They just dont know

[alfredregis]

i completely agree. Im really starting to like the Tacoma.

Tacoma vs Wrangler Rubicon vs Gladiator Rubicon...hmmm which one should i buy now??? lol decisions decisions

I am 6’2” and the Taco was a bit cramped inside for me, I previously had a Tundra and that was great.
Have a Gladiator now and previously had a JKU and the Gladiator beats the JKU hands down for road manners and interior comfort. The longer wheelbase translates into better road manners and has not been an issue on the trails for me. It’s a goat.

thats great info, thank you!! i was a bit hesitant on the Gladiator because of the wheelbase, it hasnt posed any issues with trails?

 

[LostWoods]

thats great info, thank you!! i was a bit hesitant on the Gladiator because of the wheelbase, it hasnt posed any issues with trails?

It's extremely manageable. Wheelbase is both a blessing and a curse. If you do tight turning trails you'll have to be super careful with lines and with steep steps you're going to hit more often. But the wheelbase and solid axles make it insanely stable in situations where others get sketchy.

Compared to the Tacoma, it's really no difference because the JT has a massive advantage on approach while the Tacoma is better on breakover. Where the JT shines is that it has solid axles so you can lift to overcome the deficiencies in angles well beyond what you can do in the Tacoma at any given price.

So like with any truck, skids, sliders, and a rear bumper are key... the big benefit for the Gladiator is that even with all that added, you still have more payload remaining than a stock TRDOR Tacoma.

The wheelbase conversation is really more along the lines of JT/JLU or Tacoma/T4R... by the time you're into any given class of vehicle, the differences are much more trade-offs than actual overall advantages.

 

[Ubiety]

thats great info, thank you!! i was a bit hesitant on the Gladiator because of the wheelbase, it hasnt posed any issues with trails?

Had it 6 months so it has not been to nearly the number and variety of places that the JKU had been. But it does feel extremely confident on the trail and has gone where I point it. Expected scraping the underside/break-over on one trail but it did not happen; that trail had some steep undulating bits with tight turns and it did great. It’s not going to do a u-turn as well as the JKU but its not worse enough that it bothers me. Took it over a steep up and down hill to get around a locked gate that should not have been locked (on our way out) and it was easy peasy. I have seen less trail worthy rigs get through obstacles that the JKU had trouble with so I think a lot of it comes down to the driver’s skill and some luck. All of that said I would trade the JKU for a Gladiator again in a heartbeat! It has more cargo room and makes it easier to get the family on the trail with me which is why I got approval to get it. Hahaha