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

[Alabama Mud Machine]

I have ran into the same issue in the last week or so.. I think Mark Zuckaterd has taken over the forum

I've been banned from 3 forums in the last year... 2 of which I was member of for over a decade. It ain't just here. This war of the technocracy vs. We The People is everywhere.

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[Texops]

I made her look more presentable. For now... A 4 lb sledge, a block of wood, and some rivets. The tailgate wouldn’t open, but now it opens fine and the body lines are perfect. I’m super lucky that there was no visible paint damage or any body damage (after some backwoods body work my dad taught me years ago). It is kind of nerve racking to be beating on a 2020 $55k vehicle with a sledge hammer and a block of wood.
Before/After

Tailgate before. I didn’t notice that till later when I tried to open it. That scared me, but I got lucky that my backwoods, basically free fix worked like a charm. I mean, it might have opened, but there was resistance and I didn’t want to try it and damage the paint and/or bend anything.

Had an incident with a rock. I didn’t do it, but whatever, we had fun. First truck I’ve ever owned without a steel rear bumper. I should be steel, so ordering a Rubicon steel rear bumper unless I come across a Rubicon take off locally. Front bumper take offs are way easier to find.

motobuilt makes a great steel rear bumper you might check it out

 

[NC_Overland]

motobuilt makes a great steel rear bumper you might check it out

That’s a really nice bumper, but at $1300, it’s considerably more expensive than the Rubicon rear bumper at ~$500. It’s way out of the budget.

 

[DrJ]

Installed the Rugged Ridge Arcus front bumper and a Badlands 12000 lb. winch. Oh and had the windows tinted.

Nice! I have the exact same bumper/winch setup purchased, but unfortunately both are on backorder (got amazing deals though).

 

[sass JT]

All I did was like a post?!?!?

 

[HWKIGRL]

Yup.

No idea but it's pretty simple. Just take your intake out and adjust the screw. Makes a huge difference. I installed a synergy track bar brace since and my steering is almost "normal".

Thanks for answering. I’m nervous, but at this point it’s necessary my steering is downright dangerous. I dread driving my JT for anything other than a distance I could walk at this point.

 

[TJDave]

Tyger tri-fold soft tonneau. Not bad for a cheap cover. $197 Amazon. Came with brackets that fit in the bed rail system, and a cheap storage bag.

 

[Texops]

That’s a really nice bumper, but at $1300, it’s considerably more expensive than the Rubicon rear bumper at ~$500. It’s way out of the budget.

Wow i didn’t look at the price but i did see it had built in Rubicon like lower bed protection

 

[Silvertruck]

I took it fishin’

 

[khokhonutt]

That’s a really nice bumper, but at $1300, it’s considerably more expensive than the Rubicon rear bumper at ~$500. It’s way out of the budget.

I'd seriously consider the Rusty's Off-Road bumper. At $899 it's higher than the Rubicon bumper, but if you're looking to protect the entire rear end, it's a high quality piece that IMHO is worth what would end up being a relatively minimal difference between the full protection from a Rubicon, when all is said and done. I also think it's the cleanest, best looking rear bumper on the market at this time, but I'll admit, I'm partial.

While the Rubicon bumper is steel, there's no way it's a strong as the Rusty's bumper. That said, the key protection component you're still missing with the Rubicon bumper is the protection for the rear of the bed behind the tires. Unless people have started selling the rear protection, taken off a Rubicon (which they weren't when I was shopping options) or prices have seriously dropped from when I was looking, the Rusty's bumper looks like a much better deal if you look at the full package.

When I was looking for that behind the tire protection, the Mopar parts were near $300 for the frame mounts and the small rear rock rails. The Rusty's bumper comes with extensions that protect the rear of the bed and they sell frame mounts for those sections that are cheaper (and I'd guess still more beefy) than the Mopar parts.

Just food for thought.

 

[Racer_X]

I don't know if this qualifies as "TO your Gladiator" but "WITH" didn't seem right either. Built a storage shelf for the top today. Takes two people, it's not an easy one person pull on the pulley and it's off but, for about $30 in material and my wife helping anytime I want to take the top off, I'm happy with it.

This is a great idea. I'm planning on putting in a top hoist, but I can put a lip on the shelf and slot the top into it with a little slack from the hoist to get it out of the way.

 

[TRI-JAB]

I have ran into the same issue in the last week or so.. I think Mark Zuckaterd has taken over the forum

@jbn40301 @Troybilt - Wonder if they will at least hand out participation trophies? Seems like the type of bunch that would do that.....

 

[Digger70]

I got my new Kenda Klever 35x10.5x17 tires mounted today. Purchased from Carid last week for $186 ea.

 

[Emil3000]

Thanks for answering. I’m nervous, but at this point it’s necessary my steering is downright dangerous. I dread driving my JT for anything other than a distance I could walk at this point.

Do it! You're going to love it!

 

[FishChowder]

Thanks for answering. I’m nervous, but at this point it’s necessary my steering is downright dangerous. I dread driving my JT for anything other than a distance I could walk at this point.

If it is that bad, I would say a visit to the dealer so they can attempt to fix it and at least have it on file that it is an issue.

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