In Bed Vertical Tire Carrier

[Bandit’s Lair]

Let me see what ya got. DV8, Motobiit, Generic. Doesn’t matter which one it is I’d like to see it to see what my options are and if they’re working out for others. I need to able to mount up to a 38” tire. At this point vertical mounting is going to give me the room I want to be able to run gear I want to run for wheeling and camping and all sorts of nefarious activities where Bandit is concerned.

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[VA6489]

Installed an AEV spare tire carrier. Allows for up to a 42 inch tire.

https://aev-conversions.com/product...unOrLlmzfhdzcPHO__F5BrjR7jEFU9qnO3u5q4rnEcT6_

 

[Dickies Outdoor's]

I would just mever give up any bed space. I use it too much.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I would just mever give up any bed space. I use it too much.

It is a trade off. I like having bed space too but I love wheeling and that spare is gonna get creamed out here getting drug over the rocks. I’m really just figuring out my options depending on what I decide to do with the bed area. Just getting the juices flowing.

 

[WambliSka]

I wonder if anyone makes a spare "cover" that doubles up as armor?

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I wonder if anyone makes a spare "cover" that doubles up as armor?

I’ve looked into that and have found a couple companies that make plates that go over that area but only AFTER the spare is removed. My bet is that adding a decently sized plate down there interferes with departure angle even more than the badonkadonk already does. That and if it’s released with the spare they’d have to release so many versions to accommodate different wheel widths and it pretty much locks you into whatever width you choose and lower. Once I get the spare out of the way I’d like a skid there. Just seems smart in my head.

 

[TomJT]

It is a trade off. I like having bed space too but I love wheeling and that spare is gonna get creamed out here getting drug over the rocks. I’m really just figuring out my options depending on what I decide to do with the bed area. Just getting the juices flowing.

I read as much as I could about this trying to make a decision of where to put the spare myself. There are lots of people here that say they have done serious wheeling and have never hit their spare. I have my 37" in the stock location for now. I did get the DV8 hitch skid which should help a little.

 

[VA6489]

It is a trade off. I like having bed space too but I love wheeling and that spare is gonna get creamed out here getting drug over the rocks. I’m really just figuring out my options depending on what I decide to do with the bed area. Just getting the juices flowing.

Most folks this the Gladiator is a truck...... more like a UTE give you the ability to haul larger things ( as long as they are not heavy)and the look of a Pickup. It is really too long to off road with as it drags the rear frame everywhere it goes. It improve the off-roading side bigger needs to be applied. Suspension, and tires. After 37 inches the spare no longer fits under the frame.

-Hange it on the tailgate? Need stronger spring to handle the extra 150# along with bigger shocks.
-Can leave the spare behind, seem to be a favorite with the JKU/JLU crowd and rely on Glue tread to fix the flat. What happens when the tire is slashed to the point patching doesn't work?
- Limit tire size so you can use the underbed location..... Still get beat up in the rocks.

I opted for the vertical bed location as it preserves most of the bed space, I can still put the soft cap on, still use my "truck" to take the trash cans to the dump. Best of all the extra weight is where it should be near the center of the rig. If I need my "truck" to carry something bigger I can unmount the spare

This rig is a compromise.

Flame on.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

@VA6489 Im kind of in the same boat. I like having a truck and find it useful for certain things but I love wheeling and camping. Camping especially was one of my draws to the Gladiator. Gone are the days I have to worry if my cooler is gonna fly forward and smack me in the back of the head like in my LJ. So much space to organize camp gear. The length is daunting in certain situations but a good hit hitch skid and some good lines mitigate a lot of my concerns. It’s gonna scrape. It’s gonna have to high side on tight trails. I’m just looking to where I can organize stuff for 90% of what I want to do with it.

 

[ChrisNLA]

I can't help on the spare tire mount, but my buddy with a Gladiator had a 'skid' that was on his spare tire. He had a local shop make it. It's just a piece of steel that the tire lays into and had a couple ears turned up and a cable that went over the tire to hold it in place. Then you just winched the tire back up like normal.

Anyway - it's been on every Gladiator he had and wheeled all over the western states with no issues that I know of. Was low profile, protected the tire, made it slippery.

Not to disuade you from the bed mount. Go that route if it's preferable.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

I’ll probably have something made too after I move the spare to the bed and do the triangulated 4 link in the rear. Get everything out of there then have a shop cut something to fit in there after all the stuff is out of the way. Match it to whatever rear bumper I decide on so it’s one single surface to slide on. That is of course if I don’t decide to do the flat bed thing. Really need to hit the lotto here soon so I can build this thing like I actually want to.

 

[WambliSka]

@VA6489 Im kind of in the same boat. I like having a truck and find it useful for certain things but I love wheeling and camping. Camping especially was one of my draws to the Gladiator. Gone are the days I have to worry if my cooler is gonna fly forward and smack me in the back of the head like in my LJ. So much space to organize camp gear. The length is daunting in certain situations but a good hit hitch skid and some good lines mitigate a lot of my concerns. It’s gonna scrape. It’s gonna have to high side on tight trails. I’m just looking to where I can organize stuff for 90% of what I want to do with it.

What he said. I've owned 2 and 4 door Jeeps and for the first time I now have the full back seat to accommodate dog and grandkids when they go out with myself and my wife, and I still have a full bed to carry coolers and camping gear and/or all my shooting and hunting stuff. And while some folks don't see the Gladiator as a good off-road option, that is 100% dependent on the type of off-roading/trail you do.

I intend to do ZERO of some of the crazy Moab type "stunts" I see on YouTube. I didn't buy a $60k Gladiator to go flip it over rocks when I have options to get to the same place that do not require it. And I certainly do not want to chop the fenders and body so I can stuff 40" monster tires under it.

