Will the 2019 Jeep truck, aka Scrambler, price start at $45,000? FCA Authority and a few other blogs are reporting that their sources say it’s true. This would be kind of unimaginable and devastating to me personally. I have been dreaming of this vehicle for years and assumed it would follow the same pricing structure as the new JL, give or take a few thousand bucks.

We know the new Jeep truck will ship in 4-Door form. A base 4-Door Sport starts at $30,995. Is there that much more steel in a truck bed that warrants $14,000? The suspension has been spied before and is very similar to a RAM suspension. Has that much new engineering gone into the Jeep truck that warrants $14,000 more than a JLU? Is Jeep just cashing in on the fact that all their competitors get $40k all day for basic crew cab trucks?

Think of it this way – a new 4-Door Jeep Wrangler JL Rubicon starts at $40,995. This is the top-of-the-line model with locking differentials, upgraded suspension, bigger wheels/tires, etc. etc. The 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL Rubicon can also tow a respectable 3500 lbs. and has decent interior cargo room for most people. So how is the 2019 Jeep Scrambler going to start in the mid-$40,000 range? Is it coming decked out with all the bells and whistles? Is it really a RAM truck with a Jeep body? I know this is all rumor mill stuff, but I don’t want to wait another year to find out I can’t afford my dream vehicle!

I hope Chrysler hasn’t decided to cash in to a point where true Jeep fans can’t get into a 2019 Jeep truck. All I want is a stripped down JLU with a bed on it. I want to take it to Moab, do a few trails, and enjoy my Jeep for it’s Jeepness. And also be able to throw some bikes and mulch in the back on a weekend. Please don’t let this rumor be true.

One year from now, the 2019 Jeep Scrambler truck should be hitting dealer showrooms. That’s pretty amazing. That means from this point forward there should be more leaks, more info, and the big reveal of what the Jeep truck will look like! So I am actually in the market to purchase a Jeep Scrambler truck in 2019. There are a few factors that I am still wondering about such as off-road capability and frankly, I want this thing to look a little tougher than the test mules we have seen in spy shots. I have owned a few Jeep Wranglers and a few Ford F-150s and if I am going to buy the Jeep Scrambler it needs to be a lot more Wrangler than F150.

Here’s what we know so far. The Scrambler is rumored to come with three top options: a body-paint matched 3-piece hardtop, a black 3-piece hardtop, and a Premium black Sunrider top. For those of you too young to remember, there used to be a ton of trucks on the road that offered a topless experience and since the Full-size Bronco and Blazers have been dead for years, you just don’t get the fun with the utility anymore. This is another reason why the Jeep Scrambler is going to destroy the competition and hopefully inspire them to bring back the fun options in vehicles past.

We are still expecting 2 engines at a minimum with the Pentastar V6 and the 3.0L Ecodiesel V6. There is no word yet if the new turbo 4-cylinder will be found in the 2019 Jeep Scrambler truck. Time will tell. Finally, and this will depend on gear-ratios and engine choices, the Jeep truck is expected to be able to tow up to 6500lbs with a payload of 1400lbs. Not too shabby seeing that a 4-door 2018 JLU is rated at 3500lbs.

So, as long as I can take this JT down to Moab and tackle Finns & Things and Hell’s Revenge and still tow the family camper home, I will be one happy man. The Jeep Scrambler truck will probably be as close to a perfect vehicle for me as possible. If only there was a way to also get it to do 0-60 in under 5 seconds.

There will be no diesel engine option in the 2018 Jeep Wrangler, but, it has been announced that the 2019 Jeep Wrangler will offer a 3.0L Ecodiesel option with the release of the new 2019 Jeep Truck, called the Jeep Scrambler or Jeep JT.

So what do we know about this engine? It will be connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission and will pack 260 horsepower and 442 pound/feet of torque. That’s an awesome amount of torque for rock crawling, mudding, or towing big loads in this mid-size vehicle and it should be good for getting up to highway speed and cruising through the mountains with ease. It will also include the engine start/stop feature so it will shut the motor down at stoplights and in heavy traffic to conserve fuel as well. My guess is the aftermarket will have a field day with this new engine option and I bet the people over at Banks are already licking their chops with excitement!

