Jeep Gladiator (SJ)

The Jeep Gladiator, Jeep Pickup or J-series is a series of full-size pickup trucks based on the large Jeep SJ (Wagoneer) platform, which was built and sold under numerous marques from 1962 until 1988. The Jeep Gladiator/Pickup design is noteworthy for remaining in production for more than 26 years on a single automobile platform generation. The Gladiator was the basis of the first post-war U.S. Army trucks designed to be civilian vehicles and adapted to military use. Numerous versions of the Jeep pickup were built in other markets, including Mexico by Vehículos Automotores Mexicanos (VAM) and Argentina by Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA).

The Gladiator nameplate was revived on a midsize pickup truck based on the fourth-generation Jeep Wrangler (JL). It was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 28, 2018.

Jeep pickup truck history

The original Jeep pickup truck was the Willys-Overland one-ton 4x4, also available in platform stake, chassis cab, or bare chassis versions, manufactured from 1947 until 1965. Several sizes of Forward Control pickup trucks with a cab-over design were manufactured by Kaiser from 1957 through 1966. However, after over 25 years, Jeep reentered the pickup market using the Gladiator nameplate for a four-door midsize truck based on the Jeep Wrangler platform. The new Gladiator is in concept similar to the compact two-door Jeep CJ-8 (Scrambler), a long wheelbase version of the CJ-7 made from 1981 through 1986, but offering more amenities and features.

Gladiator (1962–1971)

thumb|left|1964 short wheelbase Jeep Gladiator Townside

thumb|left|Long-wheelbase J300 with aftermarket cargo bed cap

thumb|IKA Jeep Gladiator with extended cab

The first Jeep pickup development mule was operational around May 1960, about three months after the first station wagon-type development vehicle. Introduced in 1962 for the 1963 model year, the Gladiator was a conventional body-on-frame pickup design that shared its basic frame architecture and front end with the Jeep Wagoneer four-wheel-drive station wagon. A remarkable innovation was the available independent front suspension (IFS) instead of a solid front axle on the 4WD half-ton Gladiator trucks. It was a simple IFS design with a Dana 44 center section, that proved troublesome, did not sell well,

Gladiator trucks were also available as cab and chassis, wrecker, stake bed, and with chassis-mounted campers with extended wheelbases. The load bed options were Townside, Thriftside (a conventional bed, similar to a Ford "Flareside" or Chevrolet "Stepside"), and flat stake bed, with up to G.V.W. and almost two-ton payload capacity.

For 1968, the flared-fender Thriftside models were dropped while a new camper option was added for the J-3600. The engine was optional, as well as full-time Quadra-Trac and both automatic and manual transmissions.

1983 saw the new full-time four-wheel drive system, Selec-Trac, replace Quadra-Trac.

From 1981 to 1985, a re-bodied version of the J-10 was built and sold as the Jeep CJ-10, featuring a CJ-like nose and cab, as well as a very boxy redesigned rear truck-bed, somewhat resembling that of a Land-Rover.

Chrysler bought out AMC in 1987. The full-size Jeep Pickup line was not only an aging model, but also competed directly with the broader range of Dodge trucks. Chrysler discontinued the full-size Jeep trucks, but continued to build the luxurious and highly profitable Grand Wagoneer, which shared the chassis with the large pickups.

Military versions

Military versions of the civilian Jeep pickup included the M715 and M725, built from 1967 to 1969. They were built under contract for nations in addition to the United States. The idea was to reduce costs by starting from a civilian truck and sharing parts with the normal production-line truck, like the later "Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle" (CUCV) for the military as a ton tactical vehicle.

The Lebanese Armed Forces acquired many M715 and Gladiator SJ versions in the early 1970s, which saw extensive use during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). Many of these vehicles fell into the hands of the various competing Lebanese militias, who either used them for logistical and transport operations or modified them to be used as technicals, fitted with heavy machine guns or anti-aircraft autocannons.

File:Jeep M725, military ambulance.jpg|U.S. military M725 ambulance

File:Klargöringsbil 9711 med amsläpkärra.jpg|Klargöringsbil 9711 of the Swedish Air Force

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Trim packages

thumb|Jeep J10 Honcho

From 1975, Jeep tried making their pickups more "car-like" and appealing to consumers, starting with the Pioneer package, featuring a fancier interior, woodgrain interior and exterior trim, chromed front bumpers, window moldings, and wheel covers, dual horns, and other “car” features.

The Honcho was one in a series of special decal packages offered for J-Series trucks in the mid to late 1970s, which included the 1977–1979 Golden Eagle and the 1978 "10-4" version which offered an optional Citizens' Band radio along with the decals. The Honcho package was only available on the sportside (stepside) and short-bed trucks. Between 1974 and 1983, an unknown number of Honchos were produced, but the Sportside Honchos were made between 1980 and 1983, and only 1264 of these trucks were ever made.

Decal packages were available for many of Jeep's vehicles in the 1970s, including a package for the Jeep Cherokee called the Cherokee Chief. The Golden Eagle package was also available for both the CJ and the Cherokee.

The 1980 (1981 model year) Laredo package was perhaps the most luxurious one, including leather bucket seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, chrome interior trim, and a state-of-the-art Alpine sound system.

2003 small pickup truck

A production-ready version of a Jeep Scrambler pickup was shown in 2003 at the North American Dealers Association, but was pulled after a few hours. According to Motor Trend, there might be a "production Jeep pickup truck in the works".

The Gladiator concept features an open-air canvas roof, fold-down windshield, removable doors, and an expandable truck bed. The Gladiator has a 2.8-liter, 4-cylinder common-rail turbo diesel engine that provides and of torque. The truck has a 6-speed manual transmission. Ground clearance is , with a break-over angle of 23.2°, an approach angle of 47.6° and departure angle of 38.0°. Front and rear tires are and are mounted on 18x8-inch wheels. The Jeep Gladiator has a payload.

A "midgate" made the concept Gladiator truck closer to an imitation of the Chevrolet Avalanche, "than an attempt to revive its namesake's glory." The styling resembles the classic 1960s-era Jeep Gladiator truck and features "old-school" 16-inch smooth steel wheels with 36-inch tires, as well as a full bench seat in the cab. The design was inspired by the Kaiser Jeep M715 military vehicle from the late 1960s that was based on the regular civilian production Jeep Gladiator pickup. The Jeep Crew Chief concept rides on 20-inch beadlock wheels, and 40-inch military tires, but is mostly based on a Wrangler Unlimited stretched to a wheelbase.

Notes

External links

Wagoneers.com Full Size Jeeps since 1995
International Full Size Jeep Association
JeepTruck.com for Jeep Truck enthusiasts