Jeep Wrangler Rubicon has almost everything you need, and then some.
We haven't had enough fun with the 2007 Rubicon Wrangler, so we took it on a trail trip. This time we drove a two-door Rubicon Wrangler, complete with front/rear Tru-Loc electronic differential lockers (Dana 44 differentials fore and aft) and electronic front sway-bar disconnect. From our experience with slightly longer four-door Rubicon Wrangler on the Rubicon Trail last summer, and more recently in the snow, we were fully aware of the capabilities this 4x4 is good for.
With trails clear of snow, we ventured into the San Bernardino National Forest, California to see how the Rubicon fared on a trail designated "Most Difficult." This is similar to a five-diamond run in downhill skiing. We were not running with a four-wheel drive club, nor did we have any self recovery gear with us. This silver four-wheeler is a media fleet vehicle set up with exactly the same gear you can drive off the dealership lot. In our estimation, the Rubicon Wrangler 4x4 is truly a turn-key package in which you don't have to do anything to it in order to make it trail worthy __ although a four-inch lift and 35-inch tires would boost the ground clearance, you have to go out of your way to find situations that necessitate it. This one had a sticker price of $31,110 out the door.
So out the door we went. Our intention was to have a great time doing what any new owner of a four-wheel drive vehicle might get into, and to get a feel for the types of trail conditions we could navigate without risking the vehicle or ourselves. The trail we were on (3N93) took us across two creek fords and roughly paralleled the Pacific Crest Trail for several miles. The 4:10 axle gear ratios along with the 32-inch BFGoodrich MTR tires proved, once again, to be a solid combination for the mostly dry and rocky high-country we were traveling.
Several steep hard-packed dirt inclines and down hill runs prompted sessions in low-range four-wheel drive to allow the Rubicon to find its own way to the top and bottom of these terrain features. And we had plenty of opportunities to lock-in the rear and front axles as well as the front sway-bar disconnect to allow the traction potential and suspension articulation to work. As you can see in the photos, the articulation of the front tires is more than adequate.
We found that many of the trail obstacles and challenging trail sections were fully within range of the Rubicon's trail prowess. Some trail sections appeared more ominous than they turned out to be. Certainly, this writer could have used a lighter touch on the throttle in sections where the "crawl" factor is already built into these rigs, especially ones with an automatic four-speed transmission.
At one point, way down on the mountain, we ran into a group of four-wheelers who had just negotiated a fairly challenging boulder field that is part of a stream bed. The route through this rock garden required a spotter, and recovery gear just in case. One ole' CJ7 on what looked like 35-inch aired-down tires and a four-inch suspension lift had broken what appeared to be a front leaf-pack retainer, or U-bolt, and was sitting on the side of the trail with club members milling about while a temporary fix was employed using a neon-lime green nylon-web tie-down strap.
The trail ahead looked a little intimidating for the stock rig, that we didn't own, and limited recovery support except our hands and feet. We stopped, got out, and went up to the club of whom we trusted would at least give us a courteous assessment of whether the trail was too much for our rig, with no additional suspension lift and tire size. If it wasn't for the owner of the CJ7 to pull us off a rock, and another man's attempt to be the spotter, we might have been hung up for hours. Thank you CJ7 driver for the tug with your tow strap.
No worries. We had miles of gritty four-wheelin' to tackle just to get back out to the trail head. It wasn't a matter of whether this Wrangler Rubicon 4x4 could or could not have navigated that boulder field. An expert rock wheeler might have done just fine picking a good line through the rock garden and over the nasty sections. But our intention stayed fairly true. We just wanted to get in some four-wheeling and see how this short wheelbase Rubicon handled, and it handled everything we asked of it.
 |  Front axle agility is significantly enhanced with the ablity to disconnect the front anti-sway. |  Rear axle articulation kept traction on the ground in most axle twisting situations. |
 This incline is one of those hills you roll up to from the bottom, and walk to the top just to see if there's a road on the other side. It was steeper than it appears here, but not as bad as it looked way back there at the bottom. |  There are endless spots in the San Bernardino National Forest to stop and soak in fresh, cool, high-country air. |  |
 |  With the front sway bar disconnected, the 32-inch BFG Mud Terrain tires were able to stuff up close to the fender bottom when needed to keep the tire patches in contact with the ground. |  |
 This section left little wiggle room on the left or the right side of the trail. On the right, the trail dropped off towards the stream. |  |  |
 |  |  |
