Are most Overlanding rigs overweight?

[ACAD_Cowboy]

I take a photo or two everytime I take the rig to NYC for delivery but only because it's hilarious to see the feral jeep in midtown... making all the other cars nervous.

But yeah, I get ya.

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[Minty JL]

Well with 4" of lift and 35's... I need a hi-lift versus the factory scissor but I keep it inside so it works when I need it.

But when you start tracking the weight of all the things that don't keep you alive, it can be real scary on some rigs. I'd rather carry more food and water and have to stack rocks than have all the toys and be bargaining with the dogs for kibble.

Nothing wrong with being prepared, but if you're rolling with a group, the load of some items can be shared.

 

[The White Rabbit]

As the title suggests I'm concerned about weight on my Gladiator. I have been reading the forum, as well as searching the internet for information. I've been building cars for over forty years. I also raced in the Viper Challenge Series so I know my way around a car. But this is my first foray into Jeeps.
I've seen lots of Overland builds that I like. Especially the ones from SEMA, but I just don't see how they can not be overweight. I have a JTR that i'm building into an overlanding rig. I plan on actually doing extended back county travel, but have no interest in rock crawling. I am an ER Doc. so I am trained to always think the worst. This has led me to start my build with safety and recovery in mind first. I installed a Fab Four Matrix front bumper with a 10K Smittybuilt waterproof winch. For the rear I installed a Road Armor Stealth bumper with a Warn 8000MS winch. Both winches have synthetic rope and wireless remotes.
Both winches and bumpers weigh 400 pounds total. My bride and I weight 335 combined. The door sticker says cargo and passenger weight should not exceed 1221 pounds. That leaves 486 pounds to further outfit the truck and add provisions for trips.Two five gallon Jerry cans full of extra fuel way 80 pounds. Ten Gallons of water weighs 84 pounds. Recovery gear will be at least 100 pounds. I'd like to carry an extra spare so that adds another 90 pounds.
That leaves 132 pounds for a rack,tent,gear,provisions etc. How is it possible that all of these awesome rigs I'm seeing are not overweight?

Did you subtract the weight of the original bumpers and such?

 

[DREDnot]

I like the idea of the Overland trek...crossing austrailia or africa in the in the decked out land rover...
Saw this impressive unit at Overland Expo.

But, until i find myself on another continent, I like a more subtle, minimalist approach. Not only from a cost standpoint, but weight, fuel, offroad and on road manners. And having the kids grown and on their own helps in all those columns as well.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

Nothing wrong with being prepared, but if you're rolling with a group, the load of some items can be shared.

If you read back, it's what I try to do with my convoys, spread the load so we have what we need and not excessive duplication. Defense in depth can be taken to some crazy extremes.

 

[Minty JL]

If you read back, it's what I try to do with my convoys, spread the load so we have what we need and not excessive duplication. Defense in depth can be taken to some crazy extremes.

Awesome man. Sorry, I don't always have time to read every post.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

Hey man, always good to see I'm not the only one thinking these thoughts.

 

[HooliganActual]

This has been great thread with some great discussion...and it got me thinking...

I took my overland built Gladiator to the Truck Stop Scales today and weighed it. It came in 330 lbs overweight with a full tank of gas and almost all of my normal loadout onboard. So add another 300lbs or so for me, my go-bag, food, etc. And I'm probably rolling down the road 600 lbs over GVWR.

Now the games begin; I'm going to start going through my stuff to find redundancy, unused items, etc. I do a lot of lightweight backpacking and so will turn that mindset loose on my gear. I'm not sure I can get it down below GVWR but I am certainly taking notice of how fat and bloated I am.

To give others that haven't been to a scale a sense of where they may fall, here is the basics of my build:
- 2020 JTR on 37" Toyo Open Country R/T's with Rhino Madness wheels (5)
- 2-1/2" Icon Lift w/custom rear springs to handle 900-1200# extra
- Warn Zeon 10-S Winch on Mopar steel "Stubby" bumper
- Cargo Glide mounted in bed
- OverlandKitchen.com JKU Kitchen mounted to Cargo Glide
- Partner Steel 2 Burner Stove
- Yeti 65 QT Cooler (X2)
- Various Kitchen affects
- Alu-Cab Gladiator Canopy with 3 load bars
- James Baroud EVO Evasion RTT
- 4 Gallons H2O (RotoPax)
- Fairly Robust Tool Kit
- Fairly Robust Recovery Gear
- Goose Gear Full Rear Seat Delete

Unless I eliminate something like the RTT, Canopy, Kitchen or Cargo Glide, it will be hard to find "BIG weight" to remove. This thread has gotten me thinking and I will certainly start to be more mindful of what I am carrying.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

I'm happy to have helped bring more light into your overlanding.

And yes it will probably require some drastic deletion to really get the weight down. Whats funny about this is I sat down to try and figure out what my weight gain was when I swapped out 255/75/17 KM3s on stock rubi coffin spokes (hard rock I guess is what they are called but coffin spokes sounds cool) versus dick cepek trail country exps on center line rims. It mathed out to about 30 more pounds. Durp!

 

[rchandler341]

Now if you really want to start thinking about weight?

Think about un-sprung weight. It is still part of your GVWR. So bigger heavier tires mean you cannot carry that extra cooler in the back? Braces and gussets to the axles to make them stronger also means you now cannot haul your mountain bikes?

