I recently traded in my 2 door, 2012 Jeep Wrangler for a used 2020 Jeep Gladiator. These are my thoughts. Also some comments on equipping it.

1. Into The Wilderness
Transitioning from a 2012 Jeep
Wrangler
to a 2020 Jeep Gladiator.
First impressions.

2. I recently traded in my 2012, manual, 2 door
Wrangler for
a 2020, used, Gladiator.
These are my first impressions in the initial months
owning it.

3. This is my 2012 Jeep.
Manual. 2 inch lift. 35 inch tires.
Bought it used, trading in a 2005 Wrangler.

4. I had it kitted out for camping.
Three Rotopax gas cans. Two Rotopax supply cans. One
Rotopax water can. 2 lengths of capped 6 inch PVC with
supplies. One hose carrier with supplies. The rear seats and
passenger seat were out and I built a plywood platform to
sleep on along the right interior and have storage underneath.

5. I mounted a 100 Watt flexible solar panel on top,
underneath the rack, running to a GoalZero Yeti 400 inside.

6. Essentially, the Jeep was
self-sufficient for at least a
couple of weeks.
I traveled a number of
places with it, including a
western swing through New
Mexico, Arizona and
Southeast Utah.
Where, BTW, my clutch
burned out while I was out
at Hole in the Rock, 120
miles from the nearest
paved road.
Luckily 3rd gear still worked
and I was able to drive to a
town. 120 miles without
shifting

7. Which taught me one lesson:
I bought a Spot-X satellite
messenger.
I spend a lot of time in the Smoky
Mountains and often don’t have a
cell signal.
With the Spot-X I can maintain
contact with home.
Out west, it’s a must have.

8. A few months ago, I traded my Wrangler in for a used
2020 Gladiator (just under 10,000 miles on it).
Automatic. No lift. 35 inch tires— by the way, the spare
tire carrier underneath will fit a 35 inch spare.
I have an Overland model. There is also a Rubicon
model.

9. I put a JCR half rack on top of the cab and the JCR full-bed
rack.
The bed rack allows me to mount all my Rotopax on the
sides:
4.5 gallon gas
3.5 gallon gas
1.5 gallon gas
2 two gallon water cans
I can mount all those on five Rotopax mounts on the outside
of the full bed rack. I have five mounts, but I can double each
mount using the deluxe mount, thus carrying 10 Rotopax if I
want.

10. I have the two 2 gallon supply Rotopax on the half
rack on the cab top. Along with chocks and
Gotreads.
I have two hose carriers and two pieces of 5 inch
vinyl fence post mounted on top in the back to
carry supplies.
A lot of gear, which I’ll cover in another
presentation which will is uploaded HERE under
free Survival Slideshows.

11. 2 Two gallons Rotopax supply cases on half rack holding
survival gear along with Go-Treads on left and wheel
chocks on right. Ahead of them a piece of capped 5 inch
vinyl fencing containing two tow straps; flat plug kit;
inflate tire canister and more survival gear.

12. I also have a JCR bumper up front with a Rugged Ridge
winch.
I bought a Smartliner for the bed.
And Smartliner floor mats.
Also, minor note, you should add a dead pedal if you have an
automatic. I never noticed before but most automatics come
with one; not sure why Jeep doesn’t do it.
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the children of my fallen Special Operations comrades.

13. I have another presentation on what is in the various
containers and inside the cab itself in the cargo
compartments and elsewhere.
This presentation is my first impressions on the
differences between the two vehicles.
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ebook specials.

14. The biggest difference right off is, of course. SIZE.
The length of my 2012, 2 door Wrangler was 153
inches. Which is
12 feet, 9 inches.
A 2020, 2 door Wrangler is a bit longer, roughly 13
feet, 10 inches.
A 2020 Gladiator is 218 inches.
18 feet, 4 inches.
We’re talking five and a half feet longer than my old
2 door Wrangler!

15. If you’re transitioning from a relatively new, four-
door Wrangler,
we’re adding around 19 inches.
From the front, both the Wrangler and Gladiator
look the same as they are the same build up to the
B-Pillar.
The Gladiator bed is roughly five feet long with the
tailgate closed.

16. It means you’ve got a LOT more room in the Gladiator.
First, going from a two door to the four doors of the Gladiator
still kind of freaks me out. I’ve got an entire back seat. My
dog, who always goes with me, likes going back there and
lying down on longer trips.
More importantly, instead of driving with no passenger
seating (because I needed that space for the bed), I could
now take my son and grandsons with me.
I keep the back seat clear of gear because it makes it easier
to access the underneath or behind the seat storage areas.

17. What else does this mean?
Not able to make as many 3 point turns on narrow
mountains roads.
However, for me, that was offset by the rear view
camera. I could back out of places much more easily.
In terms of handling?
No difference. Your suspension is basically the same.
In my case, it’s much better since my old Wrangler
had been pretty beat up.

18. A current Wrangler and Gladiator share the 3.6-
liter V-6.
However, the Wrangler does offer a 2.0-liter turbo-
4 and a 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel if you desire.
These are not available on the Gladiator so far.
There is also a hybrid Wrangler coming on the
market. An electric motor promises instant power.

19. Both my 2012 Wrangler and the Gladiator have hard tops with
removable panels.
My previous Wranglers had both soft and hard tops.
I spent years doing the annual transition of taking off the hardtop
and putting on the soft.
Honestly, I prefer the hard top with panels. You don’t have the
totally open experience of the soft top down, but the trade off in
terms of security and ease is more than worth is in my opinion. I
though I’d miss the soft top option, but I haven’t at all. It’s quieter
and more secure and I can pop the panels off and put them in
their soft case in the cargo bay (another advantage over the
Wrangler where they had to go inside the limited space).

