What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS, NO GUN TALK]

[chorky]

It looks like it checks all the boxes. Do the pictures lie, or does it work with oem parking sensors and trailer hitch? Please let me know how it goes. Can I assume it requires control box relocation? Where are you putting it?

Well...I probably won't be putting it on until after break-up to at least get one summer of nice out of it before salt crap. But I did confirm with the company (of course who truly knows till it's on) that it does work with the rubicon bed sliders. It does have holes for the sensors as well - and covers for those like me who dont have sensors. I've watched the install video of theirs and they are using it with the factory hitch in place. it also does not require removal of the spare - however not sure how it will fit with 35's or larger... 35's are probably fine. I bet 37's are a problem though. their video is with an older version of the 9.5K winch so idk truly how much space is between the installed winch and bumper.

My initial plan was the EVO 8K. I need a front winch first though and want to get a 12, so I was going to test fit a 12 in the rear just to see if there is room, and if so I probably will opt for a 10K. That being said, unless I can find a place to sell me the EVO series (they did a stop sale nation wide supposedly) then I probably will take a chance with the badlands winch from harbor freight. I just dont think I will need a winch often enough to warrant the cost of the zeon series. I had hoped that with the EVO problems, warn might have been 'nice' and lowered the prices for the zeon series, but nope.

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[NoDoorsNoProblem]

20x10 KMC Grenade Crawls with Nitto 40's

I see the upgraded steering, but do you have stock axles? I feel like all the Jeep expert about there are super quick to say that the 44s can’t handle 40s. Hell a lot of people say they can’t handle 37s, but as long as you’re only crawling and not bouncing tires on Pritchett Canyon you should be fine.

 

[chorky]

Hey @Summitdan I did a quick search and found these. Not sure why these didn't pop up when I did a search a few months ago.

@GDOLBOI looks like he had to cut his some. Kinda strange, I dont really know why - looks like he has a 2020MY
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/road-armor-stealth-rear-bumper.41518/

@TheHops looks like his fit just fine without any modification. Looks like a 2019MY. Not really sure what the deal is with them being so different.
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...arning-no-politics.23705/page-158#post-452312

Hopefully they don't mind being tagged - but maybe they will hop in and give some opinions on it. I'm excited to get mine on. Looking at the pics tho it doesn't look like either of them actually have a winch on.

 

[Darkspeed]

I see the upgraded steering, but do you have stock axles? I feel like all the Jeep expert about there are super quick to say that the 44s can’t handle 40s. Hell a lot of people say they can’t handle 37s, but as long as you’re only crawling and not bouncing tires on Pritchett Canyon you should be fine.

I have the turbo diesel with the heavy axels, im just about to truss the front. I know a number of people running 40's on the same axels long term with no problems so im going to risk it. Most of what im doing will be overlanding anyway. I did do ball joint deletes.

 

[TheHops]

Hey @Summitdan I did a quick search and found these. Not sure why these didn't pop up when I did a search a few months ago.

@GDOLBOI looks like he had to cut his some. Kinda strange, I dont really know why - looks like he has a 2020MY
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/road-armor-stealth-rear-bumper.41518/

@TheHops looks like his fit just fine without any modification. Looks like a 2019MY. Not really sure what the deal is with them being so different.
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...arning-no-politics.23705/page-158#post-452312

Hopefully they don't mind being tagged - but maybe they will hop in and give some opinions on it. I'm excited to get mine on. Looking at the pics tho it doesn't look like either of them actually have a winch on.

Still no winch on mine yet, but it is in the works. Mainly, just waiting for a good sale on the one I want, because the cable alone to safely run ~300+amps that far is at least $200.

My plan is to run a power distribution block to the rear on large gauge wiring, and have a disconnect under the hood that will control both front and rear winches. The only concern is the fact that there isn't much real estate in the rear with my full-size spare. I may have to remote mount the solenoid.

