HCoopo
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Hunter
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2025
- Threads
- 6
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 160
- Location
- East Tennessee
- Vehicle(s)
- 2025 Gladiator Texas Trail Edition
- Build Thread
- Link
- Occupation
- Pysch PA
- Thread starter
- #1
Hello fellow Gladiators,
This will be a simple ongoing journal for my JT. First time gladiator owner. I had a 2018 JL Rubicon in 2018 that I had for three years as a daily driver. It was a lease and my biggest regret was not buying it out at the end of the lease. I was doing a lot of commuting at that time in Florida and also had a need for a truck at the time.
I started getting the Jeep itch again recently. My wife and I currently have a 2023 Kia Sportage in a 2022 Lexus NX 350h. So I was initially looking at the cheapest base model gladiators I could find. I bought a 2021 stingray gray Willys from Carvana. However, I ended up returning it due to some undisclosed wear and tear, including some sketchy wearing of the mud tires that were worn every other tread. I then put a deposit on a new 2024 firecracker red gladiator sport S that I found for a good deal in KY. However, a day after this, I discovered this new color for the 2025 gladiators that I had never seen before. Ever since I saw a fathom blue nighthawk online, I knew it was going to be the color that I wanted most. Fast forward a week later and I pulled the trigger on a Texas Trail Edition fathom blue JT outside of Dallas that fit everything that I was looking for at a reasonable price. The week long negotiating and then the wait for my truck to get delivered to East Tennessee was excruciating. But after two weeks of owning it, I can say it was worth the wait. I can’t express enough how beautiful this color is, especially in the sun. You really just have to see it.
My goal for the build was to try to blend looks plus functionality. In all reality, this will be a daily driver for me. I do work from home so it should help me keep the miles low. My goal is to also be able to use it for trail riding and light to moderate off-roading.
Initially, I installed some all-weather floor mats from rugged Ridge, which have a nice aggressive look. I also installed a screen protector for the interior and hinge protectors from RockStopperz to protect from rock chips. Next was a soft, roll-up tonneau cover from Rough Country.
Next step, was to address the roof. I’ve always liked the look of the body colored hard top the best. But I was contemplating a soft top because of a number of reasons, some good others not lol, I never took the full roof off my hard top JL that I had back in Florida. I landed on a compromise. I purchased the BestTop Sunrider and have been able to use it for one day so far. Even though it’s expensive, I’m happy with my decision so far (also warning, the great instructional video on quadratic for the Sunrider is using an older model with Z clips. I was following the video and got halfway through the install before I realized the video was for an older model and had to take the unfinished top back off the jeep and put it together before you can install it to the jeep frame).
Next step, was the exciting part. I’m sure you all know the feeling. I had never owned or even driven a jeep with a lift and bigger tires. I was really worried about significantly altering the driving ability and feel of the truck. After a lot of reach search, I landed on a 2 inch AEV spacer kit to avoid making big suspension and geometry changes. And after changing my mind for the millionth time, I’m currently keeping the stock wheels on the truck. I will likely eventually get some fuel rebel bronze wheels but for now I’m deciding to put that money instead to a full frontal PPF in the near future. I’m not usually a fan of black wheels, but I actually like the look of these with the dark paint. So I decided to go with 35 inch Mickey Thompson Baja legend EXP tires. I can honestly say I was shocked with the results. I never believed I would say this. But the set up now actually drives a good 20% better overall than the truck stock. To be fair, it did have 32 inch mud tires on it. However, I’m shocked at how smooth these tires drive. And that’s coming from somebody who’s daily driver was a Lexus lol. I haven’t gotten a chance to take them out on the trail as they were just installed last night. But the on road experience has been nothing short of amazing so far. With the lift, I had the shop throw on these step rails so I didn’t get yelled at by my wife for the tires lol.
Included is my best bud Aussie, Bruno, for size comparison.
This will probably be about 90% of my aftermarket changes for a while. I’ll be getting a buff and PPF in a couple weeks. I also have some LED bulbs to install to replace some of the exterior light halogen bulbs. Eventually, I will probably switch to aftermarket wheels and will consider upgrading the sound system as it is the non-alpine upgraded sound system. I’m also planning on removing the Texas Trail Edition decal and replacing it with “Kraken” in bronze letters. Let me know if you have a favorite decal site that you use for your jeeps!
