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

[Mojave20]

Installed front camera and motobilt rear diff cover.
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[madesicc88]

Been meaning to do this for quite a while now but finally got around to installing some 12v ports for my back seat, my sport s didn’t have anything back there and I took out the 12v port upfront to install the OE brake controller, install was easy, I tapped the original 12v wires in the front. Nice little project during the “blizzard” they told us we were going to have today.

I turned the USB ports so they would be oriented horizontal instead of vertical, didn’t realize the cap wouldn’t close now so I will open it back up later and turn them vertical but they will be fine for now.

 

[NULL POINTER]

Today IInstalled my BakFlip F1 folding tonneau cover. @RealTruck It arrived yesterday and was packaged nicely. Unfortunately the driver side rail had a few minor scratches. I am not about to take this whole installation off just to send back the rail. I'll mess with it with some touch up paint or a black sharpie. Kind of disappointing but not a real world problem. It's a truck and probably will end up with some trail rash eventually.

The installation was anything but easy - I will get to why. Most of the installation was straightforward and fairly easy. There are two types of bulkhead mounting holes and the instructions do a good job explaining how to tell which you have and that determines which hardware and which page of the instructions you follow. So mostly not bad, with one big exception.

Missing a philips head screw for the buckle here. Fortunately I had a stainless bolt the right size. I will paint the stainless screw head black at some point. Also, the pre-drilled holes had to be reamed in order for the threaded posts to fit that you insert from the bottom . I got 4 threaded posts and only 3 black philips head screws.

Now for what made this a difficult and time consuming job. First the instructions don't tell you that you need to take off the cutout in the plastic factory bedtop rails in order to access the two welded on nuts on each side of the bed. Access to these nuts is required to for mounting the tonneau rail at the rear (tailgate) end of the rails. A sharp blade and cutter took care of that issue. Problem solved.

The big issue here is the M6 bolts themselves. There is very little room to work in this area. It is easy to get a few scratched knuckles. I don't see how people with large hands can even get these M6 torx head bolts to go into place, let alone tighten them. The screws are torx head screws and the installation materials include a tool to tighten these bolts into the factory nuts welded on the other side of the factory bed frame rail. There are spacers between the BakFlip rail and factory rail. It is extremely difficult to get the tool into the torx holes and tighten down the two screws on each side. With enough time and patience it is possible to get an almost half turn at a time. I could only get them to a point where they are tight but I don't think they are tight enough because the washer on the torx head spins freely.

OK, I beeatched about it, so here is a solution. What BakFlip needs to do is use M6 bolts that you can get a wrench on. It would make the task so much easier and I think I would be able to tighten the bolts up so that the washers don't spin (no not the Maytag kind ). I intend to go to the hardware store and get 4 such M6 bolts and on a nicer day when I can see in there better and when I have more patience, I'll pull out those stupid torx bolts and put real bolts in there.

It was kind of difficult to attach the drain hoses on each side to the drain on the cover. I reamed them a bit and got them to slide on. I will pick up some clamps at the hardware store to ensure they don't fall off. I ran them through the hole on the bedside in front of the D ring on the bottom.

Well, that's it. I like the look and finished product. I hope BakFlip gets the message about the M6 bolts., and maybe they can do a better job making sure the paint on the rails doesn't get scratched up.

If you do one of these installs, I think the MX4 also uses those stupid M6 torx head bolts. Do yourself a huge favor and buy some that you can get a wrench on the head. It will turn a couple hour job into a half hour to at most one hour, and you will use a lot less swear words and be in a much better mood to reflect on your work.

 

[RealTruck]

Today IInstalled my BakFlip F1 folding tonneau cover. @RealTruck It arrived yesterday and was packaged nicely. Unfortunately the driver side rail had a few minor scratches. I am not about to take this whole installation off just to send back the rail. I'll mess with it with some touch up paint or a black sharpie. Kind of disappointing but not a real world problem. It's a truck and probably will end up with some trail rash eventually.

The installation was anything but easy - I will get to why. Most of the installation was straightforward and fairly easy. There are two types of bulkhead mounting holes and the instructions do a good job explaining how to tell which you have and that determines which hardware and which page of the instructions you follow. So mostly not bad, with one big exception.

Missing a philips head screw for the buckle here. Fortunately I had a stainless bolt the right size. I will paint the stainless screw head black at some point. Also, the pre-drilled holes had to be reamed in order for the threaded posts to fit that you insert from the bottom . I got 4 threaded posts and only 3 black philips head screws.

Now for what made this a difficult and time consuming job. First the instructions don't tell you that you need to take off the cutout in the plastic factory bedtop rails in order to access the two welded on nuts on each side of the bed. Access to these nuts is required to for mounting the tonneau rail at the rear (tailgate) end of the rails. A sharp blade and cutter took care of that issue. Problem solved.

The big issue here is the M6 bolts themselves. There is very little room to work in this area. It is easy to get a few scratched knuckles. I don't see how people with large hands can even get these M6 torx head bolts to go into place, let alone tighten them. The screws are torx head screws and the installation materials include a tool to tighten these bolts into the factory nuts welded on the other side of the factory bed frame rail. There are spacers between the BakFlip rail and factory rail. It is extremely difficult to get the tool into the torx holes and tighten down the two screws on each side. With enough time and patience it is possible to get an almost half turn at a time. I could only get them to a point where they are tight but I don't think they are tight enough because the washer on the torx head spins freely.

