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KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build

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kayakmike

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Installation of Roof Rack and Roof Pulley System

After over a week of Santa Ana winds, fire danger, and power outages, I decided to take the top off again since the forecast is in the 80s for the next 10+ days. Last time I had the top off I set it on the floor of my shop, but I don't want to leave it there each time I take it off. The shop has 17' ceilings, so pretty impractical to hang it from that ceiling. Our garage has a 10' ceiling and had several unused Harbor Freight pulleys from old kayaks, so I decided to try and hang it in there.

In general, the HF pulleys are what you'd expect from HF...junk. The rope pops off the pulleys, and the locking cleat can get jammed. I found it easier to keep a ladder nearby when raising and lowering kayaks. But, hey, they were already in the garage and weren't being used, so we had a winner!

I had bought some used Yakima 1A Raingutter towers to use with some old 58" cross bars I had for a roof rack. I decided to use the roof rack to hang the roof. Since the cross bars were old, the rubber coating was mashed which made installing the cross bars a challenge. After a bit of trimming and pounding, I got the bars in the towers and was able to install the rack. I have about 1.5" of cross bar extending from each tower. I mounted each tower 5" from end of the rain gutter (it seemed there was as many recommended installation locations as there were posts I found). I've seen some folks install the front cross bar on the freedom panels to get more cross bar spread, but I just can't see the panels supporting much weight. By putting both cross bars on the roof, it does provide the perfect point to hang the roof from though.
IMG_4184.jpeg


Just to get the roof stored in the garage, I decided to use the pulleys as installed (they were for a kayak on each pulley and not set up with the roof in mind). Two of the pulley systems I had on the ceiling were about the same spacing between the two pulleys, so decided to use those. This created several challenges when removing the roof:
  • One pulley system was well to the side of the garage opening, and the other one was 72" from the first one. This means the roof will hang about 2' to the side of where I can park the JT.
  • The roof is only about 64" wide. Since the spacing between pulleys is 72", the pulleys will be pulling sideways on the roof rack.
  • The pulleys were quite a bit further aft than the furthest back I can fit the JT into the garage (in hindsight, I could have went nose in and may have gotten a bit closer).
  • The spacing between the two pulleys were set up for 12'+ kayaks, not a ~5' long roof.
  • I had previously removed the cheesy hooks the pulley system came with with eye bolts to hang kayaks with straps around the kayaks
IMG_4182.jpg


The combination of these issues meant the roof was going to get pulled aft and left as we lifted. I used two straps wrapped around the roof rack to help with the side pull due to the pulley spacing and to keep the strap from scratching the roof.
IMG_4187.jpeg
IMG_4189.jpeg


I had my son work one pulley rope while I worked the other. These show the roof hanging in its final resting place (for now).
IMG_4191.jpeg
IMG_4190.jpeg
DSE_3428.JPG
IMG_4193.jpeg


Next time I put the roof back on, I'll probably move the pulleys closer to the center of the garage as well as closer to each other so they are closer to the cross bar location.
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LJ_Viking

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Thanks for pointing out this build thread to me @kayakmike.

Plane tickets are dirt cheap right now. IF, and that is a big if, I can get a day or two off - I think it would be a blast to fly up there and drive my new JT back home. Thanks for the DMV post too. CA is fun right?
 
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kayakmike

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Yakima Overhaul HD Rack Install

Guess I sort of went MIA on the forum for the last several months. Been out enjoying my Gladiator (& life), so haven't posted any updates for a while. Seeing that a couple of old threads have been resurrected, guess it's time for some updates.

For Christmas I bought myself the Yakima Overhaul HD Rack for the longer kayaks. I took photos of the install at the time, but never posted. Since I put the rack back on the JT this weekend, figured I should dust off those install photos.

I went with the Yakima racks since I have tons of Yakima mounts, and I like how it doesn't extend into the bed like some of the other systems.

