New Gladiator, what to do?

[Kyllingene]

Thanks for all the advice! What would you recommend as a first purchase (once I've driven it a while)? My financial situation isn't terrible, but I'm not quite settled yet either.

As I mentioned I already have some ATs (Advanta ATX-850; perhaps not the biggest nor the best, but cost-effective). I was trying to get some new rims from FB at the same time, but the seller never responded. I should add that I knew from past experience I wanted a hard tonneau, so I already have one on.

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[Gvsukids]

What would you recommend as a first purchase (once I've driven it a while)?

You'll find out what you'll need.

 

[oldironsights]

What's missing? Any tips on where to start?

One thought involves the weight of all those steel goodies.
Where the weight is & how much.
Not just the COG but the total weight.
The 3.6 lacks V8 power.
I like the 28 mpg of the Pentastar Gladiator.
I have installed many heavy steel goodies on my Glad & already see my MPGs drop to 25 on my county roads.
Both of my jeep products are daily drivers with the Glad preferred for local service due to its port only injectors.
Just a thought...................................less can sometimes deliver more.

oldironsights out.....................

 

[Hootbro]

I like the 28 mpg of the Pentastar Gladiator.
I have installed many heavy steel goodies on my Glad & already see my MPGs drop to 25 on my county roads.

Those numbers seem very doubtful. How is that being calculated?

Below is the average MPG spread across all years of the Gladiator with the 3.6L Pentastar on Fuelly website with 430 Jeep Gladiators sampled. Your numbers if actually accurate would be off the chart.

 

[oldironsights]

Those numbers seem very doubtful. How is that being calculated?

I get those numbers from the vehicle computer.
I have not verified them with fuel nozzle & calculator yet on either Jeep.
Please realize that I almost always post higher numbers than most other folks believe.
Been doing this for many years.
I have proven this to witnesses of it. Two were service managers; not just service writers.
I perform these feats on I-59 between Slidell & Meridian.
I get higher numbers southbound on descending elevation & lower numbers northbound on ascending elevation.
I use only top tier, high octane fuel, even though the 3.6 is in a 87 octane tune.
Modern engines have detonation sensing abilities to advance & retard timing as needed.
Fuel injected engines vary the amount of fuel pressure & duration during operation.
When detonation is detected with 87 octane fuel, the ECM will retard timing & INCREASE the amount of fuel to cool the fuel/air charge that suppresses detonation.
Just like adding ethanol, your MPG's will head south on cheap 87 octane.
I use the good stuff to unlock those sensors to use full advance with the LEAST amount of fuel.

My old Ford coyote could only muster 25 on the good stuff; This Glad is showing me high 20's on the open road & the little Compass is showing over 40 mpg at times but averages 38 mpg.

Quite remarkable if one does what it takes to achieve them.

 

[Hootbro]

I get those numbers from the vehicle computer.
I have not verified them with fuel nozzle & calculator yet on either Jeep.
Please realize that I almost always post higher numbers than most other folks believe.
Been doing this for many years.
I have proven this to witnesses of it. Two were service managers; not just service writers.
I perform these feats on I-59 between Slidell & Meridian.
I get higher numbers southbound on descending elevation & lower numbers northbound on ascending elevation.
I use only top tier, high octane fuel, even though the 3.6 is in a 87 octane tune.
Modern engines have detonation sensing abilities to advance & retard timing as needed.
Fuel injected engines vary the amount of fuel pressure & duration during operation.
When detonation is detected with 87 octane fuel, the ECM will retard timing & INCREASE the amount of fuel to cool the fuel/air charge that suppresses detonation.
Just like adding ethanol, your MPG's will head south on cheap 87 octane.
I use the good stuff to unlock those sensors to use full advance with the LEAST amount of fuel.

My old Ford coyote could only muster 25 on the good stuff; This Glad is showing me high 20's on the open road & the little Compass is showing over 40 mpg at times but averages 38 mpg.

Quite remarkable if one does what it takes to achieve them.

Unless you are doing it the true manual way of recording miles and dividing it by actual gallons pumped until automatic shut off and not nursing an extra gallon after pump shutoff when you fill up, the lie-o-meter computer is giving a false set of data.

 

[Sandman 4x4]

I am the proud new owner of a 2020 Jeep Gladiator Sport; it has pretty basic trim (3 piece hard top, manual windows/locks), though it does have the towing package. This is my daily driver, but also for offroading and trails. I've yet to do anything to it except buy ATs.

My current (somewhat ordered) list is:
- Rock sliders or steps
- Lift (how high? pucks?)
- Rigid inner door pockets (though I'll keep the netting too)
- Sun net
- (eventually) Trail doors

What's missing? Any tips on where to start?

First thing to do is remove those hideous piece’s of plastic that connects the bumper and fenders!

 

[JT1]

Thanks for all the tidbits! A friend told me I should look into a quick disconnect pin for my sway bar (if I remember correctly), does that seem overkill? I was encountering some difficulty keeping all four on the ground last time I went to the local ORV park for some gullies.

I have heard that spacers are all I really need, and are much cheaper and easier. I think I'll go for those for now. The current ride could be smoother, but it's certainly bearable, considering the cost.

But for now, I'm just browsing my options and dropping dimes in the jar. I hope this can become a life-long hobby, so I'm always interested in learning more!

Quick disconnects and an air compressor.

The disco's keep your tires on the ground, and the compressor allows you to air down at will, and air up when you're done.

 

[ChrisNLA]

I usually just get in my new vehicles and drive them

Actually, when I bought my new Gladiator I grabbed some used Rubicon rock rails for it, and I paid $500 for a set of Rubicon take-off wheels and tires (that I am still running three years later).

