can give someone looking at a non-manual Taco is to plan $2-3k for gears. That double OD is deep and for some reason they thought 3.90 was a good ratio to go with in the 6AT axles with that .68 6th gear... there's just not enough gear at the end so you will constantly be going in and out of 4th through 6th at cruising speeds. Even at the manual's 4.30 ratio it feels better but a bone stock TRDOR with 4.56 gears is still very good for a daily driver and the gears tighten up the ratios where 6th is much more usable. If you plan for 33s, 4.56 gears are good but 4.88 are the sweet spot.

I had a TRD sport taco out for a drive and it was nice. Found the suspension super stiff though.

Sport is supposed to be road sport, OR is supposed to be dirt sport. People will say there's not much difference between the two but if you drive them side by side, the Sport's suspension is probably the most jarring suspension on any truck I've ever driven in the last 30 years. It felt rougher than an unloaded 1-ton from the 90s.

 

[twiget]

Guess I haven't been here in awhile. This thread definitely took on a life of its own. Thanks for all the comments everyone, I knew this would be a hotly debated topic. Kinda like asking which is better, Camaro or Mustang? (Camaro, obviously ).

It took 2 years of searching, but I finally settled this debate (for me anyway). I bought a 2019 ZR2 Bison earlier this week. The truck was a bit over 200 miles away, so I had a bit of a road trip to check it out, but it was worth it. The PO's threw quite a bit of the AEV parts catalog at this thing and it's really nicely modified. I crawled all over it during my test drive and it's remarkably clean. Maybe it was a mall crawler in it's previous life. Or the dealership's detail guys went the extra mile cleaning this truck.







My Z06 and this Bison couldn't be more opposite if they tried, but I think they will get along just fine. I'm looking forward to lots of mud and dirt with the Bison

 

[DaleRF]

Guess I haven't been here in awhile. This thread definitely took on a life of its own. Thanks for all the comments everyone, I knew this would be a hotly debated topic. Kinda like asking which is better, Camaro or Mustang? (Camaro, obviously ).

It took 2 years of searching, but I finally settled this debate (for me anyway). I bought a 2019 ZR2 Bison earlier this week. The truck was a bit over 200 miles away, so I had a bit of a road trip to check it out, but it was worth it. The PO's threw quite a bit of the AEV parts catalog at this thing and it's really nicely modified. I crawled all over it during my test drive and it's remarkably clean. Maybe it was a mall crawler in it's previous life. Or the dealership's detail guys went the extra mile cleaning this truck.

View attachment 197421

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My Z06 and this Bison couldn't be more opposite if they tried, but I think they will get along just fine. I'm looking forward to lots of mud and dirt with the Bison

Well, they both look great!
Contrats!

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Guess I haven't been here in awhile. This thread definitely took on a life of its own. Thanks for all the comments everyone, I knew this would be a hotly debated topic. Kinda like asking which is better, Camaro or Mustang? (Camaro, obviously ).

It took 2 years of searching, but I finally settled this debate (for me anyway). I bought a 2019 ZR2 Bison earlier this week. The truck was a bit over 200 miles away, so I had a bit of a road trip to check it out, but it was worth it. The PO's threw quite a bit of the AEV parts catalog at this thing and it's really nicely modified. I crawled all over it during my test drive and it's remarkably clean. Maybe it was a mall crawler in it's previous life. Or the dealership's detail guys went the extra mile cleaning this truck.

View attachment 197421

View attachment 197420

View attachment 197419

My Z06 and this Bison couldn't be more opposite if they tried, but I think they will get along just fine. I'm looking forward to lots of mud and dirt with the Bison

Nice rigs. The bison is top notch for sure. is it a v6 or a dirtymax?

Also more pics of both please.