Slow & Steady Overland Build

[clweed]

Good looking gladiator ! Do you know the height of the "roll" of BAK revolver.

I am trying to determine if it will clear my rack when it is rolled up.

Thank You

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[mzeblue]

Good looking gladiator ! Do you know the height of the "roll" of BAK revolver. I am trying to determine if it will clear my rack when it is rolled up. Thank You

Looks like about 8” rolled-up. Pretty tight considering the rigidity you get when closed.

 

[clweed]

Looks like about 8” rolled-up. Pretty tight considering the rigidity you get when closed.

Awesome, thank you for measuring that, I plan on using Frontrunners legs with my rack that I had on my JKU

 

[mzeblue]

All this time at home has allowed me to finally get the VR10 installed. I followed the excellent video posted by JT Mods, with the main difference being that my Arcus bumper was already installed earlier in the build rather than all at once. I used a coat hanger to pull the positive and negative leads from the front to the battery area. I also used tape rather than hot glue to hold the square nuts in the VR10 housing prior to dropping into place.

The end of the winch line is terminated with Warn Sidewinder. I did consider the Factor 55 Flatlink and Prolink - I liked all three choices equally, so it was a virtual coin toss.

I can now take my time with the M8274 rebuild, which will go on a future vehicle purchase of similar era, e.g. Land Cruiser, CJ, Defender. Thinking I’ll take the rebuild up to re-assembling the brake assembly, and prepping the housing to eventually paint match the next vehicle, whatever that ends up being.

 

[capercrew02]

I just got a reply from BAK in regards to the t-slot accessory rails on the revolver cover. Here’s the reply for their use. “So yes, you are correct this is what we call a universal T-Slot designed for rack use. Now, what racks it is compatible with I do not have a list. I know it will work with the Elevate rack by Truxedo. For other, aftermarket accessories we do not test all of them. But, with most you should be OK. I checked with my sales and engineering team and they both thought the Yakima rack would be compatible. The only thing mentioned is that you may possibly need to get a different sized bolt that would allow it to fit ion the T-Slot.” I’m waiting to hear back on rated load limit also.

 

[jimbom]

Gil,
Now that I've had a chance to go through your build, congratulations and everything you've done is very nice! Thanks for documenting so much. I'll be copying a few things.

One is your Bedrug -- is that the Impact mat, as opposed to the carpet style? I've had that waiting here to install along with the X4 tonneau when it arrives. Do you think the mat will easily come out and reinstall from time to time? For when I'm camping, I'm thinking my cooler will just barely fit under the tonneau, but probably not with the Bedrug mat in there. I know it's held in with velcro, but not sure if it's meant to come in and out.

I've also had your front bumper (but without the bar) in my Amazon cart for weeks. Looks like you also have factory LEDs. Did the factory fog lights fit OK in that bumper?

Thanks again for all the pics.

 

[mzeblue]

Gil,
Now that I've had a chance to go through your build, congratulations and everything you've done is very nice! Thanks for documenting so much. I'll be copying a few things.

One is your Bedrug -- is that the Impact mat, as opposed to the carpet style? I've had that waiting here to install along with the X4 tonneau when it arrives. Do you think the mat will easily come out and reinstall from time to time? For when I'm camping, I'm thinking my cooler will just barely fit under the tonneau, but probably not with the Bedrug mat in there. I know it's held in with velcro, but not sure if it's meant to come in and out.

I've also had your front bumper (but without the bar) in my Amazon cart for weeks. Looks like you also have factory LEDs. Did the factory fog lights fit OK in that bumper?

Thanks again for all the pics.

Thank you!

Here is the Bedrug I bought. It’s the version with the piece that bridges the gap between the bed and tailgate. It is held down by heavy duty Velcro and dual sided tape. I wouldn’t want to take out and reinstall often due to likely reducing the effectiveness of the attachments.

Yes, the factory LED fog lamps fit easily in the Arcus bumper openings - plenty of clearance.

I am really quite pleased so far with the mods I’ve made, particularly the Bedrug and Arcus bumper.

 

[mzeblue]

Just installed the Auto Ventshade 436148 Matte Black Aeroskin II Textured Hood Protector, which I bought on Amazon. Shipping was fast despite the prioritization of shipping resources to Covid response. It was a straightforward installation, but definitely take your time when centering and committing to affixing to the hood, because the double sided tape is super sticky.

 

[NC_Overland]

Did you install that to protect your windshield from rocks? I’ve thought about something like that for mine for that purpose. Also, because it gets all splattered up with bugs so quickly...

 

[mzeblue]

Did you install that to protect your windshield from rocks? I’ve thought about something like that for mine for that purpose. Also, because it gets all splattered up with bugs so quickly...

Yes, I installed it in hopes to reduce bugs and stones pelting the windshield at speed. I also wanted to protect the front edge of the hood, as it was starting to show micro-chips - I touched those up before installing.

 

[NC_Overland]

Yes, I installed it in hopes to reduce bugs and stones pelting the windshield at speed. I also wanted to protect the front edge of the hood, as it was starting to show micro-chips - I touched those up before installing.

Sounds good, let us know how much of a difference it makes with the bugs. If its helping with the bugs, then its definitely helping to protect your windshield.

 

[mcolbyb]

Pretty sure it must be raised due to the inward step along each bedside of the Gladiator, as opposed to the Tacoma or Colorado, which have straight bedsides.

Are you considering putting a Yakima Outpost HD on your tslots? I'm very eager to see someone do that with a hard rolling cover, because that's what I want to do and mount a smaller RRT.

 

[jimbom]

Are you considering putting a Yakima Outpost HD on your tslots? I'm very eager to see someone do that with a hard rolling cover, because that's what I want to do and mount a smaller RRT.

Looking at the Outpost, it appears the "feet" have a bend on the inside edge to wrap slightly into the bed. That would not be compatible with a cover installed.

 

[jimbom]

BTW, I got my BAK X4 installed and am very pleased with it. I thank Gil and Steven for bringing the new design to my attention before I received it. Without a head's up, if I had opened the box and just then discovered that it wouldn't be as flush as on other trucks, I probably would have sent it right back without further consideration. But knowing ahead of time what to expect and coming to understand the potential value of the built-in tracks, I kept an open mind, installed it and am glad I did. I drove in a rare rainstorm (here in AZ) the very next day and had not one drop of water in the bed.

One potential problem of big concern with putting any cover on this Jeep is the lack of "headroom" due to the bed being so shallow. The rails lift the whole cover ~ 1/2 inch and while that is not a huge amount, it is just enough that my particular cooler just barely fits! I'm not sure any other tonneau would have solved that.

I do think that BAK needs to get their act together and at least present a picture of the new design for their re-sellers and their own website. They should also mention the T-Slots, but even better, list what accessories are compatible.

I plan to post a more detailed review with photos on the tonneau cover thread. I know there were a few others interested and perhaps holding out for one of these Revolvers.

Bottom line, it is a nice looking, innovative cover that works well.

 

[mcolbyb]

Looking at the Outpost, it appears the "feet" have a bend on the inside edge to wrap slightly into the bed. That would not be compatible with a cover installed.

I believe you'd need the Tonneau cover kit which has feet to address the lip on the outpost HD. Are you planning on putting a rack on? Just curious what your longterm plans are. I live in AZ as well and spent alot of time looking at a Bak or TruXedo Sentry/Armis covers but now I'm leaning back towards a rack with no cover. The way you set yours up I believe you could to that Outpost HD and your cover, pretty cool if that's a direction youre going.

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