I bought this bumper specifically for the eventual winch capability. I've found the build quality to be fantastic, and have no regrets. Aside from uninstalling the rear sliders, no modifications were required for fitment for me. I may eventually grind the sliders down to fit with the bumper, but that's super low-priority.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Well...I probably won't be putting it on until after break-up to at least get one summer of nice out of it before salt crap. But I did confirm with the company (of course who truly knows till it's on) that it does work with the rubicon bed sliders. It does have holes for the sensors as well - and covers for those like me who dont have sensors. I've watched the install video of theirs and they are using it with the factory hitch in place. it also does not require removal of the spare - however not sure how it will fit with 35's or larger... 35's are probably fine. I bet 37's are a problem though. their video is with an older version of the 9.5K winch so idk truly how much space is between the installed winch and bumper.

My initial plan was the EVO 8K. I need a front winch first though and want to get a 12, so I was going to test fit a 12 in the rear just to see if there is room, and if so I probably will opt for a 10K. That being said, unless I can find a place to sell me the EVO series (they did a stop sale nation wide supposedly) then I probably will take a chance with the badlands winch from harbor freight. I just dont think I will need a winch often enough to warrant the cost of the zeon series. I had hoped that with the EVO problems, warn might have been 'nice' and lowered the prices for the zeon series, but nope.

If the factory hitch stays, I don’t think it will interfere with the spare. My 37 spare comes right up to the hitch frame behind the receiver.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Still no winch on mine yet, but it is in the works. Mainly, just waiting for a good sale on the one I want, because the cable alone to safely run ~300+amps that far is at least $200.

My plan is to run a power distribution block to the rear on large gauge wiring, and have a disconnect under the hood that will control both front and rear winches. The only concern is the fact that there isn't much real estate in the rear with my full-size spare. I may have to remote mount the solenoid.

I bought this bumper specifically for the eventual winch capability. I've found the build quality to be fantastic, and have no regrets. Aside from uninstalling the rear sliders, no modifications were required for fitment for me. I may eventually grind the sliders down to fit with the bumper, but that's super low-priority.

Thanks for the review. I really want to keep my rear sliders. They’ve gotten lots of use on the rocks, and most VHT be the only reason I haven’t needed body work. I’m following this closely. I have factory sensors and tow with mine, so neither of those features can be compromised. I also have a 37 under the bed. Those factors make it a bit tough.

 

[chorky]

Still no winch on mine yet, but it is in the works. Mainly, just waiting for a good sale on the one I want, because the cable alone to safely run ~300+amps that far is at least $200.

My plan is to run a power distribution block to the rear on large gauge wiring, and have a disconnect under the hood that will control both front and rear winches. The only concern is the fact that there isn't much real estate in the rear with my full-size spare. I may have to remote mount the solenoid.

I bought this bumper specifically for the eventual winch capability. I've found the build quality to be fantastic, and have no regrets. Aside from uninstalling the rear sliders, no modifications were required for fitment for me. I may eventually grind the sliders down to fit with the bumper, but that's super low-priority.

I think you would be fine with 1/0 wire. That's pretty large and probably 200 bucks delivered. Warn has a winch line extender with Anderson cables, and they only use 2ga which is the same as their standard winch wiring.

Good to hear though that you like it thus far. I am waiting till I get a winch to put it on all at once.

Would you mind sharing some pics or how much space is between the spare and the back side of the bumper? Curious to hear if a EVO 8K will fit or if the control box will need to be relocated.

 

[TheHops]

Thanks for the review. I really want to keep my rear sliders. They’ve gotten lots of use on the rocks, and most VHT be the only reason I haven’t needed body work. I’m following this closely. I have factory sensors and tow with mine, so neither of those features can be compromised. I also have a 37 under the bed. Those factors make it a bit tough.

I had no issue with my factory tow hitch fitting. Unsure why some people may have. As for the sliders, they can definitely be made to work. I remember thinking how easy it would be to make them work, but I didn't own a grinder at the time so I tossed them on the shelf. From what I recall, none of the actual mounting points were compromised or covered, it would just require a bit of notching on the sliders.