This will be a simple ongoing journal for my JT. First time gladiator owner. I had a 2018 JL Rubicon in 2018 that I had for three years as a daily driver. It was a lease and my biggest regret was not buying it out at the end of the lease. I was doing a lot of commuting at that time in Florida and also had a need for a truck at the time.
I started getting the Jeep itch again recently. My wife and I currently have a 2023 Kia Sportage in a 2022 Lexus NX 350h. So I was initially looking at the cheapest base model gladiators I could find. I bought a 2021 stingray gray Willys from Carvana. However, I ended up returning it due to some undisclosed wear and tear, including some sketchy wearing of the mud tires that were worn every other tread. I then put a deposit on a new 2024 firecracker red gladiator sport S that I found for a good deal in KY. However, a day after this, I discovered this new color for the 2025 gladiators that I had never seen before. Ever since I saw a fathom blue nighthawk online, I knew it was going to be the color that I wanted most. Fast forward a week later and I pulled the trigger on a Texas Trail Edition fathom blue JT outside of Dallas that fit everything that I was looking for at a reasonable price. The week long negotiating and then the wait for my truck to get delivered to East Tennessee was excruciating. But after two weeks of owning it, I can say it was worth the wait. I can’t express enough how beautiful this color is, especially in the sun. You really just have to see it.
My goal for the build was to try to blend looks plus functionality. In all reality, this will be a daily driver for me. I do work from home so it should help me keep the miles low. My goal is to also be able to use it for trail riding and light to moderate off-roading.
Initially, I installed some all-weather floor mats from rugged Ridge, which have a nice aggressive look. I also installed a screen protector for the interior and hinge protectors from RockStopperz to protect from rock chips. Next was a soft, roll-up tonneau cover from Rough Country.
Next step, was to address the roof. I’ve always liked the look of the body colored hard top the best. But I was contemplating a soft top because of a number of reasons, some good others not lol, I never took the full roof off my hard top JL that I had back in Florida. I landed on a compromise. I purchased the BestTop Sunrider and have been able to use it for one day so far. Even though it’s expensive, I’m happy with my decision so far (also warning, the great instructional video on quadratic for the Sunrider is using an older model with Z clips. I was following the video and got halfway through the install before I realized the video was for an older model and had to take the unfinished top back off the jeep and put it together before you can install it to the jeep frame).
Next step, was the exciting part. I’m sure you all know the feeling. I had never owned or even driven a jeep with a lift and bigger tires. I was really worried about significantly altering the driving ability and feel of the truck. After a lot of reach search, I landed on a 2 inch AEV spacer kit to avoid making big suspension and geometry changes. And after changing my mind for the millionth time, I’m currently keeping the stock wheels on the truck. I will likely eventually get some fuel rebel bronze wheels but for now I’m deciding to put that money instead to a full frontal PPF in the near future. I’m not usually a fan of black wheels, but I actually like the look of these with the dark paint. So I decided to go with 35 inch Mickey Thompson Baja legend EXP tires. I can honestly say I was shocked with the results. I never believed I would say this. But the set up now actually drives a good 20% better overall than the truck stock. To be fair, it did have 32 inch mud tires on it. However, I’m shocked at how smooth these tires drive. And that’s coming from somebody who’s daily driver was a Lexus lol. I haven’t gotten a chance to take them out on the trail as they were just installed last night. But the on road experience has been nothing short of amazing so far. With the lift, I had the shop throw on these step rails so I didn’t get yelled at by my wife for the tires lol.
Included is my best bud Aussie, Bruno, for size comparison.
This will probably be about 90% of my aftermarket changes for a while. I’ll be getting a buff and PPF in a couple weeks. I also have some LED bulbs to install to replace some of the exterior light halogen bulbs. Eventually, I will probably switch to aftermarket wheels and will consider upgrading the sound system as it is the non-alpine upgraded sound system. I’m also planning on removing the Texas Trail Edition decal and replacing it with “Kraken” in bronze letters. Let me know if you have a favorite decal site that you use for your jeeps!
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