When the first spy photos of Jeep's JT truck mule appeared last summer, many took one look and noticed Wrangler elements on what appeared to be a Ram truck frame. Not a big issue. Prototype vehicles usually are cobbled together with various parts anyway.
And, frankly, how many of you heard Ram frame and immediately thought of the mid-2000s Jeep Gladiator concept (pictured above)? That guy was all Jeep Wrangler parts on a Dodge 1500 Ram chassis and certainly proved popular.
Well, now that we know production issues have pushed the Wrangler JT's release back until late 2019, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles may again turn toward Ram to anchor a Jeep Truck, according to a recent speculative report in Automotive News.
Of course, FCA could definitely still choose to utilize the JK or next-generation JL Wrangler frame for the truck model, the automaker certainly is not saying, but we'll lay it out a potential Ram/Wrangler frame design like this:
The JT's production delay, announced by Jeep head Mike Manley earlier this year, seems pretty straightforward. Thanks to its larger truck body, the JT simply will not play well with the current paint shop at FCA's Toledo Assembly Complex South Plant. So the company will build an entirely new, and larger, paint facility to accommodate the truck. This revamped design will force the South line to shutdown for a full year, instead of the originally planned six month period.
The initial plan was for Jeep's new Wrangler JL to begin production on Toledo's North Assembly line this November, while the current generation JK Wrangler would keep rolling off the South line until around April 2018. That process is still on track. However, Toledo's South line was only supposed to undergo retooling for six months following the JK's completion, after which the JT Wrangler Truck would have entered production late in 2018.
What is not as straightforward is how FCA plans to handle this longer delay, as well as what it wants to do about potential governmental action on imports from Mexico. FCA assembles the bulk of its heavy-duty truck line in Mexico, and if these imports are hit with steep tariffs then FCA may choose to move its truck assembly to both Warren, Michigan and Toledo. By sharing production dimensions and parts, Automotive News reports, Jeep and Ram trucks would have an easier (and less costly) integration in Toledo for FCA.
We're pretty sure, by this point, most enthusiasts who are on board with Jeep's idea to produce a new truck actually just want to see it. And maybe, judging by the Gladiator's popularity, they won't really care what type of platform it uses.
That is, as long as it remains a body-on-frame construction.