Just going to larger tires and wheels you are eating up more of your PAYLOAD Capacity.

So you want to build the ultimate overlanding rig with the Gladiator EcoDiesel as your platform.
If you upgrade to Pro Rock Dana 60s, install E rated 37's, upgrade the shocks and springs. Install air bags to keep the load level. Add a larger sway bar to the rear. Bigger Brakes. Better steering components. You have added a bunch of additional weight. Do all these upgrades really allow your rig to haul more sprung weight?

Of course they do, but not legally. That sticker on the door pillar never changes even though you have definitely made the truck more capable as far as carrying additional payload. Now you need to find the weak link to the build. Frame, shock supports, sway bar supports, steering components, axles, brakes, transmission, cooling, engine power, etc.

I have made a few changes to my build just to maximize the safety of carrying a camper. Going to 35" E-rated tires took away from my payload capacity, but can they carry more weight, YES. Does it mean I am unsafe? I believe just the opposite. I am safer with tires designed to carry more weight. I added air bags to stiffen the spring rates. I would have changed the springs but with a slide in camper I did not want to sacrifice the ride when not hauling the camper. I upgraded to 2.5" adjustable shocks to improve the ride and handling. I upgraded the steering components and added a larger Hellwig Sway bar. Installed ARB diff covers to strengthen the axle housing. All these upgrades actually took away from my meager payload. But do they make my rig safer down the road? There is no doubt in my mind they improved on what the Jeep was held to so that the vehicles price was in line with the competition. Did it change my GVWR? Hell no.

Take a peak at all the different Gladiator trims and their specific GVWR. You will be surprised. Now add your options on the build. Does your GVWR go down as you add things? Not that they let you know as you build one. This is all interesting stuff to think about as you build your dream overlanding vehicle. That GVWR is voodoo magic.

Just saying, drive over the scales as you change things, your eyes will be opened!

 

[Chance575]

Plus what do you think is the engineering factor involved in determining GVWR. Your vehicle just doesn’t fall apart once your 1 pound over.

 

[Gvsukids]

This has been great thread with some great discussion...and it got me thinking...

I took my overland built Gladiator to the Truck Stop Scales today and weighed it. It came in 330 lbs overweight with a full tank of gas and almost all of my normal loadout onboard. So add another 300lbs or so for me, my go-bag, food, etc. And I'm probably rolling down the road 600 lbs over GVWR.

Now the games begin; I'm going to start going through my stuff to find redundancy, unused items, etc. I do a lot of lightweight backpacking and so will turn that mindset loose on my gear. I'm not sure I can get it down below GVWR but I am certainly taking notice of how fat and bloated I am.

To give others that haven't been to a scale a sense of where they may fall, here is the basics of my build:
- 2020 JTR on 37" Toyo Open Country R/T's with Rhino Madness wheels (5)
- 2-1/2" Icon Lift w/custom rear springs to handle 900-1200# extra
- Warn Zeon 10-S Winch on Mopar steel "Stubby" bumper
- Cargo Glide mounted in bed
- OverlandKitchen.com JKU Kitchen mounted to Cargo Glide
- Partner Steel 2 Burner Stove
- Yeti 65 QT Cooler (X2)
- Various Kitchen affects
- Alu-Cab Gladiator Canopy with 3 load bars
- James Baroud EVO Evasion RTT
- 4 Gallons H2O (RotoPax)
- Fairly Robust Tool Kit
- Fairly Robust Recovery Gear
- Goose Gear Full Rear Seat Delete

Unless I eliminate something like the RTT, Canopy, Kitchen or Cargo Glide, it will be hard to find "BIG weight" to remove. This thread has gotten me thinking and I will certainly start to be more mindful of what I am carrying.

37's are heavy. The payload can quickly be overcome.

 

[Blade1668]

This is a great thread to remind everyone about how much extra weight is being carried. Let alone money that is being burned for unnecessary s###. I run my JT across a scale checking the weight after I add or remove stuff.
This morning on my way home from work, I picked up 15 gallons of drinking water and was thinking about how much weight my JT had loaded. I probably had about 18 gallons of water loaded in it alone.? The topper on mine is over 130 lbs probably, do I need it(?) at times I debate keeping it on but it protects my fridge freezer, Max-Axe and some stuff I keep in bed, plus when I pick up over sized stuff (PVC pipe, ECT) I can haul it on the top easy. Plus my GMRS radio antenna is mounted on it. When I'm off work I can take off straight from work and travel if I want to.
Most of us take to much s### all the time. I've said that too many times... Less is more. That goes for me too, I've thought about swapping back to stock bumper and modding it for my winch but it's good protection from deer and I can use a Hi-Lift jack with it. (That I don't haul around daily)
Look at the over sized travel trailers and 5th wheel campers too Mc-Mansions on wheels I was looking at some years back just to see how stupid some are, I looked at one that has a chandelier in it that was so tall I could hold my arms up and not touch it.? WTF, is that needed?

 

[Gvsukids]

Overland payload is 1,080 lbs. Max Tow payload is 1,700 pounds. Buy the Max Tow and there'll be extra room for stuff.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

Unpopular opinion time.

Most "overlanding" much like most "offroading" is actually spent on highways getting to the wilderness.

Some good tires and you could "overland" most BLM type roads. The added swagger points of a rubicon are for when you want to do some heavy duty offroading. The Overland is honestly a very comfortable sport s.

So... I'll crawl back under my bridge now.

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