[MUSIC PLAYING]
KURT NIEBUHR: First it was ZR2 versus TRD Pro.
DAN EDMUNDS: Then we did Gladiator Rubicon versus ZR2.
KURT NIEBUHR: You kept asking for it,
so now we've got a Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro.
DAN EDMUNDS: And a Jeep Gladiator Rubicon.
And it's time to hit the trail.
KURT NIEBUHR: Before the Gladiator came out,
the Tacoma TRD Pro was by far the best mid-sized pickup
choice for those seeking off-road adventure.
Lots of clearance, trick shocks, a locking rear diff,
and a few electronic traction aides
gave it untouchable trail worthiness.
DAN EDMUNDS: But the Gladiator is a reality.
And the Rubicon version could give the TRD Pro a hard time.
Solid axles all around, front and rear lockers,
a detachable front stabilizer bar, and crazy approach
and departure angles.
But it does have one potential drawback,
it's long, 10 inches longer between the axles.
KURT NIEBUHR: What we have here is a horse race.
So we're up here in the Calico Mountains.
Oh, rocks.
And we are exploring some trails.
At the top of these trails are some mines.
And mines are cool, right?
Now, we've got some maps, but they're from the Clinton
administration.
So hopefully the trails haven't changed that much.
DAN EDMUNDS: How was that?
KURT NIEBUHR: That was fun.
It was rocky.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah.
This looks like it might be a little bit more fun.
KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, yeah, look at that.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, that's a big step up there,
and a lot of skid marks from other people.
KURT NIEBUHR: Do you think we should put some rocks in there?
DAN EDMUNDS: I don't think so.
I think I'd leave them the way they are.
And if we have to, we can move rocks, but let's try not to.
But we do have lockers, so I think we can get through this.
Shouldn't be too much trouble.
KURT NIEBUHR: OK.
Let's hit it.
DAN EDMUNDS: Let's try it.
KURT NIEBUHR: So now we get to watch that Jeep
go over that first obstacle.
I will watch intently.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, this looks like a big step up here.
And I know this has a long wheelbase.
Up we go.
KURT NIEBUHR: It's almost going to drag the tail hitch.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh.
Oh.
That's a skid plate.
Oh, the muddy tires are spinning.
OK.
I'm going to have to lock the rear diff, see if that helps.
No.
Lock the front and the rear together,
because the front has traction.
KURT NIEBUHR: He's getting creative with this.
Sawing the wheel back and forth.
DAN EDMUNDS: I'm not going anywhere.
I got both d-- it's because these tires are so loaded
full of mud.
All right.
I'm going to back up, give it another shot.
The wheelbase is exactly locked into two low spots
on the trail.
If the wheel base is any shorter, or any longer,
I probably wouldn't have this problem.
Well, I don't know about longer.
I'm back up for another look.
Might go a little further right, maybe I can keep my--
this might work.
Try this again.
If I can get this way a little bit.
Light touch.
I think it's time to see how Kurt's going to do.
All right, Kurt, you're ready for this?
KURT NIEBUHR: I'm ready for this.
Rock crawling time.
Sensitive throttle work is kind of key.
DAN EDMUNDS: You got it.
There you go.
KURT NIEBUHR: Not so bad.
DAN EDMUNDS: So what did you think of that?
KURT NIEBUHR: That was slippery.
DAN EDMUNDS: Slippery, right?
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
Look at that.
You can see right where--
you have to bridge that.
DAN EDMUNDS: Exactly.
KURT NIEBUHR: Gap between the rocks.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, I think I had a little bit harder time
because of the wheelbase of the Gladiator
was exactly the same as the pitch between these two
boulders.
KURT NIEBUHR: I think this rock has something
to say about the wheelbase.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, I think I did some of those scrapes on there.
It didn't feel that bad though.
It was real light touches, although it looks not so light,
now that I look at it.
But your wheelbase, being a little different,
I think you had a little easier time.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: Because you didn't lock your locker, did you?
KURT NIEBUHR: No, no.