To install the Overhaul HD rack, I also bought the Track Kit for Toyota/Nissan. I had to modify the brackets to work with the trail rail and @BuiltRight bedside racks I have installed. Basically I had to cut the bottom ~1" of the brackets so they didn't stick too far below the tracks.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4333.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4334.JPG


The plates that came with the track kit were too tall for the trail rails, so I reused the zinc plates and bolts that came with the Mopar bed height rails I have. It is tricky to install them when I have the @BuiltRight racks since you can't slide the plates in from the end, but completely doable. Just need to stick a finger or allen wrench behind the plate to keep it flush to the inside of the rail while starting the bolt. I do use the track kit plates as a spacer to help it line up everything (was twisting the rack base a bit without the spacer). When I'm using the Yakima rack, I remove the rear brackets for the factory tonneau cover to maximize bar spread (as well as the tonneau cover itself). Bolt buildup visible in the photos.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4336.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4338.JPG


Final base installation after trimming the brackets and tightening down all toe bolts. Trail rail system is busy with Yakima rack, @BuiltRight bedside racks, and tie downs, but it's meant to be used!
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4340.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4341.JPG


Here's what the final install of the rack looks like.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4344.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4345.JPG




Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4343.JPG
 
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kayakmike

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Utility

Did get to test the utility of the Gladiator through several projects this spring.

For my side gig, I had to ship a bunch of test equipment to Edmonton and back. My shipping crate fits perfect in the back of the JT, and even with 850 lb shipping weight, just a little squat.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4451.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4452.JPG


We had a tree fall down during a storm. JT was great to get to the tree and tow my dump trailer so I could cut it up and haul it away.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4528.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4530.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4531.JPG


Also worked on finishing fencing on our property. Did great hauling fence posts & fencing to areas of our property that's hard to get to.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build mIMG_4564

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4566.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build mIMG_4573


And of course, always fun to play in the mud!
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build mIMG_4499

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build mIMG_4500
 
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kayakmike

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EAG Tube Doors

Looked at the many options for tube doors. Really wanted the SmittyBilt doors. Ordered them in September, but they went from 5 days shipping to 40+ days, so cancelled the order. Tried again in March, and again looked like these doors are still vaporware.

Gave up on those I bought the EAG tube doors. These are about as cheap as you can get, but still satisfied with them. Took some tweaking to get them to fit & close without rattling, but finally got them dialed in. Didn't take any photos of the install, but snapped these while trying them out after I installed. I don't plan to use these a lot, but my wife wasn't a fan of no doors so this is a compromise.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build mIMG_4611
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build mIMG_4610
 

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Oregon Road Trip

Breaking out of our house after COVID insanity, we decided to go to our Oregon coast house Memorial Day week (we use it as a short term rental, but since STRs were banned until June 1, figured we'd use it before the summer rental season started). Worked well with our stuff in the bed under the rollup tonneau cover, bikes on the back, and Zeus getting the back seat all to himself! Got caught in a heavy thunderstorm for several hours on the drive home, but roll-up tonneau cover kept everything dry.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build mIMG_4680

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build mIMG_4681
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4683.JPG


Didn't do much off roading, but since our house is on the beach on sand dunes, did try it in the front yard (can't legally drive on the ocean side of the house).
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4714.JPG


Did do some mountain biking at a few places on the Oregon coast. These are from the bottom of the ride up to Marys Peak (tallest peak on the Oregon coast range), with a photo of the Cascade range from the top of the ride.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4761.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4762.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4759s2
 
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Sea Kayaks

Did some sea kayaking last weekend, so put the Yakima racks back on the Gladiator. Was taking my 14' plastic boat out, but wanted to see what the 18'6" glass boat looked like on the Gladiator. With the longer sea kayaks, really prefer installing at least one of the Yakima RainGutter racks on the roof to spread the bar spacing with long boats.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4840.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4841m

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4842.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4843.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4844m


Ultimately was just planning to paddle the 14' plastic sea kayak. Also had to haul a bike I was selling, so had both the sea kayak and bike rack on.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4849.JPG


