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Bed rack/tonneau cover - the perfect combo + how much rubber can you fit on OEM rims?

eternus

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Awesome catch, dude. I like this solution. I'm curious about the combo price. I'll report back. As far a s tires go, I was thinking of Nitto Ridge Grapplers 33x12.5oR18LT.
Everyone is talking Rack, so I'll talk about wheels tires. First, you're looking at a tire for an 18" wheel, so that's not gonna work. You need to look for r17.

That being said, 11.5" tires about as wide as you can go on a 7.5" rim, so you should be looking at a 285/75R17 or 295/70R17. Based on manufacturer numbers... you can get 33.9" tires by going 285/75R17. Just a hair under 34".

I plan go for the 295/70R17 Duratracs which will fit just fine on stock rims.
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LANGeek

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Hi everyone - noobie here, first post. Be gentle. :)

I just got my first Jeep. 2020 Gladiator Sport. I'm a smitten kitten. Moving to VT in a month.

I want to build a truck that is really versatile as a daily driver/work truck, but also pretty good for overlanding/hunting/camping, etc.

I would like a bed rack that allows me to haul a 20' ladder, which means it will probably also need to run over the top of the cab a bit, right?

I'd also like a locking tonneau cover for security. Does this exist? I've been pouring over the threads but I can't quite figure this out.
I have these crossbars https://www.kbvoodoo.com/shop/jeep-gladiator-aluminum-hi-rise-crossbars-for-use-with-tonneau-covers that works with the factory soft tonneau cover. They make one for the hard folding cover too. The company has other racks and attachments. I use the brackets and made a ladder rack out of 2x4s bolted to the bracket. It's not pretty but works well.

The soft tonneu cover does lock. That is to say you need to open the tailgate to release the cover and the tailgate locks. But it is just a fabric cover. The folding hard cover worls the same.
 

Dewyaw

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I came across Leitner Designs bed rack in another thread here on the site....I love the idea of forged aluminum...super strong and super light. Tons of accessory options.
I emailed them a few days ago asking about availability and they said more will be available in October.

https://www.leitnerdesigns.com/prod...go-system-rjr6l-za5tb-c9hda-cy93l-h3sap-gzrwt

Edit:
Just got a reply back from Leitner...a tonneau cover cannot work with it
 
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atxatxatx

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I have these crossbars https://www.kbvoodoo.com/shop/jeep-gladiator-aluminum-hi-rise-crossbars-for-use-with-tonneau-covers that works with the factory soft tonneau cover. They make one for the hard folding cover too. The company has other racks and attachments. I use the brackets and made a ladder rack out of 2x4s bolted to the bracket. It's not pretty but works well.

The soft tonneu cover does lock. That is to say you need to open the tailgate to release the cover and the tailgate locks. But it is just a fabric cover. The folding hard cover worls the same.
I do like this option, especially if it works with the Mopar hard folding cover. I wonder if they can make a taller support
 

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1st Foray

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Hi everyone - noobie here, first post. Be gentle. :)

I just got my first Jeep. 2020 Gladiator Sport. I'm a smitten kitten. Moving to VT in a month.

I want to build a truck that is really versatile as a daily driver/work truck, but also pretty good for overlanding/hunting/camping, etc.

I would like a bed rack that allows me to haul a 20' ladder, which means it will probably also need to run over the top of the cab a bit, right?

I'd also like a locking tonneau cover for security. Does this exist? I've been pouring over the threads but I can't quite figure this out.

2nd issue is this:

I actually like the factory cheap ass rims. They look utilitarian and rugged. How big can i go without a lift or swapping rims? I like to wheel so rubbing is a concern. I drive back and forth between Boston and VT frequently, so I don't want to go too high or too big with tires. Also, I just don't like that look. I was really into 1970s Mercedes Gelandewagons before I bought this Jeep. I like that military look more than the fatty boombalatty 4x4 look.
I'm running 285/70R17 BFG KO2's (C load) on stock rims w/no lift. Tires measure out at just over 32.5" in height. They fill the wheel wells nicely. No drag on acceleration. Tires weigh about 51 lbs, if I recall. They are within tolerance for the 7.5" stock rim width. I have steel aftermarket bumpers and wouldn't want a bigger tire w/out a lift, which is a whole other rabbit hole...
 

