Jeep used to take all Jeep Brand Vehicles through the Rubicon to test them, even the Jeep Comanche PU. Trail Damage or not!! I don't know about the Patriot and Compass though. If the FD2 Trail Rated Patriot has the Emblem on the side then they probably did. I never saw anything about it in JP Magazine though.

 

The TR badge on Jeeps has NOTHING to do with 'conquering' the Rubicon Trail. Read about Trail Rated Jeeps on Jeep's website for more information.

 

Yeah yeah, trail rated means it has traction, fording, ground clearance, articulation, yadayada. If you click that video link above, they elude that you need the trail rated characteristics to take on the Rubicon, which is true... and maybe the badge used to mean it passed the Rubicon, but I don't think it does any more.

But what I want to know is, what do they mean by the statement that they took the entire lineup to the Rubicon....

 

But what I want to know is, what do they mean by the statement that they took the entire lineup to the Rubicon....

obviously your looking for the 'official' answer, but I don't think yer gonna find it. Sounds, as you know, like marketing speak.... 'yup, we took them all to the the Rubicon' ...(to take pictures of 'em, so we could say), here is a vid of the entire lineup on the trail. (Can't actually go out on a limb and say they completed the trail, unless they brought a trail rated tow truck... 'the entire lineup arrived at the end of the trail 4 hours later... ').

myself, I took samples of all of my bodily fluids to the bank and the grocery store and the dry cleaner earlier today. (I kept all the samples inside me, so it wasn't a problem). When I was in line at the bank, I was masticating like crazy, and no one said anything! Really got away with that one!

jeep is the number one vehicle in the universe.... Now lets see, how shall we define '#1' ? Its the jeepiest, most jeepy jeep ever. No non-jeep even comes close to being jeepish or even jeep-like. We're #1!

 

Check out the piece in Expeditions West. They took an FDII, 2007 I think, up the Rubicon. The top was snow covered, they had to pull winch line once. And that was in a section that a Wrangler Rubicon had to lock up the axles. Pics are included in the article. That article is one of the reasons I bought my first Patriot.

 

I read that article awhile back and saw the pictures, which is what peaked my interest in the Patriot as well. I believe that was kings cross in Arizona though, not the Rubicon. Either way, the Patriot can handle a lot more than a lot of people would have guessed

 

I saw that Video, can't remember where it was but I do remember it was not the Rubicon Trail.

 

It was Crown King Back Road in Arizona
http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/index.htm

Here is a video of a Cherokee on that trail:

 

Nice Video. Is the Patriot a good replacement for the old style Jeep Cherokee ? I say no waaaaay!!! Not offroad wise. My Brother used to follow me in his Jeep Cherokee with a 2" Rancho lift and biga$$ bellypan skidplate through the Rubicon Trail and come out with no trail damage.

 

speaking of trails,look what i stumbled upon :

 

speaking of trails,look what i stumbled upon :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhQPGeQDz4g&feature=grec_index

Road of Bones eh? Nice find! I like the part where the big truck is dragging the van across the stream, and the last part where they unloaded the motorcycles and supplies from the flatbed and somehow got the suv in there to haul across the river

 

Guys, the Rubicon trail is still a proving ground for pre-production Jeep models, as is Moab Utah.

That said, the only vehicles they test, pre-production, are ones they're planning on fixing the trail-rated badge to, so the Compass, although tested for off-road capability, was never tested on the Rubicon, it was however tested in Moab when it was in pre-production and originally to be built as a Rally-Cross vehicle akin to Dakkar Rally inspiration, but alas it was turned in CUV to make some cash, good business plan, but a step backwards for the brand, not entirely mind-you, because sales of the Compass have enabled Jeep to keep testing and building Mopar Skunkworks protoypes.

The Patriot was however tested on the Rubicon and in Arizona by a professional contact of mine who was lucky enough to be approached by Jeep (Chrysler) to test drive the vehicle off-road for over a month and provide feedback.

http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/index.htm

 

That said, the only vehicles they test, pre-production, are ones they're planning on fixing the trail-rated badge to, so the Compass, although tested for off-road capability, was never tested on the Rubicon...

It trail rated now on the FDII Compass. Do you think they tested it on the Rubicon?

...The Patriot was however tested on the Rubicon and in Arizona by a professional contact of mine who was lucky enough to be approached by Jeep (Chrysler) to test drive the vehicle off-road for over a month and provide feedback.

http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/index.htm

That's awesome you know the guy that tested it. Does he have any pictures of it on the Rubicon? Everything on the Expeditions West page that I have read is talking about trails in Arizona. In the review, the Expeditions West people said the Crown King Back Road was "...at near the limits of the Patriots capabilities...we completed the trail with highly experienced drivers." They rate that trail a 3, but give the Rubicon a rating of 3.5 on their trail rating page, and the Patriot does not meet the requirements they suggest for the Rubicon either (Expeditions west Trail Ratings), which suggests to me the Patriot did not and would not make it on the Rubicon.

 

He wasn't involved on the Rubicon, only in Arizona where he is based out of.

So I stand corrected on ALL Jeeps tested on the Rubicon, it appears the Patriot wasn't....

"...Development of the Trail Rated Patriot included testing in rugged Moab, UT. However, there are no plans to try the vehicle on California’s storied Rubicon Trail.

“There’s no need,” Liddane says, adding the Trail Rated badge denotes a minimum standard. Similarly capable Jeeps from the top-end Commander to the down-market Liberty offer degrees of performance above the minimum...."

