New to the gladiator, not to jeeps

[Snocam]

So, first off, I am happy to be on this forum, lots of great info. My wife and I bought a 2021 sport, max tow, about a month ago. It's replacing her f250, didn't need it anymore, I've got a 22 f350 that serves as our tow rig now. We love the gladiator. My family has always had jeeps. From cjs up to my father's 4xe rubicon. My wife needs the truck bed, but the ability to remove the top and still fit down moderate trails is fantastic. So, a few questions. I just installed a BDS 3 inch lift and 34x10.5 17 tires. I like the tires for dd use, and long trips. The jeep looks like it wants larger tires though. How hard is it to run 2 sets of tires and wheels, one for wheeling and one for travel? Or maybe I should just get 35s, and try to recoup some money from the 34s. I'm open to suggestions, and pretty mechanically inclined. Next on the list is a winch and bumper, and rock sliders. Thanks for any replies!

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[chrismeece74]

Nice looking rig.

 

[Snocam]

Tha

 

[Snocam]

Thanks. We are really enjoying this jeep so far. Our last one was a 2004 LJ with 225,000 miles. Regeared it to 4.88, with a Detroit locker in the rear. Fun jeep. The gladiator bridges a lot of needs though. We will be wheeling it some. Hauling mt bikes a lot. Using it as a back up tow rig and work truck.

 

[NachoRuby]

With a 3 inch lift, you could fit 37s, if you really wanted to. 35s are the perfect compromise though, for a daily driven vehicle. Honestly, the 34s would have fit without the lift, but the lift will be nice to keep the bed from dragging everything off-road.

Only 2 problems running two sets of wheels though.

1) Our giant tires are freaking heavy. I personally don't feel like picking them up all the time.
2) The speedometer will be wrong for one set, of course.

Otherwise, go for it. It won't hurt anything. Nice jeep. And happy wheeling/open air cruising! Welcome.

 

[Snocam]

With a 3 inch lift, you could fit 37s, if you really wanted to. 35s are the perfect compromise though, for a daily driven vehicle. Honestly, the 34s would have fit without the lift, but the lift will be nice to keep the bed from dragging everything off-road.

Only 2 problems running two sets of wheels though.

1) Our giant tires are freaking heavy. I personally don't feel like picking them up all the time.
2) The speedometer will be wrong for one set, of course.

Otherwise, go for it. It won't hurt anything. Nice jeep. And happy wheeling/open air cruising! Welcome.

Thanks for the reply. I had the 34s on before the lift. They were tight in the front. I'm think 35s will be the way to go. FYI, the BDS lift seems pretty good so far. Not bad to install. I used the alignment cams, they are pain to install. If I were to do it over, I would have gotten lower control arms.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

Is your concern with the tpms?

I can only speak for OEM sensors. (Swapped wheels and tires with a buy back jeep and liked the black wheels better…)
Both jeeps picked up the new sensors as soon as they were turned on.

So whatever set of wheels you get for the larger tires- I’d stick factory sensors on them. ???

 

[Snocam]

That does answer the question of the tpms sensors..factory sensors are the way to go.

 

[Not2Late]

So, first off, I am happy to be on this forum, lots of great info. My wife and I bought a 2021 sport, max tow, about a month ago. It's replacing her f250, didn't need it anymore, I've got a 22 f350 that serves as our tow rig now. We love the gladiator. My family has always had jeeps. From cjs up to my father's 4xe rubicon. My wife needs the truck bed, but the ability to remove the top and still fit down moderate trails is fantastic. So, a few questions. I just installed a BDS 3 inch lift and 34x10.5 17 tires. I like the tires for dd use, and long trips. The jeep looks like it wants larger tires though. How hard is it to run 2 sets of tires and wheels, one for wheeling and one for travel? Or maybe I should just get 35s, and try to recoup some money from the 34s. I'm open to suggestions, and pretty mechanically inclined. Next on the list is a winch and bumper, and rock sliders. Thanks for any replies!

Nice rig and welcome to gladiator ownership! My story is similar to yours. Owned jeeps and wasn't so sure what to think of a "jeep truck"! But we downsized and did not have room for my JK and Tundra. So sold them both to buy the gladiator. I don't need to haul much anymore and the truck part of the jeep has actually served me well so far. But, it is not a replacement for a fullsize truck to haul bigger loads/trailer. Looks like you have that covered though.

I have a 2" spacer lift and 35" (well, LT31570R17) tires that looks good to me. Some 35s are real scarce right now. I followed the 35s vs 37s debate/thread and decided 35s were right for what I wanted to do. Before you sell your 34s right away, take a moment to measure them as they sit on the vehicle. Then compare this to what people are reporting the actual measurement is for the 35s they have bought in the brand you are looking at. Hate to see you upgrade to 35s and only actually get less than 1/2" of tire size due to the discrepancies in how manufacturers measure them. Also, your 10.5 tire width probably makes it less likely you have rubing issues. If you go to a 35x12.5, you'll need to make sure your wheel offset is enough to accommodare that without any issues.

 

[FREEZE451]

35s.

If you even debate 37, go 37.

The threads on people who put a couple miles on 35s and try to get money back to go to 37s are lengthy.

Myself included. Twice.

I'm not sure how much more "oomph" you're going to see from a 34 to 35.


Like the right though, it'll be your choice though! Either way I'm sure you'll be happy. And if not....

Well a new set of tires probably is about as much as filling up that F350

 

[Summitsearcher]

I have two sets as well. One for winter/highway other for summer/ off-road. I use off brand sensors and they work fine.

 

[Mball488]

I would have to agree with the factory sensors. If you have two different sets of tires and they arnt the same brand and style they are almost always going to be different sizes regardless of what the side wall says. In that case I would buy additonal TPMS sensors and also a Tazer Mini so when it comes time to swap out the tires you can just go in and adjust the size in the Tazer and have the correct reading when driving down the road.

 

[Snocam]

Thanks for all the responses. I actually just wheeled the jt on our property tonight. Not too hard, but fun. I do plan on buying a programmer to adjust for tire sizes. I do want to keep the 34s for occasional towing duties. I love my 350, and as far as filling the tank, all part of the program. However, I can see using the gladiator to tow our camper on close trips or for times when we want to explore the area in the jeep. Our camper is an 18 ft vnose box trailer that I've outfitted with solar, lots of battery storage,and cold and hot water, bunks for the kids, queen bed for me and the wife. I believe it weighs around 4500 lbs loaded with the 30 gallons of fresh water on board. I will report on any real world experiences towing for sure. Also plan to get some pics wheeling next time out.

 

[Snocam]

So it sounds like the razer mini is a good way to adjust for tire size. I'm open to suggestions on programmers and such. The only experience I have with electrical enhancements is the sprint booster, ran on a couple 6.2 ford's, worked well.

 

[Snocam]

Sorry I meant tazer mini, gotta love auto correct

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