Check out this awesome Jeep truck we spotted at Home Depot this weekend in Salt Lake City. For those of you who don’t know, the Jeep Daily Instagram is packed with real Jeeps we see on our daily drives around Salt Lake. Please follow us so we can get to know each other.

This Jeep truck is actually a conversion built by AEV. AEV probably gave Jeep the confidence it needed to make the upcoming 2019 Jeep Truck, the Scrambler. Their bodies look factory and their owners have been the lucky ones to own a Jeep Wrangler truck for years now before the masses get a hold of them next year…I hope to be one of those lucky few.

I did a quick walk around this Jeep truck and noticed a few things. It was running on beautiful 37″ Toyo Open Country Tires. The bed was lined to keep it scratch and rust free and the interior was beautiful leather – kind of like the King Ranch F-150 baseball glove style.

Some vehicles deserve their own post, and this AEV Brute was one of those for me. Again, if you want to see a range of cool Jeeps, please follow Jeep Daily on Instagram! We hope to see you there!

Jeep or Truck? 10 Reasons to choose a Jeep.

It’s funny, this is actually a question I posed to myself a few months ago before I bought my TJ Jeep Wrangler. I was at an auto-auction where I have bought numerous personal vehicles in the past 5 years including a 1996 Jeep Cherokee XJ, a 1996 Full-size Bronco and a 2004 Ford Expedition. This particular auction I was trying to purchase a crew-cab Ford F150 Ecoboost truck because of the following:

1. It solves my need to drive massive vehicles with poor gas mileage
2. They have great aftermarket support so I can spend even more money on it
3. I live in Utah and there are too many dirt roads to drive on and explore

Luckily for me, I got outbid and I came home empty-handed. I really needed a vehicle because I had already sold my Expedition and I was daily-driving my 1971 Impala in the heat of summer with no a/c. Also, all these new miles on the Impala were getting expensive because stuff just breaks on a 46-year-old car.

To keep going down the rabbit hole, I have been talking to my wife for years trying to explain to her that I just want one badass vehicle, something that I can’t help but stare at from my office window, something that warrants it’s own name like Chupacabra or Deviled Egg. So, she said the second best thing to me anyone has ever said: “Next year we will get your dream car – we will make it a priority.” Wow, ain’t love grand? It probably won’t happen because life happens but it sure is great having a teammate. After that, she then said: “We need to get you a car that will hold it’s value for a year and won’t make you miserable – what would that be?” And of course I said Jeep Wrangler. Man, I married the right woman.

Don’t fish? You will.

When will you answer the question? Jeep or Truck?

So let’s get down to the nitty grit. If you need to haul over 3500lbs on the regular or you need a truck bed on the regular, just get a truck and go find truckdaily.com and get the hell out of here! But if you just sometimes need a truck or tow less than 3500lbs, then wait a minute and hang out. Here’s why I say a Jeep is better than a truck.

1. They inspire adventure. It’s true, I don’t know if it’s the rough ride or just knowing your vehicle has the best chance of winning a war Red Dawn-style, but you are more likely to take a backroad or hop a curb or just be fun in a Jeep.
2. They exude youth. Whether you are young or just feel young at heart, there’s something about not having a vehicle that comforts you and silences the world around you. If it’s too loud you are too old!
3. You can take the top off. I spend most of my  summer with all the windows off the Jeep and I keep the top on just so I don’t scald in the hot desert sun. Of course you can always zip the top back on and hit the a/c if it gets too warm.
4. They feel just a bit dangerous. You feel exposed, a bit top heavy and kind of small. It keeps you on your toes and factors into #2 on this list.
5. They are capable and tough. Heavy snow forecasted? Bring it on; sounds fun. Flooded streets? How can I help? Unexpected rain at the campsite? Who will we be pulling out today? And these are just everyday examples. Take one to Moab and have your mind blown.
6. The new ones are actually way more comfortable than Jeeps of yore. The reason you are seeing more and more Jeeps is because somehow they have made them more capable off-road and more capable on-road. The tradeoffs are a lot less than they used to be, but trucks have followed the same trajectory.
7. They are highly customizable. I don’t know if there is a larger aftermarket for a vehicle than the Jeep Wrangler. You can make it whatever you want it to be.
8. They are smaller than trucks. Which makes it better on the trails but also parallel parking downtown.
9. Resale value is better than any truck out there including the Tacoma and Tundra. In fact, the Wrangler has one of the highest resale values out there.
10. You get looks. It’s a fact that the opposite sex looks at the driver of a Jeep and that driver is boosted at least one point on the attractive scale when driving their Jeep.