20. With the Gladiator you have a cargo bed. Which is where I now sleep
when camping.
I use either a bug net or a tent tarp which drapes over the JCR rack
completely and the tailgate which I put down. My dog and I can sleep
quite nicely back there.
Also we can set up and tear down in just a few minutes.
I store the bug net/tent shell (and my poles and tent interior in case I
want to set up) in the containers on top of the rack.
Hose carriers are available on Amazon— used by RVers to store
their waste hose, but can be used for storage. You can put a lock on
them.
A 5 inch vinyl fence post makes an even better storage space as the
square is larger than the circle. I bought caps, drilled through them
and the post and inserted a six-inch shackle lock.

23. Like with the Wrangler you can put on a rack and then put a
pop up tent on the top.
Personally, it’s not for me for several reasons:
The ladder is dangerous to transit in the middle of the night.
My dog can’t climb it.
The tent is always up there, reducing mileage.
Makes it harder to claim a camp site without putting a tent on
it.
The pop up wouldn’t allow me to put the four tubes and two
cargo containers up top that carry essential gear that would
have to go elsewhere.

24. The cargo bed.
You can see the Rotopax
on the outside of the JCR
rack.
I have an Undercover
Swingcase Truck
Storage box on
either side.
Pull the yellow lever
and it swings back to you.
Brilliant.
Left case contains sleeping gear,
Right case contains food
and cooking supplies.

25. The cargo bed is something that makes a huge
difference from a Wrangler.
Let’s face it: a Wrangler with a back seat in it has
extremely little cargo room.
Even with the back seat out, you don’t have that
much space.
Also the Gladiator has storage spaces under and
behind the rear seat. You can put a lot in them.
Big advantage to the Gladiator.

26. Handling?
I’ve noticed no difference on the road and off-road.
Takes a little longer for that second bump to hit off-
road.
But negotiating turns, four wheel drive, all of it is
essentially the same.
Honestly, as a long time stick driver, I like automatic
now. (I remember having to lock hubs on my old
Bronco II). You do have the manual shift option and I
engage it at times to use the engine to brake on steep
descents. The best of both worlds.

27. Let’s also accept Jeeps are not smooth rides.
The long wheel base of the Gladiator actually makes it a
better ride on roads, by smoothing out bumps.
I went down a particularly nasty stretch of trail in the Pisgah
National Forest and was surprised that I didn’t bottom out
the middle going over some humps.
A two-door Wrangler can negotiate a tighter turning radius
and is more nimble in tough spots.
However, interestingly, the longer wheel base can help when
you hit muddy depressions.

28. Cost?
A basic Gladiator is going to run you about $2,000
more than a four door Wrangler.
In my mind, it’s been more than worth it.
However, you get a lot more edition choices with a
Wrangler.
When you look at Rubicon models, a new
Gladiator runs around $45,000 and a four door
Wrangler around $43,700.

29. Lots of people are ‘boondoocking’ now.
I called it remote camping.
You see a lot of Wranglers now pulling trailers.
Whether these are for sleeping in or carrying gear.
The Gladiator’s bed eliminates that trailer need.
You could put a camper shell over the cargo bed if desired, but I like
my open set up with the JCR rack.
Plenty of room back there for me and my dog and two swing out
arm containers. In cool weather it’s nice to be able to look up at the
stars and watch sunrises and sunsets. In summer, you can get a
breeze.
I’ve seen people with dirt bikes in the cargo bed of their Gladiator.

30. There is a difference between the Rubicon Gladiator
and the Overland. The former is better off-road.
I’ve driven a lot of off-road and will confess I’m not a
rock crawler. I like roads and trails.
I’ve done rocks and ATV trails and don’t get into it.
So take that into account.
A Rubicon model would definitely be what you want
for more extreme off-roading.

31. There are a number of options and packages so
I’m just giving an overview.
Honestly, one thing I would go for if I were buying
new, is the adaptive cruise control. My wife has it
in her Audi and it’s a great safety device, especially
for highway driving. Or if you’re on a two lane road
behind someone, you can ‘latch’ onto them
(hoping, of course, they don’t run off the road).

32. The bottom line?
The amount of room and flexibility offered by the
Gladiator is well worth it.
I say that after a couple of decades as a Wrangler
owner.
As you will see in other presentations, I can easily carry
the same amount of gear as I did in the Wrangler and
keep all seats clear for people and the bed for sleeping.
I can toss my bike or kayak in the cargo bay and not
have to struggle to put the latter on top of my rack.

33. I have a slideshow showing all the gear I carry in the
various tubes, cases, packs, etc.
Essentially making the Gladiator, like my previous Jeep,
a great survival vehicle.
I also describe the way I carry two 100 watt flexible solar
panels hidden away on the Gladiator, with a GoalZero
Yeti 400 in the backseat passenger well, with an extra
battery linked in parallel. It charges off the convenient
plug in the back of the between seat console, but also
can be hooked to the two solar panels when stationery.

34. This is just an overview and not technical.
I have a separate presentation on car
preparedness that’s generic.
Questions, comments, suggestions, email me at
bob@bobmayer.com
Free books and more info on my web site:
www.bobmayer.com
Enjoy and stay safe out there!

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