Switching from pickup to jeep wrangler

[String&stick]

I'm curious who out there has made the switch from a pickup to a jeep Wrangler or similar.

Vehicle would be my daily driver and most likely used for my local hunting trips as well. I have a small trailer for my 4 wheeler and for when I mow. I have the option if keeping my 06 Chevy pickup as well but don't love the idea of keeping an extra vehicle around. I've had a pickup for years now but don't really "need" one most of the time. My only real need is when I pull an enclosed trailer which is literally about twice a year and I could cover that with a buddies pickup or my brothers that both live close.

Pros and cons? Happy with the switch or regret it?

Just looking at my options as I'm probably buying something new/newer this year. As late in the year as possible to hope prices come down but I have an income problem with my side business so will probably do something this year for the depreciation.

Let me know your thoughts if you've made the switch, or why you didn't!

 

[Drenalin]

I made the switch and wouldn't do it again. This was several years ago, but I went from my run down pickup to a new at the time 2013 Wrangler, the four door job. As a daily driver it was fine, but frankly about like any other SUV. I didn't think I needed a pickup any more when I did it, but not having one was a real problem. Turns out, I needed a truck bed a lot more often than I thought and when the need came up it was hardly ever convenient to borrow one.

For me, I probably would have been happier with either just a good truck, or an older Jeep and an older truck. After driving a new Jeep for a few years, it just didn't do anything for me. You could lay the seats down and stuff it full, and I did, but then the thing would beg for mercy every step of the way. I wouldn't dare haul anything with it. I didn't feel like it did any better off road than any truck I ever had, and certainly no better than the truck I gave up to get it. It was basically a soccer mom vehicle with a weird body shape.

 

[Opah]

Get a crew cab truck if having room for four is an issue, otherwise a good Vortec V8 will get you where ever you want to go.

 

[Netherman]

Beyond the obvious truck bed vs no bed, there are a lot of stability trade offs with wranglers that I don't think are worth making for 90% of use cases. I'll probably get some push back from diehard Jeep fans, but much like the guy who bought a F150 raptor to tow his 100k boat, that capability isn't really needed for most users. If you want to rock crawl Moab I'd buy a wrangler. If hunting trips across the west are your thing I'd take a truck.

Compared to any unmodified truck a jeep wrangler will outperform in 99% of off-roading events. Jeep has done a lot of work to achieve this. They set up their steering with a parallogram steering setup rather than a steering rack, they have a shorter wheelbase, they have higher clearance, and they have more suspension travel. All of these things are a benefit off-roading but come at, in my opinion, a great on-road cost. Longer wheelbase vehicles are inherently more stable and will react slower in fishtail type events (giving you time to counter steer). High clearance increases center of gravity height which increases your propensity to rollovers. Parellogram steering setups are great off-road but are less desirable on-road (search jeep death wobble).

Pros (what you get):
The most capable unmodified off-roading vehicle (short wheel base, high clearance, stronger suspension/steering components)
Cheaper (depending on options)

Cons (what you give up):
Loss of stability in highway situations
Loss of truck bed

 

[Brendan]

I switched to a Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, and I can't wait to go back to a pickup. One of my reasonings is I was saving about $10K over a similarly equipped F150, and I'd worked my way into a longer commute every day.

The Jeep is much, much better off road. Air suspension rocks. Drives more like a car. Better commuter vehicle.

Gas mileage isn't any better. Much smaller. Having a separate pickup bed with a topper is a game changer: Can sleep in it, can separate dirty gear / dead animals, much more space. Don't need my hitch carrier.

Right now, I'm very intrigued by the diesel offerings from Ram, Ford, and Chevy/GM. Mileage ratings over 30 from each I think and I've never touched a full tank above 23 with my Jeep. But $$$.

 

[come2elmo]

Following. In a similar boat but my son is inheriting my Silverado so I still have that when I need it.

 

[nphunter]

It really depends on your needs and wants. I would never own a 2 door wrangler again, I have gone back and forth a lot with vehicles looking for the perfect hunting vehicle. I have had pickups and full-sized blazers and Suburbans, CJ's, Cherokee's, Xterra, Wrangler, Unlimited Rubicon, and now a 4 door Tacoma.

For the woods for myself, I would never go back to a full-sized pickup/vehicle, there are so many places they just won't go that you can take a smaller vehicle, getting them unstuck compared to a small vehicle is also a PITA. My vehicles are dedicated hunting/mountain vehicles because my work supplies me with a company vehicle and my wife has her vehicle we use for trips.

