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

[Freems]

Every weld failed. They didn’t fail around the full circumference which I wouldn’t expect, but once a small portion fails and the arm can move, it’s just a matter of where it breaks or shears on its way up and over. Once one arm goes, it’s now pulling on the next arm from the opposite side while the wind pushes from underneath and they all go in a cascading effect. Inspecting the arms, a number failed in the middle of the bead. This is particularly true if the first 2 that went. Their welds failed right in the middle of the bead at the bottom of the arms. The bead literally cracked in half. You can see on the mounting side where the bead penetration on the inside of the extrusions is poorly shaped and uneven on most of the arms. I do see lots of the failures where the extrusion failed along the outer edge of the bead on the arm side of the weld. This is still poor penetration, inadequate filler and poor heat control and/or cooling. Also keep in mind, some of the arms didn’t fully come off and were hanging from torn metal. I had to break them off fully to get the mess gathered together to get off the beach. You can see some the shearing of the arms bending down at the bottom of the arms and where I had to break the weld at the top of the arm and yank them off. Overall as someone who’s welded it looks like poor penetration, bead formation, inadequate/uneven filler metal and poor heat control all around.

Wow! It time to pack up what’s left and send it back to the OEM, with a printed copy of the above paragraph. I can’t tolerate a company who’s subpar welding on a Very expensive piece of equipment, is designed to be used outside in the wind. At a minimum ask for a new one that is actually welded by a professional welder. If the penetration was that bad, make sure you cut out one of the shitty welds and then cut it in half so they can see the results of “your” penetration test. Don’t let them turn their heads on bad quality, especially for what they charged.

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[RudeJeepin]

Not much, just added a phone mount. My previous one finally failed. The 3m VHB tape started to let go, so I pulled it off.

Bought one from Amazon that clamped to the top off the dash. I didn't like how high is set the phone. I removed the clamp and mounted the ball stud. I used a bigger plastic washer, then a nut with a captured washer on the back side. Bent and shaped a fender washer for the top side and bolted it on.

I wiggle the mount by hand, but it is solid with the phone in it.

 

[Mightytalldude]

When the Jeep is parked, and getting once-overs from questionable passerbys, there's someone looking back at them now.🥸

 

[Stan H]

His build info is here.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...urning-my-daily-drive-into-a-trail-rig.77845/

Well that answered it all. Thanks @Shibbyjeep

 

[Shibbyjeep]

Well that answered it all. Thanks @Shibbyjeep

Yes sir. I started following his build about a year ago. Nice rig.

 

[SaiintNick]

I do like options that don’t stain. I meant where on the door. I need to mess with them. They’re getting bad.

Check out my thread...
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/creaking-doors.89797/

 

[Mightytalldude]

Added the Hotheads Sunrider headliner. It's a game changer especially in the South Texas heat. Drastic sound and heat reduction.

 

[aldo98229]

Added a BedRug XLT to the truck bed.

The floor section fits perfectly, and is easily secured with a combination of 2-way adhesive tape and velcro.

The tailgate section, on the other hand, is secured by a rather mickey mouse apprach; the 2-sided tape did not adhere well, even though I followed the cleaning and adhesive promoting instructions very closely.

I ended ditching the velcro straps on the tailgate section, drilling three holes and securing the rug using the existing bolt holes on the tailgate.

All in all, looks like a well made product. It adds a ton of comfort to the bed floor. If I were to do it again, I would get the version without the tailgate piece; save the $40 and all the hassle that comes with it.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Added a BedRug XLT to the truck bed.

The floor section fits perfectly, and is easily secured with a combination of 2-way adhesive tape and velcro.

The tailgate section, on the other hand, is secured by a rather mickey mouse apprach; the 2-sided tape did not adhere well, even though I followed the cleaning and adhesive promoting instructions very closely.

I ended ditching the velcro straps on the tailgate section, drilling three holes and securing the rug using the existing bolt holes on the tailgate.

All in all, looks like a well made product. It adds a ton of comfort to the bed floor. If I were to do it again, I would get the version without the tailgate piece; save the $40 and all the hassle that comes with it.

I have the same. I love my tailgate piece. Like you, I thought the Velcro was never going to hold, which it didn’t. I used like 8 of the factory bolts and popped holes through the carpet with a scratch awl. It makes a huge difference keeping the bed dry because the flap covers the gap between the bed and tailgate.

 

[bringenufgun]

my conversion from the factory 20" rims to 17"'s completed today on the Nighthawk. bought some Rubicon take off wheels about two months ago. then a couple of weeks ago bought some 255 wrangler tires, also new take offs. ordered mopar wheel sensors the same day.
a buddy of mine owns Hellbent Off Road in Chesterfield Mo. and i called him yesterday about getting the switch over done. dropped everything off on my way to work this morning and drove the Gladiator into work.
called him when i was getting ready to leave, went back over on the way home, the swap took under ten minutes with NASCAR precision and speed. all wheels torqued to spec and 20's loaded in the back.
i wanted a more traditional look and i think its perfect.

 

[DanW]

I have the same. I love my tailgate piece. Like you, I thought the Velcro was never going to hold, which it didn’t. I used like 8 of the factory bolts and popped holes through the carpet with a scratch awl. It makes a huge difference keeping the bed dry because the flap covers the gap between the bed and tailgate.

Love the BedRug. One of my favorite mods.

Strangely, mine has held with no issues for over a year. Maybe you guys got double sided tape from a bad batch?

Looks like you found good solutions. I´ll keep those in mind if mine ever comes off.

 

[Stan H]

I tried to convince myself to do that but it must be kept perfectly dry and free of contamination or else they smell. Good luck guys

 

[WILDHOBO]

Love the BedRug. One of my favorite mods.

Strangely, mine has held with no issues for over a year. Maybe you guys got double sided tape from a bad batch?

Looks like you found good solutions. I´ll keep those in mind if mine ever comes off.

I bought mine from a forum member who sold theirs. So I was trying to use tape I had around. I’m sure new would have worked fine. Great product.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I tried to convince myself to do that but it must be kept perfectly dry and free of contamination or else they smell. Good luck guys

Mine has never smelled. And they’re waterproof and even handle certain chemical spills. They’re rated to clean with a pressure washer. I’ve done it and it works great.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

Mine has never smelled. And they’re waterproof and even handle certain chemical spills. They’re rated to clean with a pressure washer. I’ve done it and it works great.

I had one on my Tacoma, the bedrug bedliner classic. I never noticed any smell until I installed a topper. Next day after topper install I open the tailgate and got a big ol whiff of mildewy moldy swamp ass. Pulled the bedrug expecting to find the bottom all nasty but it looked clean as new. Tried to clean it multiple times after that and the smell never went away so I tossed it.

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