Fungshui's Overland Build

Hi I'm Jason and this my first Jeep and am new to the offroad scene. I have always been car enthusiast and have owned a BMW 330ci (ZHP) and Tacoma X-runner in the past. While I enjoyed spirited driving in the canyons I was looking for a change. During Covid, my significant other and I had a chance to reflect and prioritize our life goals. One of the which was to see more of the country. I sold with my ZHP after 11.5 years and X-runner to purchased a 2021 Gladiator Rubicon Diesel.




The objective of this build to create an overlanding rig that is comfortable both in ride and camping and still capable to tackle path in front of us.

The vehicle should be able to eat up miles of highways between trails but still be capable of offroad. We prefer dispersed campsites and will take the trail less traveled to find a isolated/private spot. My significant other and I don't plan on rock climbing but at the same time we don't want to be deterred by a few rocks.

The camp setup prioritizes comfort and convenience for two people. The equipment should be able to deployed and pack away efficiently as we plan on visiting multiple places and do not plan on camping multiple days in the same spot.


Exterior
Interior

• Removed rear seats
• Weathertech Mat

Suspension

• SDi E-click Active Pro Shocks
  • @CrazyCooter - Custom Shock Tune, bump spacing, bushings
• Metal Cloak Duro spring
• Clayton 2.5" Diesel Overland Kit with 3.5" Gas Struts (Front)
• JKS Flex Connect Tunable Sway Bar Link Kit

Wheels/Tires

• Method MR705 17x8.5
• MT Baja Boss 37x12.5

Misc:

• Redline Hood Struts
• Tazer Mini JL
  • Deactive ESS
  • Swaybar Disconnect for 2WD

Camping Setup

• Alu-Cab Canopy Camper
  • Molle Corner Plates
  • Shadow Awning
  • Load Bar
  • Mozzie Screen
  • Propane Mount
  • 40L Water tank
• Goose Gear
  • Alu-cab Double Drawer Module
  • Alu-cab Front Utility Module
• Exped MegaMat Duo 10 Sleeping Pad (Replaces Alu-cab mattress pad)
• Tembo Tusk Skottle
• Lifesaver Jerry can 18.5 liters

Stock:


Current:

Sounds like a great build. For some reason none of your pictures are showing up.

Nice setup looks great, after some use you will figure out if and what you want to change. I wouldn't be surprised the skottle might be culled out if your not cooking for a group or special food preparations. I noticed some of the "U-tube overlander's" have stopped advertising and using theirs as much. My guess is it's a P.T.A to store or space hog vs it's utility.

Being a first time Jeeper and offroader, it has been a blast and loving every moment of driving the Gladiator. We familiarized ourselves with the Gladiator and offroading via day trips to Sierras mountains and Old Coast road in Big Sur. It was a blast and I loved every moment of driving the Gladiator in stock form (for 3 months).





January of 2022, we dropped off the Gladiator at a shop in Oregon who installed the Alu-Cab Canopy camper. On way back the driving dynamics understandably change but more on that later.




In Feb of 2022, we went to Mojave for our first maiden trip with our friends. We had a blast at Mojave but the trip cut short shortly after we reached traveler's monument.






Being a newbie overland, the truck was packed full of gear. Everything we thought we needed, we took with us to Mojave. We had enough food for 5 days, 15 gallons of water, tools, air compressor, recovery gear, table, extra diesel, skottle, gas campfire, traction board, etc. We dropped by the local scale after the trip and the vehicle weighed in at 6820 lbs. We exceeded the total GVWR of 6450 lbs. We exceeded the design specifications of the stock suspension.

Towards the end of the trip the Gladiator was experiencing excess roll, pitch and yam all at the same time. The Gladiator could not exceed 8 MPH over rough terrain and less than 5 MPH on the whoops sections to avoid bump stops. To note, the Day 1 we drove almost 8.5 hours not including a stop at Fort Piute. Day 2, the other jeep and I (both new) decided to call it quits before daylight ended . We drove to towards the freeway and came away with many lessons learned.

For reference, in daily driver mode with no rear seats and just the Alu-Cab the vehicle weighs 6340 lbs just below GVWR. The ride control is marginal but it is manageable. As I noted in the Alu-Cab Canopy Camper thread, the driver will adjust to the new dynamics i.e. braking earlier, lower corner speeds, watch out for uneven pavement that can induce body roll.

I continued to enjoy my setup and go on a few more trips after modifying my driving behavior, identifying wants and needs regarding to gear, and researching road condition before I head to the trail head.

Next step was to look into upgrading the suspension.

Pics aren't loading but that's a fine looking e46. I have the same in Titansilber.

Judging by your taste in vehicles you also really hate your money, too. Cheers!

For propane mount, are you saying that was an alu-cab piece? Also what size propane tank?

What kind of suspension did you end up getting?

