Alaska Daily Drivers: Hydro Blue 80A and Bright White JTR

[Turnswrench]

Thread Table of Contents (updated 2/29) :
Page 1 - Intro to us and our 2021 Hydro Blue 80th anniversary, the build starts!
Page 2 - Hydro Blue build continues
Page 3 - Hydro Blue: Adding Midland GMRS and overlanding water systems
Page 4 - Hydro Blue: Sealed bed cover, first family outting
Page 5 - Hydro Blue: Roof top tent, KC lighting, Anti-rock, additional modifications
Page 6 - Hydro Blue: Rock rails, KC lighting, rack build out, propane tank
Page 7 - Hydro Blue: Traction boards, engine skid plate
Page 8 - Hydro Blue: Axle build prep, Aux switches, Overlanding setup practice
Page 9 - Hydro Blue: Trial night of camping
Page 10 - Hydro Blue: Weboost, our dog Collins passed away, SXS to glacier, solar panel build
Page 11 - Hydro Blue: Re-gear and axle builds, LifePo4 house battery setup, Camping in Healy, Visit Denali National Park, Camping in Valdez, RCV axle shafts
Page 12 - Hydro Blue: Camping in Seward, driving the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay / Deadhorse
Page 13 - Hydro Blue: Videos from driving Dalton Highway, Ball joints, Camping in Sterling, Camping in Whiskey Gulch, Girdwood visit with friends
Page 14 - Vacation to Juneau and Sitka, Introducing Bright White JTR
Page 15 - Bright White: LED tail lights, KC lighting, mud flaps, Aux switches, Rock rails, RSI Smartcap and more!
Page 16 - Hydro Blue: Camping in Delta Junction, Diesel heater, Camping in Anchorage; Bright White: RSI latch covers, ARB compressor
Page 17 - Hydro Blue: Camping in Valdez, bed lighting; Bright White: RSI table, LRA Aux Tank switch install
Page 18 - Bright White: Rugged Ridge parts
Page 19 - Bright White: LRA Aux Tank, KC lighting
Page 20 - Bright White: LRA Aux Tank continued
Page 21 - Bright White: KC cap lighting, front bumper and winch; Hydro Blue: Falcon shocks and steering stabilizer, Dometic and rear seat delete, Redarc update
Page 22 - Bright White: Midland GMRS, Bed switching setup
Page 23 - Bright White: Transmission leak
Page 24 - Bright White: Redarc trailer brake control; Hydro Blue: Propex HS2211 propane furnace
Page 25 - Hydro Blue: Propex HS2211 propane furnace, OVS 270 awning
Page 26 - Hydro Blue: Propex HS2211 propane furnace
Page 27 - Hydro Blue: Test the awning setup, Propex duct storage
Page 28 - Hydro Blue: Teraflex Speedbumps, Propex heater improvements
Page 29 - Bright White: RockHard 4x4 rear bumper and Infotainment parksense
Page 30 - Hydro Blue: new lifepo4 charger and chromoly rear axle shafts from Revolution
Page 31 - Hydro Blue: re-wiring the house battery setup and adding bed sliders

My wife and I were grateful to find a great deal on a 2021 Jeep Gladiator 80th Anniversary a few weeks ago. We've been busy with it ever since preparing for adventuring this summer here in Alaska.

If you are from the area, we worked with Matt at Swickard GMC in Palmer. A+ experience!

We picked it up during a typical snowy evening, which was awesome:

We stopped to top it off with fuel and the wife got it home while I led the way in our F-150.

You can see it already had 35" tires on it when we got it. Also a lot of tire rub marks due to the incorrect wheel spacing. Otherwise, it is stock and in great shape.

When you live in Alaska, you're used to crazy shipping fees and a wide range of shipping timelines. This build has been riddled with them, but we've been moving fast.

First up, proper width wheels:

They say moving puts pressure on a marriage. I think agreeing on wheels is just as bad, In the end, we're both very happy with the choice.

With the wheels test fitted but not mounted, we moved on to proper calibration for the taller tires:

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[Turnswrench]

As you could imagine, we were pretty excited to select the lift kit that would take us overlanding through the wide variety of terrain around the state.

We chose Clayton. With their help and kindness, we got a kit shipped right away all the way up to Alaska. A 2.5" Overland Plus lift paired with a Rock Jock Currectlync:

From there we started shopping for any used parts locally that would help us speed up our build. We lucked out and found a Rebel Offroad full height rack and some accessories:

 

[Phil_R]

My wife and I were grateful to find a great deal on a 2021 Jeep Gladiator 80th Anniversary a few weeks ago. We've been busy with it ever since preparing for adventuring this summer here in Alaska.

If you are from the area, we worked with Matt at Swickard GMC in Palmer. A+ experience!

We picked it up during a typical snowy evening, which was awesome:

We stopped to top it off with fuel and the wife got it home while I led the way in our F-150.

You can see it already had 35" tires on it when we got it. Also a lot of tire rub marks due to the incorrect wheel spacing. Otherwise, it is stock and in great shape.

When you live in Alaska, you're used to crazy shipping fees and a wide range of shipping timelines. This build has been riddled with them, but we've been moving fast.

First up, proper width wheels:

They say moving puts pressure on a marriage. I think agreeing on wheels is just as bad, In the end, we're both very happy with the choice.

