2022 Gladiator Rubicon Ecodiesel Build

We travel full-time and currently tow a 2022 Power Wagon, which replaced a 2020 JLUR a couple years ago. Our truck hauls a lot of tools and camping gear. My wife doesn't like driving the lifted Power Wagon (on 38s), so she's been following behind our motorhome in a Subaru Outback the past several months. We decided to downsize to a single vehicle she'd like to drive and would meet all our needs, so have been looking for a unicorn of sorts. We wanted a highly loaded Gladiator Rubicon Ecodiesel in Sting Grey, Gobi, or Sarge Green, with tan leather interior, a good headstart on the mods we plan to save some build costs, and a Smartcap or similar already on it. We found and picked one up a few weeks ago. It came with a Dobinson 3.5" MRR kit w/ heavy coils, Method Beadgrips on 37s, RLD cap, and I found Yukon 4.56 gears as an unexpected surprise.

Starting point, pre-Gladiator...



We have a few permanent lots at an RV park with a 14x36' workshop that we're doing all the work at. We travel 10-11 months of the year and visit said lots during the winter to take care of maintenance/projects.

Here is our build so far. Some of the parts came from our old JLUR, some new. A few things were moved over from the Power Wagon:

- Maxxis Razr MT 40X13.50R17
- Quake smoked fender chop kit
- Rough Country inner fender liners (modified cheapies for diesel fitment)
- Rusty's front and rear adjustable track bars
- Rusty's HD steering kit (drag link, tie rod)
- Steer Smarts sector shaft and track bar brace
- Apex power steering boost and cooler kit
- Synergy ball joints
- Artec front axle truss
- RCVs w/ FAD
- Dana rear chromoly shafts
- TereFlex 1" front and 1.5" rear spacers
- TeraFlex 1.5" carrier bearing drop kit
- Rock Hard 4x4 Patriot front bumper w/ skids, LOD frame ties, Blue OX flat tow kit, etc
- Air Force One braking kit and Curt tow harness
- Harbor Freight Rockshock Edge 6" lights on bumper and 4" lights on A pillar
- Warn Zion 12S winch
- Rock Hard 4x4 Patriot angled down sliders
- Body Armor rear bumper w/ steps, cube lights, and galvanized shackles to match the front
- Tazer JL Mini
- 813 Designs locking rear seat storage
- Bestop Sunrider
- Yakima CBX18 storage box
- RLD slider tray
- DECKED Gen2
- 813 Designs backup camera relocation kit
- 1UP bike rack
- Armorlite flooring

Ultimately I decided to add air bags, so I have an assortment of parts on order for that.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things from the build list. Pictures in no specific order.

Really impressive build I found my baby daddy! What kind of work do you do if I can ask? Definitely looks like a work version with some fun on the side build.

I'm a network security engineer by trade. We live in a highly customized 2000 motorhome, keeping an older rig like that going strong and spending lots of time in places where you can't get support services means carrying a full set of tools to work on it yourself. We spend about half the year completely off-grid.

The propane tanks are for the motorhome (spares for propane incinerating toilet/ tankless water heater when the onboard tank gets low) and diesel is for both (motorhome uses diesel for hydronic heating, as well as fuel). The Yakima box and overhead of the cap is full of backcountry camping gear, climbing gear, inflatable kayaks, etc...

Decked is full of tools and recovery gear (including gear we've used to recover our 39,000lb motorhome using our Power Wagon).

Locking box under the seat is full of hydration/snacks and related stuff, bear spray, bug spray, sunscreen, dog stuff, and other quick-grab items for running, cycling, or hiking. We're driving up to a Continental Divide Trail trailhead in a few minutes for a trail run today.

All I can say is WOW! Definitely above and beyond the normal ownership . My hats off.

Impressive build. Curious how much your JT weighs fully loaded?

KevinC said:

Impressive build. Curious how much your JT weighs fully loaded?

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Me too. I'll take it across a Cat scale at some point, but I'm aware that it is heavy and knew that would be the case going in. I will probably throw a Dana 60 under the rear when we come back here next winter, as well as get the new frame truss from Shift Autowerx in the next couple months.

I've also made a point to keep all the heavy stuff low, and the stuff up high as light as possible. Most of the added weight is at or below the bedrails.

You shouldn't need to run 4.56 gears in a Rubicon diesel. The stock 3.73 would be fine. Unless they are already installed. I guess you can go larger tires then.

Stingray 5517 said:

Really impressive build I found my baby daddy!

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BlueScapegoat said:

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Meant my jeeps baby daddy

Free2roam said:

You shouldn't need to run 4.56 gears in a Rubicon diesel. The stock 3.73 would be fine. Unless they are already installed. I guess you can go larger tires then.

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Did you even read the post?

4.56s already installed and running 40s.

n0arp said:

Did you even read the post?

4.56s already installed and running 40s.

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Yes I read it. Missed that part apparently.

Nice! Can I ask, do you do anything for towing the Gladdy? Or just put in Neutral and go?

Jim

Jim SoG said:

Nice! Can I ask, do you do anything for towing the Gladdy? Or just put in Neutral and go?

Jim

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Transfer case in neutral, transmission in park. And go. Ignition can be off and no need to leave the keys in it or anything.

We use a Blux Ox Allure tow bar and Demco Air Force One braking as well.

Really great build! Quality components.
We're recently retired and am considering renting a Class C RV for a week or so to see if we'd like to own one full-time. I had a co-worker that pulled a trailer behind his Ram 2500. When I told them we were considering it, he said it is a lot of work. And didn't seem too encouraging.
We know nothing about the RV life but it is intriguing.

Does your wife mind driving the JT or is she still following in the Outback?

Reddout99 said:

Really great build! Quality components.
We're recently retired and am considering renting a Class C RV for a week or so to see if we'd like to own one full-time. I had a co-worker that pulled a trailer behind his Ram 2500. When I told them we were considering it, he said it is a lot of work. And didn't seem too encouraging.
We know nothing about the RV life but it is intriguing.

Does your wife mind driving the JT or is she still following in the Outback?

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Thanks.

My wife loves driving the JT. We sold the Outback and are planning to sell the Power Wagon. She does not like driving my lifted Power Wagon, but had no issues driving my Ram 3500 DRW (when we had a fifth wheel) or 5500 (when we had a truck camper)... she says she can't see out the Power Wagon and it just feels huge as it sits now.

I wouldn't be interested in a class C for various reasons, but at this point it would take a lot of convincing to have me go to anything but a diesel pusher class A, and I've had half a dozen different rigs over the past ten years.

We find full-time RVing a very rewarding experience. It is a lot of work, but we have no interest in going back to a house/fixed location after the experience. Maybe one of these days, but not any time soon. You can make it as much, or as little, work as you want. Buying the right rig and setting it up right for you, is the key. It's a lot of work for us because we prefer to boondock and that comes with additional work over staying at parks. And moving from park to park is a lot more work than being stationary. It's all relative. We spend about half the year boondocking and half the year in parks. It can similary be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. We certainly aren't saving money over owning a house, but we know people living well in this lifestyle on shoestring budgets.