You told me to leave it off, so I just left it off.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, let's see what's up the road.
KURT NIEBUHR: OK.
I would not buy the snorkel.
I know it's not called a snorkel,
but I would not buy the snorkel.
It looks really silly.
DAN EDMUNDS: The Tacoma's wheel articulation off road
is really good compared to other pickup trucks.
But then the Gladiator came along,
and it's got a disconnecting front stabilizer bar.
And it's a whole different ballgame here.
KURT NIEBUHR: I like that this truck has a real roof on it.
I know it's kind of unfair to compare it
to this particular Gladiator, because it has a soft top.
I do like the feeling of protection and isolation
in this.
DAN EDMUNDS: I've always been asked, is this
is Jeep or a truck?
And it really is both.
I mean, it does Jeep things well, and the bed is credible,
and the amount it can tow and haul is credible.
So yeah, I mean, OK, it's not a two door Jeep,
but neither is a four door Wrangler.
KURT NIEBUHR: I appreciate having a front facing camera.
And it's got little cameras on the bottom of the mirrors
to show you what's just behind your front tires,
but this is low quality.
This is like a 10-year-old backup camera.
If you're going to include something like this,
it should be really nice.
DAN EDMUNDS: The Gladiator off road, it's a Jeep,
and it performs like one.
Great articulation, lockers, visibility
like you wouldn't believe, and the top comes down.
I mean, yeah, there's nothing fake about this.
This is a Jeep pickup.
It looks like there's a little spur trail to the left here
that goes on up to a mine.
You want to take the lead?
KURT NIEBUHR: Sure, I'll do that.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, just go straight there,
and just kind of go up that draw to the left of you there.
KURT NIEBUHR: Wait, what?
There's a little hole in the rock up here.
DAN EDMUNDS: I think we can do this.
There are tire tracks.
KURT NIEBUHR: There are tire tracks.
Yeah, I think I'd like a spot.
There's not a lot of room for error.
The surface is a little slippery.
And I can see--
DAN EDMUNDS: Not to mention there's this arch.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, yeah.
There's also a wall of rock.
DAN EDMUNDS: I don't think it's much wider than that.
All right, Kurt, you're going to want to come straight
just a little bit.
OK.
Now, turn a little bit to the right.
Not a lot.
Not that far.
Now you-- watch your mirror.
You keep your eye on your mirror.
I'm going to keep your eye on the snorkel.
KURT NIEBUHR: OK, buddy.
DAN EDMUNDS: Watch your rear quarter.
Come to the right.
Come to the passenger.
Straight.
OK, now just gently, your rear end is going to come down,
and it might touch at the tail here.
Slowly.
Oh, it looks like you're clearing.
You're good.
KURT NIEBUHR: I am good.
DAN EDMUNDS: Drive on through.
You're kidding, right?
All I see is rock.
KURT NIEBUHR: You got this much.
You're good.
Just creep it down.
If you keep the wheel straight for a little longer,
you're good.
DAN EDMUNDS: I hear scraping.
Oh.
KURT NIEBUHR: You're good.
You can pull straight through, just keep the wheel straight.
Look at that articulation.
You got it.
Let me check the bumper.
You're clear in the back.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, I really thought
it was going to rub back there.
KURT NIEBUHR: Hey, any chance I could get some seat time
in the Gladiator?
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, absolutely.
Looks like there's a spot up here that'll be good.
KURT NIEBUHR: You know it gets serious
when you put the window down.
DAN EDMUNDS: You ready?
KURT NIEBUHR: I'm ready.
Let's see how this goes.
You hear all kinds of interesting sounds
when you go off-roading.
Chassis scraping the rocks, bodywork-- hopefully
not bodywork.
DAN EDMUNDS: Can't see over this hood.
There we go.
Piece of cake, actually.
Just a matter of picking the right line, as it usually is.
No need for a locker, just motor right on up.
KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, this thing's heroic.
That was easy.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, I was just thinking that.
It looked a lot more treacherous than it actually was.