I spent hours researching suspension packages on the forums and from product reviews. I reached out to a few manufacturers, but did not yield anything substantial. It seems that suspension solutions are designed at a component level and not as a complete suspension system. Since I am not made of money, it forces me to prioritize equipment and gear based on value (impact vs price) i.e. winch, skid plates, etc. As they are added, it adds weight and changes the weight distribution. Will I need to get a new suspension tune on shocks if I make too many changes? What is the vehicle down time?

I concluded at that time, there was no comprehensive solution that addressed my requirements let alone a vehicle weight that subject to change.

My ongoing effort in product research became stale until I discovered SDi E-click suspension and was amazed by the performance of their product. Their adaptive suspension that will soften or stiffen based on vehicle dynamics (body roll and pitch). Sounded like a perfect product that can adapt as the build evolves i.e. add storage solution, adding heavy duty bumpers, etc.


Digging deeper, the system is compatible with Gladiators but is designed around the Wrangler. This was not encouraging as the system geometry and weight are different between the two platforms. Nor did I want to be guinea pig for such an expensive investment. I ended up sitting on this idea for months and waited for more forum reviews to take me off the fence.

A couple months later, @CrazyCooter posted a picture of the SDi system in his tuning thread. I immediately reached out to hear his thoughts on the product. I appreciated his honesty and candor through the PM. You can find his original thoughts on the stock setup here, https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...r-own-shock-tuning.53421/page-17#post-1047373.

Previously, I reached out to other shops who could install it, but all they did was just send a quote, so for the longest time I was still on the fence. Tony took the time to understand my use cases, requirements, and desired driving dynamics, as well as my complaints about the current suspension. With that, I felt confident and jumped off the fence and asked Crazycooter, Tony, if he could help install the system onto my Gladiator. He put together a comprehensive suspension solution with his custom tune on the SDi setup and Fox shocks. He also offered me to come test his truck before making a commitment.

Finalized Suspension Package

• SDi E-click Active Pro Shocks- Tony's custom suspension tuning​
• Metal Cloak Duro spring​
• Flex Connect Tunable Sway Bar Link Kit​
• Clayton 2.5" Overland Plus Lift Kit substituted with HD springs and 3.5" front gas spring​
• Extended rear brake lines​

Tire/Wheel combo

• Method 705 17x8.5 0mm Titanium
• M/T Baja Boss AT 37x12.5R17
• 14x1.5 HT Spline Lug Kit

Once the parts were ordered and delivered, Tony was flexible with scheduling as I had to drive 4.5 hours to drop off the truck at his shop. He was professional, friendly, and passionate about his craft. During my time there, we accomplished several tasks:

• Reviewed and agreed upon work and received an estimated completion date
• Test drove his Gladiator with his custom SDi tune and visited some of his test locations
• Repeated the test drive with my vehicle so we have a baseline for comparison
• Complete shop tour
• Tony discussed the R&D tuning process and how he solved some of the technical challenges. His expertise went over my head a few times but was always willing to explain.

During the installation, Tony communicated each milestone and completed the work on schedule. He even updated the tune after additional road testing. The Gladiator was flexed out to ensure no rubbing and maximum travel. Credit to Tony for taking the pictures and helping document this build!!!










After taking delivery, we took both our vehicles to his test spot to demonstrate the capability of the new suspension. By the end of the trail run, Tony delivered exactly what he promised and exceeded my expectations. I was laughing at the absurd speeds I was able to achieve with a 6800 lbs vehicle (weighed on scale afterwards). During the tight twisty parts of the trail, the Gladiator was the offroad spiritual successor to my BMW, compliance and confidence in every corner. The suspension absorbed majority trail imperfections but provided right feedback for any correction.

On road performance was no different and rides better than my Golf R (comfort mode). I am not saying that the Gladiator can out handle a Golf R in the corner but bump for bump the Gladiator handled on par if not better on the highway. Handling has improved through limiting the body roll during cornering and can now surpass the posted speed limit. Tony on the other hand was driving it enthusiastically like a sports car. :D As much I wanted to keep up, I can not defy physics considering the weight differential. Luckily Tony waited at each stop sign otherwise he would be long gone.

Following videos were taken by Tony. You can see how well it handles the jump.
Gladiator Information:

• SDi Pro set to Manual mode:
  • Front setting at 2
  • Rear setting at 7
• Tire PSI 16 front and 18 rear
• Vehicle weight 6800 lbs
  • Front: 3000 lbs
  • Rear: 3800 lbs

• Speed 20-25 MPH

• Speed 25-28 MPH

I highly recommend this package for all vehicles especially if it exceeds the GVWR or camp setup with a high center of gravity like the Alu-Cab. The SDi E-clik adaptive dampers is a fantastic product, but not designed for the Gladiator let alone with the diesel engine. Thanks to Tony’s tune, it has transformed the Gladiator into a canyon carver and overloaded overlander in one package.

I see this as in investment, pay once, cry once, knowing that the suspension will grow with me as an overlander. The cost of this project was not cheap, but this project has added tremendous value and well worth every penny.