The 4 door Cherokee and Xterra's are good vehicles, do well off-road and in the woods, and are nice to drive. The Xterra is the most comfortable to sleep in and I slept in mine a lot when I had it and my boys were small, I've even slept in it with my buddies a couple of times, it was cozy but comfortable.

For the last 4 years, I have been driving a 4 Door Rubicon with 37's, 5:13 gears, long arm lift and all the other gear to make it awesome off-road. It did decent on fuel and I even hauled my 20" camp trailer to ID hunting several years in a row with it. The downside was that there just isn't any cargo room in the jeep with more than two people. My kids are getting older and the final straw for the jeep was a road trip to ID on a deer hunt with both my boys 10 & 13 at the time and my father. We put a hitch carrier on the back for getting coolers and gear there but in the woods that isn't practical to haul around, with rifles and winter gear getting around in the jeep sucked, we were constantly shuffling gear around just to get to stuff and it really was a nightmare with all of that gear.

The Rubicon excelled off-road, I used it for shed hunting and I could go anywhere with 5lbs of air and front and rear lockers that vehicle would comfortably go places no full-sized vehicle or even most smaller vehicles could go and it was still reliable enough to hop on the freeway and drive several hundred miles. It drove pretty decent but taking trips down to southern OR antelope hunting it defiantly made for a long trip.

I ended up selling the Jeep last fall and I went back and forth a lot, I was going to go full-sized but after driving a few around and knowing what my F150 I drive for work is like off-road I knew I wanted something smaller. I ended up setting on a Tacoma, I really wanted a 6' bed truck but ended up finding a great deal on a 4 door short box, It has everything I wanted except the long box. The reason I wanted a long box was so I could sleep in the back, I can still sleep in the short box but I have to leave the topper opened in the back. After years of driving Jeeps and smaller SUV's jumping in the Tacoma for a long road trip is awesome, I bought a tall topper for the back and I can get a lot of gear in there and have the entire front of the vehicle empty and able to move around comfortably. We took the pickup on our ID hunt last fall with both boys and my wife over thanksgiving and it was super comfortable.

For an all-around hunting/mountain vehicle, I don't think a Tacoma can be beat. For an offroad mountain vehicle, the Rubicon runs circles around the Tacoma. More ground clearance, better approach, and departure angles. I defiantly missed my Rubicon this spring shed hunting and it cost me some sheds not being able to access a lot of my spots until a month later after all of the snow melted. I do feel like the Tacoma's pro's defiantly outweighed the cons.

The Wrangler was way too small, even with two people and gear.


The Rubicon is a great mountain vehicle and hunting vehicle but not great for long trips out of state.


The Tacoma is a great all-around vehicle, it doesn't really excel anywhere but it performs well everywhere.


What the Tacoma looked like when I bought it

 

[Like2hunt]

I agree with Netherman. My friend has a lifted 98 TJ that we take pretty much everywhere. We've only ever got it stuck once in about 3 feet of snow and that was due to his driving. He also has a truck and when we go hunting, we usually take either one if our dads trucks or the 4-wheelers. If we were to kill a deer and we weren't in the truck or 4-wheelers we would just either strap the deer to the hood or the roof like any good rednecks would do or have someone bring up a truck. The jeep is great for wheeling around on the weekends and scouting up the mountain after school or on the weekends and it drives good on the highway but for camping or hunting trips we take the trucks. Its just too small to fit any gear in it and still have people with you. My vote is to get a jeep and a truck if you can afford it and then you'll get the best of both worlds.

 

[I Am Gunz]

I have always had a pickup and don't think I would ever downsize.

 

[Opah]

Not sure about a new truck ?

 

[nobody]

We have a built 2 door wrangler for our main hunting rig. Adjustable suspension, air lockers front and rear, 4 inch lift and oversized tires, and a Warn winch on the front. It goes everywhere much faster and easier than a pickup, and we don't have to worry about a few extra "pinstripes" down the sides. Also, contrary to what you might think, it's actually narrower than many side by sides today. I can't tell you how many times we've been talking to somebody on the mountains and they'll look at the Jeep and say "oh don't take that trail, we couldn't even get our side by side up there. Way too narrow," and then they just watch in disbelief as we take off up the trail without even batting an eye. AND the heat is nice when it's cold outside for sure! As a hunting rig, it cannot be beat...