KURT NIEBUHR: I think having the right equipment helps.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, both of these do this stuff pretty well.
This is quite a little frame twist section here.
I think I'm going to hike a wheel.
We'll have to see if I can get through it without any driver
aids.
Not a chance.
KURT NIEBUHR: So his rear wheel is about--
was about a foot off the ground.
And that's because there's no easy way
to disconnect the sway bars on the Tacoma.
He has a couple options available to him.
He's got crawl control, which is pretty trick technology.
DAN EDMUNDS: I think crawl control is the right thing
here.
OK.
Enough of that.
KURT NIEBUHR: Or he could lock his rear differential.
DAN EDMUNDS: I'm going to do the diff lock.
Oh, look at that.
KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, that's so cool.
DAN EDMUNDS: Piece of cake.
Just hit something.
Nothing important, I think.
Oh, there's a cliff over there.
I better not get too close to it.
Yeah.
In a minute here, I'm not going to be
able to see where I'm going.
Kurt, I might have made this corner
without taking another cut at it.
KURT NIEBUHR: Your left front wheel is on top of that rock.
DAN EDMUNDS: Piece of key lime pie.
That's better than cake.
KURT NIEBUHR: It's my turn.
DAN EDMUNDS: He's got more articulation,
because his stabilizer bar can be disconnected.
This one can't.
KURT NIEBUHR: Good front camera, good front camera.
I'm not making this turn.
Three point driver's ed.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, three point turn at least.
KURT NIEBUHR: Over the cliff, just for spice.
DAN EDMUNDS: That's going to work.
As long as the inside doesn't drag, the outside's fine.
KURT NIEBUHR: That's so cool.
DAN EDMUNDS: Check out all these mine shafts.
We should stop and check some of them out.
KURT NIEBUHR: Roger that.
DAN EDMUNDS: Let's go in.
I have a flashlight.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, you first.
This is--
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, look at the shaft from the top.
KURT NIEBUHR: This won't end badly at all, will it?
This is fun.
DAN EDMUNDS: This is as far as it goes.
KURT NIEBUHR: I've seen enough movies
to know that I don't want to go any further anyway.
DAN EDMUNDS: Let's get out of here.
Let's look for another one.
KURT NIEBUHR: Let's get out of here.
That's an interesting trashcan.
That's a Volkswagen Beetle.
DAN EDMUNDS: Isn't it?
KURT NIEBUHR: It is.
DAN EDMUNDS: Well, what used to be a Volkswagen Beetle.
KURT NIEBUHR: This isn't a place you
would expect to find interesting things to look at.
If you look at it on a map, it's just a big wasteland.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, absolutely.
But there's a lot more to it when you get up close.
A lot of great stuff around here.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
And buying vehicles like that makes it easy to get here,
and easy to get home.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, that's the thing.
You'd like to be able to go places that look cool on a map,
and be able to get there without worrying about your truck
being able to make it, and get you home.
KURT NIEBUHR: Absolutely.
Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah.
Let's go find something else.
KURT NIEBUHR: Let's go.
DAN EDMUNDS: What did we learn here today?
KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, we're at that part?
Both of these trucks are great off road.
And the Gladiator is our number one ranked pickup truck.
And in Rubicon trim, it just reinforces that.
It's fantastic.
It's great off road.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah.
And that doesn't mean the TRD Pro isn't any good,
because we love it, too.
It's just that the Gladiator just
has the articulation, the protection, and it's a Jeep.
It just is a little bit better out here.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
And it's not to say that the 2020 Tacoma TRD
Pro isn't a good truck.
They've made the truck better.
But the Gladiator is just that much better.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, that's my pick.
KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, it's my pick, too.
And we had a heck of a lot of fun trying to find that out.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, absolutely.
KURT NIEBUHR: So let us know what your pick is.
Don't forget to comment, like, and subscribe.
DAN EDMUNDS: All the things.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: And remember to use Edmunds next time
you're in the market for a car, truck, SUV, or a Jeep.
[MUSIC PLAYING]