That all said, Moab is no joke, and Arizona has some tough places.....I think the Rubicon is over rated anyway, some of the toughest trails out there are the ones that don't exist on maps....and I've been to them and the Rubicon.

Anyway, here's the article from the above quote:

http://wardsauto.com/ar/trail_rating_patriot/

 

Anyway, here's the article from the above quote:

http://wardsauto.com/ar/trail_rating_patriot/

Nice article, thanks for sharing

 

Hey anytime, I had to correct myself, as I was sure they had the pre-production Patriot on the Rubicon....but I guess even I can be wrong on occasion!! :doh:

 

Hey no worries. I'm just wanting to clear the air on Jeep taking it on rubicon

 

For sure! I think you can call it "cleared"

 

My Brother did not have Lockers in His Jeep Cherokee just a 2" Rancho lift with a Big Skidplate and 31" Tires and ran the Rubicon Trail without Damage. Let me make it simple the Patriot works for light duty stuff. If you take a Patriot with a 2" lift and a Jeep Cherokee with a 2" lift to the Rubicon Trail the Jeep Cherokee will Win Hands Down!! The Patriot with its Computer Traction System will Win Hands Down on the Hiway in Snow and Ice. The Patriot won't outdo a Cherokee in the Rocks. The End!!

 

The Patriot won't outdo a Cherokee in the Rocks. The End!!

Which is important, I suppose, to folks who have rocks in their thoughts (heads?). There are plenty of places in this country where the only rock you find are on gravel roads. Like Florida or lower Michigan. Being originally from a "rock free" area in Michigan, I always put more value in a 4x4's reliability in cold weather and it's handling characteristics in snow and sand then it's abilty to crawl over and through terrain better suited to travel with a mule. I never owned a Cherokee, but I kind of like the looks. I do remember freezing my cojones off going deer hunting with a bud in a Cherokee with a window that didnt go up all the way and a broke heater fan.

Our favorite saying in Michigan, back in the day, was "We dont CARE how they do it in California!"

 

Very cool info, Overland. Thanks!

 

Anytime!

....and to the second above, I think the comment is geared towards Rock Crawlers and Mud Boggers.

 

well, the jeep.com page updated they "trail rated" section and added videos of the entire lineup in the rubicon, in the first video the voice says "welcome to the rubicon" and you can see the entire jeep lineup (pat & compass included) crossing a creek (I think the same creek on the other video that was cut before the pat & compass appear)

plus you can see videos of each jeep vehicle showing the 5 categories of the trail rating

http://www.jeep.com/en/jeep_capabilities/trail_rated/

pretty nice clips

 

well, the jeep.com page updated they "trail rated" section and added videos of the entire lineup in the rubicon, in the first video the voice says "welcome to the rubicon" and you can see the entire jeep lineup (pat & compass included) crossing a creek (I think the same creek on the other video that was cut before the pat & compass appear)

plus you can see videos of each jeep vehicle showing the 5 categories of the trail rating

http://www.jeep.com/en/jeep_capabilities/trail_rated/

pretty nice clips

Hey, awesome find and thanks for sharing! I guess it just took them awhile to post anything

 

Great set of videos....glad they put this up.

Of course, I had to watch the Wrangler Unlimited videos to..... :icon_rolleyes:

epper:epper:epper:

 

you guys do realize that the link that doesnt show the vid, could simply be an IT screw up right? Jeeps web developers are crappy, as their site has always been glitchy as hell.

Also the jeeps went to rubicon... maybe to be shown off as a publicity stunt? It doesnt have to mean they actually traversed the trail...

EDIT: saw the most recent post. But again, the patriot doesnt have to complete the trail to be there.

The trail rated badge is just that... a badge. They stick it on the wrangler for god sake. that its kinda redundant if you ask me. Its a marketing ploy, i wouldnt try to concentrate on the meaning behind it to much. It simply means u have skid plates and 4x4.

 

The trail rated badge is just that... a badge. They stick it on the wrangler for god sake. that its kinda redundant if you ask me. Its a marketing ploy, i wouldnt try to concentrate on the meaning behind it to much. It simply means u have skid plates and 4x4.

The badge is the most important part of the Patriot. Other small SUVs get good gas mileage and have AWD, the only thing that separates the Patriot from the others is its off road capability. If it wasn't for the FDII package I would have bought an Equinox.

 

The Patriot in the Video is on the Granite Rock Slabs that lead to the Rubicon Trail. Notice they don't show the Patriot going thru any of the Sluice Boxes as they call them, don't think they wanted to do any major body damage. You can follow the rubber and oil on the Granite and it will take you right to the main Rubicon Trail. There are a couple of ways to get to the Trail on the West side.

 

And the Compass showing off FDII:

 

To my knowledge, this is the first official video from Jeep showing a Patriot off-road. There was the winter in Wyoming, and the Easter Jeep Safari Patriot that was completely modded, but neither of those were advertised as Jeep ads. Maybe wheel see some of these on TV some day? They need it

 

The Compass Video is in the same area as the Patriot Video. It's over by Loon Lake. You can go in by Loon Lake, lots of Granite Slab but still not on the main Rubicon Trail. They are Teaser Shots that make the Compass look like it's on a rough trail to the average individual that doesn't know better. Great job by Jeep, they should show more Videos like those.

 

They actually spent the time and money to advertise the Patriot! Amazing!