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

[TrailHiker]

Very nice set up. Did you make the panel, or find one the right size?
Cheers

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[Sespe]

Very nice set up. Did you make the panel, or find one the right size?
Cheers

I installed this one from Amazon:

I installed the same one last year in my camper and was happy with it. As for the size, it turns out it is actually larger than the opening. I didn't take pictures, but the plastic insert is smaller than the backside of the panel. I had to use a dremel cutting tool to widen out the hole. There are extra holes already in the bed wall that lets you eyeball the correct line. It's all hidden by the fascia.

Running through aux switches or live all the time? That's a good looking setup.

I don't have the aux switches. I ran it live all the time. I used 10-gauge wire straight to the battery. I keep forgetting how long this truck is, it took every inch of 16-feet of 10-gauge to make it.

I copied this idea from somewhere on the forum. In that thread, someone asked how protected the backside of this is. It is not protected at all. The backside is completely open to the elements from below. I silicone-sealed the back everywhere I could. I plan on fabricating a plastic guard to go around the bottom, maybe attach with 3M tape.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I installed this one from Amazon:

I installed the same one last year in my camper and was happy with it. As for the size, it turns out it is actually larger than the opening. I didn't take pictures, but the plastic insert is smaller than the backside of the panel. I had to use a dremel cutting tool to widen out the hole. There are extra holes already in the bed wall that lets you eyeball the correct line. It's all hidden by the fascia.



I don't have the aux switches. I ran it live all the time. I used 10-gauge wire straight to the battery. I keep forgetting how long this truck is, it took every inch of 16-feet of 10-gauge to make it.

I copied this idea from somewhere on the forum. In that thread, someone asked how protected the backside of this is. It is not protected at all. The backside is completely open to the elements from below. I silicone-sealed the back everywhere I could. I plan on fabricating a plastic guard to go around the bottom, maybe attach with 3M tape.

Looks nice. Just a tip, not wanting to take anything away from the work you put into this because it looks nice and you obviously thought things through using that heavy wire - and maybe you did this already, but thinking about the exposure of the back of the panel and the 10 gauge wire (pretty hefty wire that will carry a lot of current), I might suggest if you have not already to run that through a breaker, fusible link or fuse near the battery.
AT least around here critters chew on wires, then the bare wires bounce around while on the road, make contact with the metal parts and blow things. (I was lucky - wires protected by fuse. They ate the insulation off the wires of my car hauler, and chewed some in two.)
I've had wires chewed by chipmunks, squirrels, and mice. Those dam things can climb, too - apparently they use tires as ladders, blasted little beasts. A squirrel even chewed through my Christmas lights a couple of years back - too bad there wasn't enough current to fry him.

16' - guess I hadn't thought of it being that long but then it's too long to fit into my garage with my other car and lawn tractor while my other Jeep fits nicely so I guess they are that long.

 

[Empty Pockets]

This is so stinking fast and easy. I was tired of my phone charger cord snaking out of the top of the console. It just looked sloppy as heck. So I took a 3/8” drill bit, ran it through the rubber just behind the brake handle and into the console. Now my cord slips out of the area shown, stows by sliding it back in and I never have to ask the passenger to move their elbow to access it. As an added benefit, the young grandkids have no idea that there is a charger port inside the console. All for free and 30 seconds time. Winner winner chicken dinner.

 

[Sespe]

Looks nice. Just a tip, not wanting to take anything away from the work you put into this because it looks nice and you obviously thought things through using that heavy wire - and maybe you did this already, but thinking about the exposure of the back of the panel and the 10 gauge wire (pretty hefty wire that will carry a lot of current), I might suggest if you have not already to run that through a breaker, fusible link or fuse near the battery.
AT least around here critters chew on wires, then the bare wires bounce around while on the road, make contact with the metal parts and blow things. (I was lucky - wires protected by fuse. They ate the insulation off the wires of my car hauler, and chewed some in two.)
I've had wires chewed by chipmunks, squirrels, and mice. Those dam things can climb, too - apparently they use tires as ladders, blasted little beasts. A squirrel even chewed through my Christmas lights a couple of years back - too bad there wasn't enough current to fry him.

16' - guess I hadn't thought of it being that long but then it's too long to fit into my garage with my other car and lawn tractor while my other Jeep fits nicely so I guess they are that long.

