Isle_of_Man Build

[Isle_of_Man]

Hi all --
This is my first Jeep and my first vehicle of any sort that I bought with the intent to modify. We'll see how it goes. The utility the Gladiator offered was just what I'd been looking for, and so I have started down the path of building the Oreo Fishwagon.

Purposes:
1. Daily driver
2. Weekend warrior chariot
3. Get to remote fishing locations
4. Explore NM while I'm still here
5. Dog hauler
6. Truck stuff - haul yard waste, move furniture, etc.
7. Learn as much about working on vehicles as possible

I purchased the truck used with 400 miles on it. I'll probably make a post or two about my experiences actually completing a purchase which was significantly more difficult than I expected it to be. It's a White Sport S (non-max tow, unfortunately), so I'll be building it in a white-black color scheme as much as possible.

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[Isle_of_Man]

The Buying Process

I'd needed a vehicle to satisfy my increasingly difficult-to-ignore desire to get off the beaten path and find some remote fishing/camping spots. I'd rented some Wranglers for light trails and really liked them. Also, I was coming from an IS350 and needed a truck for truck stuff. Gladiator announced, enough said, I knew what I was going to get.

It had been a while since I'd bought a vehicle, so some of the online pricing practices took some getting used to. I still don't understand why a dealership will price a truck way low, then ignore you after a couple rounds of contact, and then a week or two later, poof, their price is corrected to MSRP or just under. Clerical error they all say, but to me it's a name to add to my list of dealerships not to do business with. First lesson: if a dealer ignores you at any point, they're baiting and switching on you or using you for leverage.

Next notable event: I found what I thought was a good deal on a used black LE from Freeway Ford in Denver. I had an offer sheet sent to me, which I accepted verbally and via text, and so I took the day off work to get everything ready. I shifted assets and cut a cashier's check, payable as directed by the salesman. I rented a car for the next day to drive up to Denver to pick the truck up. At the suggestion of the salesman, I rented from a specific company that had a location close to the dealership. The rental car was in my driveway when, at 8pm, I got a call from the salesman who told me management decided to sell to someone else. My previous career was an attorney, so I was satisfied that I had a valid contract with the dealership. I also knew from that career that a contract is worth nothing unless you are willing to spend the time and money to enforce it. I'm still considering whether to go after them on principle. Second lesson: don't waste time with dealerships that don't come recommended by someone you trust.

These two lessons were learned over the space of a couple months. During that time, I decided I would try to buy a sport s model rather than a rubicon and then to use the savings to add things that help me build a truck that is specific to its mission, particularly the fishing and camping in remote spots portion of the mission. Also, I had never done any of my own work on a vehicle and that was something that needed to be remedied. I decided to do the mods myself and use the savings from labor to buy the tools I need. Famous last words, maybe.

Then, just when I was thinking I'd wait for the 2021 models to come out and get into contact with one of the forum sponsor dealerships, I found a Sport S at CarMax Colorado Springs of all places. It was used with ~400 miles, ~$10k under MSRP, and I couldn't find any information indicating that it was a lemon or involved in any accidents or services/repairs. $100 later and it was in Albuquerque. I got a pre-purchase inspection, and that's how I ended up with the white, mostly base, Sport S. My first time working with CarMax, but they were great and I'd buy from them again.

What follows is how I built it (and the problems I ran into along the way).

 

[Isle_of_Man]

Day 0 of the build.

 

[Isle_of_Man]

Rock Rails
Purchased as a Rubi take-off from a local member. The rails came with the many small pinch bolts, but I needed to get 8 body bolts and washers (M8, I think) from Lowes. At this point in the build, I had not yet ordered torque wrenches from Tekton, so on my list of things to do is figure out what the torque specs for the rails are and tighten up to specs if needed. Easy addition.

Roll-up Tonneau
Took a trip to Denver to buy Rubi suspension takeoffs and a tonneau cover. Needed to buy some torx bits. Bought a large "mechanics" set of Kobalt tools for $200. Ratchets, sockets, and bits. Hoping this will cover most situations. Almost stripped one of the torx bolts using too small a torx bit. Once I got the right tool for the job, it was another easy install.

Stubby Antenna
Bought a cheap one off Amazon.

Denver Pick-up

Before

After

 

[Isle_of_Man]

OEM Bed Rails
I decided to try the KB Voodoo rails as a foundation for a rooftop tent, bikes, skis, etc. I also wanted some additional tie down points for the bed, so ordering the OEM rails made sense. Easy install.

Before

After

KB Voodoo Uprights and Crossbars
These work with the OEM roll-up tonneau cover. So far no leaking, but the tonneau isn't sitting down as far as it did. Weather stripping might be needed at some point. I may adjust the uprights further towards the tailgate to make it easy to sneak the tonneau under the first crossbar. In camping situations I don't think I'll need to completely roll up the tonneau. Field testing is necessary (if they would actually open some camp grounds in NM). I got the knobs for quick removal of crossbars so I can haul bigger stuff without too much tear down energy. The crossbars are really easy to remove and re-attach. Adding a RTT will likely complicate things quite a bit. I need to figure out a storage solution when the RTT is off the truck. Comes with T-brackets to attach into the bed rails. Each bed rail is rated for 250 lbs, and I went with the steel KB Voodoo option rather than the aluminum to be able to take advantage of a 500 lb capacity. I wanted to get a third crossbar that would attach to the front bed rail for another 250 lbs of capacity, but they don't make one that fits on that rail. Long term project is to figure out how to mod one of the crossbars to take advantage of the third rail and reclaim the full capacity of the OEM rails.

Bedrug Impact Mat
Initially the plan was to use a third party to line the bed. But I liked the white and black possibility on the inside of the bed, so for the time being am happy with the Impact Mat. I went with the impact mat over the regular bedrug because it looked more black in the pictures and I couldn't tell many other differences. This took a long time to arrive, but was also an easy install (I needed to use some preciously hoarded rubbing alcohol for this project). The impact mat arrived rolled up and needed to be left in the sun to flatten out. I immediately discovered that the thing gets effin hot in the sun, so maybe that's a difference between the impact mat and the bedrug. Regardless, I'll almost always have the tonneau cover on so it's not a big problem. The bed portion of the mat laid completely flat but I couldn't ever get the tailgate portion to be flat. As installed it has a little bit of wave. Not a huge deal, but noticing it made me question whether my love for this Jeep was causing unhealthy levels of OCD.

 

[Mac Attack]

NM great place for a Gladiator. Where are you heading?

 

[Isle_of_Man]

NM great place for a Gladiator. Where are you heading?

I've got a contract for one more year here, then who knows?! Hopefully I can hit the best trails and state parks.

 

[snoshoe]

I like the fact that you had a build concept from the beginning and you are sticking to it.
That seems to be the hardest part for me!
Keep the updates coming - looks good.

 

[Isle_of_Man]

I like the fact that you had a build concept from the beginning and you are sticking to it.
That seems to be the hardest part for me!
Keep the updates coming - looks good.

Thanks, there are more updates to post, I just need time to write them up! It's funny, not getting the max tow put limits on the size of tire I can put on. It was something I really regretted not having at the time. But that led me to checking out the 255/80/17s and from what I read that size is pretty much ideal for my build and purpose. If I had the 4.10 I just know I wouldn't have been able to resist going to 37s. Sometimes limitations are good to protect me from myself lol.

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