What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS, NO GUN TALK]

[JCappy]

My procedure is now refined. I have a big Odyssey battery in my JL and whatever brand aux battery I find cheapest, because I have had 3 different brands and they all look like they came out of the same factory...that includes the OEM. The Odyssey is a pure lead high performance AGM and should last up to 10 years. It is 5 years old now. So when the aux fails, the dash does some wonky things. I just get a new one, set aside about 45 min and dig in there and replace it.

So why not bypass or disable the aux? Because I have the lifetime Mopar warranty. I have to keep it stock, so I deal with it. On the Gladiator, the aux failed at 35k miles, right when I bought the truck. So they covered it under the 3/36 warranty and replaced both, even though the main battery was still good. That is their procedure. So just like the JL, the OEM aux lasted 3 years. That seems to be their lifespan. I´ll put an Odyssey in the Gladiator when the replacement OEM battery gets just past the 3 year mark, which is in November of 2026. I really want to eliminate the aux at that point and not even have the dead weight of it in there.

Btw, if you get a pure lead high performance AGM like an Odyssey or Optima, get an Optima or similar charger for it. LOTS of guys think their Optimas failed when the reality is they were drained down to a level that their standard chargers could not recover them. They actually just needed the proper charger to bring them back.

So if anyone has an Optima in the Central Indiana area that has failed, bring it to me and I will take it off your hands! LOL. Just kidding. You can bring it to me or find someone with an Optima charger or one like it designed for these batteries and we can see if we can recover it. I have the little 400 charger and it is the best battery charger I ever had. Not fast, but it is really good. I´d bet their bigger one is even better. But it ain´t cheap.

By chance do you have a link for the charger you bought? I have an older one but when I need a new battery I will upgrade from the OEM to something better and I should probably get a new charger as well. Thanks

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[DanW]

By chance do you have a link for the charger you bought? I have an older one but when I need a new battery I will upgrade from the OEM to something better and I should probably get a new charger as well. Thanks

Sure! I have the 400, although mine is the older version. The stats are the same, though. These prices are the same on Amazon.

Optima Chargers

The 400 is only a 4 amp charger, so don´t expect speed. The 1200 would be better, but that sucker is expensive.

I´m sure there are other chargers made for these kinds of batteries, but I don´t know anything about electrical stuff. The good news with that is the Optima chargers are dummy proof. I am the proof. LOL!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

get an Optima or similar charger for it. LOTS of guys think their Optimas failed when the reality is they were drained down to a level that their standard chargers could not recover them. They actually just needed the proper charger to bring them back.

That's true of chargers in general. I have some that don't care how low the battery is, and some that just won't kick start a battery that gets below a certain voltage.
Since I do electrolysis - I require a charger that will run without a battery on it. So I have to have at least one of those, plus it's nice for a battery that dropped too low.

You just have to watch what sort of charger it is, the specs and details.

 

[JCappy]

Sure! I have the 400, although mine is the older version. The stats are the same, though. These prices are the same on Amazon.

Optima Chargers

The 400 is only a 4 amp charger, so don´t expect speed. The 1200 would be better, but that sucker is expensive.

I´m sure there are other chargers made for these kinds of batteries, but I don´t know anything about electrical stuff. The good news with that is the Optima chargers are dummy proof. I am the proof. LOL!

Appreciate that. I like dummy proof as well.

 

[JCappy]

That's true of chargers in general. I have some that don't care how low the battery is, and some that just won't kick start a battery that gets below a certain voltage.
Since I do electrolysis - I require a charger that will run without a battery on it. So I have to have at least one of those, plus it's nice for a battery that dropped too low.

You just have to watch what sort of charger it is, the specs and details.

Any suggestions? I like having options.

 

[Stan H]

Picked up a winch for mine today.

I got same one ,works well and much faster than I thought it would be.

 

[RS3]

I got same one ,works well and much faster than I thought it would be.

