Sponsored

Flat bed Gladiator build

Benbean66

Well-Known Member
First Name
Ben
Joined
Apr 29, 2019
Threads
13
Messages
1,207
Reaction score
1,748
Location
PA
Vehicle(s)
1973 Honda CB350, '88 RHD YJ, '88 YJ, 2020 JT Spor
Occupation
Railroad Equipment Operator
Vehicle Showcase
1
Man, this is awesome. I've thought many times about having a flat bed again. (I'm coming from a '95 F350 crew cab flatbed, and an '05 aluminum flatbed dually F350) Maybe I'll do something like this down the road, but I should really wait until my lease is up, haha! Can't wait to see how it turns out!
Sponsored

 
OP
OP
AusGladiator

AusGladiator

Active Member
First Name
Gavin
Joined
Mar 18, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
35
Reaction score
245
Location
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Vehicle(s)
2021 Gladiator Rubicon
Are you gonna have a canopy on there?
Did you get the Diesel or the Gasser? I often see Aussies showing love to good diesels!
Only get the gas option here in Oz ... petrol and auto.

Yeap, a canopy will go on the tray, but with the option to take it off
 

Blade1668

Well-Known Member
First Name
Darrell
Joined
Jan 7, 2020
Threads
11
Messages
2,344
Reaction score
2,119
Location
N. AL.
Vehicle(s)
90XJ, 91XJ, 91MJ, 05 LJ, 20 JT
Build Thread
Link
Vehicle Showcase
1
Something like that might be a project for me if I hit the redneck retirement sometime. AKA the lottery.😉 Kudo's to all of you down under.

Unlucky the Hi-Lux aren't imported but under limited situations, a while back I seen 6 or more brand new ones but not streetable here. I'd be a fan of them in orginal solid axle format. 👍
 

JT Thomas

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jason
Joined
Jan 19, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
183
Reaction score
487
Location
Arlington, VA
Vehicle(s)
2021 Jeep Gladiator, 09 Wrangler Sahara
Occupation
U.S. Army (Retired)
@AusGladiator I am really excited to see what you do with this. One thing I love about the Jeep community is the individuality and the innovation. I will definitely be curious to see the final product.
 

Terry

Well-Known Member
First Name
Terry
Joined
Aug 18, 2020
Threads
10
Messages
709
Reaction score
1,355
Location
Rialto, California
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Rubicon
Occupation
Private Investigator
Vehicle Showcase
2
Thanks, from an Aussie!

But this is way out of my league, having a small workshop doing the build.
Hard work, a can do spirit, and self reliance is what built Australia. Got to meet some in View Nam... Nobody, and I mean nobody screwed with the Aussies. By far some of the best jungle fighters in the world.
 

Sponsored

booneja

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2020
Threads
18
Messages
538
Reaction score
510
Location
VI, canada
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Sport (hers) and Overland (His)
Occupation
RCAF Veteran/ Engineer
Vehicle Showcase
1
Hard work, a can do spirit, and self reliance is what built Australia. Got to meet some in View Nam... Nobody, and I mean nobody screwed with the Aussies. By far some of the best jungle fighters in the world.
the British Jail system (20 percent of Australians are descendants of convicts) built Australia, but hey your way works, lol 🤪

regardless of how it all started I agree that Aussies are great in battle, worked with a few in Afghanistan, great bunch of folks
 

FormerToyotaGuy

Well-Known Member
First Name
Acen
Joined
Oct 4, 2020
Threads
0
Messages
92
Reaction score
89
Location
West Coast
Vehicle(s)
Jeep Gladiator
Occupation
Legislative
Nice fabrication work :) Can't wait to see finished product.
 

ospreyfe55

Well-Known Member
First Name
Marc
Joined
Apr 28, 2021
Threads
28
Messages
244
Reaction score
314
Location
Navarre, FL
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Rubicon
Occupation
F-35 Weapons Instructor
@AusGladiator i saw this a few weeks ago and I absolutely love the look! Of course I’m in the US so not sure what something like this cost nor have an idea of shipping it here! Since you are having yours built what does something like this usually run price wise? Are you familiar with Core Off-road and the Phoenix trays? Here is the web link which shows several pics of the Gladiator setup. But they don’t list pricing on their website!
Jeep Gladiator Flat bed Gladiator build 6BC88782-16CB-4D72-98D3-2E9E2D4B6861
https://www.coreoffroad.com.au/canopies-trays/
 

booneja

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2020
Threads
18
Messages
538
Reaction score
510
Location
VI, canada
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Sport (hers) and Overland (His)
Occupation
RCAF Veteran/ Engineer
Vehicle Showcase
1
@AusGladiator i saw this a few weeks ago and I absolutely love the look! Of course I’m in the US so not sure what something like this cost nor have an idea of shipping it here! Since you are having yours built what does something like this usually run price wise? Are you familiar with Core Off-road and the Phoenix trays? Here is the web link which shows several pics of the Gladiator setup. But they don’t list pricing on their website!
Jeep Gladiator Flat bed Gladiator build 6BC88782-16CB-4D72-98D3-2E9E2D4B6861
https://www.coreoffroad.com.au/canopies-trays/
from their website...." Our canopies start from $37,950.00 depending on the model canopy and make and model / chassis variant of the vehicle ".....(IMHO) better off getting a PCor https://pcor4x4.com/jeep-gladiator-2/ that start6 around the $13k AU.
 

