Quartermaster
New member
Just did similar, but I pulled out the L-track and used the existing threaded holes to bolt down for a homemade wood plate. Then picked up a fridge slide off Amazon for my Dometic CF50.
Outfitting my Grenadier Trialmaster
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I'm making use of the L-tracks in the cargo area for many things, including a MORryde Trail Kitchen (https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/outfitting-my-grenadier-trialmaster.247640/post-3213227), a cargo slide (https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/outfitting-my-grenadier-trialmaster.247640/post-3214583) and a smaller fridge slide. I'm finding that additional tie-down points in the floor would be useful for some things. I made a cross-bracket to install the narrower things, it can be seen in this photo of the small fridge slide:
That bracket is only 16-gauge steel and it works but isn't rigid enough.
For stronger mounting, I added another section of L-track oriented crosswise. It provides additional tie-down points for things like the small fridge slide and the Trail Kitchen.
The track is secured to the floor with four 1/4-20 rivnuts. The rivnuts have to be located properly so they don't interfere with crossmembers under the floor. There are lines of spot welds where these crossmembers are welded under the floor; I put the rivnuts about 3/8" behind a row of spot welds - in that location they grip on both the floor and the flat section of the crossmember.
Track secured to the rivnuts:
Because the track is mounted on the floor, it sticks up a bit, but that's not a problem. First I cut a slot in the factory floor pad. To located the slot, I installed the pad and used a mallet to make impressions on the bottom of the pad as a guide for cutting.
Slot cut and pad installed:
Then I cut a slot in my non-slip cargo area mat (from Lowes, details here: https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/outfitting-my-grenadier-trialmaster.247640/post-3212907). I used the same mallet method, but that wasn't making impressions in the tough rubber mat so I put some duct tape on the bottom of the mat and then impressions we made.
With the factory pad and the Lowes mat installed, the new track is slightly below the surface of the mat.
The fridge slide installed securely to the factory track and the cross track:
Looks like it could be factory, works very well and makes it easy to secure things narrower than the factory tracks.
That bracket is only 16-gauge steel and it works but isn't rigid enough.
For stronger mounting, I added another section of L-track oriented crosswise. It provides additional tie-down points for things like the small fridge slide and the Trail Kitchen.
The track is secured to the floor with four 1/4-20 rivnuts. The rivnuts have to be located properly so they don't interfere with crossmembers under the floor. There are lines of spot welds where these crossmembers are welded under the floor; I put the rivnuts about 3/8" behind a row of spot welds - in that location they grip on both the floor and the flat section of the crossmember.
Track secured to the rivnuts:
Because the track is mounted on the floor, it sticks up a bit, but that's not a problem. First I cut a slot in the factory floor pad. To located the slot, I installed the pad and used a mallet to make impressions on the bottom of the pad as a guide for cutting.
Slot cut and pad installed:
Then I cut a slot in my non-slip cargo area mat (from Lowes, details here: https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/outfitting-my-grenadier-trialmaster.247640/post-3212907). I used the same mallet method, but that wasn't making impressions in the tough rubber mat so I put some duct tape on the bottom of the mat and then impressions we made.
With the factory pad and the Lowes mat installed, the new track is slightly below the surface of the mat.
The fridge slide installed securely to the factory track and the cross track:
Looks like it could be factory, works very well and makes it easy to secure things narrower than the factory tracks.
grimmbusiness
New member
grimmbusiness
New member
Super helpful (as always). Do you recall the exact model Reese you used? Looks like they have a ton listed on their website that are probably mostly the same (although some seem to be straight and others slightly curved) - guessing the main difference has to do with the attachments on the side (which don't matter here anyway).
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I'll be using a Reese 37016 for this project.
I chose it because I wanted a heavy-duty class 3 or 4 hitch (this one is a class 4) with a straight crossbar and a receiver below the crossbar. I found this one on FB Marketplace for $100 in new never-installed condition.
I should be starting the fabrication in the next month or so; I've been too busy with other priorities to have time for this project yet. Finished receiver will look like this when installed:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I wrote before that I'm not a fan of the storage compartment in front of the jack. It's hard to store anything in there because whatever is in there will be in the way when you need the jack, also things in there will rattle around because there's no provision for securing anything. And the 120v receptacle for the factory inverter is inconvenient inside that compartment.
There are a few bags on the market for that space but none of them optimal to me so I designed something that I like better. It's a bag that clips in place using existing holes in the inner fender panel and removes in seconds, doesn't require Velcro or any additional hardware, replaces the factory plastic cover and hides all the unsightly clip holes in the inner fender panel. I sewed a prototype a few weeks ago and it worked out well so I turned the patterns over to Overland Outfitters. They sewed some preproduction samples; I received one the other day and photos are attached. I also did a photo-edit to show what one would look like in black. I've got a few very small tweaks to recommend to them before this goes into production, which will probably be released at Overland Expo West the first weekend of October.
There are a few bags on the market for that space but none of them optimal to me so I designed something that I like better. It's a bag that clips in place using existing holes in the inner fender panel and removes in seconds, doesn't require Velcro or any additional hardware, replaces the factory plastic cover and hides all the unsightly clip holes in the inner fender panel. I sewed a prototype a few weeks ago and it worked out well so I turned the patterns over to Overland Outfitters. They sewed some preproduction samples; I received one the other day and photos are attached. I also did a photo-edit to show what one would look like in black. I've got a few very small tweaks to recommend to them before this goes into production, which will probably be released at Overland Expo West the first weekend of October.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I use many of them but not all - some are prototypes and/or preproduction samples I'm testing.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
A few months ago I decided I needed larger cup holders so I made a replacement for the factory unit with larger cup holders. As a prototype, I made the replacement panel out of wood, and it has worked out very well. I had intended to replace the wood panel with aluminum and finally had time to make that this morning.
