GENERAL TOPICS > Adventure
Building a Gladiator for adventure
Flyin6:
Up to this point, I have been reducing weight in a failed attempt to give me the illusion of more power.
So, I did get rid of a bunch of stuff I wouldn't use anyway and replaced those items with things that would work, while reducing weight.
But after some threads here and on my website, I'm tossing in the towel. I will not be able to get this JT to perform to what I deem as acceptable standards with this V6 engine no matter if I saw off the whole back end aft of the windshield. The little motor just doesn't have truck-like torque... period!
I have decided to just live with it for now.
Before I completely soak my crying towel, I decided to just start using the JT as is with respect to the power plant situation and get to exploring. So, from here on I will be adding weight and miles to the thing instead, and perhaps toss a hemi in there at some future date.
To see how it will do, I will be leaving on a short trip into the Appalachian Mountains in a week to do as many trails and nights as my better half will permit. First I promised her a week at Hilton Head where we can soak in the sun and get fat and become lazier, but then it's off to the hills.
For the fun part of the trip, I decided to add a rooftop tent and bed rack assembly for the wilderness overnights.
My selections were a FishBone full-size rack and a brand new IKamper 2.0 full-size tent. I placed paid for it today and will pick up tomorrow, then mount it all up on Wednesday.
We tried out the IKamper mini, a 2-person tent coming in at 125 lbs, but settled on the larger 4-person tent @ 160 lbs. Pictured is the mini. My full-size sky camp is on the bottom shelf.
IKamper is now building the 3.0 models at $4K+. High-Lift off-road still had several brand new 2.0's in stock and I was able to score one of them at a discounted price.
The one on the bottom is mine.
Flyin6:
Vehicle build thread is here:
http://real-man-truckworks-and-survival.com/index.php?topic=5198.0
JR:
:popcorn:
Flyin6:
Before I drop on the RTT and the cage, I'll have to swap out the rear springs. I am running a Clayton 3.5" suspension made for the unladen vehicle. I was advised to switch to the heavier-duty springs when I added rooftop tents and cargo consistent with normal over-landing gear.
So that is shaping up to be the initial project here. I just so happen to have a brand-new set of heavy-duty rear springs made for the Gladiator that constantly carries additional loads in the bed. I guess I had better get after that.
Flyin6:
Here is the target area to test the tent, Pisgah National Forest near Ashville N.C.
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