John in the Woods
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- John
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2020
- Threads
- 24
- Messages
- 530
- Reaction score
- 1,103
- Location
- Blacksburg VA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 Gladiator Rubicon Diesel
- Build Thread
- Link
- Occupation
- Semi-retired noisemaker
- Thread starter
- #1
UPDATE - FALL 2022: There's a lot to read here. An overview of my plans for life with my 2021 diesel Ruby is in this top post, and here's a few quick links to some of the details that follow:
Now, back to the original post ...
In a big leap for a guy who's been garage building "almost as good as a Jeep" rigs since the late 1980s, I gave up the wannabe lifestyle and join the Jeep owner ranks last year. Ordered my 2021 diesel Gladiator Rubicon a few weeks after the July 2020 announcement that they were available, and picked it up from the dealer on Oct. 23. It's a pretty standard sting gray Rubicon, with the adaptive cruise, blind spot and collision avoidance systems, as well as a lined bed, tacked on. I added 35" BFG KO2s on delivery, but it took an extra month for the Mopar 2" lift for the diesel to get delivered and installed.
Since then it's been a daily driver and weekend trail camping warrior, with an occasional 500-mile or so trip tossed in. I'm coming up on 17K miles and have yet to have a single issue with the truck. I know some folks here have run into problems with hot weather, high grade towing, and a few other folks have had a range of other challenges -- and I respect them all -- but my experience has been nothing but a steady stream of being amazed by this rig. With a tank of fuel and my dogs and me sitting in it, this truck approaches 6K pounds, it is lifted and on up-sized tires, and it's shaped like a cinder block, and lately I've been topping 27 mpg on the highway. My overall average, which includes a fair share of grocery getting, running 500-pound loads of wet debris to the dumps, and slow crawling on muddy logging roads, is just shy of 23 mpg. That amazes me. Never a missed start or a thrown code. It pulls through deep snow, muddy trails and didn't flinch during the worst hurricane-fueled downpour I've ever endured. And damn, I've become addicted to having the roof and the doors off.
Honestly, I know people expect a lot from new cars (and at this price point those are fair expectations) and I guess some lifelong Jeep owners might take some of this for granted, but these things are absolutely one-of-a-kind incredible. Those "almost as good" rigs I built and loved, not even close.
OK, enough preaching to the choir for me. I just needed to get that said.
So I bought this as a daily driver and all-around utility truck, but the plan was always to build it up to a remote camping (Phase 1) and extended overlanding (Phase 2) rig after I retired -- which through the grace of Providence and a few generous incentives was July 2021. As of September 2021, I've already been doing some trail driving and primitive camping to test out some gear and a few ideas, but it's time to get serious. Over the next few months I will be adding gear and making modifications so I can do some trail driving and remote camping as deep into the Northeast winter as I can get. After that, I'll focus more on the garage work, building out some type of setup so that sometime late winter '21-'22, I can head out for some extended travel, first south to see friends and relatives, then west to get a taste of that incredible country out there. After a few cycles back for refinements (and to get my house set to rent) I plan to hit the road for most of the next 3-5 years. Where I land from there is anybody's guess.
A few caveats: I've got two decent sized Lab mixes (one part Staffy at 70 pounds, one part Newf at 100 pounds), so I know I'll be surrendering my back seat to them. I also want to keep some strong trail capability, because I love fishing and hiking the quieter, less-traveled spaces. And, I love the open-air feel, so I'll be very reluctant to do anything that's going to lock me back into a permanently closed box.
With all that, here's the very rough plan ...
Phase 1 -- focusing on trails and remote camping trips of 3-5 days.
Phase 2 -- extended travel and overlanding trips of 10+ days.
I'm also thinking about a soft top and doors for easy open driving, but I'm going to wait to see if someone comes out with a top that folds all the way down to the tub. In the meantime, I'll likely add a bikini top and a trail cover, for when I get caught wheeling or camping with my top off. I'm also hoping the global economic madness recedes and bit, and the Gladiator and overlanding markets cool a little, so some of these prices start to settle down. Wishful thinking, I know.
That's a helluva lot of words. If you got this far, thank you. As I hope I mentioned a few times, feedback and advice are very welcome. I'm reading and learning, but I'm not at all against a direct intervention from all the folks who are smarter and more experienced than me.
Best, John
A quick look at the rig ...
As delivered:
Post BFGs and Mopar lift:
Typical Northeast trails:
Very basic camp kitchen:
Copilots:
How I spend as much time as possible.
- Overall Phase 1 upgrade plans for winter 2021-22, with more details here ...
