Gladiator Build & Adventure - 18 months around Australia with The Road Chose Me

[Dan Grec]

Hi Everyone,
Northern Australia is turning super tropical, and I have to take in as much as possible while I'm here.
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living organism on earth, and is UNESCO listed.
I had to get out SCUBA diving and have a look at this incredible underwater world for myself.

If you've ever wondered what the underwater world looks like, I show you in my latest YouTube video:


-Dan

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[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

The CREB Track in Far North Queensland is infamous for extremely slick mud, deep water and remoteness. After road it's considered "extreme" and I've seen videos where it's impossible to walk up the slick inclines to attach a winch rope!

The jungle here still has living remnants of a world 50-130 million years old, and it feel exactly like exploring Jurassic Park.

Teaming up with a bunch of big Land Cruiser Troop Carriers made for a lot of fun, and it was great to compare the Jeep to these monster 4.5L V8 Diesel machines.

Katie also used the winch for the first time and did great!



-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

The Frenchman's Track in Far North Queensland dished out mud, a very deep and fast flowing river crossing, tons of flexy bits and absolutely stunning landscapes.

This was easy the sketchiest riving crossing of my life, and we spent a very long time assessing the safest way to get across.

We again teamed up with a young couple in their 78 series Land Cruiser Troopie, and a BIG GU Patrol to get it done.
We had a great time comparing the different vehicles handled the obsticles, and the others simply couldn't believe how easy the Jeep made it look. While they would get BIG wheel lifts and wheel spin, the Jeep walked up everything at almost no speed.
I'm coming around to the automatic transmission for the technical stuff, and the low range Rubicon gearing is king for control.

Checkout the full video now on YT:



-Dan

 

[fourfa]

This one is epic, thanks for sharing.

I was pretty surprised how little articulation the Troopy had. Is that normal? The front axle barely moved

 

[Dan Grec]

This one is epic, thanks for sharing.

I was pretty surprised how little articulation the Troopy had. Is that normal? The front axle barely moved

Yep, that's just how they are!

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

The "Old Tele" track is in the Far North East of Australia, and takes you up almost to the very tip of the continent (which is only 1,500kms from the Equator... (1000mi)) ... so it's hot, sticky and tropical up here, even in winter (which it is now in Australia)
The track took us four days and includes some of Australia's most famous 4x4 obstacles.

There are many deep water crossings, including Nolan's (almost up to the hood) and quite a few very steep/tricky creek entrances and exits with big mud walls that can cause panel damage.

I drove the Jeep Gladiator, and I teamed up with a new VDJ78 Land Cruiser (4.8 V8 TD), a GU Nissan Patrol (4.2 TD) and an older HZJ75 Land Cruiser. It was incredible to see how the different vehicles handles the different obstacles, and how they were driven differently based on the vehicles strengths.

We had an incredible time, and on the final day we all said "Should we go and do it again right now?" - we loved it that much. I can totally see why people come up every year to do it over and over.

This track has been on my "Top 10 global overland tracks" for a couple of decades, and I absolutely loved it and I'm so stoked I got to spend the time and do it right!

The full video of our adventure is on YouTube:

-Dan

 

[nissanza]

Hi All,

The "Old Tele" track is in the Far North East of Australia, and takes you up almost to the very tip of the continent (which is only 1,500kms from the Equator... (1000mi)) ... so it's hot, sticky and tropical up here, even in winter (which it is now in Australia)
The track took us four days and includes some of Australia's most famous 4x4 obstacles.

There are many deep water crossings, including Nolan's (almost up to the hood) and quite a few very steep/tricky creek entrances and exits with big mud walls that can cause panel damage.

I drove the Jeep Gladiator, and I teamed up with a new VDJ78 Land Cruiser (4.8 V8 TD), a GU Nissan Patrol (4.2 TD) and an older HZJ75 Land Cruiser. It was incredible to see how the different vehicles handles the different obstacles, and how they were driven differently based on the vehicles strengths.

We had an incredible time, and on the final day we all said "Should we go and do it again right now?" - we loved it that much. I can totally see why people come up every year to do it over and over.

This track has been on my "Top 10 global overland tracks" for a couple of decades, and I absolutely loved it and I'm so stoked I got to spend the time and do it right!

The full video of our adventure is on YouTube:

-Dan

That was an epic content

 

[IOS-XR]

Last couple of uploads were epic! Question for you. Is there a reason you went with the gas engine versus the diesel? Is the diesel available in Australia?

Thanks much and stay safe out there!

 

[Dan Grec]

Last couple of uploads were epic! Question for you. Is there a reason you went with the gas engine versus the diesel? Is the diesel available in Australia?

Thanks much and stay safe out there!

In Australia the only engine in the Gladiator is the 3.6 with the auto. No other choices.

I'm impressed with the 8 speed, it's really growing on me. The mileage is the biggest drawback of the 3.6, I'm getting around 18mpg .. I wish it was 25.

If I could have had the diesel, I probably would have.

-Dan

 

[HooliganActual]

Dan,

wanted to reach out and say I love watching your videos and adventures.

