New Gladiator overlander (to be)

[MSFTMatt]

Hey everyone,
Been lurking on here for a few months and looks like I'm going to pull the trigger on a 2023 Rubicon in sarge green in the next few days. I'll be moving over from a 2016 F150 that was pretty well outfitted for overlanding, and I learned a lot along the way building out that rig. Some of the items I plan on transferring over from the F150 are: ICOM 5100 ham radio, ICECO 45L fridge, Alu-cab tiliting fridge slide, Viair 10007 constant duty compressor with 2.5gal tank, Redarc 1225 BCDC controller with either 100w or 200w worth of solar panels (will get a new secondary battery in bed) , and some smaller accessories. Im trying to determine my bed storage solutions as I had DECKED drawers/Softopper and bedrack before. I think I'm going to go Alu-Cab canopy this go round with side cabinets. I do not think I will do DECKED again but a single sided drawer might be kinda nice.
My thoguht process is trying to decide whether to do lift/tires first or build out to see what my end weight will be and decide suspension from there? I think 3.5" lift with 37's. There are sooooo many lift options, amongst everything else, available. Its quite overwhelming coming from a truck with a very small aftermarket.
Any advice on basically any of the above stuff is greatly appreciated and once I start I will start a build thread.
Matt

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[Dee]

Wowsers! Don’t have any suggestions but do want to say welcome!

 

[HooliganActual]

Well, here's my $0.02. When I bought my Gladiator, it was to relieve my 2016 JKUR from overlanding duties, and not unlike you I transferred a lot of gear over: tent, kitchen drawers, etc. The JKUR is now just my DD and weekend wheeler.

My 2020 Gladiator is a Rubicon and the stock suspension barely handled the initial load I put in it:

You can see it still has the stock wheels/tires and shocks/springs AND you can see how much it squats in the back. At this point (and I actually scaled it) I was about 200# over GVWR with a full loadout.

This was IMHO the right way to do this because I really had no idea of what the real loadout weight was going to actually be. Sure, I put together a spreadsheet with the weight of things like the canopy and the tent and the winch, ad infinitum; but that was directionally correct and precisely wrong. It's hard to account for everything in that calculation until you actually go out and use it once or twice and realize "I forgot to bring these two things with us and I didn't use this item at all, oh and what about carrying a spare widget, etc."

So I would say, get your build mostly done and then see where you land for weight.

I know you don't know me but I'll share my experience briefly. I've been "Jeeping" since I bought my 81 CJ7. I currently own 3 Jeeps (here's the girls):

and I just finished Rev3 on my Gladiator build...yes I've gutted it twice to re-do things I ultimately wasn't happy with.

Now here is the real "pearl of wisdom" I would offer: It doesn't matter to me what suspension you go with but I will recommend one change to whatever you do get. Call Deaver Spring in Santa Ana, CA which isn't that far from you and get custom rear springs made for the weight you are carrying.

https://deaverspring.com/

I put an Icon Stage 6 lift in my Gladiator and the shop I worked with had Deaver make springs that were actually made for the weight I was putting in the vehicle. So instead of putting in the Icon rear springs they got me customs springs for an extra $400, and believe me, it was well worth it.

This worked out to about 2.5-3.0 inches of lift with 37's. I am 600# over GVWR with a full loadout and look at the gap in that rear wheel well.

I've said this many times in other threads in other responses, I'm not sleighting any of the suspension manufacturers out there; but none of them are building their springs with your loadout in mind. They are building a one size fits all spring (or mybe 2 sizes fit all if they carry an HD version) but it could be too little or too much for your build.

Cheers.

 

[MSFTMatt]

I had Deavers with Bilstein 5160’s on my F150 and they were a game changer for sure! I didn’t think of those as they do t seem to be mentioned in any of the 12 million lift kits out there it seems. I really appreciate your 0.02 cents man and great stable of rigs!

 

[HooliganActual]

I had Deavers with Bilstein 5160’s on my F150 and they were a game changer for sure! I didn’t think of those as they do t seem to be mentioned in any of the 12 million lift kits out there it seems. I really appreciate your 0.02 cents man and great stable of rigs!

Yeah, no offense to anyone buying bundled lift kits but depending on what you are doing, it just may not be right for your application. For a DD or a crawler or a rig to take a reasonable amount of camping or hunting gear down a forest service road, all of those kits will be fine.

Don't get me wrong, some companies, like Clayton which makes their "Overland Plus" kit, might be adequate. My AEV DualSport XT kit that is on my 2016 Wrangler (the middle one in the pic of the girls) was perfect for that Wrangler until I started adding more weight.

When I was trying to decide how to build my suspension, I did something I don't typically do with my Jeeps...I looked at the JTR as an actual truck. There is a shop not far from me that actually builds pre-runners and race trucks for things like KoH and Baja. So I went to them and we sat down and built a suspension for what I wanted to do.

