Outfitting my Grenadier Trialmaster

[jscherb]

The craftsmen at Overland Outfitters factory also made two versions of the overhead gear panel that mounts to the blank space in the overhead console for testing. I installed them to verify the fit and they fit perfectly. One version has a pocket sized for things like sunglasses plus 4 elastic loops for small flashlights, tire gauges, pens, etc. and the other version has two pistol magazine sized pouches (I use one for a Leatherman-type multitool and the other for a lighter and magnesium fire starter, plus its got three elastic loops and a short section of MOLLE grid in the center (I hang a small tape measure there, as a designer I'm always needing to measure something). These install easily with the factory screws. I told OO these are ready for production.





And they made me a pair of final door pockets. They had made me a set of preproduction sample door pockets a few weeks back and now I've got a production-ready pair. There's only one small difference between the preproduction samples and the final version, so I could have kept the prepropduction set on my doors, but I swapped those out for the new production final ones. Photos attached.





Both the overhead panels and the door pockets are now ready for production and although they haven't given me a general availability date yet if anyone wants either of these soon I'm sure OO could be convinced to make some on a one-off basis if they production run hasn't happened when you need them.

 

[jscherb]

I've been thinking about the best place to store a fire extinguisher in my Grenadier. In my Jeep Wranglers I have extinguishers mounted on the roll bars but there being no roll bar in the Grenadier, that's not an option. The only commercial options I've found for the Grenadier place the extinguisher under the front of the driver's seat, which I don't think is best for me, for two reasons - first, because it will likely get in the way of my feet as I fidget around to get comfortable on long drives, and second because I think the most likely place for a fire to start is in the back by the stove in my Trail Kitchen so I would like the extinguisher to be back there. I've attached several concept drawings of a fire extinguisher + pocket panel for the small rear door. I've drawn the concept in tan canvas but it could also be black. There's a pocket on the panel to stow gear and a strap to secure the extinguisher in its pocket and keep it from moving around on the trail. Installation would be very easy and non-invasive, the panel would attach using the factory screws. Another option would be a MOLLE grid in place of the pocket so any MOLLE pouch could be attached there instead, I've included some concept images with a leather MOLLE grid and a MOLLE pouch attached. I've made a CAD pattern for the panel and I think I'll sew a prototype and if it works out well I may suggest it to Overland Outfitters as a potential product. Not sure which version I'll sew though. Any thoughts about this idea in general or the specific variations? If I were to suggest it to Overland Outfitters as a product, would you want it without a provision for an extinguisher and perhaps with more pockets or MOLLE?



Another fire extinguisher option could be mounting it on the L-track I put in the cargo area, but I have other, better uses for that space so I think I'll go with the small rear door panel shown above.

 

[Zeep]

The rear cargo area seems to only have a small dome light. Do you find this adequate?
With the trail kitchen installed, I would think you would possibly have a need for better lighting !

 

[jscherb]

The rear cargo area seems to only have a small dome light. Do you find this adequate?
With the trail kitchen installed, I would think you would possibly have a need for better lighting !

I've got that covered... I made a set of clamp-on lights for use with the Trail Kitchen in the Jeeps, they work just fine in the Grenadier as well (https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/barn-door-for-jk-factory-hardtops.127687/post-3120588). They plug into the Grenadier's rear power outlet but for use with the kitchen I'd just plug them into the Trail Kitchen power box and avoid turning on all the Grenadier's accessory circuits - unfortunately the way the Grenadier is wired, if the ignition is off and you switch on the power outlets, they all get powered, not just the one you need so possibly more battery drain then necessary. Probably I would clamp one to the rack (which isn't on the Grenadier right now) and one on the rear door but for now they're both on the door. Check out the lighted area on the garage floor; aim that properly and the kitchen has all the light needed.

 

[jscherb]

A lot of the switches on the Grenadier's center panels have guards around them and I don't know if these are supposed to be functional or if they're just cosmetic:



I was thinking that the rotary knob could use some guards (or cosmetic enhancement?) so I found some rack handles that are a reasonable match for the factory guards on the console switches. In these next photos they're just sitting in place:






These next photos show the procedure for installing them. To remove the panel around the rotary knob first remove the screws from the cup holder. The cup holder is also held in place with two clips at the bottom of the cup; they hold fairly tight but a pair of trim pry tools will pop them loose (first photo). Once the cup holder is out, remove the four screws from the rotary panel and remove the panel - the rotary panel is only held in by those screws and a lip that goes under the cup holder panel (which is why the cup holder gets removed first). The second photo shows what the underside of the panel looks like - the plastic chrome trim that encircles the rotary knob and its buttons has a flange around it; the combination of that flange and the panel results in a thickness of 1/4" where the guards will be installed, so there will be plenty of support for the guard. The third photo shows a guard sitting on the underside of the panel indicating roughly where the holes for the guard will be drilled. These guards are 2.3" between centers, which seems to be the optimum size for this application based on the structure under the panel - any longer and you wouldn't be able to attach them through both layers of plastic and the screw heads likely wouldn't fit in the recess below the panel.



