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GladiatorPilot's Build Thread

GladiatorPilot

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I previously was a JKUR owner for 7 years until Hurricane Harvey flooded most of Houston including my Wrangler. I held off buying another Jeep until about 6 months ago when i bought this Granite Crystal Metallic Sport S - Max Tow. I wanted to go back and put together a build thread of the progress so far and continue going forward. So here's the first pictures right on the lot and one next to the Gulf of Mexico. With 49 miles on the Gladiator headed back home from that trip to the beach my windshield was cracked by a flying rock.

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GladiatorPilot

GladiatorPilot

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First two mods were very easily taken care of within the first week. I found some mint Rubicon take off rock rails online and picked up a stubby antenna. Unfortunately, this was all the progress i made for several months due to part shortages and backorders.

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GladiatorPilot

GladiatorPilot

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Next up was an interior modification with the addition of a Hotheads Headliner with the sound assassin strips. This was a pretty awesome upgrade to keep the interior cooler and to kill some road noise.

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GladiatorPilot

GladiatorPilot

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Here's where the Gladiator broke out of the stock cocoon!
  • TeraFlex 3.5" Coil Spring Lift Kit
  • TeraFlex Alpine Front LCA
  • TeraFlex Front Sway Bar Quick Disconnect
  • TeraFlex Alpine HD Forged Adjustable Track Bar
  • Fox 2.0 Performance Series 2.0 IFP Shocks
  • Fox 2.0 Performance Series Smooth Body Steering Stabilizer
  • Rock Krawler Rear Track Bar Relocation Bracket
  • R17 Fuel Vapor D560
  • 35” Nitto Ridge Grappler tires
  • Tazer JL Mini
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GladiatorPilot

GladiatorPilot

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I had been looking for a Rubicon take off 3-piece bumper and skid plate or several months online but never had one come up within several hundred miles. The bumpers were also back ordered from Mopar but I finally ended up getting one. I wanted to keep the Granite Crystal Metallic/Black theme going so I Plasti Dip'ed the red tow hooks black.
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Thanks to the factory spray in bedliner the Trail Rail Cargo Management System install is an example of something that should have been super simple but was a big pain. Cleaning up the mounting points in the bed took a while to figure out the best way to go about it. Note, don't use the supplied hardware to help clean out the threads because you might end up stripping out the torx head. Guess how I know? The new kit from Mopar doesn't include enough bolts to mount everything so i need up getting two extra bolts from Home Depot for the rear mounting point. The nutserts were what i was most nervous about but ended up being no issue.

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GladiatorPilot

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The final project to close out 2020 was the rear bumper. I wanted the steel Mopar Rubicon bumper and had again been looking for takeoffs. This was another one that was backordered and I was told wouldn't be in stock closer to 2021 but I was able to find one online. I also picked up another black tow hook and the bed sliders as well.

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J33p3r_b3ast

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This one falls into the "because i wanted to" category. I've always liked the look of snorkels but didn't want to have to deal with cutting into the hood so the Rugged Ridge AmFib Snorkel high mount was just what i've been looking for.

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How have you liked this so far? Have you noticed a change in power/sound/acceleration? And has the snorkel extension added any wind noise? Is the snorkel extension fairly easy to swap in and out?
 
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GladiatorPilot

GladiatorPilot

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How have you liked this so far? Have you noticed a change in power/sound/acceleration? And has the snorkel extension added any wind noise? Is the snorkel extension fairly easy to swap in and out?
I do like the snorkel but I haven’t noticed much, if any, change in power/sound/acceleration. There isn’t any extra wind noise from the high mount that I can tell. It is also easy to go between high and low mounts.
 

Hothead Headliners

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Next up was an interior modification with the addition of a Hotheads Headliner with the sound assassin strips. This was a pretty awesome upgrade to keep the interior cooler and to kill some road noise.

Jeep Gladiator GladiatorPilot's Build Thread image-4


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Great photos. I'm glad you enjoy your new Hothead Headliners!
-Mark
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