Is my lift better or worse than the Mopar, Metalcloak, AEV, Clayton, [insert brand here] lifts? I don't know. But what I am confident in is that it was built to do what my truck is going to do. It is the first time I have ever used an Icon suspension but I have been very impressed with it. One thing I like about it is that their suspensions are kind of like the old Garanimals kids clothing with respect to mixing and matching. So the shop near my house has all the parts all the time. If I break a part, blow a shock or whatever, they have them in stock locally because they get used on every vehicle.

But back to the springs...I also can't say that Deaver is the "BEST" springs but they are a solid company with a good reputation and not far from me (or you). I think I may have only had to wait a week for the springs to be made, which worked out that they were built and at the shop before the date for the install; so win-win.

Certainly check it out. Costs nothing to look into it.

 

[Stan H]

Teraflex sells 2 types of 3.5" rear springs . One dual rate regular the other they call Outback . Specifically designed for overlanding or a regularly loaded gladiator which are triple rate.

 

[Warped]

Don't totally discount AEV as @HooliganActual suggested. They have a 3" HD coil Sprin paired with the Bilstein 8100s that is made for overlanders. The following is off of their webpage.

Standard Load vs High Capacity

Customers can now fine tune their Jeep Gladiator JT DualSport XP Suspension Kit even further by choosing one of two available coil spring options:

2.5” Standard Load Coil Springs are optimized for an AEV-spec Gladiator with typical gear/cargo inside. This means the ideal ride height, handling and overall performance will be achieved on a vehicle with steel bumpers, winch, full-size spare and recovery gear (+0-400 lbs. over factory weight).
3” High Capacity Coil Springs are specifically designed for overland enthusiasts who have a fully outfitted vehicle that is also consistently loaded with heavier gear (+400-700 lbs. over the standard load spring), such as modular cargo systems or roof rack/rooftop tent combinations*

These coil springs are then paired with a set of AEV-tuned, 66mm (2.6″) Bilstein 8100 series reservoir shocks for improved performance and consistency over rough terrain at higher speeds. The AEV/Bilstein coil spring and shock combination used in this suspension increases both up travel and down travel, while also providing better articulation and improved off-road speed potential and bottoming control. Even when towing, the suspension feels stable, planted, and confidence inspiring.

We then optimized the Gladiator’s front and rear suspension geometry throughout the entire range of motion, tightening up the handling and road feel, resulting in a great ride and performance without introducing harshness or driver fatigue. In the front, a pair of AEV’s heavy duty, stamped control arm geometry correction brackets are included for improved ride quality and reduced nose-dive under hard braking. A rear track bar tower extension is included to raise the rear roll center, reduce body-roll and generate a better turn-in response. Extended length front and rear sway bar end links compensate for the additional lift height, while new front and rear bump stop spacers improve bumper/axle contact under full articulation and jounce. Due to this suspension system’s lower lift height, there is no need to swap out any of the OE track bars, control arms or steering components.

I don't know about Deavers, but custom for your app can't be too bad. But I believe AEV shouldn't be totally discounted. I have the 2.5 RT lift with their 8100s on my JL and love the way it drives. But it isn't set up with the excess weight that overlanding brings . My Mojave I am keeping stock height for now..... maybe...... we'll see.

 

[m-l_johnny]

Perhaps slightly off topic, but I find it a wee bit aggravating that a mid size truck suspension has to be beefed up for doing what a truck is supposed to be able to do! It's not just JT's, I had a 3rd gen Tacoma before and the talk on those forums was the same. Good grief! It's not like we're putting 10 squares of shingles in the back of a Ford Escort hatchback!

Anyway, I digress... I'll be curious to see what "adjustments" I have to do to our stock Mojave when our Snap Treehouse is ready. This is a pic of the test fit last week before heading off to powder coat. Should have it in a few more weeks!

 

[smlobx]

Welcome to the addiction!

I’ll second the AEV Setup. I went with their 400# upgraded springs and 35” tires and am very happy. The AEV kit is 100% complete including things like a carrier bearing spacer that isn’t on many upgrades.

Also with the 37’s you may want to consider re-gearing, particularly if you’ll be heavy

 

[djthumper]

I went the route of getting most of the weight added before the list. I found a problem with my suspension early on before I got much weight on there. My front suspension was crashing due to lower-rated springs for the diesel, the dealer got it fixed. I took my measurements before adding the weight on there. I should have just waited for the AEV with the HD kit, there was no expected date. I didn't want the MOPAR lift so I reached out to SkyJacker and got the 2.5" lift with parts to match the MOPAR lift and went with taller springs in the rear. Unfortunately, I only sit .75" taller in the rear. When loaded or towing I do squat a little. I love the way it feels except for when it squats. I will probably finish up a few projects that I still need to complete on it and worry about the rear after, I have a little bit to add to the bed.

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