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Am I missing out?

5K views 29 replies 23 participants last post by  usmcdoc14 
#1 ·
I have been driving my 07 4 door for around 4 years now and I'm getting the itch for a new jeep. I was wondering if owners who've had both a four door and a two door or upgraded from a two door to a four door could provide me with some insight.
Is one or the other more fun in the rocks?
Is one better to drive everyday to work?
Did the two door become 10x more squirrelly with 37" tires?
Which would you choose if you could only have one?

Thank you for any and all responses.
 
#2 ·
I've had both.

From a practicality standpoint the 4 door is way better.

From a fun to rip around in standpoint the 2 door is in my opinion the winner.

If you want that rollerskate jeepy feel buy a Tj lol.



The 2 door Jk has plenty of wheelbase for 37s. my wife drove our 2 door to work every day down the highway. So it's 100% comfortable as a dd. but practicality if you carry passengers or gear isn't as nice as the 4 door.
 
#5 ·
You can stack a pretty good amount of crap in a 2dr without the back seat in there. If you require more stuff, I suppose a trailer will do. I've used one several times for hauling stuff, just not on the trail however.
 
#6 ·
I had a 4dr sold it and got a 2dr about 2 years ago. I very rarely used the extra space of the 4dr and I hardly ever have more then 2 people.

In the rocks I like the 2dr as it is more maneuverable and doesnt scrape the skid plates all the time. There are some situations where the wheelbase of a 4dr is better though.

I am happier driving the 2dr everyday although my 4dr was manual and the 2dr is auto so just that change added more comfort. There is a noticeable power difference with the lighter weight 2dr.

My 2dr is on 35s and isnt squirrelly so I couldnt imagine 37s would be much worse.

For most people with families that are going to use the jeep on a daily basis then I would say a 4dr is more practicable. It really comes down to personal preference, go drive a 2dr and see what you think.
 
#8 ·
I started with an 08 JKU and am now on my second two door.

I ditched the back seat in the 08 pretty quick and gave the dealer the seat out of my 12 when they demanded a seat for the trade. I haven't had an instance where I needed more room for cargo and prefer to not have passengers on or offroad so it works for me.

I would like to have the added wheelbase for a few obstacles I've been on, but I am confident in my two doors offroad.

Going from my 08 on 37s to this new one on the stock suspension and wheels has been interesting. The stock one feels really squirrely to me compared to the old rig. I think it is the BFGs...they have a horrible on road feel in my opinion. They dont offer much feedback and they seem to skate in corners. Maybe it's just me.

The new power train is killer. I have been surprised by the power a few times when I expect it to stutter like the other one.

Try the two door out. I got off on a ramble there. Lol
 
#10 ·
Went from a 07 2D to a 08 4D to a 12 2D. :laughing:

I think the 2D is much more fun to drive around and to off-road with.
But there are compromises! You will never get an adult to crawl into the back of a 2D and fit comfortably. Even more so if it's lifted, lol.
It really comes down to if you haul around a lot of shit or if you can live with only having 1' of space in the back of a 2D (unless you take out the backseat).

The 4D handles much better on the highway. If there's any wind out at all I'll get blown around quite a bit. Other then that it drives great.
 
#11 ·
Went from an 07 2-door to an 11 4-door.
i miss the tight turning radius of the 2-door, but otherwise the two Jeeps feel the same.
for me, having to hook up the trailer whenever I needed lumber or large stuff got to be too much of a PITA. Plus we wanted more room for the dog.


Oh yeah....and finding storage space for the extra two doors in an already crowded shed was fun...NOT.
 
#12 ·
I've considered starting over with a new 2dr rubi, but i really dig all of the space in the back of the 4dr especially when the rear seat is folded down. Plenty of room for camping gear/coolers/firewood/whatever.
 
#13 ·
So I"ve seen you pack, expecially that 16 person, indoor plumbing and electrical tent of yours - stick with the 4dr! :thefinger:

Seriously though, I'm guessing you'd pull the rear seat, but with the wifey and Dino, packing would still be tough the times you don't feeling like pulling a trailer. Soon enough, Dino's going to be too big to bed down in the passenger footwell.

I give kudo's to the 2dr guys on their packing skills (though I've heard them swear a bunch of times trying to get things out also). I come from a truck background and even after having the jeep a couple of years, still have a hard time fitting all my crap in the 4dr.

That said the grass is always greener, and I want to get a 2dr to play around in also.
 
#14 ·
I have never owned a 4 door, the Wife still curses at me for buying a 2 door, and I hate that I either get passengers, or gear, but not both... The flip side is that a 4 door needs a lot of lift and tires to get the break over angle that a stock 2 door has by default. The 4 door has much better stability on inclines and declines, but, switch back trails suck in the four door. Turning around on a single lane trail in a 4 door sucks and is sometimes impossible, where i've seen 2 doors on the same trail turn around with a few points.

All that being said, I love my 2 door and will end up with a trailer since that is cheaper than starting over again with a 4 door and losing all of my equity.
 
#18 ·
So after driving the 4 door for the last couple years, I rarely find myself needing all that space. I am newly married and I'm sure babies aren't to far down the road. If I get the 2 door now and get it paid off in a decent amount of time, I will always have my toy. I'm sure once kids are on the way, the wife will want us to get a safer more economical vehicle. I will probly be driving her Nissan and she would upgrade slightly making the jeep a weekend toy only!
 
#20 ·
We have a 4 year old. We pack our 08 2dr tight, but we were able to get the 3 of us, our 3 dogs and all our chit in there to take a 5 day vacation in San Diego. It was packed tiiiiiight! But we were still able to find more space on the way home when we got gifts from our family who we were out there visiting. The drive there and back was the part that was kinda eh... 2 door soft top with 30+ mph wides the WHOLE way there meant super freakin loud, all over the road and 13mpg average.... Still a fun trip, but we all were a bit cranky

On the trail, 2 door is very agile and with no lift we can still pretty much go anywhere in our rubi.
 
#21 ·
I bought my four door thinking the family would hit the trails with me. They rarely do. Usually, just one person will tag along. A four door only accels on big ledges, otherwise I'd take a two door in the rocks all day. Also you save a ton of weight with the two door. Literally one ton I bet. Granted, a four door makes packing easier but with some well thought out planning, I don't see an issue. Two door with a trailer = Badass. My next JK will be a two door.:beer:

Checkout the trailer that Brett Woods built. Folds out into a complete kitchen.

Link is from a recent trail run:

[URL="http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81237"][URL="http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81237"][URL="http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81237"][url]http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81237[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
 
#28 ·
IMO if you want to have fun on the rocks you need a rig you won't cry over when you take damage. IMO, an LJ (TJ Unlimited) or a stretch TJ or YJ is best for that role.

Trade the JK for a tow-rig/daily-driver and find an older Jeep with a usable drive train.

Don't get me wrong, a JK 2- or 4-door can be built that is just as capable as any other trail rig. But at least for me, the only thing that holds me back from really having the kind of fun on the rocks I want is the prospect of not being able to drive to work on Monday because I trashed my $35k JKU. Although if you've seen me wheel, that doesn't hold me back all that much. ;)
 
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