OK, I beeatched about it, so here is a solution. What BakFlip needs to do is use M6 bolts that you can get a wrench on. It would make the task so much easier and I think I would be able to tighten the bolts up so that the washers don't spin (no not the Maytag kind ). I intend to go to the hardware store and get 4 such M6 bolts and on a nicer day when I can see in there better and when I have more patience, I'll pull out those stupid torx bolts and put real bolts in there.

It was kind of difficult to attach the drain hoses on each side to the drain on the cover. I reamed them a bit and got them to slide on. I will pick up some clamps at the hardware store to ensure they don't fall off. I ran them through the hole on the bedside in front of the D ring on the bottom.

Well, that's it. I like the look and finished product. I hope BakFlip gets the message about the M6 bolts., and maybe they can do a better job making sure the paint on the rails doesn't get scratched up.

If you do one of these installs, I think the MX4 also uses those stupid M6 torx head bolts. Do yourself a huge favor and buy some that you can get a wrench on the head. It will turn a couple hour job into a half hour to at most one hour, and you will use a lot less swear words and be in a much better mood to reflect on your work.

Thank you for your feedback! If you need any further assistance, feel free to contact me directly. I'm happy to help.

Enjoy your new tonneau cover!

 

[NULL POINTER]

Thank you for your feedback! If you need any further assistance, feel free to contact me directly. I'm happy to help.

Enjoy your new tonneau cover!

Thanks Amber. I like it and thank you for your help getting it ordered with the forum discount. Much appreciated. It arrived on time even though it got delayed by the big snowstorm in Kansas City, MO. I have to say, it was boxed very well and surprisingly no damage, holes or dents in the box. FedEx Ground did a good job with this shipment.

 

[FreedomWV]

Removed the Injen cold air, installed the S&B still some growl but not near as obnoxious. I think the build quality was better in the Ingen though. Installed the Barricade Rock slider steps. Installed the Hike It throttle controller.

 

[KevinM60]

Installed front camera and motobilt rear diff cover.
WiFi Car Wireless Backup Camera,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y3TSWLK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I installed the same camera a few months ago.
What are you using for a monitor?
I had an iPad mini sitting on the bookshelf that I dedicated to use for my front camera.
This camera isn’t as good as the factory 1080p camera but for me it give me something to work with until I decide to go through the time and expense of installing the Mopar trail cam.
I see you have yours positioned low to get below the bull bar. How do you like that view?
I have a low profile bull bar with the camera in the usual upper position to get a better angle to the ground.

 

[Jeeper44mag]

Hah, what is the magazine capacity of that high lift jack?

Pretty sure it's 30 (inches). ?

 

[MojaveLawyer]

Been meaning to do this for a couple of months and finally got to it. Installed the PowerStop Z36 Extreme Truck and Tow Brake Rotor and Pad Kit on the Mojave. Did the break-in method, and a lil' too early too tell. Should've put these in straight from the factory.

The previous owner stripped my rear brake rotor nuts on both sides; therefore, it was such an incredible time to extract those from my rotors. Now I have some brakes to drive myself to the VA hospital after this install... MURICA

 

[22EcoDs]

Removed the Injen cold air, installed the S&B still some growl but not near as obnoxious. I think the build quality was better in the Ingen though. Installed the Barricade Rock slider steps. Installed the Hike It throttle controller.

Was the growl the only reason to swap ?

 

[FreedomWV]

Was the growl the only reason to swap ?

Yes, the S&B has a small silencer vs the other was a straight intake. The Injen is a larger diameter though.

 

[Mojave20]

I installed the same camera a few months ago.
What are you using for a monitor?
I had an iPad mini sitting on the bookshelf that I dedicated to use for my front camera.
This camera isn’t as good as the factory 1080p camera but for me it give me something to work with until I decide to go through the time and expense of installing the Mopar trail cam.
I see you have yours positioned low to get below the bull bar. How do you like that view?
I have a low profile bull bar with the camera in the usual upper position to get a better angle to the ground.

I’m using my phone for a monitor. I have a suction ram mount to the front window I use when on the trails for my on-x. I don’t have the 8.4 so adding the stock trail cam is a no go for me. I don’t plan to use the camera frequently, but wanted to ability to see coming off a steep incline. So far I like the view. I may adjust a little more down after some use. For less the $40 I figured it was worth a try.

 

[WestwallNF104A]

Been meaning to do this for a couple of months and finally got to it. Installed the PowerStop Z36 Extreme Truck and Tow Brake Rotor and Pad Kit on the Mojave. Did the break-in method, and a lil' too early too tell. Should've put these in straight from the factory.

The previous owner stripped my rear brake rotor nuts on both sides; therefore, it was such an incredible time to extract those from my rotors. Now I have some brakes to drive myself to the VA hospital after this install... MURICA

Owww!

 

[ErylFlynn]

Installed a Bolt hood lock on mine today, no pictures but got it done.

 

[Klicht87]

Been meaning to do this for quite a while now but finally got around to installing some 12v ports for my back seat, my sport s didn’t have anything back there and I took out the 12v port upfront to install the OE brake controller, install was easy, I tapped the original 12v wires in the front. Nice little project during the “blizzard” they told us we were going to have today.

I turned the USB ports so they would be oriented horizontal instead of vertical, didn’t realize the cap wouldn’t close now so I will open it back up later and turn them vertical but they will be fine for now.

I just did he same thing in mine. What a shame Jeep can't include these on every trim for how much we pay for these.

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