Our Alu-Cab Canopy Camper Jeep Gladiator Overland Build

[Hourless Life]

On May 31, 2021 we picked up our Jeep Gladiator. On June 7, 2021 we dropped it off at the first of 4 shops in 4 different cities who will be helping us build it out for a global overland trip we anticipate will take us 10-15 years.



We started out with a 2021 Jeep Gladiator Sport S with Max Tow Package with an automatic transmission. This gives us 1535 lbs payload to play with.

We are launching a video series about the Gladiator build later today on June 10, 2021 which you can check out on our YouTube channel here if interested ~ > Hourless Life YouTube



We're documenting our global journey on Expedition Portal with updates here if interested ~ Documenting Our Journey

Here are some of the main components that will be involved in our build.

Alu-Cab Canopy Camper
Alu-Cab Shadow Awn
Alu-Cab Shower Cube
Alu-Cab Water Tank
Goose Gear 60% High Seat Delete
Goose Gear Deck Plate
Goose Gear Double Drawer Modules x2
Goose Gear Utility Cabinets x2
Goose Gear Bulkhead
Goose Gear Full Sleep Deck
Goose Gear Solo Slide
Goose Gear Corner Unit
RedArc Electronics Manager 30
RedArc Electronics Red Vision System
National Luna 50L Dual Zone Legacy Fridge
Renogy Solar 170 Amp Hour Lithium Battery
Cascadia 4x4 VSS and Prototype Solar Panels
Rigid Industries Full Lighting Package
Warn Industries 9.5XP Winch
Warn Industries Diamond Cutter Wheels
Warn Industries Epic Medium Duty Recovery Kit
Warn Industries Epic Shackles
Warn Industries Wireless Hub Controller
Long Range America Jeep Gladiator Fuel Tank
& so much more.

We're pretty excited about the build, and even more excited about the journey.

The vehicle will be available to see/tour in the showcase areas of both Overland Expo West and Overland Expo Mountain West this year.

Any questions let us know!

Eric + Brittany + Caspian Highland
Hourless Life

 

[Superduty]

Well it get a lift and larger tires?

Any axle modifications? Lockers?

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[Hourless Life]

Well it get a lift and larger tires?

Any axle modifications? Lockers?

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So we've been talking with some very experienced folks in the International overland space about all of the modifications before we've made decisions on our build.

Those are both good questions. The answer is no on the lift, lockers, and axle mods. Keep in mind that the vast majority of our global trip will be on some semblance of pavement. The Gladiator should be more than sufficient to run most of the two track we encounter, and get us where we need / want to go.

Tires we'll be running will surprise most people because unlike most overland builds in North America, our rig will not be sitting on 35s or 37s. We'll be running the BFG KO2 34.10.50 (295 70 17) There are multiple reasons for this but the primary reason is replaceability internationally. You simply can't source larger tires easily in areas of the world we're planning on being in.

If we were sticking to North America we would have gone with a diesel engine as well as larger tires, and various mods (like our North American build currently has) but with the type of trip we're taking, it just doesn't make sense to do so. It is simply not practical. ~ Eric

 

[Hourless Life]

Here are a few photos taken over the last couple of days of the Alu-Cab portion of our build on the Gladiator:













We're pretty excited to get this thing on the road. But good things take time.

~ Eric

 

[Hourless Life]

We did it! First night in DAUNTLESS is in the books.

This photo was taken yesterday June 25, 2021 just west of Santa Fe, NM on our way to Tucson, Arizona for the next phase of our build.

It was a disorganized night. We're carrying a ton of parts and pieces that still need to be added to our build with us, so we had to move stuff around and our night wasn't streamlined like we're used to.

But it was really affirming that we've made the right decisions for our global build.

We made it to Tucson tonight and we'll be here for a week while the build continues. ~ Eric

 

[camodog]

@rino where can we buy the brackets to flip the awning and the rear door to the passenger side Of the vehicle?

I have been waiting forever for these features.

 

[Superduty]

@rino where can we buy the brackets to flip the awning and the rear door to the passenger side Of the vehicle?

I have been waiting forever for these features.

What do you mean flip the awning to the passenger side?

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[camodog]

What do you mean flip the awning to the passenger side?

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I have a RHS shadow awning that is collecting dust, I was told there is no way to install it on the alu cab, as they don’t make brackets for it. Looks like they are available now.
I also see to flip the door, they just moved the locking mech to the right side and flipped it.
that is too tall for my wife to open and close, I was hoping that alu cab released a passenger side open for the rear door by now. There is a market for it

when I was pulling a trailer, it was a pita having the door open from the drivers side, especially when I had a flat tire on the trailer and didn’t have a large shoulder to pull over on.

 

[Hourless Life]

Hey @camodog the RHS shadow awning is available on the Alu-Cab site. The team at Juniper Overland in Denver installed it, so I'm not sure if there was any sorcery involved. But since Alu-Cab sells it, I'm sure it is available. The door was also just flipped by Juniper. I'm sure if you call Josh at Juniper Overland in Denver, he can tell you what he did to make it work. Hope that helps. ~ Eric

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

@camodog - the batwing awnings are directional I think, it’s not just a matter of the brackets. This is because the awning covers two sides of the vehicle - the side and the back. If you move it to the other side, it will still open the same way, so then the part of the awning that covers the rear of your vehicle would be over the hood if all you did was get brackets for the passenger side.

The pivot point of the awning has to change, which also changes the position of the support poles and thus the fabric. So it’s a totally different awning. You’ll need to order one that is designed for that side of the vehicle.

@Hourless Life - great build so far. Congrats on the first night in your new rig.

 

[camodog]

Hey @camodog the RHS shadow awning is available on the Alu-Cab site. The team at Juniper Overland in Denver installed it, so I'm not sure if there was any sorcery involved. But since Alu-Cab sells it, I'm sure it is available. The door was also just flipped by Juniper. I'm sure if you call Josh at Juniper Overland in Denver, he can tell you what he did to make it work. Hope that helps. ~ Eric

Thanks for the info. It was Josh at Juniper that told me neither of those options are offered or available. He said the LHS awning is fine. I explained my reservations and that I already own a RHS awning. i guess they will do it now? Pretty bummed that they wouldn’t do it when I originally ordered. Now I have both a RHS and LHS awning

 

[Hourless Life]

Thanks for the info. It was Josh at Juniper that told me neither of those options are offered or available. He said the LHS awning is fine. I explained my reservations and that I already own a RHS awning. i guess they will do it now? Pretty bummed that they wouldn’t do it when I originally ordered. Now I have both a RHS and LHS awning

Yeah, I don't think it was initially available. When we first started planning our build we were in the same boat. But we waited long enough for it to come out. So it worked out for us. The door flip was something we just said we needed to make happen, and I basically asked that they come up with some wizardry, and they did. ~ Eric

 

[Hourless Life]

@Hourless Life - great build so far. Congrats on the first night in your new rig.

Thank you. I'm writing this to you from shop #3. We're getting a bunch of stuff done here, then onto shop #4 in Austin, Texas for the final part of the initial build. ~ Eric