Good to know. Hopefully it's a good one. Still need to order the Grimm mounting plate.

 

[Stan H]

Looking at all the pictures, makes me love my diesel even more. So much easier of a job to swap batteries on it.

I wouldn't mind this Aux battery BS near as much if it was a full sized battery and mounted in a place a little easier to get to. The very first time I did it I had a bear of a time getting the factory rivets out. Then I could not get the old or the new ones to grab as the previous ones were. So after getting ticked off I went to my local Chrysler bofmdy shop and they couldn't get any of there's to work either so the guy say how about some clips and screws. I said heck yeah. So now I have clips and screws to take that fender loose. I also additionally removed 4 on the opposite fender and put the same hardware on so they would match.

 

[Jeepmonster]

Installed a new set of stainless brake lines to go with the Z36 brakes I previously installed. Took a while to bleed (three times for all, and four for a couple). So much more responsive and feels more firm. The lines are a bit longer than stock. I went with Rusty's (made by Crown Automotive). Pretty happy with the kit.

 

[RudeJeepin]

I wouldn't mind this Aux battery BS near as much if it was a full sized battery and mounted in a place a little easier to get to. The very first time I did it I had a bear of a time getting the factory rivets out. Then I could not get the old or the new ones to grab as the previous ones were. So after getting ticked off I went to my local Chrysler bofmdy shop and they couldn't get any of there's to work either so the guy say how about some clips and screws. I said heck yeah. So now I have clips and screws to take that fender loose. I also additionally removed 4 on the opposite fender and put the same hardware on so they would match.

I'd love to see that second battery be full size too.
I've thought about using rivnuts for the fenders. So far I've only popped a few oe fasteners loose and have been lucky with them going back together. But I know I'm on borrowed time with that.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

Finally got the house battery system 95% installed. I still need to build the electrical panel that will go in the bed, waiting on a bus bar to finish that. Everything ended up taking more space than I anticipated and I don't like seeing the cabling (even though its under the rear platform, so I'll eventually redo it all and hide the components, I just need to find a way to do so with everything still accessible.

100ah lithium battery, 20a Renogy DC-DC charger with monitor, Anderson plugs to make removal easy. Simple fuse panel in the cab for the 12 outlets and fridge. Electrical panel in the bed will have an Auxbeam for controlling everything else.

I 3d printed panels for the battery monitor and 12v outlets that replace the bus bar panels on the rear wall. They pop into place well enough but still felt like they aren't quite right, so I'm curious if they stay in place on the trail.

I also ran an extension for the Wolfbox camera down to a plug on the bumper so I can plug in my trailer camera. The Wolfbox wire is tiny and takes some finesse to strip and solder without breaking it. Unfortunately my dumb ass forgot to record what wire went to which pin, so I have to pull it back out, strip the heat shrink off and figure it out.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Exploded my OVS awning in 10kt OBX winds and almost killed 2 of us. They’re rated for 40MPH winds, which seems insane. Love the weld quality. Once the first one went, every arm failed at the weld.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

Exploded my OVS awning in 10kt OBX winds and almost killed 2 of us. They’re rated for 40MPH winds, which seems insane. Love the weld quality. Once the first one went, every arm failed at the weld.

I have a love-hate relationship with awnings. They are great to have, but only great when you can use them, and with how fast the weather seems the change these days it's always a gamble whether or not to set em up.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

I have a love-hate relationship with awnings. They are great to have, but only great when you can use them, and with how fast the weather seems the change these days it's always a gamble whether or not to set em up.

I’ve loved mine in OBX and camping before I got the camper. I can stay on the beach all day under the shade. This one has done well under much stronger wind. I’m going to try and warranty it based on their stated capabilities, its age and those welds.

 

[Stan H]

Exploded my OVS awning in 10kt OBX winds and almost killed 2 of us. They’re rated for 40MPH winds, which seems insane. Love the weld quality. Once the first one went, every arm failed at the weld.

That made my mind up on awnings

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