Until you get more than 2 people. My dad and I, by the time we get our gear and weapons in there with us, fill it. A third person in early muzzleloader season can fit, as long as they don't have any extra layers or extra stuff in their pack. They're just way too freakin small. And it also sucks to try and get any animals out. We have a rack that goes into the receiver hitch, but It hangs way out the back and can drag easy, so we don't always take it with us. Also the thing sucks down the road. Wanders all over the place and because of its gearing, it won't get out of its own way. And it's SO loud inside the cab when you're running down the highway. Not bad for local driving, but we don't drive very far on pavement.

My advice, buy a cheaper truck and a flatbed trailer and get a cheaper older jeep to use like a side by side. Tow the thing to your camp and then park the truck until it's time to go home.

 

[WCB]

For local trips or one off by myself trips I have barrowed my in laws 2 door wrangler liked it for crawling threw trails or not beating up my pickup...however for a dual purpose main vehicle and hunting vehicle hands down pickup. Plus Im always hauling things in the box of the pickup.

If you don't use the back of your pickup but maybe once a year no big deal... but I always have lumber or hauling gas cans, general lawn equipment, dead animals, fishing gear, dogs. I can just power wash the back of the truck out.

 

[JRMiller]

You do not want a Wrangler as a daily driver. Its rough and gussles as much fuel as a full size pickup

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I have a Jeep and a truck for a reason...my Jeep is a 2 door YJ. My Jeep has the same suspension design as a stage coach, 4 leaf springs, if I need it more than 2 hrs away from the house it goes on a trailer. Also if it snowing Jeep stays in the garage...and never ever pull a trailer with my Jeep. Once at the trail head it rocks...Low range both axel locked there aren't many places it won't go.

Also it's just not a safe vehicle no matter how cool they look never have been. NHTSA does not give a the Wangler an over all safety rating because the have only completed 2 of the 4 tests. IIHS has never tested a Wrangler.

They are cool toys IMO.

You didn't mention if you are going ST or HT...for your own sanity for a DD go with HT. My Jeep is over 30yrs old, had since it was new, when it has a top on it it's a hard top. Rattling soft tops drive me mad..

 

[Mighty Mouse]

IMO, unless you're planning to do some serious offroading, don't buy a Wrangler.

My main complaints from driving a moderately modified (2" lift, 35" tires) 4-door 2017 Wrangler for about 2.5 years were:

• Occasional "death wobble" (not as scary as the colloquial name makes it seem but it is a real phenomenon) and generally rough/unstable ride due to solid front axle and high center of gravity
• Road noise
• Poor fuel mileage

The lift and oversized tires amplified these issues, but they're still common complaints even with a stock setup. I definitely wouldn't want to pull a trailer at highway speeds with a Wrangler.

 

[swavescatter]

Jeep Gladiator?

I sold my JKUR to get a powerstroke that I need for towing heavy. I'd love to DD a Jeep again but if I had to choose one it's a truck all day long.

 

[come2elmo]

I drove a friends gladiator the other day and it was easier to move around then my 2500hd gasser...but that 3.6 sure had to wind up to make power and I did feel like I was in a cardboard box as the visibility is not all that good. My friend went from a tahoe to the gladiator and said you get used to the change. I am going to borrow it for a longer trip and see if I can deal with the size decrease...car prices being what they are now I am in no hurry to buy anything.

 

[camping1601]

We have a 15 Rubicon, 20 4R, and a 19 PU. The Jeep would be the first one to go if I had to pick one. It owns everything off road, but fails in most other areas. FWIW the wife loves it as a daily driver as long as the wind isn't blowing to hard.

Make me pick just one vehicle to own and it's likely a Tacoma.

 

[Titan_Bow]

Not a Jeep, but I made the switch from a fullsize pickup to a Nissan Xterra, and now own a 4Runner. For me, a smaller off-road capable SUV makes more sense as a hunting and all-around outdoor rig than a pickup. I love being able to bonzai to a trailhead, sleep in the back in comfort, and then be hunting in the morning.

 

[Brendan]

I just got into my Jeep today after Turkey Hunting Saturday. Probably found 10 ticks crawling around the inside of the Jeep and on to me from all my gear a couple days ago. And that means there's probably a whole bunch I didn't find.

Screw it - give me a pickup where I can keep those little bastards and all my dirty gear separated in the back with a topper.