- Warn winch solenoid and BadgeGlow install
- KC Flex ERA 4 install and field test
- ARB dual air and 813 Fab rear seat mount install
- ARB step sliders and rocker protection install and follow-up
- JCR bed molle panels install and review
- Comms and mounts install
- Rock Hard front and rear lower LCA and rear shock skids install
- Goose Gear 60 delete platform install and review
- Rusty's upper rear LCA skids and Synergy steering dampener relocation install
- Lessons learned from the first year on the road, with details on power use, what worked and didn't for cab covers, and why I need to rethink and expand storage space.
- Phase 2 upgrade plans for winter 2022-23 are underway, including ...
- AEV Borah wheels and 37x12.5 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs mounted and some lessons learned about balancing. Full-size spare is under the bed!
- Fox 2.0 steering stabilizer install
- ARB diff covers install
- ASFIR 4x4 aluminum oil pan/tranny and transfer case/fuel filter skids install and early review
- Mopar twill soft top is in the building and on the truck!
- KB Voodoo MAX Modular 14” aluminum bed rack with storage box is on
Now, back to the original post ...
In a big leap for a guy who's been garage building "almost as good as a Jeep" rigs since the late 1980s, I gave up the wannabe lifestyle and join the Jeep owner ranks last year. Ordered my 2021 diesel Gladiator Rubicon a few weeks after the July 2020 announcement that they were available, and picked it up from the dealer on Oct. 23. It's a pretty standard sting gray Rubicon, with the adaptive cruise, blind spot and collision avoidance systems, as well as a lined bed, tacked on. I added 35" BFG KO2s on delivery, but it took an extra month for the Mopar 2" lift for the diesel to get delivered and installed.
Since then it's been a daily driver and weekend trail camping warrior, with an occasional 500-mile or so trip tossed in. I'm coming up on 17K miles and have yet to have a single issue with the truck. I know some folks here have run into problems with hot weather, high grade towing, and a few other folks have had a range of other challenges -- and I respect them all -- but my experience has been nothing but a steady stream of being amazed by this rig. With a tank of fuel and my dogs and me sitting in it, this truck approaches 6K pounds, it is lifted and on up-sized tires, and it's shaped like a cinder block, and lately I've been topping 27 mpg on the highway. My overall average, which includes a fair share of grocery getting, running 500-pound loads of wet debris to the dumps, and slow crawling on muddy logging roads, is just shy of 23 mpg. That amazes me. Never a missed start or a thrown code. It pulls through deep snow, muddy trails and didn't flinch during the worst hurricane-fueled downpour I've ever endured. And damn, I've become addicted to having the roof and the doors off.
Honestly, I know people expect a lot from new cars (and at this price point those are fair expectations) and I guess some lifelong Jeep owners might take some of this for granted, but these things are absolutely one-of-a-kind incredible. Those "almost as good" rigs I built and loved, not even close.
OK, enough preaching to the choir for me. I just needed to get that said.
So I bought this as a daily driver and all-around utility truck, but the plan was always to build it up to a remote camping (Phase 1) and extended overlanding (Phase 2) rig after I retired -- which through the grace of Providence and a few generous incentives was July 2021. As of September 2021, I've already been doing some trail driving and primitive camping to test out some gear and a few ideas, but it's time to get serious. Over the next few months I will be adding gear and making modifications so I can do some trail driving and remote camping as deep into the Northeast winter as I can get. After that, I'll focus more on the garage work, building out some type of setup so that sometime late winter '21-'22, I can head out for some extended travel, first south to see friends and relatives, then west to get a taste of that incredible country out there. After a few cycles back for refinements (and to get my house set to rent) I plan to hit the road for most of the next 3-5 years. Where I land from there is anybody's guess.
A few caveats: I've got two decent sized Lab mixes (one part Staffy at 70 pounds, one part Newf at 100 pounds), so I know I'll be surrendering my back seat to them. I also want to keep some strong trail capability, because I love fishing and hiking the quieter, less-traveled spaces. And, I love the open-air feel, so I'll be very reluctant to do anything that's going to lock me back into a permanently closed box.
With all that, here's the very rough plan ...
Phase 1 -- focusing on trails and remote camping trips of 3-5 days.
- Complete my recovery setup. I have a winch (Smittybuilt 10K synthetic I transferred over from my last rig), ARB tire kit, a Hi-Lift and a basic ARB strap kit, but I need to add a few shackles, a backup snatch strap (mine if a little frayed from pulling a VW out of a snowbank). I'm also considering an alternative to the Hi-Lift for off-road jacking. Maxtrax seems like a smart addition too; I'll see if my trail experience suggests them.