This one is called Sasquatch.

So I hope that sums it up for you. Jeeps are superior vehicles unless you need to tow very heavy loads or haul large amounts of crap on the reg. Of course who knows what will happen when the new Jeep truck aka the Jeep Scrambler comes out. It’s going to eat away even more at those truck sales.

Btw, the TJ I bought also doesn’t have air conditioning. Funny thing is I didn’t even check. I drove it two blocks, looked underneath and bought it. I was in love. How many vehicles can you say that about?

The Jeep Scrambler is not a truck, it’s a Jeep.

I want to get this straight right now because I am already starting to see truck blogs covering the new Jeep Scrambler because they know it is going to have a lot of interest and it’s good for their website. But we need to remind them that the Jeep Scrambler is 100% Jeep.

One of my best friends has a 2015 F-150 Ecoboost Crew Cab and it’s built like an off-road limousine. I love the truck and I really pushed him into it and he is very excited about it and I am excited for him. It is a great size for a family, it hauls a ton of stuff, the inside is super luxurious, and it’s very quick. That being said, even with the FX4 off-road package, I’m pretty sure my stock Jeep TJ is more trail capable than the F150 could ever be. And that’s ok. It’s impossible to build a vehicle that can literally do everything for everyone, so if my friend’s tradeoff is he has to rent a Jeep a few times a year in Moab, so be it. If I had to drive more than 20 miles a day I might not be driving a Wrangler with a soft top. We all have our priorities.

So this is what I predict for the future. When the Jeep Scrambler finally hits the automotive editors and reviewers, the truck guys will be comparing this to what they know, trucks. They are used to Dodge Rams, F150s, Silverados, and bigger models like F250s etc. They care about TOWING, ROOMINESS, and BIG KNOBS! They talk PAYLOAD, DISPLACEMENT, and COMFORT, and I totally understand that.

However, the Jeep Scrambler is not a truck, it’s a Jeep. It’s designed to tackle real off-road situations. It’s designed to be hosed out when the stream you crossed was deeper than you thought. It’s designed for utility first and comfort second. Jeeps have come a long way just in my lifetime, hell, I feel like he 4-door is still a new idea, and now we are going to add a bed to that idea! And it will have pros and cons just like every iteration of any iconic vehicle has.

I’m thinking very hard about pushing back mods on my 2006 Jeep TJ Wrangler and starting to save up for the Jeep Scrambler. I have owned 5 Jeeps in my life, but I have also owned a full-size Bronco, Expedition and two F150s. The Jeep Scrambler seems like a good mix for my love of fun and solid Utah off-roading and my weekly duties as a father and amateur repairman. But let’s get one thing clear…I want to stay in the Jeep family, not in the truck family. If the Jeep Scrambler is handicapped on the trails, I’ll be looking at a Jeep JKU. If the Scrambler costs over $30,000 for a base model, I’ll be looking at a used JKU. Time will only tell but I am very excited that Jeep is adding the Scrambler to the line up.

Please visit JLWranglerForums for continuing coverage on the all new Jeep Scrambler. Also, special thanks to Chris Doane who took these awesome spy shots of the Jeep Scrambler in Detroit.