I only have one set of cradles for sea kayaks, so only haul one on the roof and use the trailer when I haul more. This was from a New Years Day paddle at the La Jolla boat launch.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build mIMG_4375
 
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Bed Extender & MegaWarrior Rack

A few months ago, I bought the AMP bed extender from Amazon. Really find this useful, but haven't really taken any photos of it until I took these. Good to keep stuff from sliding around in the bed, works with the factory rollup tonneau cover, and works well to extend the bed when needed. The bed extender works with Yakima Overhaul HD rack, @BuiltRight side panels, and trail rail system.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4860.JPG


Wanted to see what my Yakima MegaWarrior basket (with extension) looked like on the the Gladiator. I normally have this basket on my kayak trailer. Think the basket extension makes the basket look a little too long. Not sure if I'll use this configuration much, but at least wanted to see what it looks like. I dropped the Overhaul racks to the lowest height, which makes the basket just over roof level.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4851m

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4852.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4855.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4857.JPG


With the tailgate up/bed extender in, it does overhang the back of the JT about a foot. I could remove the MegaWarrior extension to shorten it...
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4861.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_4863.JPG
 
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kayakmike

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Recent kayaking trips

Gladiator makes a great shuttle vehicle!

Running shuttle on the Kern River end of June. Raft, my kayak and mountain bike.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 4D34D17B-9806-4984-9438-FF3D3E8916BF
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 98BF6D69-2725-4734-BE70-DCE0A0EA370F
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 137EEA0F-6DFB-4BF4-99EE-5CC6BF2788FA


Went up to the Tuolumne River last weekend, and picked up a soft top on the way. 6 kayaks? No problem. Could have stacked higher on the rack if we needed to.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 5F5E2A2B-C6D7-4281-BB6E-8623000F897C
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build D71847F7-AFDF-4593-A414-E77FD52CBF90
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 3D47BC87-8487-4817-B833-B185D1A74045
 

msfitone

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Recent kayaking trips

Gladiator makes a great shuttle vehicle!

Running shuttle on the Kern River end of June. Raft, my kayak and mountain bike.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 3D47BC87-8487-4817-B833-B185D1A74045
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 3D47BC87-8487-4817-B833-B185D1A74045
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 3D47BC87-8487-4817-B833-B185D1A74045


Went up to the Tuolumne River last weekend, and picked up a soft top on the way. 6 kayaks? No problem. Could have stacked higher on the rack if we needed to.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 3D47BC87-8487-4817-B833-B185D1A74045
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 3D47BC87-8487-4817-B833-B185D1A74045
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build 3D47BC87-8487-4817-B833-B185D1A74045
Question as an advid kayaker myself, wwith your yakima rack how does it work with tonneau cover. I pick up my Gladiator tomorrow and still considering all rack options for kayaking, fishing , camping and biking . I liek your set up.
Thank you for osting pictures!
 

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Question as an advid kayaker myself, wwith your yakima rack how does it work with tonneau cover. I pick up my Gladiator tomorrow and still considering all rack options for kayaking, fishing , camping and biking . I liek your set up.
Thank you for osting pictures!
How does the tonneau cover work with the Yakima rack? It doesn't. It's an either-or proposition.

A couple of folks have IMed me about the Yakima bracket mods I made. I finally took some photos of the final install. Since I sold the Mopar cross bars, I had to modify my mounting arrangement so it only used the parts that come with the Yakima Tacoma/Frontier adapter kit.

I tweaked the Yakima adapter pieces so that I can leave the brackets on the trail rail system all the time. I took the longer Tacoma bar and cut ~1.5" long pieces from the ends of the bars. It's tight, but if you debur the end after cutting they will slide into the trail rail opening at the front of the trail rails (Hole is offset since I cut the end of the bars, and that length is what is needed to fit in the slot).

