Ever since the release of Jeep Gladiator images showed up, Jeep enthusiasts have expressed their desire to see a regular-cab two-door version. For now, it is only available as a crew cab/four-door truck. But ever since the first 1963 Comanche arrived in 1962, it was always a regular-cab pickup. Yeah, the times are different, but many still want that option. So, is this the Gladiator everyone really wants?

Since 2019, many have built two-door Comanche-like pickups. That is amazing considering it isn’t such an easy undertaking. These conversions forecast a production-like truck, though they don’t yet exist. The body would end just past the front doors, and a longer bed is necessary. 

Those additions, or changes, from the current four-door, are not deal breakers unto themselves. No frame modifications would be necessary. And everything from the doors forward would remain the same. So a second strike to the floor to shorten it, and a stamped rear panel, take care of the body.

For the longer bed, new bedsides would need to be tooled, along with a longer floor. Finally, new trim for the back of the cab inside the cabin would need to be created. Overall, it seems that a lot of investment in new tooling wouldn’t be necessary. But we’re looking from the outside, so those determinations are almost impossible to make from here.

The downside, though, may actually have little to do with development costs. Ram just killed the single-cab short-bed 1500 Classic this week. As you recall, the Classic was the previous version of the 1500, which saw a completely new truck in 2019. And that all-new Ram 1500 has never been available as a single-cab. 

So that tells you where the company’s head is at when it comes to two-door trucks. But the Gladiator is a different kind of animal, and Jeep knows that. It even teased the two-door idea with a J6 concept in 2019. It featured a six-foot bed, which is 12-inches longer than the Gladiator’s production bed.

So is anything different in 2023? Not really. But Jeep could still offer a Gladiator two-door, and here’s how. Why not stamp out a back body panel, longer bed sides, and trim, as a conversion kit? It could be sold through Direct Connection, its new semi-aftermarket arm of the company. 

Detailed instructions for disassembly, modifying the floor, and assembly would show DIYers how to do it. And approved custom fabrication shops around the country would be available for those not wanting a DIY project. A kit like this wouldn’t be cheap, but it would be a heck of a lot cheaper than the custom modifications necessary for making one now.

You might even be able to fit in a production bed floor cut down to create the extra length, eliminating tooling a new bed floor entirely. There have been enough of these conversions done from scratch to indicate a real interest in a J6-like Gladiator. If Jeep is honest about making what its loyal customers want, rather than what it wants them to buy, then this could be a win, win. What about it Christian Meunier?