The Nameless One

[lugmoretreble]

Hey all, first time Jeep owner and this is my first truck in nearly 20 years!! I'm now officially broke so this thread is going to develop realllllly slow.

Two weeks ago, I bought a 2022 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon in Sarge Green, only factory add ons were Gorilla Corning Glass, Hard top, rhino liner, and AUX Switches.

My plan is weekend warrior style off-roading (already went first weekend and got a few scuffs in the fenders on the driver side) for now, as it is my daily driver as well. Down the road (literally and figuratively) as she gets older and I more comfortable with some abuse I plan to start more serious off-roading.

First camping trip day after purchase.

Tested out the lockers and sway bar disconnect.

Added the Vector Offroad JLE-Dock and 67D arms and mounts.

Some WeatherTech mudflaps (since I kept hearing rocks hitting the side of her as I drove).

Also added Rugged Ridge door sills with a bit of 3m guard to protect between the sill and rocker panel. Tried a Hooke Dead Pedal but did not like it and returned to Amazon, trying another no-name brand soon.

Soon, will add GMRS and Amateur Radios with Larsen Antennas. Next major add is a bed cover.

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[Jeep-A-Kneez]

And you will stay broke. Nice looking ride and welcome aboard.

 

[QuintusMaximus]

Congrats, looks like you'll be having lots of fun!

 

[lugmoretreble]

Got some radios installed between yesterday and today. I have to start out by giving a huge shoutout to @SEOverlandAdventures and his write up. It gave me detailed information to have the confidence to tackle this install. So thanks!!!

I installed a Yaesu FTM-300D and BTech GMRS-20V2 connected to Larsen NMO2/70B and Larsen NMO450CHW mounted on Topsy Product fender mounts. I went with the Yaesu because I run a FT-991a as a base station radio and am already familiar with the buttonology, this model also has APRS and bluetooth (if I ever choose to use it). The GMRS-20V2 was a harder radio to decide on. I know BTech isn't that great but the small form factor and all functionality in the mic. Similar to the MXT275 but again I have several BTech GMRS and Ham HTs so I am already familiar with programming and operating them.

- Here you can see the antennas mounted and starting to run the 8 gauge power cable. I used Plastidip spray on the Topsy mounts. I don't really care for it and when Quadratec gets the Sarge Green paint back in stock I'll oder and repaint. Still need to throw some shrink tube on the far antennas coil, prevent the trees from snagging on it.

- Here I have the power cable ran, used some Insultherm sleeving and plastic split conduit to protect the cabling. Hooked up to the Blue Sea Maxi Fuse Block. I ran the passenger side antenna cable through the cowling to the other side and back down into the engine compartment and through the firewall.

- Got the cables ran and hooked into the Blue Sea 6 fuse block. I used industrial velcro to mount the block to the plastic wall above where the dead pedal is.

- I did not want a bunch of cables running around so to run the control cable and speaker cables I pulled some components to access the dash.

- Here I drilled a hole large enough to get the control cable (for the head unit of the FTM-300D) and the speaker cable through.

- Relatively straight forward running the cables down as you can see them on the left side.

- I chose the location for my radios that was discussed here, which is right below the steering column. Found that there was enough room for both radios to sit in here. This photo shows the GMRS-20V2 mounted in place.

- Managed to get the FTM-300D in there sitting on top of a small plate. The plate seems like it may have a purpose, if anyone knows I'd love to hear it. I managed to get the excess antenna and power cables all secured and tucked up inside. Here you can see my two mic cables running up and out on the right side of the photo.

- You can see the top of the dash all cleaned up and put back together. I am afraid the speaker may rattle a bit on rough terrain so may have to rethink the velcro stuck to the remainder of the rubber mat that came installed there.

- Finally, you can see the setup with the FTM-300D head unit on the right, GMRS-20V2 mic in the middle and the FTM's mic on the left. I don't love this setup, but it's what I had and just needed to finish the project for tonight. Tomorrow, I will get out to open terrain and check SWR and tweak the antennas as needed.

 

[Summitsearcher]

Sleep in today, looks like you earned it. Great job!

 

[SEOverlandAdventures]

@lugmoretreble Looks great, nice work! Glad the write-up helped you with the project, that is exactly the reason why I posted it. Good call on APRS as well!

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