Jeep Gladiator Smittybilt XRC Gear
The Jeep Gladiator will make the 3rd Jeep I have owned; yet, this is the FIRST time I have ever installed an aftermarket bumper & winch! I absolutely LOVE the finished look and am impressed with the simplicity of the installation, albeit a bit time-consuming :) In this video, I go through the installation with checkpoints on progress of removing the OEM plastic bumper and replacing with the Smittybilt XRC Gen 2 stubby front bumper paired with a Smittybilt XRC Gen 3 12k Pound Winch w/ Synthetic Rope!
Smittybilt XRC Gen 2 Front Bumper
Smittybilt XRC Gen 3 12k Winch w/ Synthetic Rope
Jeep Gladiator Cup Holders
One of the very first things I noticed after swapping over from the Ram Rebel to the Jeep Gladiator was the sheer lack of drink holder space :) The Ram had cup holders for days, 2 in the front center, 2 in the rear center, 2 in the rear armrest, 1 in each door (front & rear), etc.. The Jeep only has 4 total in the whole thing, and two of those are tucked away in the rear armrest. I needed a solution...
I noticed some ads that kept popping up for these little inserts that you could install on the front doors (and rear doors if you like) that would provide an ABS plastic cup holder at the edge of the OEM netting. Many reviews said these were flimsy and would come loose, so I didn't put much stock in them; however, after considering they were very cheap, I figured I would give them a shot and see for myself.
Well, i'm sure glad I did because these are just what I was looking for! They attach at the bottom with an existing bolt in the door, come with double-sided tape to help secure the edge and finally come with an optional self-tapping screw that you can screw into the plastic trim. I opted to use the screw because I wanted the most secure fit I could get, and frankly, I think without it, that 3M tape would absolutely come loose, which is probably what people are complaining about in the reviews.
Check out the install & very quick review video below!
Get your hands on a set of these!
Jeep Gladiator CB Radio Install
This 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon JT is my 3rd Jeep (5th if you count two Grand Cherokees, WJ & ZJ) I have had thus far.. One thing that I thoroughly enjoyed was taking my Wrangler up to the North Georgia mountains and doing some trail rides.. I met a ton of awesome people & made a few good friends along the way; however, that likely wouldn't have happened without the trusty CB radio! Why? Think about it, if you are trail riding, 80% of the time is likely spent inside your Jeep, by yourself, until you decide to stop & take a break. This is a perfect time to continue the conversation on a CB. Further, the CB is very important for spotting people over obstacles, and when cell reception dies, is one of the ways for a group of like-minded peeps to stay in touch while offroad.
In the past, the Wranglers really posed no challenge for CB installs. There were countless mounts that you could buy for the antenna to be mounted to the spare tire carrier & simply run the coax through the swing gate, hide it behind the plastic panels or roll bars, and done. Further, the CB radio itself had a few easy mount options, such as just going with the old Cobra all-in-one radio that is straight out of 1999, or installing a Tuffy Single Overhead Console & mounting the CB inside (my install of choice, check it out here!)
For the JL & JT's, not so much.. There isn't really a clean way to mount a CB radio, especially if you want a full-size CB. As I have mentioned in my videos, I am personally just not a fan of seeing the exposed CB radio as I feel that case/enclosure was never meant to be seen, but rather mounted inside an enclosure. This is why I loved that Tuffy console so much, literally a perfect mounting option with the only downside being you have to be careful with your head getting in & out (but as you'll notice from my install, I added bumpers to the corners for safety lol).
There is a CB Bar you can buy for the JT's or JL's, but again, the CB looks like it's just hanging up there out of place to me. I also REALLY wanted a PA system as I have had countless opportunities to have a blast on that thing; however, that requires a full-size CB. So, on this JT, at least for now, no PA.
I landed on a President Bill compact CB radio after reading countless raving reviews on it. I found, what I would consider, a nice spot to mount it, up & out of the way. While the shell is still exposed (contradictory to what I said above), it is flush mounted up & out of view, so it minimizes the visibility of the radio itself, plus it is tiny :)
Here are some pics of the install + a video!
Stay tuned...
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