Gladiator Expedition Rigs

[Ghostcat]

Thanks, if you go back to page 57 & 58 of this forum, there's plenty of pictures and posts of me Mocking up and building the furniture. I kept it strong and light, and I can remove it in about 10 minutes, if I need to haul anything in my truck bed.

Amazing. I'll check that out!

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[Mules]

Mike a few years ago I had 2, 100 amp solar panels taped to the roof of my Hallmark expedition camper (from the factory). They lasted about 2 years before they literally cooked themselves due to not getting adequate airflow across the bottom. I subsequently went with solid panels on short L shaped risers and have been happy since.

I have seen some people having success with flexible panels where they use plastic corrugated cardboard like you see being used for yard sale signs to provide channels to allow airflow under the panels similar to this…

https://www.amazon.com/Juvale-8-Pac...437-a85c-3a6ac0280cbf&pd_rd_i=B07K1ZTTLT&th=1

Thanks Eddie! Plastic corrugated backing sounds like the way to go.

 

[fourfa]

The standard coruplast that's widely available is 4mm / 0.157" thick. The channels are so small, I'd think they'd just clog up before long with dust and crud.

If you really want airflow under the panel for max output and longevity, source 12mm or 1/2" coruplast from a local sign shop. That ought to really work as a standoff and allow air exchange. Aside from that, looks like home depot etc can get 8mm and 10mm in polycarb which would be a lot better than 4mm. (Just watch out for having to buy a whole 10-sheet pack)

Also think about airflow: rather than one continuous sheet under the whole panel, you probably want gaps at 1/3 and 2/3 so hot air can find its way out more easily when flat

Personally I ended up with 4mm under mine, and sealed around all the edges preventing airflow, because I was pressed for time to install before a trip. Plus I really had no idea how much usable power I'd get out of my 200W panel. Turns out, I'm getting lots surplus power for my relatively light electrical uses, so improving this install has fallen downward on the priority list. I think I'll reassess after the next rainy season and see how everything is holding up.

 

[Mules]

The standard coruplast that's widely available is 4mm / 0.157" thick. The channels are so small, I'd think they'd just clog up before long with dust and crud.

If you really want airflow under the panel for max output and longevity, source 12mm or 1/2" coruplast from a local sign shop. That ought to really work as a standoff and allow air exchange. Aside from that, looks like home depot etc can get 8mm and 10mm in polycarb which would be a lot better than 4mm. (Just watch out for having to buy a whole 10-sheet pack)

Also think about airflow: rather than one continuous sheet under the whole panel, you probably want gaps at 1/3 and 2/3 so hot air can find its way out more easily when flat

Personally I ended up with 4mm under mine, and sealed around all the edges preventing airflow, because I was pressed for time to install before a trip. Plus I really had no idea how much usable power I'd get out of my 200W panel. Turns out, I'm getting lots surplus power for my relatively light electrical uses, so improving this install has fallen downward on the priority list. I think I'll reassess after the next rainy season and see how everything is holding up.

Let us know how the 1/4" corrugation works out. I was mainly worried about burning my expensive Granite Crystal Metallic paint job with the solar panels. I would hope the panels would last more than a couple years, but if they don't, at least they are getting pretty cheap.

 

[Mules]

10,000 mile Review!

I just realized than I've been driving around with my camper now for 10,000 miles since I put it on 13 1/2 months ago. That's about 6,000 miles of daily driving to work and around town. The other 4,000 miles were on weekend adventures and camping in the Badlands / Rockies.

So far she's handling it all great. Only a few scratches on the paint from occasional tree branches. A few cracks on the pop up top through the fiberglass, which is my fault. The cracks are along the fiberglass seams where I didn't layup fiberglass cloth over a seam. These seams only had bondo in them (stupid mistake on my part). At least they don't leak water.

She squeaks a bit while driving, mostly from the furniture and the fact that there is no wall between the camper interior and the cab, so I can hear things clanging around in the back.

She's had a fair bit of 4 wheeling, but nothing I couldn't get out of without my winch. The winch has come in handy pulling trees out of the trails and a couple stuck 2 wheel drives.

The camper has definitely been a conversation starter. Almost weekly someone will want to know what this contraption is.

I love it!

 

[RubiNewbCB]

So... when are you going to start taking orders for version 2.0?

 

[Mules]

Nitto Ridge Grappler - 25,000 mile review

Alright, I'm been driving 4x4s and sport cars my entire life. I've used Michelin road tires, Goodyear mud tires, Pirelli race tires, and just about everything in between. I used to be a purist and buy the best race and mud tires. Only problem is that both of those use very soft rubber, which tend to wear out quickly. The reality is that today, my vehicles are daily drivers and for fun. If I had a dedicated race car or a dedicated rock crawler, this would be a different conversation.

For those of you like me, 90% daily driver/ 10% fun, I think the Nitto Ridge Grappler is perfect. I mounted these right after picking up my truck at the dealership. It's hard to believe that they have 25,000 miles. I'm guessing there is about 1/8" wear since new. At this point I don't see why these wouldn't last 50,000 to 70,000 miles

These tires are great at 4 wheeling and highway driving with no road noise. I'll be buying these again, next time around.

Only two negatives are that they are expensive and that they pick up rocks like velcro. I usually pick out the gravel from the tread after driving on gravel roads. All in all, these are the best road/4 wheeling tires I've ever had.

One other item of note, is that I run them at 50 PSI, for mileage and to reduce side wear. I used to keep my mud tires aired up around 30psi or lower for 4 wheeling. After wearing them out at 20,000 miles, I switched to hybrid tires and higher pressures. I think it's funny that no one talks about running 4x4s at high air pressures. I'll probably get a lot of negative comments about doing this, but it works for me.

[ATTACH=full]339653[/ATTACH]

 

[antwon412]

50psi?!

No wonder they are not wearing out. Most of the tire is probably not even making contact with the ground.

 

[trust]

Have you weighed your rig all set to go off on an adventure? Maybe i missed it ezrlier in the thread

 

[Mules]

Have you weighed your rig all set to go off on an adventure? Maybe i missed it ezrlier in the thread

Here's a breakdown on the weight of my camper.

Final weight of my camper's bottom shell, top shell, tent, and upper bed is 210lbs.

Keep in mind this camper replaces the original hard top and back glass, so the net gain is only about 150 lbs. I believe net gain for the Alucab is 460lb.

Camper 150 lb
Interior Furniture 80 lb
Fridge 50lb
power supply 20 lb
Misc camping stuff 50 lb

Total about 350 lb

This is probably the lightest camper of it's kind.

 

[Mules]

50psi?!

No wonder they are not wearing out. Most of the tire is probably not even making contact with the ground.

Good one!

My E rated tires are rated at 80 psi. The correct way of calculating the recommended air pressure of truck tires is dependent upon the load on the tires. I need to look up the recommended pressure for my truck and tires, but below is what I used on my old Tundra.

I think my Gladiator weight is about 5,500 lbs fully loaded. If I use the chart below, about half of that weight or 2,750 lbs is on the rear axle. So I should be running between 50-55psi. Of course this is for road use, and not for rock crawling. You lower your tire pressure to smooth the ride over bumps and gain more surface area for rock crawling.

I'd love it if someone could double check my numbers.

 

[trust]

Thanks! Not near what I'd have expected

 

[Mules]

Thanks! Not near what I'd have expected

How about posting a couple picture of your Scrambler. I love them!

 

[trust]

Ask and ye shall receive....

 

[Mules]

Ask and ye shall receive....

Nice ride. I've always liked Scramblers. I was hoping the Gladiator was going to be a 4 door Scrambler, but they put a full bed on instead.

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