I installed a winch but wanted to stay light weight / cheap / factory looking so I did a custom install inside the factory plastic bumper.

Teraflex 1.5" leveling out front. No change in ride quality, gave me all the lift I need.

Sway bar disconnect. Really smooth out the ride offroad - worth it even if you don't need the flex.

That's the basics to me unless you are doing serious wheeling. Those items will appease most fire road cruisers and light wheelers. Anything more is only justified if you just have money to start throwing away (and that's OK! It's just not ME anymore - went through that with my JK when I traveled all over the country for a few years).

My truck takes me camping a couple times a year in the national forest and then pulls my trailer to Home Depot or to my ole ladies property a few times a month. So, typical middle aged step dad dude daily driving truck stuff.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Thanks for all the tidbits! A friend told me I should look into a quick disconnect pin for my sway bar (if I remember correctly), does that seem overkill? I was encountering some difficulty keeping all four on the ground last time I went to the local ORV park for some gullies.

I have heard that spacers are all I really need, and are much cheaper and easier. I think I'll go for those for now. The current ride could be smoother, but it's certainly bearable, considering the cost.

But for now, I'm just browsing my options and dropping dimes in the jar. I hope this can become a life-long hobby, so I'm always interested in learning more!

Discos are so nice for offroad comfort. Even if you aren't flexing hard they really smooth out a rough trail or fire road.

Spacers are totally fine. Three years in on my Teraflex 1.5" front set and I still wouldn't do it any different. I specifically did it because I bought the Max Tow for its load handling capability and I didn't want to fool with the ride quality (or as little as possible - the factory shocks gave up already and I switched to Bilstein 5100's).

And as another guy said, a good compressor is nice to have. I had an ARB built into my previous Jeep but I use a portable Viair now so that I can use it with multiple vehicles. Works better for MY use case these days.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Unless you are doing it the true manual way of recording miles and dividing it by actual gallons pumped until automatic shut off and not nursing an extra gallon after pump shutoff when you fill up, the lie-o-meter computer is giving a false set of data.

Not really. It's been a near-perfect match with my 3. In fact, it's almost always within a couple tenths if not closer. But then, I go by 2 or 3 tanks and work out the averages.
If your tire size is right, like I did with the odometer and not speedometer, averaging 3 tanks, I find the JT does an excellent job. It measures flow pretty accurately.
With my Overlands on stock tires I could do 22 with no issue at all, 23 at times. I'd bet if I lived in IL or FL where the land was flat, I'd have done 23-24 without much trouble. And of course, how FAST you drive matters. I could easily exceed even those numbers at lower speeds, off the interstates.

Automatic shut-offs will also vary depending on the speed of the fill and the nozzle itself. So I don't even go by that. I go by the sound if the fuel in the fill tube. One may shut off way early while another shuts off where it's right up there and I don't bother trying to get another .1 gallons in.

In any case, my numbers from FillUp vs. the cluster mpg display have been so very close, I pretty much stopped using the app.

 

[AstroZombie]

Awesome Jeep!!

Drive it till it needs new tires and watch, observe and research add on's in the meantime. You can find lots of lttle things to add.

For me:
The huge antenna was very annoying so i got a stubby. I have had zero issues with reception but i mostly stream music form an app on my phone or downloaded music

saddle bag compartments that go over the trans tunnel help with with a little extra space

console armrest cover keeps the arm rest protects. My dog likes to stand on it and family spills their drinks.

I hate the mesh door pockets and seatback storage. They are just for looks and if you use them they end up permanently stretched. Look at options, there are plastic add ons

head liners seem to be very popular to help with inside temps;

the spray in bed liner was a must for me too. So glad i did it. I went with Rhino but there are so many out there.

Watch the marketplace here for take offs and freebies, same with apps like offerup too. You can probably find some nice rubicon flares or sliders. Give your sport some pop!!

 

[Hootbro]

Not really. It's been a near-perfect match with my 3. In fact, it's almost always within a couple tenths if not closer. But then, I go by 2 or 3 tanks and work out the averages.
If your tire size is right, like I did with the odometer and not speedometer, averaging 3 tanks, I find the JT does an excellent job. It measures flow pretty accurately.
With my Overlands on stock tires I could do 22 with no issue at all, 23 at times. I'd bet if I lived in IL or FL where the land was flat, I'd have done 23-24 without much trouble. And of course, how FAST you drive matters. I could easily exceed even those numbers at lower speeds, off the interstates.

Automatic shut-offs will also vary depending on the speed of the fill and the nozzle itself. So I don't even go by that. I go by the sound if the fuel in the fill tube. One may shut off way early while another shuts off where it's right up there and I don't bother trying to get another .1 gallons in.

In any case, my numbers from FillUp vs. the cluster mpg display have been so very close, I pretty much stopped using the app.

That is great for you.

Hand calculation is still better and it is highly suspect if he is not doing that and relying 100% on what the cluster is telling him.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That is great for you.

Hand calculation is still better and it is highly suspect if he is not doing that and relying 100% on what the cluster is telling him.

When you have 2 years of the app data and cluster data matching - I guess I see no problem.
If there's no difference, how is one better? They matched, proving the cluster display was very accurate. (also very accurate on our JLU as I tracked things going to FL and back. The display was pretty much spot-on, it matched the app.
If he has not verified his to be accurate, or has done tire swaps and not dialed things in, that's different. But these are actually very accurate. (IF you don't mess up the tire sizes)

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Go drive it.

The most basic Sport model will do 95% or more of obstacles anyone is willing to take their daily driver through straight off the showroom floor.

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