And since it's Friday morning and I've worked my ass off all week, I'm not too motivated to work...here's some more thoughts on the JT.
I've said the JT is my favorite vehicle ever. It still is...but I have to admit it has limitations because in an effort to be everything to everyone, its ends up not being particularly outstanding at anything.
It's loud.
I think it's the Rubicon trim, but man is it loud on the highway. I've ignored it and excused it, but we drove downstate on Tuesday and back yesterday, can't deny the wind noise and road noise gets tiring after 4 hours. Getting to your destination feeling worn out is not great, especially if it's a regular thing. Our JL Sahara is significantly quieter and easier to drive long distances. An Overland JT might be the answer, but I really don't think they look as good and the hit to off-road capability makes it
because...
It's not a great truck.
The design dictated a shallow bed. It looks really cool, and the designers love to talk about how you can reach the bottom of the bed from the side, but that makes it pretty crappy at hauling much. I've really learned that as we pile stuff in it moving. And big/bulky items are a PITA to load because the bed is so high. Great for throwing camping gear, bikes, and "lifestyle" stuff in, not so great for loading a washer dryer, or a load of lumber because the 5' bed is super limiting on the length of stuff you can put back there. All in the name of off-road capability, but...
It's just OK off-road.
One of my biggest concerns about the truck initially were the overall length and wheelbase. From the off-roading I've done, it's not a huge issue, but it's not great either. The crappy breakover angle means scraping the belly quite a bit. Fortunately, the lockers help drag over anything, but tight sections of trails are really difficult to navigate with the length. 3 point turns aren't always practical, yet need to be executed to get the long ass wheelbase around trees, rocks, etc. At times, it feels like you're spending more time trying to navigate the truck around crap than having fun.
A true jack of all trades, master of none.
I love that the truck feels like it's ready to do absolutely anything. I spent over a month straight with the top and doors removed this summer, and I loved driving it like that to pick up plants, lumber, and truck stuff. Made mundane boring tasks fun and no other vehicle can really do that. We took it camping with the top off, and that just made the experience even more enjoyable being so immersed in nature. People also absolutely love it, tons of comments on the truck itself, the color, and the overall fun feeling it exudes. It's a truck 5 year old me would have built out of Legos, and that feeling of youth is what makes the truck so endearing. Getting rid of it for a Ram kind of feels like growing up, and I'm not sure how I'll feel about that.