Yes, you are preaching to the choir about rodents here. It is fused right at the battery. My work location is in the wildland-urban interface, lots of critters. Somehow our station got dropped in the exterminator plan, so we went 6 months without any bait, traps, etc. Multiple vehicles got hit by hungry mice and rats looking for nests. We are all in the practice of leaving our hoods up overnight now.

My bigger worry is vibration, I used several zip-ties, but realized I need about 10 more to really keep the wires from moving. Tomorrow's job...

 

[Strider62]

Finally slapped some KO2 315/70s on.

Curious about your Yakima rack - can you adjust it down far enough that the crossbars are below the cab height, or does the fuel fill bump get in the way?

 

[919Jeep]

Added some blue to give the Punk’n Gladiator a bit of a beachcrawler vibe.

Also, hit the 1941 mark today

 

[TTEChris]

Got her a little muddy.

 

[scotticus]

Got her a little muddy.

I don't know if i'm more impressed with the quantity or that the sides are still super clean!

 

[TTEChris]

I don't know if i'm more impressed with the quantity or that the sides are still super clean!

Unfortunately It didn't look like that for very long. I took that picture right when I realized we were in it. When I pulled back out onto paved roads I was slinging mud everywhere

 

[jwilson2899]

$1000 is a steal. Lucky guy!

Yeah I saw it on FB marketplace and ran straight there before they could change their mind, lol. Turns out it's a local dealership that sells lifted/customized trucks, and when they ordered this Gladiator is was during the forced Dual Top order stage, so they just wanted to break even on it, which I was happy to oblige.

 

[steffen707]

It's about 50%, its more then enough to still be used with the tailgate down.

that's exactly what i wanted to see. Much thanks!

 

[steffen707]

I have this step on my Gladiator and it’s very easy to step down on to. I trust it that stepping down onto it is your main concern. And you do need to take a good look at exactly where it is so you do step right on to it. A long time ago I heard that Bestop was going to also make a bed step and I think that theirs may be a tad wider. But I didn’t want to hold my breath waiting for them to come out with one. Very pleased with mine.

@BestopTeam , anything to add about this bedside step?

 

[steffen707]

Had my JT ceramic coated, picked it up today. Very shiny. Before that I put better Gladiator decals on it.

really like that decal location! nice. Where did you get the decal?

Hey I can relate, am in my 60’s now and no more balet snow skiing or back scratcher ski jumps for me any more. And to the concerns of @steffen707 your perceptions are spot on. I just took a tape measure to my bed step. It’s right at 12” wide at it’s widest point. And 8” of it is right under the tailgate and just 4” is to the right of the tailgate. So I highly recommend taking a good look at where it is before you step down on to it or before you bust your rear end missing it. It’s really easy to step on to.

Thank you Jake! State Farm will thank you for helping me stay safe. I might have to get one of these. Stepping up to the bumper is just too high, even for my 37 year old knees.

Splash guards installed - you can see in one or two where things actually do get between fender and running board. I was told with the Overland and running boards you couldn't install these - but hey, they are perfect! The package says they are for Wrangler, the rears are Gladiator specific.
For the fronts you can crank the wheels to get a drill in to drill into the plastic shield for the final POM rivet. The rears you must remove the wheels to get a drill in (for that matter to put in the new POM rivets - the tool won't clear otherwise)

Can you take a few photos from like 6, 10, 15 feet away from the truck? I'm thinking of doing this myself, at least until the Roam rock rails for JT show up. First snow of the year, i had snow caked all over the door handles.......rts counter and take nothing at all to install.
Funny, the parts guy said "you want them installed, right? I said no, I just want to buy them. He gave me a look like - are you sure you don't want us to install them?

 

[steffen707]

Yes, you are preaching to the choir about rodents here. It is fused right at the battery. My work location is in the wildland-urban interface, lots of critters. Somehow our station got dropped in the exterminator plan, so we went 6 months without any bait, traps, etc. Multiple vehicles got hit by hungry mice and rats looking for nests. We are all in the practice of leaving our hoods up overnight now.

My bigger worry is vibration, I used several zip-ties, but realized I need about 10 more to really keep the wires from moving. Tomorrow's job...

is there any kind of conduit people use to protect the wires from vibration and rodents? I'm thinking something stronger than wire loom, like this stuff?

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