Ownership Verified: Jeep by the yard: 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon Turbo Diesel

Quiky said:
Is it cheese or leftover school bus paint? 🧀
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In person it looks a little more red than school bus yellow, it's really striking out in the sun. I also like that it's a single-stage paint instead of metallic. The Hydro Blue is metallic, but it works better to give depth to the color.
 
A known failure point on the JT is the weak rear sway bar frame-side mount. I installed a Metalcloak brace on each side today. My mounts were not damaged or cracking, but I'd rather prevent it than fix it.

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New rock chip mitigation installed.
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We asked very nicely if they would do a red logo on the red mudflap (instead of black on red) because I wanted a less brand-shouty look - Rokbloks was nice enough to indulge us.

The sway bar reinforcement bracket was interfering with the mud flap mounting bracket - a quick notch in there to let them both overlap and we are all set.
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I made an in-bed bike rack.
Assemble as shown, with the washers inside the center of the magnet (just to reinforce the thin stamped shell of the magnet), and adjust as needed to put the magnets on the ridged parts of the bed. I angled the fork mounts so the bars can overlap without hitting.

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This allows me to roll the rear tire into the bed and stand at the tailgate to attach the forks, rather than lean against the paint and lift the forks all the way to the cab. I will get some photos once I get the bikes loaded.
 
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XL sized Stumpjumper on 29"s fits, it just has to be a little sideways due to the tonneau robbing me of a couple inches. There's enough room for Kiki's smaller Yeti Beti next to it.

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Tailgate closed
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Way more protected than a hitch carrier.
 
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The gladiator is great!
 
I like big magnets, and I cannot lie. Great solution.

I wish they sold the Gladiator here, it would actually work OK on our roads and appears to be a lot better than the toss they sell as pickups here. It came up in the Smith & Sniff podcast recently.
 
Matt2000 said:
I like big magnets, and I cannot lie. Great solution.

I wish they sold the Gladiator here, it would actually work OK on our roads and appears to be a lot better than the toss they sell as pickups here. It came up in the Smith & Sniff podcast recently.
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They sell it here :cool:
 
loose_unit said:
They sell it here :cool:
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I can imagine the grumbling from old farts if you had one in rural Germany. :LOL:

It's also sold in Australia, so the RHD excuse doesn't work. I should've asked someone when I was at Stellantis HQ last month.
 
Matt2000 said:
I can imagine the grumbling from old farts if you had one in rural Germany. :LOL:

It's also sold in Australia, so the RHD excuse doesn't work. I should've asked someone when I was at Stellantis HQ last month.
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I saw today some guy in a hilux litter out like some back country off roader. It was bitchin. 😎
 
Decided that I don't need those massive spot lights on the front end, but I would much rather have clean airflow to the radiator in hot weather and be able to use the front-facing camera without seeing the backside of those massive lights. This is one of the sloppier installs I've seen and it blows my mind that the previous owner would have put up with this level of wiring.

This was wrapped up in a baseball sized wad of electrical tape. I'm going to have to go over all the other lights that were installed and re-wire all of them. I'm also going to have to go remove all the crappy brittle white plastic cable ties that were used - white cable ties are not for outdoor use, people! When I say this is sloppy, I'm not kidding, most the cable ties either had full tails on or worse, half-tails cut in razor-sharp little barbs.
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The set screws/bolts that held the lights in place were mis-drilled and then done again. The bolts, which I put back to plug up some of the holes, aren't even pointed in the same direction, the one on the driver's side is pretty level, but this one is all wonky. I'm still going to need to find a way to plug this hole or replace the hoop. I'm tempted to replace the entire front bumper with one that has better recovery points. This is a nice one from the factory and changing it will be a pain, but we will see how it goes down the road, it's not a high priority.

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Much better, and the front off road camera is now useful again.
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The OE shocks are about done and I think the battery is starting to go - so those will be on the list in the near future. Unfortunately I will need different wheels to clear the shocks and lift kit, so that will probably be next followed by a suspension upgrade.
 
Towing things and flexing on the bro-dozers.

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Putting in a doomsday bunker or a pool?
 
Planting some trees, digging a French drain, and 30' of buried electrical service - and my soil sucks.

Plus I'm now middle age and have more money and less back.
 
Not to mention that operating machinery is fun.
 
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