The bumper comes with sensor holes. My JT didn't have the feature, so I filled the holes with round accessory turn signals (2 per side).

A 37 would be a tight squeeze, but would likely still work. You would undoubtedly have to remote mount the winch's solenoid though. I have 35s, and I'm even debating on doing it, so 37s would be a sure thing.

 

[TheHops]

I think you would be fine with 1/0 wire. That's pretty large and probably 200 bucks delivered. Warn has a winch line extender with Anderson cables, and they only use 2ga which is the same as their standard winch wiring.

Good to hear though that you like it thus far. I am waiting till I get a winch to put it on all at once.

Would you mind sharing some pics or how much space is between the spare and the back side of the bumper? Curious to hear if a EVO 8K will fit or if the control box will need to be relocated.

I remember crunching the numbers at one point and I think I was leaning towards 2/0 minimum. Preferably 3/0. Roughly 40ft of cable run (pos+neg), pulling up to 350 max amps, requires some serious gauge. I'd rather do it once, correctly and safely, than skimp on the size and end up melting something.

I don't have any pictures handy, but I recall measuring just over 10 inches of depth from the winch mounting face on the rear bumper, to the tread of my stowed spare 35" Ridge Grappler. My winch is ~10.1" tall with the solenoid installed, which is why I suspected I may have to go with a remote mount.

 

[chorky]

I remember crunching the numbers at one point and I think I was leaning towards 2/0 minimum. Preferably 3/0. Roughly 40ft of cable run (pos+neg), pulling up to 350 max amps, requires some serious gauge. I'd rather do it once, correctly and safely, than skimp on the size and end up melting something.

I don't have any pictures handy, but I recall measuring just over 10 inches of depth from the winch mounting face on the rear bumper, to the tread of my stowed spare 35" Ridge Grappler. My winch is ~10.1" tall with the solenoid installed, which is why I suspected I may have to go with a remote mount.

Sweet! Well I certainly appreciate your chiming in!! It's always good to hear from those who have done so before.

I actually happen to have some 2/0 lying around and let me tell ya thats some big (and very heavy) wire. Personally I plan on getting some 1ga and using that seeing as how Warn uses 2ga for a 25' run and says it's ok. I do agree that doing it right once is best though.

But if you're running a line to a power distribution block and running other things off of that then thats not a bad idea. I have some 4ga going to the bed to run all my 'house' items including future expansion for a dc/dc which is a consistent 30a pull. But the winch will get its own dedicated wire.

Here is some 2AWG (left) standard battery cable, next to 2/0 (right). It's just a tad more than twice the size

 

[chorky]

but I recall measuring just over 10 inches of depth from the winch mounting face on the rear bumper, to the tread of my stowed spare 35" Ridge Grappler.

The badlands is listed as 10 1/4" high - they're also on sale again.
There is an older school badlands winch, but with 80' of steel cable, and it is only 8.3" high. It is not wireless but it looks like they have a separate wireless controller option - not sure how waterproof it is though.
https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...k-suv/9000-lb-winch-with-wire-rope-63769.html

 

[ZUUL]

Replaced upper dash speakers with Terra Acoustics Front Soundstage Speaker Upgrade for JL/JT.

Even with the Alpine sound system option, high frequencies were no where to be heard at the front end of the truck. How'd this get the green light over at Jeep? ?

After a couple of months on a waitlist, it was finally my turn to handover 249 hard-earned US dollars to the folks at Terra Acoustics. Order was shipped promptly, and I received it a day later. Surprised to learn I live near their facility.

Played some Polyphia to quickly find out if the upgrade was worth the cash. Totally worth it!




Here's a photo of the box, for people who like looking at photos of boxes.

 

[Jeep Graphic Studio]

speaking of… I just put mine on today from Jeep Graphic Studio. The vinyl is high quality and the hood looks great, can’t thank you enough!

SO glad you love it!!! Thank you for your business!

 

[geneinhouston]

Tube doors adjusted and started on a 11.5k Superwinch

dang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am LOVING your Gladiator, holy hell!!!!

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