redneck_billcollector
Purveyor Of Fine Spirits
Yeah, I am sure some people are gonna hate on this in light of some of the threads in this particular forum, but it really does not bother me. I love to hunt, fish, explore, prospect and rock hound in out of the way places, and I like to do so with the ability to stay in the location off grid for sometimes a week or more so at the time. The vehicle I am building will hopefully make it that much more comfortable for me to do so.
The vehicle that is going to be the foundation of my build is a 2023 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon trim. Unfortunately, I had to get it in automatic transmission simply because there is a recall on the clutches in the standard transmission vehicles and no new ones will be available until at least early fall 2023 and beside from the fact that I wanted the build completed by then to take my bird dogs out west for a week or two of hunting prairie chickens and western quail. The 2024 JTs will have a new body style and that always plays havoc with getting mods done right off the bat. The truck has the tow package which includes a higher output alternator and extra payload. There will be the trail camera and the backup camera. The axles are Dana 44s, both front and rear and are geared 4.10.
On the truck itself I am doing a number of modifications before I take delivery, fortunately our Jeep dealer allows that with an off road shop in Albany GA and it gets covered by the warranty. Bumpers; I am replacing the front bumper with an ARB bumper upon which I will be mounting a Warn 10,000 Zion Winch with a synthetic rope/cable (whatever you want to call it). The rear bumper will be getting replaced down the road with an Expedition One Dual Swing Arm bumper and tire carrier, they are back ordered for roughly 8 months so it will have to wait.
Suspension: the suspension is going to be the Dobinson's 3 inch lift with their heaviest duty coil springs (the rear are rated 1,100 lbs) and reservoir shocks which are adjustable (also Dobinson's). For those that are not familiar with Dobinson's, they are an Australian company well known internationally for making some of the best suspensions for off road vehicles that are going to be carrying a heavy load.
Fuel & Misc: I will be getting the Long Range America Aux 17 gal. fuel tank for the Gladiator. That will give me almost double the stock fuel capacity so I can stay off grid that much longer without having to worry about fuel. I am getting the Genesis dual battery system with two Group 25 Odyssey AGM batteries to keep my in cab electronics running when parked plus it deletes that battery system that comes with the Gladiator and the automatic "shut off while stopped" feature that everyone hates. Plus, an AEV snorkel with pre-filter. I will be raising all my diff breather tubes and any other breathers that are low to just below the truck hood. I will be getting the KO2 35" 10 ply (e rated) tires. Getting heavy duty brake system also, because of the load and being offroad a good bit. I am holding off on getting it regeared to see how it handles everything beforehand or if I decide to go with 37" tires. The Gladiator is getting prepped right now with the modifications mentioned above.
Now for the fun stuff. I will be getting (already purchased and waiting for the truck to be finished with the mods and for me to get the time to go get it installed) the Alu Cab Canopy Camper. If you are not familiar with them, they are a lightweight "wedge style" camper mounted on the truck, they are not a slide in. These campers are made in South Africa and are the "go to" campers for the Safari Industry in South Africa. They have been made for awhile now and tested in some of the harshest conditions in Africa for durability, function and comfort.
Of course, the camper comes with a lot of "addon options" and I will be getting a few of them. I am getting the 270 Shadow Awning, the Shower Cube. the water tank, a propane tank and tank holder plumed to the heater and to use with a camp stove (exterior mounted), water pump, and the Dickenson 900 propane heater (made for sailboats but adopted for this particular camper). I am getting a lot of little mods, to many to mention right now. For the "house electronics" for the time being I am getting a 100ah Lithium Ion battery with a Redarc Management system and a 1500 inverter and 200 Wat solar panels mounted under the load bars. There will be a DC/DC charger that allows the house battery to charge from the alternator when there is no sun. The management system will optimize solar before alternator when the sun is available.
The reason I am going this route is that I want to still be able to get away from a lot of people, have an offroad capable camper for which there simply are not a lot of options plus going with the off-road trailer costs almost as much, if not more with the comforts I can have with this and I do not like the idea of pulling a trailer to some of my secret fishing spots in the Rocky Mountains. There simply is not other modern truck available in the US as offroad capable as the Gladiator Rubicon, hence that being my choice. My build is basically the same build in this video (they are who is handling the second part of the build) except my suspension will be a little bit heavier duty and they have 37" tires, which I can go to with my lift and just regear if I want to go that route. Is this going to be cheap? Nope! But for what I like to do and the places I like to go to for fishing and hunting, this build will be perfect. I should be having pictures before too long.
