Glad Grandpa Firecracker Red LE Build

[Pat2Alaska]

What seat covers do you have? Are you putting them on the front for protection? For the heat as leather might get too hot? Nice doors,mirrors,sun-rider..Very nice build sir!

They are Bartact. Mostly for protection from dirt, wet, etc. tested the heated seat, can feel it fine. Also like the molle. Wasn’t too hot with stock leather. I like how snug the Bartact fit in my JK so ordered them before I even got the Gladiator. Will look for something for the back but not too worried about that!

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[TennesseePA]

They are Bartact. Mostly for protection from dirt, wet, etc. tested the heated seat, can feel it fine. Also like the molle. Wasn’t too hot with stock leather. I like how snug the Bartact fit in my JK so ordered them before I even got the Gladiator. Will look for something for the back but not too worried about that!

I really like the look of them too. I’d place a nice size wager that they are working on a product for the back seat. Hope they get it out soon

 

[BuiltRight]

Looks great! Love those pics where its just the truck and grass. I didn't zoom in to try and read them, but are those 315/70r17 or 35x12.50r17? Load rating? I opted for the 315 myself, to get the C load rating.

Matt

 

[Pat2Alaska]

Looks great! Love those pics where its just the truck and grass. I didn't zoom in to try and read them, but are those 315/70r17 or 35x12.50r17? Load rating? I opted for the 315 myself, to get the C load rating.

Matt

315 C! They ride better than the stock 33s

 

[BuiltRight]

315 C! They ride better than the stock 33s

Agree!

 

[Ken K.]

What brand mirrors are those and how do you like them. They look great.

 

[Gunlovebirds1024]

Just purchased a Rubicon, first Jeep, like yours and trying to find a mud flap. The inside of the fenders seemed a little flimsy to me. I see how you cut out the rock rail for it. Any concerns or problems yet? What about flaps on the back?

What model Jeep is the same as the Gladiator for the dead pedal? 2019 JL?

Thanks for the great posts

Josh

 

[Pat2Alaska]

What brand mirrors are those and how do you like them. They look great.

Carolina Metal Masters. Great product.

 

[Pat2Alaska]

Just purchased a Rubicon, first Jeep, like yours and trying to find a mud flap. The inside of the fenders seemed a little flimsy to me. I see how you cut out the rock rail for it. Any concerns or problems yet? What about flaps on the back?

What model Jeep is the same as the Gladiator for the dead pedal? 2019 JL?

Thanks for the great posts

Josh

19 JL for the dead pedal. The RokBlokz flaps come with the pre-cut hole for the rail. Fit good, solid and quick detach.

 

[Pat2Alaska]

Been busy a couple of days with family stuff. Wanted to give an update on the weight changes during the build.
Gladiator LE Rubicon
Pretty much Stock with 1/2 tank of gas and no passengers, it weighed 5160lbs
After Winch Plate and Winch (Warn plate and SmittyBuilt X20 12K) weight was 5220lbs
After swapping out stock wheels and tires for Ion 171 17x9 wheels and BFG K02 315 70R 17 tires (including matching spare) weight is now 5260lbs
Not a lot of weight added!
Short test on MPG with no wind and 65 degrees flat road yesterday:
70MPH - approx 18-19 mpg
65MPH - approx 20-21 mpg
60MPH - approx 21-22 mpg
That was at 39lb tire pressure.
Last night I did the chalk test and ended up at 30lbs tire pressure. Will retest MPG when I get a chance but realistically with mix of wind and hills I'm figuring avg 17-18 mpg on the hwy will be great!

 

[Ken K.]

Carolina Metal Masters. Great product.

Just ordered mine. Thanks for the reply!

 

[kayakmike]

Installed the Mopar cross bars on the rail system. You have to start them in the front of the box in the slots shown in picture. I was able to leave the tonneau cover on but had to move it all forward.

I’m not sure how usable they will be with my 8’ kayaks if the hardtop is on. You will need to remove the tie-down cleats and the latch for the tonneau cover to get the cross bar completely to the back. I didn’t do that for my test. I think you could get another 6-8 inches further back than my back one.

Glad to see photos of the cross bars. Mine are suppose to ship today (still don't know when my JT will ship!). Glad to see they work with the tonneau cover. Interested to see how they will work with short whitewater kayaks (I'll strap down directly on the cross bars vs. J cradle). How hard is it to remove/reinstall them? Just loosen bolts and slide to the front slot? Do they specify max weight capacity in the instructions (someone in another thread asked about putting a tent setup on them)?

 

[Pat2Alaska]

Glad to see photos of the cross bars. Mine are suppose to ship today (still don't know when my JT will ship!). Glad to see they work with the tonneau cover. Interested to see how they will work with short whitewater kayaks (I'll strap down directly on the cross bars vs. J cradle). How hard is it to remove/reinstall them? Just loosen bolts and slide to the front slot? Do they specify max weight capacity in the instructions (someone in another thread asked about putting a tent setup on them)?

I think with the short whitewaters, they'll work great. Not bad to install but removing isn't as easy as just loosening and sliding back. I had to remove the bolts and then manually grab the rectangular tabs. There are some detents in the rail. I think if you finessed it, you might be able to do it but I was in a hurry!! Doubt a tent setup would be supported. Think they are only rated at 100 lbs each or so.

 

[kayakmike]

I think with the short whitewaters, they'll work great. Not bad to install but removing isn't as easy as just loosening and sliding back. I had to remove the bolts and then manually grab the rectangular tabs. There are some detents in the rail. I think if you finessed it, you might be able to do it but I was in a hurry!! Doubt a tent setup would be supported. Think they are only rated at 100 lbs each or so.

I'll just use mine for kayaks and bikes, so fine for me.

Another option for the rectangular tabs are the spring nut fasteners used for electrical channels. Someone fabricated additional tie downs using those spring nuts that fit in the trail rail system. Depends on thread size on those torx bolts if they have spring nuts in that size available. If that works you could replace the ones that came with the cross bars and just keep these installed in the tracks:
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/trail-rail-question.18087/#post-272635

 

[Pat2Alaska]

I'll just use mine for kayaks and bikes, so fine for me.

Another option for the rectangular tabs are the spring nut fasteners used for electrical channels. Someone fabricated additional tie downs using those spring nuts that fit in the trail rail system. Depends on thread size on those torx bolts if they have spring nuts in that size available. If that works you could replace the ones that came with the cross bars and just keep these installed in the tracks:
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/trail-rail-question.18087/#post-272635

Thanks. Those look like a good idea.

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