- Onboard air. I've had a portable big box air pump, but if I'm going to be living out there, it's time to get serious. ARB dual seems like the smart option.
- Navigation. Leaning toward OnX and/or Gaia on an iPad, but I may wait until after Overland Expo East to see what's out there.
- Communication. I was thinking CB and/or ham, but there seems to be a lot of new options in between. Definitely need to do a little homework.
- Dash mount system for all of this. Open to recommendations on best approach.
- Rear 60 delete. I love the Goose Gear platform, but damn that's a lot of money for half a sheet of plywood. Yes, they seem very smartly made, but I may save $600 bucks or so for something else and DIY this. It really just has to support a few dogs.
- Switch and relay setup for the winch. Dealer installed it hard wired to the battery. I bought the Warn kit after doing some reading here. It's going in soon.
- Badge Glow aux power block. Seems like a smart addition for future wiring ease.
- Mobile tool kit. I can assemble the basics from my garage tools, but may add a new DeWalt 20V driver/impact/recip saw set just for some old-guy convenience.
- Trail/camp tools. The basics: ax, handsaw, hatchet, maybe a chainsaw (been eyeballing the DeWalt electric one, so I can use the batteries on all the tools).
- Water. I'll likely start with some Jerry cans or anything that can hold up to 10 gallons. Pouring is fine, it doesn't need to be pumped.
- Fuel. Diesel has great milage, but a smaller tank. I'm thinking Jerry can again.
- Of course, camping gear. I'm going to pick up a ground tent and a solid sleeping bag for now (and maybe a cot or mattress for my not-in-my-20s-anymore skeleton). I have a Coleman propane stove. I definitely want to upgrade the stove (poor flame control) and I'll be filling out the cookware and chuck box as I go. I'm looking into water filtration and camp toilet setups as well, and suggestions are very welcome.
- Safety and First aid kit. Have a good one (I think), but only the most basic sense of how to use it. Definitely need some training. A few fire extinguishers are a must.
- Trail lighting. I'm very skeptical of big light bars and the like, but I'll see what experience suggests and add what's needed.
Phase 2 -- extended travel and overlanding trips of 10+ days.
- Living space. It's possible I love ground tent life, and don't need anything else. If that's the case, I'll stick with it. I don't like to spend money on toys I don't need. But if that's not the case, I'll need someplace to call home. The jury is still out for me on ...
- Truck based. I'm not crazy about bed racks. They look amazing and add storage and a platform for something up top, but they leave the bed open to dust, weather and curious hands. Those slide-in campers look amazing too, but I'm not eager to add that much weight and permanently give up the bed and tougher trails. That might leave me with an RSI cap and rooftop tent, provided I can come up with a way to detach them both with relative ease, either in the garage or, better yet, out on the trail. I don't want to give up the joys of top-free, trail capable Jeep life now that I've just discovered it.
- Trailer based. Given my desire to keep the Gladiator lean, capable of still using as a pickup and a trail rig, I'm leaning now toward some type of trailer. There are some gorgeous options out there, but unless I win a raffle at some future Expo, it's unlikely I'll want to shell out all that cash. If I go this way, it's likely build time. Yes, I'm getting too old for this.
- House power. I've been assuming I'd end up with a house power system with connections to the alternator, solar and shore power, but I'm starting to wonder if one of those new portable units is a better solution. Which was I go will likely depend upon what kid of living space I settle on.
- Upgraded kitchen, including food prep space and on-demand hot water. Seems like a basic need.
- A good awning system.
- Outdoor shower (or indoor, if the trailer idea gets really funky)
- Camp lighting. If home is out there, I might as well be able to see where I'm living.
- Fridge. With power and longer stays will come better food storage, including a fridge.
- Garmin In-Reach or comparable.
- Maxtrax, if they're not already onboard.
I'm also thinking about a soft top and doors for easy open driving, but I'm going to wait to see if someone comes out with a top that folds all the way down to the tub. In the meantime, I'll likely add a bikini top and a trail cover, for when I get caught wheeling or camping with my top off. I'm also hoping the global economic madness recedes and bit, and the Gladiator and overlanding markets cool a little, so some of these prices start to settle down. Wishful thinking, I know.
That's a helluva lot of words. If you got this far, thank you. As I hope I mentioned a few times, feedback and advice are very welcome. I'm reading and learning, but I'm not at all against a direct intervention from all the folks who are smarter and more experienced than me.
Best, John
A quick look at the rig ...
As delivered:
Post BFGs and Mopar lift:
Typical Northeast trails:
Very basic camp kitchen:
Copilots:
How I spend as much time as possible.
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