For years I’ve run an Overland Kitchen in the back of my Wrangler and am thankful for the work you did with Al to get the kitchen for the truck bed into the field. I’ve been working with Al to get one for my Gladiator and am excited to see the changes you’ve recommended. I’ll be in the first production run with those updates incorporated. Great stuff you are doing.

If you & Katie’s next adventures bring you to Phoenix, AZ, drop me a PM and we’ll take you to our favorite spots.

Cheers mate!

 

[Dan Grec]

Dan,

wanted to reach out and say I love watching your videos and adventures.

For years I’ve run an Overland Kitchen in the back of my Wrangler and am thankful for the work you did with Al to get the kitchen for the truck bed into the field. I’ve been working with Al to get one for my Gladiator and am excited to see the changes you’ve recommended. I’ll be in the first production run with those updates incorporated. Great stuff you are doing.

If you & Katie’s next adventures bring you to Phoenix, AZ, drop me a PM and we’ll take you to our favorite spots.

Cheers mate!

That's awesome to hear, and thanks very much for the kind invite!

The kitchen has been amazing, and there's no way we'd still be eating so well if we didn't have it!

I aim to be at Overland Expo in Flagstaff next year, so I'll be close!

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi all,

Driving the Old Tele Track with a rag tag team of adventurers was a whole lot of fun - not only did we make new friends and have a lot of laughs, we also got to compare vastly different vehicles.

In the latest YouTube episode I showcase the vehicles we drove the Tele with, running around each one to highlight the features I like the most, and what we can learn from each vehicle to apply to our own setups.
I really enjoying seeing how other people have outfitted their vehicles, and thinking about how I can incorporate some of the best and well thought out features into my future vehicles and adventures.

Overland Rides - VDJ78 Land Cruiser / HZJ75 Land Cruiser / GU Nissan Patrol



Which one of these vehicles would you have and why?

-Dan

 

[Mball488]

Hi Everyone,
It's been another long time in the making, and it's time to kick-off my next major expedition.
I'm setting out to explore all the wild and remote corners of Australia over the next 18 months, in a Gladiator Rubicon I just picked up!

(My route will have to be flexible because of the wet season in the North, and covid restrictions coming and going)

The plan is to explore all the wild and remote corners I've heard about all my life but I have never seen.
I'll cross the Simpson Desert, drive the old Tele Track up to Cape York, Drive the world's most remote road (The Canning Stock Route) explore Tasmania's wild west coast and a WHOLE lot more!

(They didn't let me keep the bow!)


In the past I've documented my two trips on my website - http://theroadchoseme.com
On the first one I drove a little 2-door TJ Wrangler 40,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina on the Pan-American Highway and then I drove a 4-door JKUR 54,000 miles all the way around Africa, covering 54,000 miles through 35 African countries.
They were both the adventure of my lifetime, let me tell you!

I figure I need to get with the times, so on this trip I will document the build of my Gladiator and the trip itself on YouTube.

The first video introducing the Gladiator has just gone live, where I talk about the whys of what I'm doing, and why I chose a Rubicon instead of a different trim level.
The choices here in Australia are different to the US and Canada, which means my decisions are different.
Here's the intro video:


Over the next 6 weeks I will build this into my ultimate house-on-wheels Overland vehicle, and I have a lot planned and boxes have been stacking up for months now.
There will be a second gas tank, drinking water tank, filter and pump, a complete kitchen setup, fridge, front bumper, winch and lighting, aux battery, solar, custom made storage boxes, a roof rack and a canopy over the rear of the gladiator.
I will incorporate a lot of lessons learned from my previous two expeditions, and in many ways each system will be an incremental improvement from what I did previously.
It's going to be a busy 6 weeks.
I'm really stoked I get to build this vehicle with my Dad in his garage, we're going to have a lot of fun together!
I'll post the build of the Gladiator here in this thread, and then when I get underway I'll continue to post details from the expedition itself.

I hope you'll join me for the ride!

-Dan

Been following you for the entire JT build. Keep up the good work man!

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi all,

On this week's episode we're exploring the remote "Gulf Country" across the top of Australia.
We find wild and remote hot springs, paddle in a stunning gorge, drive on plenty of dusty and corrugated remote roads and venture into what might be the most stunning rock formations I've ever seen.

The distances are HUGE up here and I'm extremely thankful for the aux fuel tank, without which we'd be filling up with $2.90/L gas ($7.48USD/Gal) often! Having such a long range means I can skip the smaller expensive ones and only fill up every 600 miles at the big cheaper stations.



-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi Everyone,

The Top End of Australia was everything I always dreamed it would be - hot, remote & dusty.
But it's also so much more!
There are plenty of stunning waterfalls to explore, crocs to dodge and wild places to camp.
This is the land of "Crocodile Dundee" from my memories and it absolutely did not disappoint!

Checkout all our adventures in the latest video, on YouTube now:



We've also rolled over 40,000kms on this adventure, with plenty more to come!
(That's about 25k miles)

-Dan

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