XJADDICTION

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If you have a bed rack you can use a load bar or bars and gutter mounts (like Yakima) on the hard top. This will enable you to carry longer loads, move the bar or bars to the rear of hard top if you want to take freedom panels off (lots of wind noise if you leave bar close to removed freedom panels, slide back bar to stop noise from bar). You can also take the bars off when you don’t need them.

I am experimenting with different configurations, I need to carry my expensive mountain bikes in a safer place than high on the bars of a bed rack or on a trailer hitch mounted bike rack. I decided the bed space was more usable with a fixed cover and drawers and a just above roof level bed rack (i had a cheap ladder rack i cut down to the same height as the hard top mounted Yakima load bars).

Wheels, if you have the sport s max tow you have the wider axles with the 4:10 gears. You shouldn’t need wheel spacers as you would with the narrow axles of the sport non max and the overland. The 17x7.5 rim will handle a 315x70x17 tire no problem , I have put many thousands of miles with that set up on many rigs. Recently over 70,000 miles on a JKUHR with the stock Hard Rock Rubicon 17x7.5 rims.

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XJADDICTION

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One more thing with the wheels, if you like the stock wheels there are aftermarket (at quadratec) Rubicon reproduction wheels that have a 5.2” offset (stock I think is 6+) and an 8.5” width $159.00/wheel. There is also a stock looking Sport S reproduction wheel (I like the stock silverJeep wheel look as well) with a 4.75 back spacing (won’t need wheel spacers for narrow axles) and in a 17x9” wheel (perfect) for $149.00/wheel in the same silver finish.

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XJADDICTION

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LOoks like TJDave on here has the aftermarket 17x9 stock look sport rims on his rig. Really like them!

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betsy

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I do, in fact, have a SPORT. I'm not sure what "stupid piece" you're referring to, I'll crawl er there later today and tyr to erfigure that out. Sorry, noob here. :)
I think he is referring to the filler between the front bumper and the fender , most people have to remove this when installing larger tires , 33” -35”
 

HappyRed

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Sorry in the delay, I was talking about the front air damns/splash guards. here is a video from quadratec:



I cut mine and put (well in the process a few months later) them back. There are a lot of threads here on how to remove them and where to cut.

They do make 35x10.5 tires, it is a weird size that isn't all that popular. There is the linked thread below, I think atturo (sp?) makes one on that size too. But you should be good to run them.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/kenda-klever-r-t-kr601-35x10-50r17.28656/

Also do you have the max tow? Without the 4.10 gearing the bigger tires are going to have more of an impact on drivability. Some say its okay some dont like it.
 

Boston Bill

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Hi everyone - noobie here, first post. Be gentle. :)

I just got my first Jeep. 2020 Gladiator Sport. I'm a smitten kitten. Moving to VT in a month.

I want to build a truck that is really versatile as a daily driver/work truck, but also pretty good for overlanding/hunting/camping, etc.

I would like a bed rack that allows me to haul a 20' ladder, which means it will probably also need to run over the top of the cab a bit, right?

I'd also like a locking tonneau cover for security. Does this exist? I've been pouring over the threads but I can't quite figure this out.

2nd issue is this:

I actually like the factory cheap ass rims. They look utilitarian and rugged. How big can i go without a lift or swapping rims? I like to wheel so rubbing is a concern. I drive back and forth between Boston and VT frequently, so I don't want to go too high or too big with tires. Also, I just don't like that look. I was really into 1970s Mercedes Gelandewagons before I bought this Jeep. I like that military look more than the fatty boombalatty 4x4 look.
I have 18" tires on my Overland.
I put on LT295 70 R18 with 1 3/4" spacers. No rubbing what so ever!
And the spare tire fit just fine. The spare can take up to a 35" tire.The LT spec is 34.3"
I used an ECRI to program the computer for the new tire size.
I am told I could have put on 285 70 R18 without spacers. I wanted the bit of extra height.
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