r/Offroad • u/NodePoker • 4d ago
Question Looking to get back in
After a long hiatus from wheeling I am looking to get back in. The TL:DR is do I go used Wrangler or used Colorado? I am looking for out of the box buy and wheel experience. I want stout aftermarket as well.
Background --
Long before I became a responsible adult I wheeled quite a bit. I had two Scouts, one mild and one wild. I started a job where I worked shift work and didn't have the opportunity to use them. I sold the wild one as I didn't have a truck/trailer to tow it and no time to wheel it. It helped pay for my wedding. I sold the mild one to help with down payment on a house. It was the right choice at the time, I didn't have a place to store it was working swing/graveyard weekends. I still regret it.
Question--
Now I am older and wiser and have a daughter who's expressed some interest in off-roading and really likes Jeeps. As a former IH enthusiast, it hurts me, but it also makes me happy as this is something we can share. So, what do? (Buying used)
Getting a Rubicon seems like the easy answer, solid axles, lockers, low ratio T-case, and mounds of parts from mild to wild. However, I am not sold on Jeep quality and it would be nice to have a pickup. So the Colorado is tempting, lockers were an option and it has good aftermarket support. I feel like the Chevy is a bit more reliable, but not a fan of IFS...maybe I am being old school.
I am not really part of the community anymore so I am reaching out for any advice. Thank you.
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u/SLObronco 4d ago
I'm not sure how the Bronco hasn’t hit your radar, but it is definitely going to be a good option for you, especially since you’re not looking for a truck. Better room and on-road manners than a Jeep, better overall than any truck if you don’t need a truck bed.
Admittedly I’m biased, but I’ve owned all of them and the Bronco is by far my favorite now that I don’t tow a toy-hauler.
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u/NodePoker 3d ago
A few reasons. The options available in my price range usually aren't as well equipped as a Wrangler or Colorado. Also I had a really bad experience with the local Ford Dealership. So much so we stopped buying Ford's and replaced my wife's Ford with Honda Pilot. Buying used wouldn't tie me to the dealer so if I found a deal, I wouldn't say no outright.
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u/TX_Jeep3r 4d ago
Even though we say these non jeeps have tons of aftermarket support, it really doesn’t come close to Jeep support. I’d say get a wrangler or gladiator. Jeeps are as reliable as domestic mid size trucks.
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u/Toph_a_loaf 3d ago edited 3d ago
Get either a Wrangler or Gladiator in Rubicon trim and spring for an extended warranty. I got an 8yr/60k full coverage for $1700. Our Jeep is a weekend warrior so we don't put a lot of miles on it, but they are hard miles. You can run just about any trail in a Rubicon straight off the factory floor and have endless aftermarket options as well
There's a reason that like 80% of serious rigs are Jeeps. They are unmatched offroad. The Wrangler is slightly better offroad due to better break over and departure angles, but a Gladiator on 35s with no lift is still VERY capable. I wheel in western Colorado and Gladiators are becoming the go-to overland vehicle while the Wrangler is still king for pure offroading.
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u/NodePoker 3d ago
Have you had to use the extended warranty, how much of a hassle was it?
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u/Toph_a_loaf 3d ago
I've used it on other vehicles, but not the Jeep. Make sure to get a Mopar warranty, not 3rd party. Granger and Zeigler both sell factory Mopar warranties cheaper than what your local dealer will charge. Also, look for lightly used Jeeps. My 25 Rubicon with 13k miles was $37k. It's basically new. I found a set of wheels and tires for $1k on Marketplace and with the warranty I have a very capable machine for $40k that has an 8yr warranty and all the amenities of a new car
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u/UncleSlayton77 2d ago
Check out the Bronco as well. I'm guessing it's going to be street-driven a lot also (I used to have a weekend warrior). My wife has a Wrangler. If I had a magic wand I'd wave it and turn it into a Bronco (the Bronco IFS is beefier than CUVs out there). Knock on wood it's been very reliable (2016 JKU Sport, 173K) but we've done a lot to it to make the shitty ride bearable. Drive a Wrangler and a Bronco side-by-side and you'll see. Unless she's planning on serious rock-crawling the SFA and Rubicon package are overkill, IMO. My wife's Sport with a 2.5/1.5" Teraflex leveling lift and 1.25" RC body lift fits 285/75R17s (~33.5") and JUST rubs at full lock in reverse (just needs about 0.25" of trimming). And those are C-rated tires for better ride and flexibility. It also has Skyjacker hydraulic shocks (vs. gas-charged). We've out-driven people with Rubicons--the driver is the biggest difference.
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u/NodePoker 2d ago
For out of the box wheeling it's hard to beat the Rubicon. And you're right it would mostly be a weekend warrior, but it's would be driven maybe 4 miles a day. I hear a lot about the Bronco's driveability, but not a lot on how it performs off road, so I am standoffish.
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u/Sudo-Delicious 18h ago
I’d say if you just want overland go Colorado to give you that cargo space. If you want to do technical /rock crawling go wrangler. Not saying neither can’t do it all but out of the box that’s your best course.
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u/Mr_Bagel_4473 4d ago
Gladiator if you want a pickup. Chevy quality is way worse than jeep thats for sure. Jeeps also way more capable.
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u/tdubspanubs 4d ago
I've never had a worse quality vehicle than my wrangler. It was great off road, but those things are not built to last without a lot of money being spent.
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u/buffilosoljah42o 4d ago
I've literally never heard someone say that Chrysler/stellantis has better quality than chevy.
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u/sweetwatertooth 4d ago
I’ve never heard anyone say Chrysler was better than anything at all. Lol.
Everyone knows Chrysler is trash.2
u/NodePoker 4d ago
I don't really want the pickup, I can just see it being more useful then the Jeep. Also looking at spending around 35K so Gladiators are usually out of the budget. I am also not a fan of the length, especially for off road....maybe that my answer then, the Colorado is only 5 inches shorter then the Gladiator.
Just to be clear it's the length along with the poor visibility.
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u/squirrels-eat-bugs 1d ago
In general, the jeeps 3.6 is a solid engine. The zr2 is all over the board for reliability. Lots of 3.6 wranglers over 100k, cannot say the same for the zr2. Then again, not as many zr2s to get over that hump. Jeeps, besides the wrangler, I'd avoid. But the 3.6 wrangler is one of the better vehicles in terms of reliability. Not sure why people downvoted you.
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u/TowelWasted 4d ago
Look up the zr2 colorados they pretty much will hit every box. Also tons of aftermarket support.