I did the above just before I had to leave on a trip to India and didn't have time to actually drill the holes and mount the guards. I'll show the installation in the next post.

The handles I used: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Hammond-Manufacturing/1427Q?qs=5EWClXN8%2BoJAq0x0t0xfwA==. They come with screws but will need slightly longer screws to reach through the 1/4" of plastic of the trim panel.

 

[jscherb]

Installing the guards... I made a drilling template on the computer to ensure accurate placement of the holes, drilled the holes, installed the guards and reinstalled the panel. It was a pretty quick project and I'm happy with the results. Photos of the drilling template and a few other in-process photos attached, more detail in my original post linked above.

Drilling template gets taped onto the panel:



Center punching where the holes go for accuracy:



After drilling the holes, the guards get screwed in place: bottom view:



Ready to reinstall the panel:



Project complete:

 

[TCM]

Installing the guards... I made a drilling template on the computer to ensure accurate placement of the holes, drilled the holes, installed the guards and reinstalled the panel. It was a pretty quick project and I'm happy with the results. Photos of the drilling template and a few other in-process photos attached, more detail in my original post linked above.

Drilling template taped onto the panel:

View attachment 876045

Center punching where the holes go for accuracy:

View attachment 876038

After drilling the holes, the guards get screwed in place: bottom view:

View attachment 876039

Ready to reinstall the panel:

View attachment 876044

Project complete:

View attachment 876040View attachment 876041View attachment 876042View attachment 876043

Please post a downloadable copy of the drill template. That would make easy work of this project for other Grenadier owners.

 

[jscherb]

Please post a downloadable copy of the drill template. That would make easy work of this project for other Grenadier owners.

Here you go, template attached.

 

[TCM]

Here you go, template attached.

Thanks!!

 

[jscherb]

Two weeks ago I wrote that I've been working with MORryde on a cargo slide for the Grenadier: https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/outfitting-my-grenadier-trialmaster.247640/post-3212913

They had sent me a preproduction sample; I installed and test it and posted about it. Yesterday a big box arrived from MORryde with a "production candidate" cargo slide - meaning unless something is found to be wrong with this one, it's ready for production. I installed it yesterday, it went in very quickly and works as intended. MORryde also asked me if I would take photos to document the installation process for them to use in their instructions for the product, so I did that and I'll send them a draft set of instructions for them to edit and finalize. They tell me the retail price for this will be $400 or less and they're shooting for "less." They haven't given me a release date other than "soon." The same slide is also designed to fit in the JKU and JLU Wranglers so I have to install it in my JKU tomorrow to do photos for the installation instructions.



I got a comment last time I posted questioning that this slide wasn't the full width of the cargo area. The answer is that this is designed to fit the JK and JL Wranglers, the Bronco and the Grenadier and the Grenadier's cargo area being wider, the slide doesn't quite fill the space. Personally I like this width slide, the real estate on the sides is not useless, I would use it for things not needed frequently. And for some people price is a factor, the leading full-width slide for the Grenadier is $1329.95, so this one from MORryde is $1000 less (!) than that one, and since fridge-only slides typically range from $200-$300 for a decent one, the MORryde slide isn't much more than a fridge-only slide. To me the MORryde slide seems like a very good compromise between a very expensive full-width slide and a fridge-only slide. Also the MORryde is very easy and quick to remove/install so if you only need the slide for some excursions, you can remove it when not needed for daily driving.

 

[jscherb]

I'm experimenting with the rooftop circuits; my first experiment is a campsite light. I found mounting brackets to fit the roof rails on eBay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/135462984283):



...and got some DTP connector pigtails on Amazon (https://a.co/d/aPmW4OX).

nd a wing nut (so it can be installed only when needed). I temporarily connected the LED leads to the DTP pigtail with clip leads for this test. Works fine. Now to decide what lights to use for campsite lights and wire them better than with clip leads.