With the wheels tested fitted but not mounted, we moved on to proper calibration for the taller tires:

Beautiful Gladiator (and wife too!), you lucky guy!!! Looks like you are making it your own! Congratulations!!!

 

[Turnswrench]

Bulletpoint was the brand we chose to hold our dash gear and we're pleased, we have since added to it already!

In preparation for our exploration, we placed an order at Grimm for their ARB twin compressor fender setup which arrived in great time:

 

[Turnswrench]

Beautiful Gladiator (and wife too!), you lucky guy!!! Looks like you are making it your own! Congratulations!!!

Lucky indeed Thank you!

 

[Turnswrench]

I started the lift install on February 26th and was able to get the rear done after taking the morning to hang with the wife:

The next day after work, the front was done:

It was now that we discovered there was a 4x4 shop in the town next to ours called Trail Toyz. We stopped in to check it out and it turned into an expensive trip as shown here:

Having these parts locally in stock was incredible. We've since done more shopping with Trail Toyz, stay tuned.

 

[Turnswrench]

Our Jeep didn't come with an LED package. That needed fixed. Enter KC HiLites Gravity LED headlights... You know so we can see the moose and stuff:

With the grill off, no better time to start on the Rebel Offroad bumper and Warn Winch:

From here we took a break to go on a quick 4 day vacation to Fairbanks, Alaska. We had an amazing time, but I was itching to get back in the garage.

 

[bshenderson1]

My wife and I were grateful to find a great deal on a 2021 Jeep Gladiator 80th Anniversary a few weeks ago. We've been busy with it ever since preparing for adventuring this summer here in Alaska.

If you are from the area, we worked with Matt at Swickard GMC in Palmer. A+ experience!

We picked it up during a typical snowy evening, which was awesome:

We stopped to top it off with fuel and the wife got it home while I led the way in our F-150.

You can see it already had 35" tires on it when we got it. Also a lot of tire rub marks due to the incorrect wheel spacing. Otherwise, it is stock and in great shape.

When you live in Alaska, you're used to crazy shipping fees and a wide range of shipping timelines. This build has been riddled with them, but we've been moving fast.

First up, proper width wheels:

They say moving puts pressure on a marriage. I think agreeing on wheels is just as bad, In the end, we're both very happy with the choice.

With the wheels tested fitted but not mounted, we moved on to proper calibration for the taller tires:

Beautiful truck! What are the wheel specs? I have a '23 JTSS in Hydro Blue and about to pull the trigger on some bronze KMC wheels 17x8.5 0 offset.

 

[Turnswrench]

Beautiful truck! What are the wheel specs? I have a '23 JTSS in Hydro Blue and about to pull the trigger on some bronze KMC wheels 17x8.5 0 offset.

Since the 35s that were already on there were 18s, we ordered 18x8.5" Sparco Dakar with +1mm offset to keep using the tires and save a little money. What you are planning should work.

Thank you tuning in and for the kind words.

 

[Turnswrench]

Once we got back home, I went back to finalizing the front bumper. The winch needed wrapped up and we needed bumper lights. We again chose KC HiLites. This time their Flex Era 3s. These are pretty slick, two lights in one. The fog portion is wired into the factory fog wiring with plug and play wiring harnesses. The high beam side is wired into Aux 4 on the factory switch panel:

With the winch wired in, I needed to get the front license plate remounted. Tuffy Security makes a cool flip up holder that mounts behind the fairlead:

And so, glamour shots were needed. All of these are in our neighborhood. We are indeed lucky:

 

[Turnswrench]

It's intimidating to rip off a fender on one of these your first time. Now it's old hat

I broke 6 clips but pre-ordered replacements. On went the Grimm ARB twin compressor kit:

Oh, and I did a garage alignment with the steering setup:

So it was good enough to drive more than around the block. I love this grin she's got. Makes the garage floor pains go away:

The wheels then got installed. Although dirty, we love it:

 

[Turnswrench]

We're up to March 11th in the timeline now.

With pretty LED headlights, the factory turns and DRLs no longer made sense. They were replaced with LED bulbs from Oracle:

It was at this moment we realized the side marker on the driver side was not working, hmm. More on that later.

Since we did buy this used, it was important for me to do some maintenance so that I can be confident in the rig. Cabin filter, air filter, serpentine belt, diff fluids, transfer case, oil change, and so on. By the looks of it, it needed it:

 

[Turnswrench]

With the Jeep freshened up, the interior needed a full detail. We pulled it all out and cleaned. The carpet and seats were vacuumed and shampooed. The plastics were scrubbed and then coated with protection. The interior smells and looks phenomenal now. We did find some treasure during the process:

 

[Turnswrench]

Monday of this week, as my back very well remembers, the roof rack went on. Our Jeep didn't have bed rails, so we got some from Mopar:

I made sure the table was mounted up right away. The wife and I enjoy playing cards, drinking beer, and eating. A table is high on our list of necessities!

From there, on went the bed cover:

Some garage shots:

 

[Turnswrench]

We noticed the Jeep had the reported passenger side lean. I verified every arm length, untorqued, retorqued, and tried all I could to solve it. I caved and ordered a spacer for the passenger front spring. .5" from Teraflex. That solved it!

After that, I mounted up the addition we got for the Bulletpoint dash mount. We keep a Garmin Mini Inreach2 around, it made sense to give it a home:

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