I like the little jeep add ons. Where'd you get itmChanged out the tailgate badging...
I like how you did the Jeep going up the G and down the R. OBTW, your license plate was the first thing I noticed.Changed out the tailgate badging...
This is awesome.Installed the KC Cyclone Rocklights Kit. Have to say I was pretty surprised when my wife said she thought it was a good idea! (One of the side benefits of doing a 5,000 mile overloading trip for our summer vacation, I guess!)
The kit comes with six lights, wiring harness, fuse block, ground stub, and fused switch. Since I have the Aux Switch option, I was able to remove half the wiring harness and the switch, which made it a very straightforward install even for a total novice like me. The lights came with some very nice steel brackets, but they were originally designed for the Wrangler and turned out (at least in my opinion) to be of limited use for the Gladiator, and I finally decided to use neodymium ring magnets to mount five of the six lights, and a couple of pipe clamps to mount the sixth.
I prepped the lights by bolting a 2" fender washer to the five that were going to be mounted on magnets, and bolting KC's tube-mounting adaptor to the sixth one. This photo gives you an idea of how magnet arrangement works:
![Jeep Gladiator What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS] FAE32ED8-2647-4951-8657-D6AADA28FCE9](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='1200' height='1600' viewBox%3D'0 0 1200 1600'%2F%3E)
The fender washer was almost exactly the same diameter as the light, and I ordered ring magnets to match (it's just sitting a little off-center in this photo). The magnets have about 40lbs of pulling force, so they're not going anywhere. In fact I nearly hurt myself when I got them close to the frame...
I spent way too much time agonizing over where to mount the fuse block, because in the end there really wasn't any choice - no room left anywhere but on the firewall above the fuse box. So I drilled a couple holes there and screwed it on. First holes I've ever drilled in my vehicle, so it was an a**-puckering experience for me... I didn't do a very good job of photo-documenting the install, but here's the fuse block after I had everything installed and wired up:
I ran the supply connection from the fuse block to the aux switch via my Badgeglow Aux Board (which makes things even easier) and hooked up the ground wire to the OEM ground stub next to the battery (put the one tat KC included in the kit in my parts box).
The magnets made placing the lights incredibly easy and flexible, and I left a bit of extra wire tucked up near each one so I could adjust them around a bit if I need/want to. I placed one centered under each door, on the frame, pointing straight out to the side of the truck. I used gorilla tape to keep the wires in place on the side of the frame, then zip-tied all the wires to each other and to anchor points along the top of the frame rails.
I placed one on the underside of the hitch, facing straight down:
and one on the front stabilizer bar, mounted with a couple of pipe clamps and the KC tube mount adapter, facing down and forward at at slight angle:
The wiring harness provided in the kit wasn't quite long enough to reach all the way from the trailer hitch to the top of the firewall, so I had to splice in a few extra feet to reach the fuse block. That, and fishing the cables up between the battery and the fender, was really the most difficult part of the install. Not counting all the time I spent worrying about where to mount the fuse block (and all the time I spent going back and forth for tools), the whole install took me probably about six hours. If I had any idea what I was doing before I started, it probably would have been a two hour job, maybe less.
Here's the end result:
Links to the hardware I used:
K&J Magnetics
https://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=RY0X04
- 2" ring magnets
Grainger
https://www.grainger.com
- Button, Socket Head Cap Screw, M8-1.25, Stainless Steel, A2, Stainless Steel, 16 mm Length Item # 53GJ36
- M8-1.25 Nylon Insert Lock Nut, Zinc Plated Finish, Class 10 Steel, Right Hand, D985, PK100 Item # 26LJ86
- M8x15 mm O.D., Flat Washer, Stainless Steel, A4, Plain, PK100 Item # 54FV16
- 3/8 inx2 in O.D., Fender Washer, Steel, Low Carbon, Zinc Plated item # 6YY61
A technique called whipping. Its normally used on the end of large ropes to prevent fraying.
how much did the paint correction cost you?Paint correction, Adams graphine spraycoating, and Oracle pre-runner lights.
thats crazy because it looks so clean. Thanks!
Looks great, you should cover that pinch seam somehowNew step boards.....I really like them. I need to black out the pinch weld area this week.
Is that not exactly what he said he was planning to do
![Jeep Gladiator What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS] 20201008_144020](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='778' height='1600' viewBox%3D'0 0 778 1600'%2F%3E)