The wooden prototype panel:
The wooden prototype panel:
jscherb
Expedition Leader
After posting about the preproduction bag that fits in the compartment in front of the jack the other day, I got a number of questions about other storage accessories that were in the photos, so here's more info on two of them. There were questions about the pocket panel on the inside of the narrow rear door. There are several options for that, I've got the four-pocket option installed in my Grenadier. There's also a version with a single large pocket, and a MOLLE panel version. www.overland-outfitters.com/store/p86/Narrow-Rear-Door-Storage.html#/ and https://www.overland-outfitters.com/store/p90/Narrow-Rear-Door-Storage.html#/. All of these are available in either tan or black and install using the factory hardware on the door.
Also got some questions about the First Aid Bag hanging on the back of the seat. That one can hang there or on the wide rear door panel; it's got pockets inside to organize all of the medical supplies for fast and easy access. https://tinyurl.com/3m78w3hk https://www.overland-outfitters.com/store/p88/Grenadier_First_Aid_Bag.html#/
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I received a second preproduction sample bag for the jack space today. There's one more tiny tweak I'll ask them to make as it goes into production. I won't need to see another sample, the change I want them to make is very small, so they can begin the first production run asap.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
This is a quick and imperfect photo-edit showing what the bag will look like in black.
Notice the extension sticking out from the bottom, that's for the factory inverter outlet, which can be used with an extension like this when the bag is in place.
Also can't decide if I'll recommend to OO that they call this the Jack Compartment Bag or the Jack Space bag... opinions welcome.
Notice the extension sticking out from the bottom, that's for the factory inverter outlet, which can be used with an extension like this when the bag is in place.
Also can't decide if I'll recommend to OO that they call this the Jack Compartment Bag or the Jack Space bag... opinions welcome.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I find it very inconvenient that the back seat won't fold down with the headrests in place. In my 2013 Wrangler, when the back seat folds down, the headrest automatically hinges so the seat won't be prevented from folding down by the headrest hitting the front seat, but the Grenadier's headrests are much more primitive. Since I almost never have back seat passengers, I could just remove the rear seat headrests, but I actually use the headrest posts to hang things, so to fold the seat down, not only do I have to remove the headrests, but the bags/pouches hanging on them have to come off too.
The problem:
So here's what's on my sewing table right now - smaller "headrests" that don't interfere with the front seats when the back seat folds down.
I'm making three. They're a direct replacement for the factory headrests, but are small enough to allow the back seat to fold down.
In the rare event I need to transport people in the back seat, I'll swap one or more factory headrests back in, but for maybe 360 days per year, these mini ones will be perfect.
For anyone interested in the details... the Grenadier headrests have 14mm posts, which are not very common. They're more common in European-designed vehicles, so I went to the U-Pull junkyard with my micrometer in hand and discovered that VW Jetta's have 14mm posts. The spacing between them is not the same as the Grenadier's spacing, so I modified that and then build a small roll of padding (pipe insulation like you might use to insulate the copper pipes coming out of your home water heater) and sewed a tight-fitting cover.
The problem:
So here's what's on my sewing table right now - smaller "headrests" that don't interfere with the front seats when the back seat folds down.
I'm making three. They're a direct replacement for the factory headrests, but are small enough to allow the back seat to fold down.
In the rare event I need to transport people in the back seat, I'll swap one or more factory headrests back in, but for maybe 360 days per year, these mini ones will be perfect.
For anyone interested in the details... the Grenadier headrests have 14mm posts, which are not very common. They're more common in European-designed vehicles, so I went to the U-Pull junkyard with my micrometer in hand and discovered that VW Jetta's have 14mm posts. The spacing between them is not the same as the Grenadier's spacing, so I modified that and then build a small roll of padding (pipe insulation like you might use to insulate the copper pipes coming out of your home water heater) and sewed a tight-fitting cover.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
I finished the remaining two "mini headrests" this afternoon...
These enable the back seat to be folded down with the headrests (and the attached bags/pouches) attached.
Obviously these don't provide much support in the event of being rear-ended, so as I said in the last post for the very fews times each year that I carry passengers in the rear seat, I'll swap the factory headrests back in, but for the rest of the days, these work exactly as I planned - the hold the bags/pouches in place while allowing the seat to be folded down.
Project done.
These enable the back seat to be folded down with the headrests (and the attached bags/pouches) attached.
Obviously these don't provide much support in the event of being rear-ended, so as I said in the last post for the very fews times each year that I carry passengers in the rear seat, I'll swap the factory headrests back in, but for the rest of the days, these work exactly as I planned - the hold the bags/pouches in place while allowing the seat to be folded down.
Project done.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Last year I posted a thread with all of the Grenadiers I found at the SEMA Show: https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/ineos-vehicles-at-sema-2024.246435/. My SEMA badge for this year's show arrived in the mail yesterday. The show is the first week of November and I to post everything at the show that relates to Grenadiers. Anyone else planning to attend SEMA this year?