Next update will be my Mojave trip during the New Year weekend.

antwon412 said:

Sounds like a great build. For some reason none of your pictures are showing up.

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BourbonRunner said:

Pics aren't loading but that's a fine looking e46. I have the same in Titansilber.

Judging by your taste in vehicles you also really hate your money, too. Cheers!

Click to expand...

Reuploaded the pictures. Let see a picture of your e46!

Blade1668 said:

Nice setup looks great, after some use you will figure out if and what you want to change. I wouldn't be surprised the skottle might be culled out if your not cooking for a group or special food preparations. I noticed some of the "U-tube overlander's" have stopped advertising and using theirs as much. My guess is it's a P.T.A to store or space hog vs it's utility.

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Yeah its just the two of us. I use the edge of the skottle as a warming plate. Still need to mess around with it some more.

Blitzinger said:

For propane mount, are you saying that was an alu-cab piece? Also what size propane tank?

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Yes, it is the Alu-Cab propane mount fora 11 lbs tank.

Free2roam said:

What kind of suspension did you end up getting?

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See previous post.

Tony is very knowlegable and has common sense along with the Crazy part, glad he set you up to have a decent setup, pictures and videos look great....Jack

Fungshui said:

Reuploaded the pictures. Let see a picture of your e46!

Click to expand...

I love the line above about the "spiritual successor to the e46," BTW. Makes me realize that when I do pull the trigger on a Mojave looks like there's a great option to spend even more money...

Here is mine in its natural habitat, this time last year. At the time I was getting a complete suspension refresh at 115K or so, swapping out from the original equipment. Bought it in Sept 2020 and almost immediately caught up on all the maintenance/known issues.




This was when I had a local race shop do the full suspension. I'm on OEM e36 M3 Sachs shocks/struts (larger diameter than stock ZHP and bolts right in) and every other suspension component either was replaced with OEM or OEM+ upgraded. I have a mix of rubber and poly bushings, and poly in the rear diff mounts made all the difference in the world- I get much more torque to the rear axle and acceleration is far better. If I came across an LSD it would be perfect. I swapped out the RTA bushings to spherical the Toyota Moog parts, too. $3-400 for BMW vs $40 for Moog was a cheap upgrade. Highly recommend especially if you're dialing it in for carving/racing.

All weak points were addressed, including new reinforced rear shock mounts, top hats, a Rogue strut bar, and most importantly, I had the rear subframe preemptively reinforced. I think all said and done I was about $1700 into parts and around $2500 into labor but worth every penny. It took a great handling but tired suspension and turned it into both an auto-x/track carver yet retained every bit of its daily driver capability.



(since this pic I've replaced the gross yellowed sides and taken out the painted fog light trim)


Pic with the 135's above is more recent. I had bought it with 19" CSL reps that were heavy and rode like shit. I swapped F30 Msport wheels on then found a set of Style 135's in the junk yard and had them refinished and sold the F30's. Gotta love that BMW does the same bolt pattern on virtually all of their cars in the last 30 years.

Man, I miss my E36M3…

Question about load-out priorities. I see two spares in those garage shots… On my previous truck (Tacoma) I often carried two spares into the kind of deep backcountry that can kill you (Death Valley, Parashant etc). But that was on smaller 32s, and with older tires that had just OK luck with sidewall cuts.

Since getting my JT, I find it’s really rare in Jeepworld to carry two spares, and it seems that in larger, newer-generation 35-37” AT tires with correspondingly lower pressure I don’t hear as much about sidewall punctures as I did in Tacomaland. To me, the second spare is the easiest weight to lose. I hear you being concerned about weight in this thread - just want to get your take on the second spare?

fourfa said:

Man, I miss my E36M3…

Question about load-out priorities. I see two spares in those garage shots… On my previous truck (Tacoma) I often carried two spares into the kind of deep backcountry that can kill you (Death Valley, Parashant etc). But that was on smaller 32s, and with older tires that had just OK luck with sidewall cuts.

Since getting my JT, I find it’s really rare in Jeepworld to carry two spares, and it seems that in larger, newer-generation 35-37” AT tires with correspondingly lower pressure I don’t hear as much about sidewall punctures as I did in Tacomaland. To me, the second spare is the easiest weight to lose. I hear you being concerned about weight in this thread - just want to get your take on the second spare?

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The Rubicon tire was on the rear door because the I couldn't fit the 4th Rubicon tire in the Alu-Cab. Realistically I won't be running a second spare unless I plan to visit remote places.

I would like to drive to the Dalton Highway in Alaska. For that trip I would carry a 2nd spare.

Truck looks great! Gotta love the Alu-Cab!

Fungshui said:

The Rubicon tire was on the rear door because the I couldn't fit the 4th Rubicon tire in the Alu-Cab. Realistically I won't be running a second spare unless I plan to visit remote places.

I would like to drive to the Dalton Highway in Alaska. For that trip I would carry a 2nd spare.

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I second the Dalton highway. I'd go! What part of Cali are you from?