I took the wider Nissan plate and enlarged the holes so the bolt would slide through the plate. I'm only using these as spacers (seemed to fit better with a spacer between the trail rail and the Yakima bracket). So my stack-up is:
  • Yakima bolt
  • Lock washer
  • Flat washer
  • Unpainted serrated plate
  • Yakima bracket (cut shorter, bolt through lowest hole)
  • Spacer plate (Nissan with clearance hole)
  • Trail Rail
  • Threaded plate (from Toyota bracket, cut to ~1.5" long)
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5411
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5413.JPG


I leave these plates/brackets installed in the trail rail along with the @BuiltRight molle side panels (currently have the shorter ones over the rear wheels removed) with Rotopax installed. With all of this stuff installed in the trail rail, there is not really any adjustability of the many things on the trail rails. But you can see with those Yakima brackets installed the tonneau cover still works since they are below the top of the bed lip.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5513.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5514.JPG


I do make one change to switch between Yakima Overhaul and using the factory rollup tonneau cover. To get the maximum bar spread, I remove the rear bracket for the tonneau cover when using the Overhaul. When I have the tonneau cover bracket installed, I slightly loosen the aft-most Yakima bracket and rotate it ~90 degrees so that it's still installed but out of the way of the tonneau cover bracket. When I put the rack on, just remove the tonneau cover bracket and rotate the Yamina bracket 90 degrees, then install the Yakima base plate then rack. Takes maybe 10-15 minutes to swap between the two setups.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5515.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5516.JPG
 

msfitone

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How does the tonneau cover work with the Yakima rack? It doesn't. It's an either-or proposition.

A couple of folks have IMed me about the Yakima bracket mods I made. I finally took some photos of the final install. Since I sold the Mopar cross bars, I had to modify my mounting arrangement so it only used the parts that come with the Yakima Tacoma/Frontier adapter kit.

I tweaked the Yakima adapter pieces so that I can leave the brackets on the trail rail system all the time. I took the longer Tacoma bar and cut ~1.5" long pieces from the ends of the bars. It's tight, but if you debur the end after cutting they will slide into the trail rail opening at the front of the trail rails (Hole is offset since I cut the end of the bars, and that length is what is needed to fit in the slot).

I took the wider Nissan plate and enlarged the holes so the bolt would slide through the plate. I'm only using these as spacers (seemed to fit better with a spacer between the trail rail and the Yakima bracket). So my stack-up is:
  • Yakima bolt
  • Lock washer
  • Flat washer
  • Unpainted serrated plate
  • Yakima bracket (cut shorter, bolt through lowest hole)
  • Spacer plate (Nissan with clearance hole)
  • Trail Rail
  • Threaded plate (from Toyota bracket, cut to ~1.5" long)
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5516.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5516.JPG


I leave these plates/brackets installed in the trail rail along with the @BuiltRight molle side panels (currently have the shorter ones over the rear wheels removed) with Rotopax installed. With all of this stuff installed in the trail rail, there is not really any adjustability of the many things on the trail rails. But you can see with those Yakima brackets installed the tonneau cover still works since they are below the top of the bed lip.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5516.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5516.JPG


I do make one change to switch between Yakima Overhaul and using the factory rollup tonneau cover. To get the maximum bar spread, I remove the rear bracket for the tonneau cover when using the Overhaul. When I have the tonneau cover bracket installed, I slightly loosen the aft-most Yakima bracket and rotate it ~90 degrees so that it's still installed but out of the way of the tonneau cover bracket. When I put the rack on, just remove the tonneau cover bracket and rotate the Yamina bracket 90 degrees, then install the Yakima base plate then rack. Takes maybe 10-15 minutes to swap between the two setups.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5516.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5516.JPG
Awesome that absolutely helps. Happy padding winter here. !!😎
 

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This is a good thread... no idea how I missed it for so long.

Ordered the 4 door hanger, that thing is just awesome for the price.
 
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Front Receiver Mount, Revisited

I wanted to revisit putting a front receiver on my JT. For me, I've used my winch many times but view a front receiver as a nice to have, so it's more important to me to have a well mounted winch than the front receiver with a receiver mounted winch. Plus the winch has been installed and working well for over a year now.