ospreyfe55

Well-Known Member
First Name
Marc
Joined
Apr 28, 2021
Threads
28
Messages
244
Reaction score
314
Location
Navarre, FL
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Rubicon
Occupation
F-35 Weapons Instructor
from their website...." Our canopies start from $37,950.00 depending on the model canopy and make and model / chassis variant of the vehicle ".....(IMHO) better off getting a PCor https://pcor4x4.com/jeep-gladiator-2/ that start6 around the $13k AU.
Holy crap how did I miss that! But that pricing is for their Canopies not their Trays! But Thanks now to do the aus to dollar conversion rate! Which 27k seems to be a little high!
 
Last edited:

Sponsored

OP
OP
AusGladiator

AusGladiator

Active Member
First Name
Gavin
Joined
Mar 18, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
35
Reaction score
245
Location
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Vehicle(s)
2021 Gladiator Rubicon
Holy crap how did I miss that! Thanks now to do the aus to dollar conversion rate!
I think that's about $US10.50 isn't it?

There are the serious players in the market like that Phoenix mob, Patriot campers and the like, but these conversions (and the canopies) are so common here that most aluminium fabricators have gotten into the market.

As I mentioned, as well as the tray I am getting a canopy made up for it and chased down several quotes before choosing on this guy. (Facebook Morrison Fabrications in Darwin Northern Territory for some more examples of his work). The quotes ranged from ($AUD) $15k all the way up to $35k. (Now $39k thanks to Phoenix).

Obviously the high end quotes were from the bigger companies that provided all the bells and whistles with the build. The one I went with wasn't the cheapest, but as I said, was able to meet the specific requests that I had.

I think the cost of the tray only was about $8.5k with a similar cost for the canopy and then + for any internal fitout.

Job won't be done once I get it back though as will then have to do all the wiring to get everything running inside. (Fridge, compressor, lighting, etc)
 

Jaxmax

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jack
Joined
Jun 28, 2020
Threads
34
Messages
1,906
Reaction score
2,709
Location
Bally, Pa.
Vehicle(s)
Jeeps....... 2021 Mojave , 2019 Wrangler
Occupation
Electrical Manager
Really, really nice job both by the designer and fabricator. It might be neat to flip the bolt on hitch section to top of that cross member and put bolts in with nuts facing front would really clean up the rear end look, but give you a pretty big drop hitch, I might just have a ten inch aluminum Anderson laying around…..Jack
 

Beemer533

Well-Known Member
First Name
Zion
Joined
Oct 25, 2021
Threads
13
Messages
620
Reaction score
699
Location
Upstate NY
Vehicle(s)
2021 JT Mojave
Occupation
Field Engineer
Looks really good! I have always liked the look and especially the utility of a flatbed.

Reaching into the bed of the gladiator from the side isn't bad, especially compared to my ram 2500, but I think regardless a pickup is more useful (imo) with a flatbed.
 

KX L

Well-Known Member
First Name
KX
Joined
May 1, 2019
Threads
16
Messages
419
Reaction score
488
Location
Lake St Louis MO
Vehicle(s)
2017 CVO Street Glide; 2022 JT Mojave with 6MT
Occupation
Retired
Can't wait to see the final product.

Stop reading now if you don't want my opinion on their military but it was brought up and I have a lot of experience with them.

I spent years working with the Aussie military all over the globe and probably 6 months total in Australia working with their Navy and their Third Brigade in Townsville and Seventh Brigade in Brisbane.

My perspective is the Aussie military is the same as the rest of the western nations---great guys and losers with the vast majority being pretty good guys/gals.

I've had Aussies work for me in various combat, training, and higher headquarters positions.

The Aussies do the exact same thing the French, Brits, Germans, Kiwis [New Zealand] and Canadians do, personnel sent to work with the U.S. military are front runners known for their knowledge, ability to articulate that knowledge, and coolness under fire [both the real stuff and the insane higher headquarters stuff].

The United States does the exact same thing in reverse. One idiot can absolutely blow the reputation and desire to ever work with us again. Note that I didn't say willingness---every country to include ourselves [but at a bit lower level] knows the importance of maintaining good relations with the other countries as we never know when we need them and vice versa.
 
OP
OP
AusGladiator

AusGladiator

Active Member
First Name
Gavin
Joined
Mar 18, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
35
Reaction score
245
Location
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Vehicle(s)
2021 Gladiator Rubicon
Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've had to leave it behind while I've gone on a work trip.

When I get back next weekend, it should be complete. (Has to be! I have a 3.5k km road trip planned the following week)

Spoiler alert ... The tray and canopy will be sprayed with Raptor liner which should go close to making it look like the roof panels/ wheel arches and not just look like an add on.
Sponsored

 
 



Top