Baystate Jeepers

Hi all,

New to Jeep with my LE Gladiator that is so far stock but def itching already to lift and add bigger tires.... My previous rides were a 2019 Raptor (too big and too Ford) and a 2015 4Runner Trail.

Hoping to join a Jeep community and this time really get off road. Enjoy that very much with my mountain bikes and doing it in the gladiator could and will be great family fun and bonding time with the kids!!!

Welcome to the forum. I just saw you put yourself on the waitlist. Hopefully there will be openings in the spring time, plus there will be open runs and some opportunities to get out there.

Thanks very much. Looking forward to it

Looking forward to meeting and talking with you about your new Jeep. I just want you to know , while not a hater , what they offered after waiting since 05 tease at SEMA is just disappointing . Now thats outta the way , welcome to the forum. Family based club is what we do best. My two boys grew up in the garage and travelin with this club. My bikes had motors. Ive spent most of my life in the woods or on a track of some sort . Now I say --- Speed cost money , How SLOW do you want to go. See ya at the meeting Frank

Welcome to the forums, and the wait list will hopefully get itself cleared come spring time. Hope to see that LE out there on the trails and see what they can do first hand.

Welcome to the forums! Sure is a pretty gladiator. Would love to see that trail ready and see how it gets through the trails! (I think many of us are interested to see a gladiator in action)

How much longer than a JKU is it?

JKU is 185"
JT is 218"

So, almost 3' longer. (33")

I am very curious myself to see how it would do in stock form. I know it's not the ideal off road platform with the long wheelbase. But I really needed (read wanted) a truck. I love the flexibility the bed provides. I also like that it shares so much with the wrangler so aftermarket support and fixing things is easy and not complicated. My raptor was such a silly truck but this one just feels right . I am currently looking at winches and front license plate solutions. For our local trials here in NE do you guys feel a lift and 37s or 40s will be needed? Even though I am not worried about MPGs per se the small tank has me worried with bigger rubber that I'll be filling her up every week ha ha. Anyways I really hope to get out with you fine folks and put her through the paces.

shrinkhead wrote:For our local trials here in NE do you guys feel a lift and 37s or 40s will be needed?

All of that depends pretty heavily on what you want to do. I'm in a basically unlifted JKU on 35" tires, and it does a pretty good job on what I throw it at. Where it's still a DD, I don't tend to be extreme, and I'm pretty armored up. With your longer wheelbase, you may benefit more from larger tires, but that's really a decision for you. IMO: Take it out wheeling, see where it doesn't do what you want it to do, upgrade that, and repeat. It'll take longer, but in the end you'll get to where you want to be, and (hopefully) get there with less wasted money on things that aren't suited to your wants.

You won't pass inspection on 40's. Yes some get stickers with them but it's a heavy fine if get pulled over. Unless you plan on going on Black and Red trails (Which are not going to be friendly to the body panels) you are fine on 35's. Anything more that 37's your asking to break axles.

Look at a tire / Ratio chart to see what bigger rubber will do to your gas mileage , Is it a stick or auto , that will have something to do with it . Ask questions before you buy something is gonna save you money. The tire question has been the root of all evils. Once you change tire size theres so much thats affected its like the black eye of mods . One thing makes you do 5 other things. Welcome to the pit you opened when you bought a JEEP ! FjR68

will definitely test before upgrade/change. I think I can fit 35s with no problems onto my stock rims and stock height so prob start there or just be smart and do one step at a time starting with get out and see what works and what doesn't. I am very familiar with the money pit of upgrading cars. Ask my 2011 Mustang which ended up with more money in parts than I paid for the car and when I had to trade it in it was a sad day for my wallet

Again , Look at a tire ratio chart. FjR68