I had purchased the Draw Tite front receiver, as well as winch & winch plate, before my JT arrived (in the 6 months I was waiting for my LE to be delivered). When I was installing the winch last year, tried to install the Draw Tite receiver, but the winch plate and receiver uses some of the same mounting points, so never moved forward with the front receiver. I documented some of the interference during my install in this post. I didn't get far enough to worry about the steel skid plate cutout that others have discussed being a challenge in this thread.

A few times recently I've needed a little more storage on the JT but not enough to warrant dragging a trailer along. So last night I revisited a front hitch. I still had the Draw Tite in the box. I looked again, and without major mods to the hitch (and skid plate), interference with skid plate mounting piece on the frame, etc. it wasn't going to work. So I am selling an unused Draw Tite front receiver if anyone is looking...

I found another option that would not require cutting the skid plate. I bought a RV bumper mount receiver on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07211RDMQ). This has a plate that is 6" long, with 1/2"-13 U bolts and meant to bolt on a bumper of an RV. I wanted to look at mounting this to the winch plate inside the bumper/skid plate. If the winch plate can handle 12k lb of winch pulling, it can handle a few hundred lb hanging from a receiver.

I dropped the steel skid plate to get access to the winch plate to look at options. There is about 1.25" vertical distance between the bottom of the winch plate and the outer edge of the bumper (where the skid plate bolts to). The winch plate ends about 4" forward of the front skid plate bolts, and several inches behind the bolt line. I could bolt the RV receiver to the winch plate with standoffs and the existing RV receiver hole spacing, but would be difficult to put the bumper and skid plate back on and require significant cutting of both.

The better solution I came up with was to mount this bracket FORWARD of the bumper/skid plate seam. I could mount 4x 1.25" standoffs (https://www.amazon.com/U-Turn-Coupling-Stainless-Steel-Length/dp/B07X2BF818) to the winch plate. These would sit close to the lower bumper surface, and would only require drilling 4 1/2" standoff clearance holes in the bumper. The RV receiver would extend slightly forward of the skid plate, so I'd have to drill 2 more 1/2" clearance holes in the receiver. Good thing with this approach is I could drop the RV receiver by removing 4 bolts without needing to drop skid plate/bumper in the future (for extra off road clearance...I have scraped the rear receiver while off roading!).

To see what it would look like, I temporarily clamped the RV receiver piece to the steel bumper with the skid plate removed in these 2 photos. Tape in the photo from underneath show the front edge of the winch plate, and piece of tape on the winch plate shows ~6" back on winch plate (which would require the large cuts of skid plate and bumper and have this bolted on before re-attaching bumper and skid plate). Note the bumper slopes up a bit, so the receiver isn't parallel with the ground as I have it clamped...with permanent standoffs attached to the skid plate the RV receiver would be level.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5552.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5553.JPG


To see what it would look like with stuff on the front, so I mounted my hitch basket and Kuat bike rack (only things I'd plan on using). I took a couple of photos. I personally didn't like the look of either the basket or bike rack hanging from the front of the JT, so I'm going to opt out of putting on a front receiver and return this bolt on RV receiver. Really not a fan of something sticking 3' in front of the JT. Also, didn't like the sight line with my bike in front...think with an RV with bikes on the front the driver is sitting much higher. I'm glad I checked this before I started drilling and cutting for a front receiver.
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5540.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5541.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5543.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5545.JPG

Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5547.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5549.JPG
Jeep Gladiator KayakMike's Granite Crystal Metallic LE Build IMG_5551.JPG


The steel bumper is pretty stiff, and with the steel skid plate it would be even more rigid in the middle. I guess you "could" just bolt this directly to the steel bumper/skid plate. I personally would want it attached to something a bit more solid like the winch plate. These photos are with the receiver held by 2 small C-clamps. Even with the weight of the bike rack & bike, the bumper barely flexed even when I (gently) pulled on it and shook it. I'm guessing under dynamic load with a few hundred pounds hanging out there it may flex a bit more, so I would opt for a more rigid mount to the winch plate if I was going to permanently install it..
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