My Hydro Blue Jeep Gladiator JT Build Thread

ddays v2

Member
How much air are you running in your tires? If it's more than 30, that's a big part of your problem. I do 80-85 all the time and in the wind and feel like my JL is very stable. :idontknow:

What do you run in your JT? And what did you run when you had stock tires?

The factory tires were shipped out with 45psi which is nuts. Rode like a damn dump truck. When I installed my 35" Ridge Graps I ended up running 25 psi in them. I started out at 34 and worked my way down to see what handled the best at
highway speeds. I'm fine when it's not windy. But this time of year when the winds are kicking up it does push me around quite a bit.

Oddly enough, I chalked them and I'm still crown high even at that low of a pressure. Any lower and the damn tires howl around every corner so thats where I stopped.
 

JTCO

Meme King
The factory tires were shipped out with 45psi which is nuts. Rode like a damn dump truck. When I installed my 35" Ridge Graps I ended up running 25 psi in them. I started out at 34 and worked my way down to see what handled the best at
highway speeds. I'm fine when it's not windy. But this time of year when the winds are kicking up it does push me around quite a bit.

Oddly enough, I chalked them and I'm still crown high even at that low of a pressure. Any lower and the damn tires howl around every corner so thats where I stopped.

I'm at 33 psi on the JT. Factory had them at 39.
 

JTCO

Meme King
Got a new ARB 63 qt fridge today. Fits perfect under the tonneau cover. And can't beat the classic blue color.

DSC05267.jpg

DSC05269.jpg
 

JTCO

Meme King
Final product for the bed board. I left it slightly short so I could put 1/4" pieces of rubber against the edges to keep it tight and free from rattling.

DSC05272.JPG

DSC05273.JPG

DSC05274.JPG
 

JTCO

Meme King
I need to do this on my JK. What all have you run off of that inverter? I remember you saying you use a coffee pot. How about any corded tools or battery chargers?

Appears to be the exact same inverter as the other Jeep but company name has changed and I couldn't find a blue one. I've run a small coffee pot, power tools, and charged electronics with it. Same plan for the JT.

0614171931.jpg
 

JTCO

Meme King
Got the inverter wired today.

DSC05441.jpg

I just ziptied the circuit breaker to the battery cover. Beats drilling new holes or finding out where to put it under this hood with no fucking room anywhere.

DSC05439.jpg

Ran wires above the frame and found a drain plug under the carpet under the back seat. I could have cut the carpet cleaner but I didn't.

DSC05443.jpg

ARB fridge wired up as well and found a perfect spot for the receptacle in in the bed.

DSC05445.jpg
 

JTCO

Meme King
Just an update. Went on a 1000 mile road trip with snow and rain the entire time and everything in the bed stayed dry. I found a couple of quarter-sized puddles in a couple spots near the bed edges but nothing concerning at all. Pretty happy with this tonneau cover even though it isn't designed to be waterproof.
 

Last edited:

StingRubi19

New member
So I talked to Rugged Ridge this morning and was told that the cover only works if the trail rail system is present. And of course now it says that on their website :rolleyes2: I looked many times yesterday and it wasn't there.

Regardless, here's what I did to make it work. I had to cut out the plastic cut-outs on the bed rails, drill a hole in the Rugged Ridge bracket, and then use a bolt, washers, and nuts to secure it to one of the existing bed holes. See where red arrow is:

View attachment 14048

View attachment 14049

^Behind the yellow circle is another threaded hole that is in the bed. I will likely fab something up at some point to give the bottom of the bracket some kind of extra support.

The trail rail system was 900 from the factory or 400 aftermarket. I guess I'm ok with drilling a hole in the bracket for free.
So it is possible to get this tonneau cover on the bed without having the trail rail system? All is needed is to drill that 1 hole in the Rugged Ridge mount?
I'd like to get a soft rolling cover like this one but dont want the trail rail system.

Sent from my SM-N960U using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
 

JTCO

Meme King
So it is possible to get this tonneau cover on the bed without having the trail rail system? All is needed is to drill that 1 hole in the Rugged Ridge mount?
I'd like to get a soft rolling cover like this one but dont want the trail rail system.

It does work with a little bit of ghetto modification. Here's some more pics of what I did. So yes I drilled a hole in that bracket and just used a bolt and nut to go through it (there's already a hole in the bed there behind the plastic cut out). Then on the opposite lower corner of the bracket, I drilled another hole because there is actually a threaded hole there in the bed already (I think it's an M6 but I can't remember for sure). Then I got a nice hefty aluminum spacer from ACE Hardware for something solid for the bracket to rest against. And I got some proper length bolts. It's worked perfect.


DSC05670.jpg

DSC05671.jpg

DSC05674.JPG
 

StingRubi19

New member
It does work with a little bit of ghetto modification. Here's some more pics of what I did. So yes I drilled a hole in that bracket and just used a bolt and nut to go through it (there's already a hole in the bed there behind the plastic cut out). Then on the opposite lower corner of the bracket, I drilled another hole because there is actually a threaded hole there in the bed already (I think it's an M6 but I can't remember for sure). Then I got a nice hefty aluminum spacer from ACE Hardware for something solid for the bracket to rest against. And I got some proper length bolts. It's worked perfect.


View attachment 14588

View attachment 14589

View attachment 14590
Perfect. If that's alls needed then it looks like the route I'll go. Thank you!

Sent from my SM-N960U using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app
 

Top