75th Anniversary Edition Tribute

[Kiwi Jason]

Attached are a few photos of my set-up, coming at you from New Zealand. I've been interested in the Decked single-draw system for a while, given that I have a low mounted roof-top tent. The low mounting is because I can just get in my parking garage at work with about 1/2" to spare. Which is also the reason for nothing mounted above the main cabin. My worry with the Decked system is that I would give up quite a bit of usable volume. But the functionality of being able to pull out the drawer is very appealing.. I've seen some other posts where people have removed their Decked drawers after a while for exactly this reason - too much lost space.

So after you've done some overlanding and packed it full of your camping gear, fishing gear, recovery gear etc, I'd be very keen to hear on whether you are a strong enthusiast of the Decked system, moderately happy, or begrudging the lost volume. I know that by the time I have all my stuff packed, including a fish smoker, decently large cooler, dry food, camp cooker etc etc then I am using all the available space.

Cheers. Oh, and the proposed art work looks great. Not my thing, but awesome for viewing around town.

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[75AnniverssaryGladiator]

Attached are a few photos of my set-up, coming at you from New Zealand. I've been interested in the Decked single-draw system for a while, given that I have a low mounted roof-top tent. The low mounting is because I can just get in my parking garage at work with about 1/2" to spare. Which is also the reason for nothing mounted above the main cabin. My worry with the Decked system is that I would give up quite a bit of usable volume. But the functionality of being able to pull out the drawer is very appealing.. I've seen some other posts where people have removed their Decked drawers after a while for exactly this reason - too much lost space.

So after you've done some overlanding and packed it full of your camping gear, fishing gear, recovery gear etc, I'd be very keen to hear on whether you are a strong enthusiast of the Decked system, moderately happy, or begrudging the lost volume. I know that by the time I have all my stuff packed, including a fish smoker, decently large cooler, dry food, camp cooker etc etc then I am using all the available space.

Cheers. Oh, and the proposed art work looks great. Not my thing, but awesome for viewing around town.

Hey there my Kiwi friend! I have a friend of mine who lives just outside of Tauranga. Awesome setup! How’s that snorkel working out for you? I’m interested in putting one on myself. At the moment my rig is a bit of a mall crawler, but that won’t be its life forever. I have delusions of grandeur such as a hellcat conversion, a third axle, flatbed/tray system and 74 Weld portal axles to achieve a few inches of TRUE lift between the axle housing and the ground. Plus several other off-road specific upgrades and equipment that will truly make it an unstoppable off-road machine. My plan is to one day travel from the northern most tip of Alaska all the way down to Argentina on as much dirt as possible.

as for the decked system I am already facing buyer’s remorse. I’ve noticed a great deal less usable space. In addition, the boxes that come with the system leave something left to be desired. They’re pretty flimsy. I’ve been looking into options such as pelican cases or Milwaukee Packout’s to see if they’re viable replacements. In the case of the Packouts if using their mounting system I feel I would loose out on even MORE space. I’m also not a huge fan of the single large drawer they went to over the two separate drawers.

I think the Decked system would be a great option if you had a cap overtop similar to yours that you can stash more gear within. The decked would be a great place for kitchen items and other gear you want to keep more out of the elements.

before I go the route of a tray system I plan on using a RSI smart cap with an Alucab rooftop tent.

 

[Kiwi Jason]

Thanks for the super-quick reply Dante. Your "buyer's remore" is what I needed to hear, to yet again confirm that I will stay away from the Decked system, simply because I need all the possible space that I can access.

I looked long and hard at the RSI Smart Cap system, and I also spoke to some people that strongly recommended it. But I have attached a shot of my rig going into my work parking garage the day after I installed the tent, to show my height concerns. I'll be buying a small car for work before long, but at the moment my Gladiator is my only ride, on and off the road. So a tent on top of the Smart Cap was not an option for me. And I have been told that you have notably increased resistance plus more noise once you go above the cab,

Alaska to Argentina sounds great. I went to High School about 15 miles out of Tauranga, but now live in Auckland. My truck has not quite got to both the north and south tips of my country, but almost. If you know anything about NZ then I have attached a couple of pictures from Canterbury and Otago.

As for the snorkel. I mostly got it installed for South Island river crossings, but so far the deepest I've been are puddles/ponds closer to home that are too muddy to see the bottom. I've had water over the hood a few times, but only briefly rather than somehow 'parking up'. No one told me that I'd hear more motor noise. The snorkel is installed on the right, which for me is the driver side. So nothing to worry about but when I drove off the first time I had more motor sound than before. My wife initially said 'why did you put that ugly thing on your good-looking truck', but now that I have added so much other stuff I think she has accepted that it was part of the overall upgrade.

Cheers, Jason

 

[75AnniverssaryGladiator]

Thanks for the super-quick reply Dante. Your "buyer's remore" is what I needed to hear, to yet again confirm that I will stay away from the Decked system, simply because I need all the possible space that I can access.

I looked long and hard at the RSI Smart Cap system, and I also spoke to some people that strongly recommended it. But I have attached a shot of my rig going into my work parking garage the day after I installed the tent, to show my height concerns. I'll be buying a small car for work before long, but at the moment my Gladiator is my only ride, on and off the road. So a tent on top of the Smart Cap was not an option for me. And I have been told that you have notably increased resistance plus more noise once you go above the cab,

Alaska to Argentina sounds great. I went to High School about 15 miles out of Tauranga, but now live in Auckland. My truck has not quite got to both the north and south tips of my country, but almost. If you know anything about NZ then I have attached a couple of pictures from Canterbury and Otago.

As for the snorkel. I mostly got it installed for South Island river crossings, but so far the deepest I've been are puddles/ponds closer to home that are too muddy to see the bottom. I've had water over the hood a few times, but only briefly rather than somehow 'parking up'. No one told me that I'd hear more motor noise. The snorkel is installed on the right, which for me is the driver side. So nothing to worry about but when I drove off the first time I had more motor sound than before. My wife initially said 'why did you put that ugly thing on your good-looking truck', but now that I have added so much other stuff I think she has accepted that it was part of the overall upgrade.

Cheers, Jason

Yes sir! And great pictures! I can definitely see what you mean about tight parking! I used to have a Wrangler JK with about a 6 inch lift in a manual. It made parking anywhere we went an adventure in itself.

I believe with your setup a decked system will definitely limit the amount of accessible space for gear. Have you thought of a bed Mollee system? Being able to pick and choose pouches and have them secured to the sides of the bed may help maximize space. Another thing worthy of looking into is the Reaper Off-road Tailgate box. It insets into the tailgate and creates another storage space ( https://reaperoffroad.com/jeep-gladiator-tailgate-box-2020-jeep-gladiator-jt/ )

for the snorkel I’ve been analyzing just about every manufacturer I can think of. I may hold off on the snorkel until the hellcat upgrade due to the intake being clocked in the opposite direction. I’m also a gear head through and through and want to wake up that little 3.6 wherever I can so a little more intake noise is A-OK with me. Thank you for the advice!

 

[75AnniverssaryGladiator]

Progress update:

got some swatches in From CERAKOTE as well as 75th anniversary trail rated badges and a tow hook from a 2014 75th anniversary wrangler. I’m leaning towards the Vortex CERAKOTE as a closer match. What do y'all think?

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