Also for years I've been using a Garvin rack basket on both of my Jeeps and I'll be installing that on the Grenadier soon. It's got lights mounted to it and the Jeeps have rooftop 2-pin SAE sockets these plug into, so when I install the basket I'll make up a DTP-SAE adapter and the lights will directly plug in to the Grenadier's rooftop circuit. If you look closely at the photo of the rack on my JKU, there are two sets of lights - the forward set of lights is mounted on the front extension to the basket, and when the extension isn't installed, the second set of lights can be used. Both plug in the same way. Also if you look closely at the JKU photo, you'll see the pull-out solar panel under the extension - that also plugs in to the Wranglers using an SAE plug, so I'll change one of the Grenadier's rooftop DTP connections to be input for the solar panel.

 

[jscherb]

A few weeks ago I posted about adding a section of L-track to the dash mount things like my GPS: https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/outfitting-my-grenadier-trialmaster.247640/post-3213932. It's worked out fine and I've been experimenting with other types of mounts that can attach to the L-track. A RAM ball mount fits and secures to the L-track just fine and there are lots of things that can attach to a RAM ball. A swivel camera mount also works well (perhaps for a dash cam or a GoPro?) - I used a shortened L-track stud to attach it. The only swivel mount I could find has a 3/8-24 (fine) thread and the only L-track studs I have on hand are 3/8-16, so I retapped the thread inside the swivel mount to fine thread. Maybe a swivel mount with a fine thread or an L-track stud with a course thread could be found but if not, running a fine thread tap into the hole is pretty easy. Lots of options for mounting things.

 

[jscherb]

I've been working up a list of spare fuses I think I should carry and I'm frustrated by access to many of the fuses. Many of the fuse boxes are hidden under the plastic panel under the rear seat, requiring quite a bit of disassembly to get at them. That's dumb - you need multiple wrenches to check if a fuse has blown?

A few examples of fuses I think might be good to carry:

- Fuses for the roof power points, in the Accessory Pre-Fuse Box.
- Fuse for the US-spec 400-watt inverter, in the Interior Pre-Fuse Box.
- Fuse for the 350-amp rear NATO plug, in the Accessory Pre-Fuse box (almost accessible, but the cover to that box can't be completely removed due to the plastic panel covering one end of it).

Those are only a few examples, there are other fuses I'd like to carry that are in those same fuse boxes.

I picked up an ATM fuse assortment at Harbor Freight for less than $6 and it has every value ATM fuse used in the Grenadier except 7.5a. I had some 7.5a fuses from a similar assortment I bought years ago for one of my Wranglers and since the Wrangler doesn't use that value I moved those fuses to the HF assortment for the Grenadier.

I also got spare 350a Z-Case fuses for the NATO outlet in the rear, I figured if I'm winching out of a situation using that outlet and a fuse blows I wouldn't want to be stranded because of that. While I was at it the place I ordered those from also stocked the correct Z-Case fuses for the Power Distribution Module (125a) and the Interior Electrical Centre (150a) and while I never expect that those fuses will blow, since I was paying the shipping to get the 350a fuses anyway I added those to the order.



There are a few other Z-Case fuses I want to get but the place I ordered from didn't have the right values with the right hole size so I'll keep looking.

I haven't removed the plastic panel under the seat yet, so if it's quick and easy someone can tell me that . But assuming it's not quick and easy, has anyone thought about making holes in the panel to provide access to the fuse boxes? Seems like that wouldn't compromise too much of the purpose of the plastic panel in protecting the wiring underneath. I'd appreciate your thoughts on fuse access, you can see in this marked-up photo how inaccessible some of the fuse boxes are...

 

[jscherb]

Overland Outfitters makes MOLLE wraps for the headrests JK and JL Wranglers and I've found them handy over the years so I tried them on the Grenadier headrests. Unfortunately the Grenadier headrests are different enough in size from either the JK or JL Wrangler headrest that they don't fit well enough, so I sewed a quick prototype sized for the Grenadier. It needs a bit of final tailoring for a perfect fit, but that's what prototypes are for. It's got MOLLE/PALS grids on the back and two sides. Photos of the prototype what various military pouches, a belt-clip type cell phone pouch and an OO First Aid bag are attached. I think I'll sew a final pair of them, tailoring them for a perfect fit and put them to use in my Grenadier. If people think these might be useful I can turn the design over to OO to see if they're interested in producing them.

 

[jscherb]

I'm headed to the Overland Outfitters factory this week. They'll have a production candidate cargo-side bag for me and a production candidate First Aid Bag to zip into the rear door pocket panel. In addition, I'm bringing patterns for panels for the small rear door. The first one is a pocket panel; it'll have 5 pockets and look the same as the pocket panel on the big rear door. The second pattern has two pockets and a place for a fire extinguisher. I'm not going to have them sew the extinguisher pocket on the second one, I'll do that when I get home because there are a few details I want to experiment with.



The pocket panel for the large rar door: