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Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform!

morejeepsthanicancount

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Saw Allen’s JT this morning. Bad Ass! Following this thread.
I’ve got their 2.5” long travel lift and agree. Ride is better than stock.
 
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avlamonte

avlamonte

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I’ve got their 2.5” long travel lift and agree. Ride is better than stock.
So glad you are a happy customer too! It so sucks when we purchase something we aren’t happy with. I also hate when the install sucks due to poor directions or holes not lining up)...or the delivery takes much longer than they say. I encountered these issues over ten years ago when I bought my JK and was hoping things would have improved since then. No such luck. I remember LOD bumpers taking 3-4 months to receive. That kept me from buying one. Shocking I tell you.

Anyway, here is a sneak peek at the ADD doors I am redoing....

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 40AB31E6-D57E-4398-B3FE-32425ED26C10


cant wait to put them on. I also fabbed a plate to go behind their logos on the front doors which I also painted red. I think it will be pretty cool. I am REALLY anxious to get this thing dirty! Come on rock rails!!!!
 
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avlamonte

avlamonte

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Since I am waiting on part...(JCR said my rock rails should ship by the end of next week)...I have decided to make good use of the time by setting up the storage for the top and doors. Used some door hangers (ACE Engineering) on the wall and hung some wood brackets from the ceiling to hold a 1/2” copper pipe. The tie downs will hold the back of the top. If the copper pipe isn’t strong enough I will figure out something else. I think it will work though because it will only have weight on the ends 1” from the brackets. I’ll keep you posted. Oh and here are some pics...
Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 5006A7CF-7E76-44C5-ACB3-A9B7C6D98D06


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! AFEFEBF7-1E43-4FFF-B5AA-A2C19CBF7A5F


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 272DF1E9-6681-4F1A-B682-97C71AE4CBDF


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 01A866F4-CBB4-420E-B3AA-897167514FF2
 

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Since I am waiting on part...(JCR said my rock rails should ship by the end of next week)...I have decided to make good use of the time by setting up the storage for the top and doors. Used some door hangers (ACE Engineering) on the wall and hung some wood brackets from the ceiling to hold a 1/2” copper pipe. The tie downs will hold the back of the top. If the copper pipe isn’t strong enough I will figure out something else. I think it will work though because it will only have weight on the ends 1” from the brackets. I’ll keep you posted. Oh and here are some pics...
Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 01A866F4-CBB4-420E-B3AA-897167514FF2


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 01A866F4-CBB4-420E-B3AA-897167514FF2


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 01A866F4-CBB4-420E-B3AA-897167514FF2


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 01A866F4-CBB4-420E-B3AA-897167514FF2
Doors are looking good. BTW, I forgot to mention, love the dust collection system!
 

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avlamonte

avlamonte

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Doors are looking good. BTW, I forgot to mention, love the dust collection system!
Thanks for noticing. For the rest of you who haven’t seen It...the company was great...I sent them the shop layout, locations of tools and the required size of intake and they did all the figuring for me...just a matter of connecting everything once it showed up. Here are some pics:

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 09AD5A0D-E809-4647-AF60-0DA9F82563E7


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! D9C9D864-6065-48ED-A125-1308216C83D3


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! FB182483-7E48-47FA-8044-A4AB8EC3D610


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! BF3EA191-251F-4156-A919-D1A7E1AD424C


Sorry the garage is such a mess, but I have been busy working on G.G. I did install front control arm skids today...

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! F6E013A4-6B48-4871-8C09-FE3C90948839


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 0FC1552D-A933-434C-9554-1052BAE523EA
 
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avlamonte

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Ok. big news for today! I cut the 2x4s for part of the bed setup to carry sheets of plywood! I am a woodworker after all!

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! B07BF4A0-FF70-40F8-AB37-6C4E72C72588

Not an intuitive woodworker obviously since when I was at HD the other day I for some reason thought 2 sticks would be sufficient! It is not! :blush: Back to the store I will go for one more.

Think this setup will work great for keeping smaller things from sliding to the front of the bed as well. Bummer having to open up the tonneau cover all the way to reach those groceries that got away! PLUS, it is so rewarding to do mods that only cost $10!!!!

I guess I have shown you lots of pics of my go slow mistress, but none of my go fast wind in the face mistress. Here she is...

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 75BCD0D0-F227-4DA6-BE6B-5D094E28837D


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! CB1FB6FD-AF4B-40F7-9D6F-AF5A8B0D2DBC


I did get the spare tire mounted on the wheel today, and found out Black Rhino left out two bolts for the beadlock ring. Always something. :mad:
 

JTzntz

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Love the workshop + dust collection! Oh yeah, the Duc and JT are cool too ;)
 
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Update...I was standing in my garage wishing parts would arrive when the magic brown Santa arrived with an AFE box! Wasted no time removing the stock exhaust and installing the new one. It is tucked up much nicer.

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 17C330B1-5C93-48F5-B298-6F73A39331C1


Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! ECDBF759-FDDF-408D-8AD7-5C80D4B9393D


I am very happy with how it sounds too. Not much change at idle and it has a more aggressive note on acceleration.
 

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I might have to stop by one day to take a listen. Want a little more sound, but worried about it being too loud. Been there and done that with loud exhausts. I’m over that.
 

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I might have to stop by one day to take a listen. Want a little more sound, but worried about it being too loud. Been there and done that with loud exhausts. I’m over that.
I hear that (No pun intended...oh ok. It was). Of course. And I feel the same way. I didn’t want to sound like a rice rocket.
 
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Big success today! After two and a half days at the shop I have exactly what I was hoping for...a hide-a-hitch with a skid plate between the bumper and the OEM hitch tube. Here are some details...

Here is a shot of the new hitch receiver in place:
Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 19B8F8F3-89B1-4CD8-BEA3-660ACB954AF1

I wanted it to be flush with the 1/4” thick bumper plate and welded. I wasn’t very happy with the way the bumper was bolted to the frame and wanted to strengthen the setup.

Here is the square tube they used to create a new hitch receiver which they bolted to the frame:
Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! D16AB352-B3C5-44D2-9DBC-0E580A436920


Here is a shot of the OEM tube with the hitch receiver removed:
Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! F8623B96-1794-45D8-9285-C1F33BD85ED6

The next step was to weld a skid plate from the OEM tube to the bottom of the bumper:
Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 6ED1D2A1-F644-4B13-8AE5-82A1BA290EC6
They also made me a custom receiver extension which brings it out so a standard hitch can be used. The following pic shows the solid 2” square that started the extension construction:
Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! D150E616-68B6-42DC-88A4-06166390D4A6

Here it is all welded up and ready for painting. As you can see, they put the chain loops on the extension so I won’t have to reach under the truck to attach them. This thing is stout:

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! D7EFB722-D618-454F-B0EE-29CD07A4B6D6


I am not affiliated with the company and did not receive a discount for this write up. I am just happy to spread the word about a job well done. If you are in SoCal and need a good hitch shop this is their info:

Orange Trailer Hitch and Repair
(714) 288-8782

Patric is a great guy who is determined to please his customers.
 
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Well I cleaned up the welds a little and painted everything with semi-gloss. Very happy with the results....
Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 2A605BF2-E8BB-4884-AAEB-A5D91DBBE0D4

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! EB3AAFA8-4428-4D60-8F81-4A81F9E3A5C2
 
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avlamonte

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Oh...and I flexed her out a little yesterday to make sure the brake lines were long enough and no rubbing. Everything went great...
Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! D041E947-4F6B-49EA-A6EF-3088842452B6

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 873B4CBC-9AE8-40BC-81AC-4BA2AEB3499D
 

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As you can see, they put the chain loops on the extension so I won’t have to reach under the truck to attach them. This thing is stout:

Jeep Gladiator Seeing red in SoCal! Watch G.G. (Gladys the Gladiator) transform! 873B4CBC-9AE8-40BC-81AC-4BA2AEB3499D
I was under the impression that the safety chain loops needed to be on a permanent mounted part of the hitch, not an extension. In case of a failure in the connection between the receiver and extension? Chances of that failure are probably very minimal, but I could be wrong about the requirement.

I love the fact that there is nothing hanging below the bumper and the filler-skid plate helps prevent your bumper edge from being snagged. :like:
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