I use trails exclusively to get to my destination, the trail itself is NEVER my goal so I do not seek "technical" trails or "challenges" to my equipment. I just want to leave less capable vehicles and drivers behind (relatively easy to do) so I and family/friends that come out with me can enjoy beauty and solitude without a carload of screaming brats in a Subaru camping next to me..

My Mojave is PERFECT for the long desert and mountain runs I make and so far my tail has scraped the trail literally ONCE and I just bought a plate for the hitch so that is a non issue.

 

[ChrisNLA]

I intend to do ZERO of some of the crazy Moab type "stunts" I see on YouTube. I didn't buy a $60k Gladiator to go flip it over rocks when I have options to get to the same place that do not require it. And I certainly do not want to chop the fenders and body so I can stuff 40" monster tires under it.

I use trails exclusively to get to my destination, the trail itself is NEVER my goal so I do not seek "technical" trails or "challenges" to my equipment. I just want to leave less capable vehicles and drivers behind (relatively easy to do) so I and family/friends that come out with me can enjoy beauty and solitude without a carload of screaming brats in a Subaru camping next to me..

I'm gonna derail this thread but I'm curious!

Is there particular trails or obstacles you have seen in Moab that fit your example?

I only ask because after going to Moab a couple times now (and planning my third trip) a lot of things I did can be considered bonkers if you watch it on a video but in real life isn't hard at all on the truck and result is typically scraping the bottom of the back bumper and the factory skids here and there.

After offroading a bunch in mid America and out east - I found that Moab wheeling was a cake walk and that the 'easier' stuff out east was far more likely to damage and destroy things, even if accidentally. That's just I learned after doing both.

Not suggesting your opinion is invalid or should be changed!

 

[WambliSka]

I'm gonna derail this thread but I'm curious!

Is there particular trails or obstacles you have seen in Moab that fit your example?

I only ask because after going to Moab a couple times now (and planning my third trip) a lot of things I did can be considered bonkers if you watch it on a video but in real life isn't hard at all on the truck and result is typically scraping the bottom of the back bumper and the factory skids here and there.

After offroading a bunch in mid America and out east - I found that Moab wheeling was a cake walk and that the 'easier' stuff out east was far more likely to damage and destroy things, even if accidentally. That's just I learned after doing both.

Not suggesting your opinion is invalid or should be changed!

And I'm not taking it that way. I enjoy discourse and finding out more about what people mean or a trying to do myself, so I'll clarify.

Moab to me is a generic term for anyplace where folks congregate specifically to earn trail badges or test their rigs and their abilities. I've seen folks rolling on endless caravans of other Jeeps and then waiting for long periods of time so they can willingly dump their Jeeps into holes and try to climb out of a vertical rock wall the other side. That will never be me, I'll very happily watch them do it on YouTube and then when everyone is gone I'll drive around the hole if there is a destination on or at the end of the trail worthy of me visiting.

I do not do "group" things in general. I don't enjoy crowds (defined by more than 6 people I like), even like minded ones, and I always feel like in such settings there is group pressure to do as other's do which does not bother me but I also don't really care for it at all.

I bought my Jeep for personal and family enjoyment's and to go places AWAY from other humans. When I test my skills it is with a purpose of getting somewhere, not just to test my rig and my driving. There is a line in the sand that is entirely based on MY judgement that I will not cross and I don't need someone next to me going, "Oh come on, just try it.".

 

[ChrisNLA]

And I'm not taking it that way. I enjoy discourse and finding out more about what people mean or a trying to do myself, so I'll clarify.

Moab to me is a generic term for anyplace where folks congregate specifically to earn trail badges or test their rigs and their abilities. I've seen folks rolling on endless caravans of other Jeeps and then waiting for long periods of time so they can willingly dump their Jeeps into holes and try to climb out of a vertical rock wall the other side. That will never be me, I'll very happily watch them do it on YouTube and then when everyone is gone I'll drive around the hole if there is a destination on or at the end of the trail worthy of me visiting.

I do not do "group" things in general. I don't enjoy crowds (defined by more than 6 people I like), even like minded ones, and I always feel like in such settings there is group pressure to do as other's do which does not bother me but I also don't really care for it at all.

I bought my Jeep for personal and family enjoyment's and to go places AWAY from other humans. When I test my skills it is with a purpose of getting somewhere, not just to test my rig and my driving. There is a line in the sand that is entirely based on MY judgement that I will not cross and I don't need someone next to me going, "Oh come on, just try it.".

Gotcha!

I shy'd away from some out west trips the last few times when they were getting too extreme for my tastes. First time I was in a small group (two) and never sat in lines. Was enjoyable, we did trails that I did not consider extreme.

The second time I think were 6-7 Jeeps deep. Not nearly as enjoyable. Trail selection was turned up some. Ducked out one one day entirely in exchange for some easy scenery and a nice lunch.

I really kinda feel where you are coming from on that. My group got fairly high pressure I felt like - and while I don't mind them doing their thing, I felt like they outgrew me and weren't going to dial it back for my tastes.

And that's OK - I can do alone / small setting. That will probably put me more at ease.

I love deciding to opt out of something and people simply accepting that.

I am more likely to volunteer into something when left to my own thought processes than being coerced into it.

Going back though and looking forward to the scenery - this time on a trip that was 100% my plan. I have it dialed back to trails that a 'stock' Gladiator will be at home on, and visiting mostly areas that our crowd wasn't interested in. Some are trails that I just love (like Fins & Things, and Hells Revenge but skipping all of the YouTube obstacles) and some are 'roads to get somewhere' like Onion Creek, and Potash Rd to get to Island in the Sky (Canyonlands).

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