Hey all,

I have a 98 TJ 4 in. lift and other goodies. My dilemma is this. I have been really wanting a truck. Like a new or newish ranger or something.  I love my jeep but when I need to haul something i have to call a buddy up. i saw a kit at sumittsut.com that sells body truck kits for jeeps, they look like the jeep gladiator, really cool. I'm kinda pissy that jeep doesn't offer us anything. I wouldn't mind a comanche but a really nice one is HARD to find. Does anyone out there feel my pain.

Bummed out y'all

Wantin' a Jeep truck 

I used to own a 88 2 wheel drive RANGER. It was a tough truck for sure! I hauled alot of stuff with it. I bought my 96 grand cherokee because i needed more passanger room. If you do buy a truck I recomend a extended cab for sure.  

Thanks, If i do i am leaning to a ranger ext cab 4.0L 4.10 gears of course and susp or maybe 3 inch body lift. The rangers are just much "cheaper" compared to a tacoma, dakota, colorado,etc. I am still holding out for Jeep to build the Gladiator truck.

If they did i would be at the dealership right now ordering it. oh check out the kits at sumittsut.com pretty sweet.

american expedition vehicles manufactures turnkey jeep trucks on an extended tj frame.  They as well sell it in kit form for the do it yourselfer.  AEV should have a much more quality product then summit as well.      www.aev-conversions.com  

go to jamesduffenterprises.com they make great kits for rangers. Also they have bumpers etc.

As for a truck made out of a tj frame......It wouldn't be very good for hauling as the load would be less and it would be shorter.

Somthing to think about.

Thats the thing. small bed, plus i've looked into them and me being in Georgia and them in Montanna it really isn't economical. The gladiator's back cab folds down and with the tailgate down you have basically a short bed pickup.  

Of course in a perfect world we could all own a Cherokee, Wrangler or CJ and a Comanchee.  Dreams do die hard, eh!  

Nah i don't want all of them. I just think that is a niche that jeep isn't fullfilling. Look at all the guys/gals that own jeeps AND trucks. sure you can get an an old gladiator or commanche but nothing is offered for late models.

and yes dreams die but we b!*ched for for years for a jeep like a scrambler an lo and behold the jeep folks listened...hence the UNLIMITED. and let's not forget the RUBICON. ten years ago no one would have thought the you could get a jeep with locked 44 axles front and rear factory but once they listened to us and jp and saw what a killing the aftermarket folks were making off lockers, axle upgrades etc they joined the game.

I think if we all would try to be a bit more proactive and advocate what we want from our beloved jeep corp and not just blindly take what they give us, it will be a, "win win" and maybe bring other folks into our hobby. Thats why i respect all of you so much because you all take the time to talk jeeps and help each other. 

i'm done preaching....

Theres a guy in my town who owns and old comanchee and at one time had a 12 or so inch lift and 44's !! For years it was the biggest lifted truck around. He still owns it but he doesn't drive it anymore.  

in the new truck market, you're right- Jeep dropped the ball, but as far as older trucks go, I love my '89 Comanche.  I got a good shape 2 wheel drive for next to nothing, and with a donor wrecked Cherokee, the conversion to 4x4 is a bolt on deal- no fab work.  I really want to find a rear ended '97 or newer Cherokee for the updated dash, motor, front clip, and drive line- all bolt on to the Comanche.

also as for truck choices is finding a clean J- truck.  Same story, find a clean older one and a Wrecked '91 Grand, and have an updated driveline in an older truck.

For me, the best of borth worlds is Scrambler.  my '81 Scrambler fits both bills as a Jeep and a truck, though the bed is small, the only thing I run into trouble with is sheet lumber, and I have other trucks for that kind of work.

just my two cents

I hear your points and your right(for you), however i don't want to start with a "clean" comanche either way it will have +100,000 miles on it. (who knows how the last owners treated it) I don't want a J truck and then have to find a donor to swamp this and that in. I want a new from the factory jeep truck the new gladiator can have a useable bed 8ft long 4ft wide. (p.s. gas mileage is something else i look for)

i also want all the new amenities that comes with a new vehicle, the ride quality, reliability. warranty etc. If you want to swamp all sorts of drivetrain etc. good for you but i don't. Also, doing that doesn't force jeep to be innovative and build GREAT FACTORY jeeps. like the rubi and unlimited.

I guess the moral is different strokes for different folks. If you read in this months JP the auto news rumor is the new gladiator will be available for 2007. Now, my jeep is paid off, IT'S MINE!! i am going to wait it out till 07' if they build the new glad, i will be at the dealership ordering mine. If not i will have to make a tough choice.

I just don't want to start over with a vehicle that will need TLC right away thats all, and any vehicle w/ 100,000 miles on it for me would force me to be ANAL and i know right now that i would spend a long time rebuilding it to my liking before i would be enjoying it on the road/trail. (i know paranoya)

Thanks for the reply though

Well, you do have a good point. Alot of ppl just cannot aford to buy brand new. Also I bought my 96 ZJ with 246klms on it! Why did I buy it? Well I got it cheaper and it runs and drives great! I got it so much cheaper that I'm guess that if the 4.0 dies the savings would buy a brand new one for it! I hope that doesn't happen anytime soon though!! LOL.  

I agree, lots of miles or older jeep= saving money on purchase price. I know 4.0L run forever etc i just want something new plus the look of that new gladiator pickup is awesome. I'd take that over a comanche anyday. although if the right comanche came around i might bite on it.

i have to drive 30 miles to work and 30 miles back home each day so lots of miles already on a vehicle worry me. i don't want to have to start the rebuilding process in 2 years or replacing things left and right. I know sooner or later i will be doing that on my 98 TJ w/ 90,000 miles on it now.

joe

I totally get the different strokes for different folks.  I couldn't afford a new vehicle of any sort as well as my house payment, So I look at things as building what I want rather than being able to simply buy it.  I am also not nearly as anal about what I drive.  If it goes, and stops most of the time, That's fine with me :-)

The gladiator is a sweet ass truck, and from what I've seen it's very possible for production because a lot of it comes from the parts bin.  A friend I work with feels the way you do, when it hits production, he's buying one.  Something to think about though is it's built on the Wrangler platform, and rumor was that the 2007 redesign of the Wrangler was independant suspension.

Everyone has their opinion of independant suspension, and mine is they suck.  The closest I have to IFS is my Fords that have the twin beam fromt axle.  My friend has the same opinion of Independant suspension, which would change his mind in a New York minute on the Gladiator

P.S.  I also drive 30 miles each way to work, and my '86 F-250 I drove today gets around 6-7 mpg.  I so miss my Comanche.  Deer suck.

Dang you need to drive something else it might be paid off but all the money flying out of you tailpipe...ouch. If it has IFS i would have to think long and hard.

I went on this auto blogger website and it showed the head of damler unveiling the new gladiator, he said it had SOLID FRONT AXLE!! YEEEAAAHHH! So i thought i might put that to rest. I hope you find a comanche or something soon i did do an autotrader search and there are 3 really nice 4.0L 4X4 comanches for sale 200 miles away from me BUT big mileage and they range in price 4,500-3,250 not bad but not great with the mileage etc. first thing i would do is all new suspension (lift obviously along with) rebuild t case, trans, and depending on how the motor felt i polly send that in to be done. I haven't even touched the exhaust, gears, lockers, etc yet. LOL See i told you I am ANAL. i can't leave it alone if it isn't perfect.