BuiltRight
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Introduction
I picked up this 2020 Gladiator Sport S w/ max tow last weekend from a dealership about an hour away (shoutout Chris at Rockland Jeep in NY). Every fiber of my being was telling me to get a Rubicon, but with a Raptor already in the garage, the purpose of this truck is to be my 'more reasonable' vehicle. That's what I'm telling my wife, anyway.
I hesitate a bit to call this a 'build' but for the sake of tradition, we'll call it that. My day job is to design and manufacture Ford truck accessories, so when feasible, I'll probably try to find time nights/weekends to make some of the parts that I want. If at any point, any of the stuff I build is of interest to others, I'll see about becoming a vendor here and making some extras. Until then, no talk of work - I'm here as Matt the enthusiast!
I mentioned the Raptor and it's relevant here because it's f******* massive and although it's a blast, it's a huge (literally) pain in the ass around town. I'm looking forward to having something that's a more manageable size but still a ton of fun. In the week that I've had the Gladiator, I'm already enjoying all of the other friendly Wrangler owners in the area waving. That Jeep wave is a real thing.
The Plan
Enough with the niceties. The plan is to modify this truck by making small, incremental improvements, as I identify things or features that I want. Anything that I can design, manufacture myself, I will. Here's a list of what I'm interested in at the moment:
- Stubby Antenna - Seems lame, but I hate that I can see the longer antenna out the windshield and that it's floppy enough that it moves a lot. I stopped on my way home from the dealership thinking it was loose
- Wheels/Tires - On the stock non-rubi wheels, I'll be honest, the thing looks a little lame. For weekend trips and such, I also want at least the same performance that I get out of the tires on my current truck
- Bed Protection - My other truck has an aluminum bed, so I wasn't concerned with corrosion. That's a factor here, although with my use, a thick rubber bed mat might do the trick.
- Interior Protection - Floor mats, seat material protection of some sort? Center console cover?
- Bed storage - this is something that seems more important given how much less space there is to stash tools, etc in the cab that a full size truck. A bed rack for my roof top tent would be nice, too.
- Additional lighting - Nothing crazy, but something to light up a campsite or the road in bad weather
- Bike Rack - How can we accomplish this without losing bed functionality?
- Cell Phone Mount - Clean and factory looking? Hidden wiring?
- Performance - I'd love a way to find more power and response from the 3.6, given what I'm used to driving. I'm more concerned with reliability though, so I probably shouldn't mess with it.
- Bumpers - Tasteful alternative to the bloated-looking front bumper? Rubicon maybe?
Updates:
6/1/19 - Introduction Post
6/2/19 - Wheel and Tire Details - Method 701 w/ 35" BFG KO2
6/4/19 - BFGs are here! 315/70R17 C Load Rating
6/21/19 - Rough Country 2.5" Level Install and wheel mounting
6/25/19 - Prototype BuiltRight Bed Rack Plasma Cutting and Test Fit
6/1/19 - Introduction Post
6/2/19 - Wheel and Tire Details - Method 701 w/ 35" BFG KO2
6/4/19 - BFGs are here! 315/70R17 C Load Rating
6/21/19 - Rough Country 2.5" Level Install and wheel mounting
6/25/19 - Prototype BuiltRight Bed Rack Plasma Cutting and Test Fit
Recent Photos:
For me, step one is wheels and tires. I wavered back and forth between 35s and 37s and although I think the 37s look best, I think 35s are functionally what's best for me. I don't want to loose much drivability and I fear the weight and size of 37s might cross that threshold. I ended up ordering some BFG KO2s in a 315/70r17 C-rated which actually match my (dying) Raptor tires, so if I decide to go bigger, I can just swap them over. They should arrive along with wheels this week.
That's all, time to enjoy a Saturday, just wanted to get this started!
Photos
Stopped to get the mail on the way home from the dealership and couldn't resist snapping this
Looking forward to see how it pulls this trailer
First fill up - much less painful than a 36gal tank
Can't stop sneaking a peek at it. Love how unique they look!
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