The vehicle that is going to be the foundation of my build is a 2023 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon trim. Unfortunately, I had to get it in automatic transmission simply because there is a recall on the clutches in the standard transmission vehicles and no new ones will be available until at least early fall 2023 and beside from the fact that I wanted the build completed by then to take my bird dogs out west for a week or two of hunting prairie chickens and western quail. The 2024 JTs will have a new body style and that always plays havoc with getting mods done right off the bat. The truck has the tow package which includes a higher output alternator and extra payload. There will be the trail camera and the backup camera. The axles are Dana 44s, both front and rear and are geared 4.10.
On the truck itself I am doing a number of modifications before I take delivery, fortunately our Jeep dealer allows that with an off road shop in Albany GA and it gets covered by the warranty. Bumpers; I am replacing the front bumper with an ARB bumper upon which I will be mounting a Warn 10,000 Zion Winch with a synthetic rope/cable (whatever you want to call it). The rear bumper will be getting replaced down the road with an Expedition One Dual Swing Arm bumper and tire carrier, they are back ordered for roughly 8 months so it will have to wait.
Suspension: the suspension is going to be the Dobinson's 3 inch lift with their heaviest duty coil springs (the rear are rated 1,100 lbs) and reservoir shocks which are adjustable (also Dobinson's). For those that are not familiar with Dobinson's, they are an Australian company well known internationally for making some of the best suspensions for off road vehicles that are going to be carrying a heavy load.
Fuel & Misc: I will be getting the Long Range America Aux 17 gal. fuel tank for the Gladiator. That will give me almost double the stock fuel capacity so I can stay off grid that much longer without having to worry about fuel. I am getting the Genesis dual battery system with two Group 25 Odyssey AGM batteries to keep my in cab electronics running when parked plus it deletes that battery system that comes with the Gladiator and the automatic "shut off while stopped" feature that everyone hates. Plus, an AEV snorkel with pre-filter. I will be raising all my diff breather tubes and any other breathers that are low to just below the truck hood. I will be getting the KO2 35" 10 ply (e rated) tires. Getting heavy duty brake system also, because of the load and being offroad a good bit. I am holding off on getting it regeared to see how it handles everything beforehand or if I decide to go with 37" tires. The Gladiator is getting prepped right now with the modifications mentioned above.
Now for the fun stuff. I will be getting (already purchased and waiting for the truck to be finished with the mods and for me to get the time to go get it installed) the Alu Cab Canopy Camper. If you are not familiar with them, they are a lightweight "wedge style" camper mounted on the truck, they are not a slide in. These campers are made in South Africa and are the "go to" campers for the Safari Industry in South Africa. They have been made for awhile now and tested in some of the harshest conditions in Africa for durability, function and comfort.
Of course, the camper comes with a lot of "addon options" and I will be getting a few of them. I am getting the 270 Shadow Awning, the Shower Cube. the water tank, a propane tank and tank holder plumed to the heater and to use with a camp stove (exterior mounted), water pump, and the Dickenson 900 propane heater (made for sailboats but adopted for this particular camper). I am getting a lot of little mods, to many to mention right now. For the "house electronics" for the time being I am getting a 100ah Lithium Ion battery with a Redarc Management system and a 1500 inverter and 200 Wat solar panels mounted under the load bars. There will be a DC/DC charger that allows the house battery to charge from the alternator when there is no sun. The management system will optimize solar before alternator when the sun is available.
The reason I am going this route is that I want to still be able to get away from a lot of people, have an offroad capable camper for which there simply are not a lot of options plus going with the off-road trailer costs almost as much, if not more with the comforts I can have with this and I do not like the idea of pulling a trailer to some of my secret fishing spots in the Rocky Mountains. There simply is not other modern truck available in the US as offroad capable as the Gladiator Rubicon, hence that being my choice. My build is basically the same build in this video (they are who is handling the second part of the build) except my suspension will be a little bit heavier duty and they have 37" tires, which I can go to with my lift and just regear if I want to go that route. Is this going to be cheap? Nope! But for what I like to do and the places I like to go to for fishing and hunting, this build will be perfect. I should be having pictures before too long.
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