2020 Jeep Gladiator Sport Build

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

I sold my JKU Rubicon and bought a 2020 Gladiator. I have owned it since February. This is by far my favorite Jeep. The 8 speed is amazing, I also love the ride quality over the stock JK. So far I have changed the springs and shocks (I bought used off a Rubicon Gladiator). Then I added Rubicon rock rails, rear bumper/tow hooks/corner guards, then I put on a set of Rubicon rims and tires. Then I added a smittybilt classic bumper and Warn Zeon 10 winch. It sagged some in the front so I added a teraflex leveling kit. Then I put on some cheap amazon LED Lights, I reused an old relay box I had, put in some cheap amazon switch panel and am adding a VHF. Next step is an electric locker. Ive already put 10,000 miles on this jeep taking it to desert camping trips and all over California. Here is the before and after. I gotta say I actually enjoyed the Jeep more in stock form. 20mpg and 90 on teh freeway no problem. Now its a bit beefier, but capable of what I want to do.

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

If you guys are wondering there is a big difference between the sport and rubicon suspensions. It legit lifts it an inch. I bought this kit for $325 off craigslist while I was coming home from the mojave desert.

 

[TJDon]

Is that the sport with max tow package? I’m hopefully going to be in the market for a gladiator soon. I definitely don’t want to pay the HUGE Rubicon price. The overlander model is....say...cute with bells and whistles but too much junk screwed onto it that I would most likely be upgrading. I’m wanting the sport max tow for the gears and bigger/beefier axles. Either gator green or gobi

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

Is that the sport with max tow package? I’m hopefully going to be in the market for a gladiator soon. I definitely don’t want to pay the HUGE Rubicon price. The overlander model is....say...cute with bells and whistles but too much junk screwed onto it that I would most likely be upgrading. I’m wanting the sport max tow for the gears and bigger/beefier axles. Either gator green or gobi

Hi TJ Don,
Mine is not a max tow. I bought the most basic gladiator they had on the lot. It has crank windows and manual locks. It was on sale for $31,000 so I jumped on it. One with max tow was getting close to $40,000.
-Cody

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

When I was cleaning out my classroom when COVID first hit I found this gift a student gave me. She gave it to me when I had my silver Rubicon. It is crazy that I ended up buying a Jeep Truck with almost the same color.

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

The Jeep had come a long ways, but I will show some more pics of its transformation. Again, I bought most things off craigslist. I live in the bay area and bought a set of sliders for $100 from a shop in Sacramento. I also picked up the Rubicon rear bumper and corner guards for $200. I wasn't aware when I bought the corner guards, but they require specific frame mounts that are pricey. The frame mounts makes the entire set up incredibly strong. I have smashed the rear corner hard and it didn't leave a mark. All of this is so easy to put on.

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

Immediately after putting on the sliders it was time for a desert/mountain trip. We tested the sliders in desert. Made a brutal sound, but thank goodness we had them.

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

After the sliders and rubicon suspension install I set my sights on rubicon rims and tires. I found this set for $650 on craigslist. My friend gave me a used Falken 285 to use as a spare (so I do have a full size spare). The tires are much bigger than the stock sport tires.

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

After the tires and another desert trip. I decided I wanted to purchase a winch and winch bumper with my stimulus check lol. Since I do not have lockers, having a winch seemed like the next logical step for now. I was going to get a smittybilt (which I have ran for the last 10 years), but decided to give a budget Warn a chance. The Warn seems like better quality out of the box. We will see as time goes on.

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

Once I put the winch and smittybilt bumper on the front end began to sag. I also bottomed out the front suspension multiple times in the desert. I decided to go with a teraflex 1.5 spacer lift to take out the rake of the front end. It was a relatively easy install. I did it in the carport of my apartment.

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

I decided that I wanted to add some lights to my bumper so I wired in my old Water Proof fuse and relay box. I have owned this for five years with zero issues. It has been in 3 jeeps, a chevy k10 and now a gladiator. I was looking at purchasing something newer, but I figured no hurt in using this for now. I had to modify the relay box mount and found a location to install it. I also bought some cheap Amazon LEDs to mount to my front bumper.

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

Once I got the lights put on I needed to decide how to mount switches. The JK has so many options for switches. I couldn't find much for the gladiator. I decided to buy a $30 switch box off of amazon. After playing around for a while I found a cheap and easy way to mount my switch box and VHF. This was literally the cheapest way of doing it I could find.

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

The Jeep is performing surprising well considering it is not a Rubicon. Now that most things are done on it the next step will be adding a rear locker. I am going back and fourth on putting on 35's, but I drive it such long distances and daily it that I don't want to limit my fuel economy anymore. Tomorrow I am going on another desert trip for the 3rd-5th, then I am going on a camping trip to Shaver Lake the 8th-10th. Overall I am very happy with the truck. It is by far my favorite Jeep I have owned.

 

[Bernard_C]

Great write up! It’s helpful to see the growth of your Gladiator, step by step.
Have you done anything yet that needed a rear locker?

 

[RoarinRow]

Very cool transformation and build!

 

[RickR]

Been wanting one, may trade in my Silverado in a couple years for one.

 

[tjZ06]

Great write-up and transformation on the Gladiator. $31k for a brand new rig is hard to pass up, and you've done nice budget-friendly mods. I went sort of off the deep-end on my WJ build, and sometimes I wonder if I should have done something similar (of course, I already had the WJ with $ invested into it). I see you're in San Carlos, I work in Palo Alto and stay here for the work-week. I'm looking for some good weekend type trips to do in the Bay Area occasionally that are close to Palo Alto if you have any thoughts.

-TJ

 

[TJDon]

Great transformation write up hillbilly

 

[rzims]

nice job on the gladiator. When I bought my Ram the dealer had several on the floor and I was really tempted, but for my use, work, hauling, towing, I decided to go with a full size truck and bed and sacrifice some of the offroad capabilities..

Great looking truck!

 

[Hillbilly Sportscar]

Great write-up and transformation on the Gladiator. $31k for a brand new rig is hard to pass up, and you've done nice budget-friendly mods. I went sort of off the deep-end on my WJ build, and sometimes I wonder if I should have done something similar (of course, I already had the WJ with $ invested into it). I see you're in San Carlos, I work in Palo Alto and stay here for the work-week. I'm looking for some good weekend type trips to do in the Bay Area occasionally that are close to Palo Alto if you have any thoughts.

-TJ

Hi TJ,
I am actually in Campbell area now. I honestly drive like 5 hours a pop for all the trips I go on. Most are in the mountains and deserts of so cal, or in the Sierras. Feel free to follow my instagram for pics of all my trips. I am interested in doing a meet up in the near future.
-Cody