Jeep Gladiator Build Thread - 18 months around Australia with The Road Chose Me

[MagicMtnDan]

I like your build. Don't envy you being in Australia with Covid but I won't say what I think of the government there.

Here's my build: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/jtr-le-build-up-with-no-letdown.25457/

 

[al_burpe]

Hey Dan, I am enjoying your trip videos and glad you are able to be getting out and visiting some interesting places.

I recently saw Scott Brady do a review of this new tent. https://c6outdoor.com/. I was wondering how it compares to your swag bag tent (I realize you haven't had the poles so haven't been using it much).

 

[Dan Grec]

Hey Dan, I am enjoying your trip videos and glad you are able to be getting out and visiting some interesting places.

I recently saw Scott Brady do a review of this new tent. https://c6outdoor.com/. I was wondering how it compares to your swag bag tent (I realize you haven't had the poles so haven't been using it much).

I've never seen it before, but I gotta say right off the bat - mine was $175 AUD (about $125USD) and that thing you linked is $799 USD before any of the "accessories".

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

@Dan Grec - what is the functional purpose of the light bar down so low integrated in your bumper? Does it throw very far forward?

It does throw a good deal of light out sideways into the ditches and down lower than any of the other lights.

It's already been helpful in thick fog, so it's a keeper for me. Given it's hidden in behind the front skid plate it doesn't add any "look at me / grab this" for an international trip, so I really like it.

-Dan

 

[billiebob]

Hi all,

What do you think is the most essential feature on an overland vehicle?
After 5 years and 100,000 miles through 56 countries, I feel very strongly it is living space.
Where you hangout when its pouring rain, when the bugs are bad or when you just want some down time will have a bigger impact on your enjoyment than anything else.

In this video I talk through what I've done with my past vehicles, and what I'm doing on my Gladiator to get living space.

-Dan

Yep, living space is top of my list.

4 years ago my daughter said, "Dad Sammy wants to go camping......" Well its been years and back then before I was a Grandfather I tented full time. Now, I knew I was not sleeping on a tent or on the ground so in 3 weeks, I built a Square Box to slide into my landscape trailer. It had to hold food, it had to carry the TJ doors, it had to have a made up double bed.

All that worked great, pull off the road after dark, park, roll into bed. Zero setup.
Wake to a rain storm, roll out of bed and drive away. Zero packup.

It has taken 4 years but this summer I will have refigeration and solar charging.

This summer will be time for 2 awnings off each side. But I refuse to spend $800 so they will be hardware store tarps and poles.

Yep, living space is definitely my top priority but even more so, zero setup, or minimal setup is my design philosophy.

This is the reason I built a SquareDrop trailer

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

After the desert sand and heat I have driven over to the "High Country" of Victoria, and I've been exploring on foot for a few days.
I went hiking in the stunning alpine, exploring a trail that crosses from one ski resort to another.
And yes, that is actual snow in Australia!!


Now I'm adding one of the final pieces of the build before I continue exploring the High Country with the Jeep!

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi all,

My new kitchen is here and fully installed, and I couldn't be happier!!

I love to eat, therefore cooking is a huge part of my expeditions. Not only do I save money cooking my own meals, I also get to spend more time out in the wild rather than in a diner or drivethu lineup.
Here I have installed the all new Truck Bed Expedition Kitchen from Overland Kitchen into the bed of my Gladiator.
From Al the genius behind Overland Kitchen, it has so many features and well thought out design ideas I'm so extremely happy with all the new storage, keeping my fridge out of the way, down low and forward, the cutting board area, the integrated stove drawer and so, so much more.

In my latest YouTube video I run though all the details of the new kitchen.

If you'd like to pickup one yourself (or any of the other stainless steel vehicle kitchens they offer), use discount code 'theroadchoseme' at checkout for a $200 discount on the store https://overlandkitchen.com

Massive thanks to my friends Pete and Kathy for all the help installing it and making the custom wooden cutting board.

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

For as long as I can remember I'm dreamed about exploring the Victorian High Country in a 4x4 - and it absolutely did not disappoint!

Over a week we had absolutely epic adventures in the mountains - crossing rivers, exploring remote tracks and wild camping after seeing nobody for days on end.
The Jeep did great, though I quickly found the Gladiator's Achilles Heel with the breakover angle on the steep mountain tracks!

Checkout the latest adventure video, with more to come!


After a quick family Christmas I'm off to Tasmania, another huge part of Australia I've never seen and can't wait to roam around.

-Dan

 

[SVTRIT]

Hi All,

For as long as I can remember I'm dreamed about exploring the Victorian High Country in a 4x4 - and it absolutely did not disappoint!

Over a week we had absolutely epic adventures in the mountains - crossing rivers, exploring remote tracks and wild camping after seeing nobody for days on end.
The Jeep did great, though I quickly found the Gladiator's Achilles Heel with the breakover angle on the steep mountain tracks!

Checkout the latest adventure video, with more to come!


After a quick family Christmas I'm off to Tasmania, another huge part of Australia I've never seen and can't wait to roam around.

-Dan

What a beautiful place!! Great video.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Dan Grec]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I just drove a couple of the most iconic tracks in the Victorian High Country - and WOW!!
Billy Goat's Bluff and Blue Rag Ridge are both ridge line track that go directly up into the alpine and do not disappoint.
In my latest video I show you what the stunning scenery looked liked, explore the break over angle of the Gladiator a bit more (i.e. scrape the belly) and get the most out of the High Country.

Jump over to YouTube to see the whole episode:

-Dan

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Happy New Year Dan!
Hope the trip is going well, and the trails are treating you well as well (so many wells in that sentence). I spent my morning today going through your Alaska Highway tips and tricks videos, and am now wanting to do that trip as well. Heh

Hope you had a great Christmas and thanks again for taking us along for the ride. See you out there some day.
Greg

 

[Dan Grec]

Happy New Year Dan!
Hope the trip is going well, and the trails are treating you well as well (so many wells in that sentence). I spent my morning today going through your Alaska Highway tips and tricks videos, and am now wanting to do that trip as well. Heh

Hope you had a great Christmas and thanks again for taking us along for the ride. See you out there some day.
Greg

Cheers Greg,
Happy New Year to you well, I hope we can all have a great 2022!!

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi all,

I've always felt that when looking at an overland vehicle build and trying to learn from it, the actual WHAT of a given modification is not really that helpful. Sure someone decided to add product X, but the really useful bit is WHY they added that - what is the benefit? How does it improve the vehicle? What are the tradeoffs and why that one instead of another brand or another way to solve the problem or meet the need?

So for that reason I've posted a video with all of the WHYS of my Gladiator build - not just WHAT I did, but getting into the WHYS.
Hopefully you can learn from what I've done, and apply your own reasoning to meet your own needs.

Obviously what I've done is good for me here in Australia, but I fully expect people to adjust accordingly for their own needs and to travel where they want to!


-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

A couple of weeks ago we hopped a ferry down to Tasmnaia - the huge island state that is 40% UNESCO world herritage wilderness and National Park.
This place is incredible, and to really kick things off we just spent nine days in the wilderness completely self-supported.
I honestly had no idea Tasmania had wilderness and mountains like this, and it was utterly breathtaking!

In my latest video I show off the scenery, our camp and cooking setup, the food we cooked, the facilities along the way and a bunch of other random stuff!


-Dan

 

[ITTOG]

I often wish I had a way to talk to some YouTube creators and here you are giving us the option. I need to start taking advantage of it. So, I think you called your tent a swag. I always hear about spiders, insects, snakes, crocs, etc being so dangerous in Australia. Is that not the case?

Thanks for sharing your travels.

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