Hydro Blue Rubicon Diesel Build

[trailless]

I've never been one to name my vehicles and didn't name the JK I had for years.

I had a 2014 JKUR until I sold it this year. It was a lot of fun along the way but the 3.6L pentastar just had too many issues... It sort of put me off Jeeps. A couple pictures of the JK below.

Then I purchase a 2021 Civic Type R. It was fun but I definitely missed having a Jeep. So I sold it just 2 months into ownership and placed an order for a 2021 Gladiator Rubicon Diesel. I ordered from Mall of GA Jeep with Mike Clinnin, I can't recommend him enough. It was the best vehicle purchasing experience I've ever had.

The Jeep:

• Hydro Blue Rubicon Ecodiesel
• Premium Soft Top
• 8.4 Uconnect
• Premium Audio
• Front Mopar Steel Bumper
• Safety Group
• Remote Proximity Keyless Entry
• Trail Rail System
• Cold Weather Group
• LED Package
• Aux Switch
• Forward Facing Trail Cam
• Tan Leather Seats
• Adaptive Cruise Control

The mods I have purchased:

• 37" Cooper STT Pros
• 17" KMC Grenade Beadlocks in Black
• Tazer Mini
• Innovative AT Products Twin ARB Compressor (installs under the passenger seat and can fill all 4 tires at once)

The mods that I plan on purchasing:

• EVO 4.5" Stage 4 plus overland lift
• Fox 2.0 shocks (4.5"-6")
• Adams 1350 front and rear drive shaft
• Warn EVO 12s winch

Other than that I'm contemplating between the EVO Crew Bomber Rockers or the Rock Slide Engineering Steps... I'm probably going to hold off on the lift for a while to see if any issues come up with the Jeep. But I'm going to throw on the wheels and tires as soon as the TPMS sensors, which are backordered, come in.

Sponsored

 

[glendawg1619]

Hah! Twins! I just started my build journal too. Nice gladiator man! I will stay tuned

 

[trailless]

Hah! Twins! I just started my build journal too. Nice gladiator man! I will stay tuned

Awesome! I'll go check out your build too!

 

[trailless]

So I've had these tires and wheels sitting in my house for over a month now... I actually took delivery of them before I even had my Jeep! Anyway, I would have installed the tires onto the beadlocks already but I'm waiting on the new TPMS sensors which are apparently backordered everywhere... at first I bought the wrong ones as Gladiators built after June 5 require a different TPMS sensor than the ones built before June 5.

Cooper STT Pro 37x12.5r17
KMC Grenade Beadlocks 17x9

 

[Glendawg619]

hey just so you know, quadratec has some tpms sensors that will work with the new system. They arrived at my house 2 days ago

 

[trailless]

hey just so you know, quadratec has some tpms sensors that will work with the new system. They arrived at my house 2 days ago

Good to know! However I just had a bad experience with aftermarket TPMS sensors before. I installed aftermarket ones on beadlocks before and they just didn't work... I don't want to go through the process of unmounting and mounting beadlocks twice.

 

[trailless]

I'm debating on whether to wire the innovative at products air compressor to the aux switches or a separate switch located under the passenger seat. For the aux switchs I just plan on using it for a winch and a couple cube lights out front. So I'd have 2 left over switches.

 

[Glendawg619]

Good to know! However I just had a bad experience with aftermarket TPMS sensors before. I installed aftermarket ones on beadlocks before and they just didn't work... I don't want to go through the process of unmounting and mounting beadlocks twice.

So they sent me the wrong ones... lol

guess whos gonna have to unmount there tires SMH

 

[trailless]

So they sent me the wrong ones... lol

guess whos gonna have to unmount there tires SMH

LOL, sorry to laugh but I know how you feel. I'm just glad that I caught the change in TPMS sensors for 2021 Gladiators before installing the ones I had.

 

[trailless]

So I installed the Mopar Roll Up Tonneau Cover yesterday. Apparently for 2021 Gladiators, Jeep changed the location of the hole in the cover's bracket and the holes in the bed. Online stores don't seem to have figured this out and they recommend the fix for it is a rivnut. However, the rivnut doesn't fit into the hole in the bed that lines up with the hole on the bracket...

I decided to just pick up some washer and nuts. So I went to Lowes and for some reason they didn't have any M8 nuts... Then I drive to Home Depot and pick up a few lock washers and nuts. The space between the bed and the cab is so tight that I had a hell of a time trying to get the washer and nut on the bolt... Also it was dark by the time I made it back home and tried using my cellphone as a flashlight to see between the bed and cab. Well it fell between the cab and bed... I managed to push it around with a metal pole and, thankfully it fell from underneath the Jeep. So what should have taken maybe 25 minutes to install took over 2 hours.

Other than then horrible time installing it, the cover is great and I love how easy it is to use.

 

[trailless]

My next project is the Innovative AT Products 4 tire system and ARB twin air compressor. I just know I'm going to run into some BS trying to install it and have to run to Home Depot a couple times.

 

[trailless]

Well I still haven't gotten my ARB air compressor installed. BUT I did get the 37" Cooper STT PROs mounted on the KMC beadlocks. It's been a few years since I've set up beadlocks and I forgot how tedious it is...

 

[trailless]

I'm going to be paying someone to the next round of mods.

• EVO MFG 4.5" Overland Stage 4 Plus Lift
• Front and Rear Adams 1350 drive shafts
• Fox 2.0 4.5"-6" shocks
• Tazer Mini

I went back and forth between the EVO 2.5" and the EVO 4.5" lift. Then I thought back to when I lifted my JK. I went with a 3" lift and always wished I had gone 4". Anyway, if it's too high I can just swap out the springs with the 2.5" ones.

 

[trailless]

Just dropped it off to get the lift and tires installed! Also opted to add a Warn VR 12s winch to the Mopar front bumper. Gonna be a long couple days...

I'm still impressed with the diesel. I averaged 20mpg driving 80mph+ on the way to the shop. That's 550lbs of tires and wheels in the bed.

 

[trailless]

Just picked up the Jeep. Super excited on how it turned out. Still waiting on the driveshafts. I'm gonna give it some time before judging the suspension. Feels great so far.

Also, the diesel does great with 37s. I don't feel a need to regear at all.

For anyone wondering, the 37x12.5 Cooper STT Pro fit in the spare tire location. Had to take the heat shield off though and deflate the tire pretty low. However, the spare is really close to the rear track bar. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Sponsored