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Marc Bryson lazy "build" -JT Gladiator Rubicon

mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
Greg said:
With just over 20k miles on mine, it can still be tight shifting into low range, but its much better than when it was new. Here's what I do...

Rolling at 2-3 mph, put transmission in neutral. Firmly shift into low range with a little force. Make sure shift lever drops all the way back, a partial shift can happen and really cause damage. Place transmission back in gear.

If you're trying to shift into low range with the trans in gear or while stopped, it'll fight you.

Far as wheelin in 4 low, I usually manually shift the transmission, usually in 1-4th gears. Leaving it in Drive seems to make the transmission hunt and I don’t like it.

Hope that helps!
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I just had the first "real" rock crawling day in this dawg (duck?) yesterday. Lots of things to think about with an expensive rig with this much overhang and a vulnerable spare tire. Thanks all who were on the Jared Memorial run for spotting and such. Super fun day as always

I can't say I'm anything but impressed. I got the truck into places I didn't want it to be and was able to get it out of those places unscathed. Some powdercoat died.

@Greg , you're 100% correct on the transfer case shifting. I only do it early on the trail and then when getting onto the black top. 4:1 with the diesel is LOW. Putting around at 5 mph is 3rd gear. 10+ mph I'm in 5-6th gear. Took me a minute to figure out where the transfer case indicator lights were. They're on the dash like EVERYTHING else. The dash is very festive.

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We should have probably taken picks of the area before this passenger turn. It was a narrow wedge that we took high on the passenger side. Even at that, setting up to come through this gap took a little jockeying. All was well after the jockeying around. Difficult to steer when front axle is locked.

@Hickey looked up the wheelbase on this dawg. It's 137". No wonder it climbs. The obstacles we took this on aren't really this truck's forte. However it was super capable and with careful driving and spotting in various areas (some by me getting out of the truck) I made it through without too much sweat.
 
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mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
After settling back into real life for a few days I've been pondering a few things. Conveniently placed numbers in Greg's actual build thread.
Greg said:
Updated after Teraflex 3.5" RT3 suspension and 39" tires;

Rock slider to ground @ t-case crossmember - 22 1/2" (+ 5")

Bottom of receiver hitch to ground - 22 1/2" ( +5")


Pretty interesting that with the lift and 39" tires, it's really only 5" higher than stock. That doesn't seem right, but the #'s don't lie.

Overall height ground to hardtop is 6' 5" tall.





And some interesting gearing & RPM info, comparing stock (with 4.10's and 33's) to 5.13's and 39's;

I know some people think 5.13's are too deep for 39/40" tires, but I think they're ideal and bring the RPM back to where the engine runs stock, with 4.10's. It's turning just a little more RPM, which will help keep it in it's happy place with the heavier tires & taller profile. I did notice that the transmission held 8th gear even on smaller hills at 70+ MPH. It would drop to 7th on bigger hills. And driving up Solider Summit with the cruise control set at 65 MPH, it would drop down to 5th gear at 4,000 RPM on the steepest hills, then it would upshift into 6th and hold it well, while maintaining speed up those big climbs.

2400 RPM @ 80 MPH in 8th gear.
2050 RPM @ 70 MPH in 8th gear.


Also, some MPG info after a roadtrip to SLC and back with around 600 miles on the new build.

At 75+ MPH the engine seems to average 14 MPG.
If I keep it under 70 MPH, it'll average 15-16 MPG.
And if I keep it under 55 MPH, it'll average 18 MPG.

Those are pretty impressive numbers considering it's spinning 39's! :eek:
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I'll have to do some data logging when I get home tonight.


Oh, and there was some trail carnage from Sand Hollow vs JT version 1.
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Next time I won't lose the cap!
 
Spork

Spork

Tin Foil Hat Equipped
Location
Saratoga Springs, UT
mbryson said:
LUAATT Funny Car Tire Valve Stem Caps,4 pcs Universal Cute Duck Valve Stem Caps Cover for Cars Trucks Bikes Motorcycles(Yellow) https://a.co/d/gNR2Gh7
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Or print your own 😜
www.thingiverse.com

Rubber ducky tire valve cap by cmh

I'm trying to learn how to import STL files (or any arbitrary mesh) into Fusion 360 and then add on parametric features. Thanks to the folks who answered Bill14's question on exactly this I was directed to this Autodesk KB page on importing STLs to Fusion360 and I played around a little until I...
www.thingiverse.com www.thingiverse.com
 
TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
mbryson said:
I actually had the Midland MXT115 in my grubby hands. I got looking at it before unpackaging it and got a little gun shy on the 15 channels vs 22 channels on other units. I sent it back to the vendor.
What's your take on the 15 channels vs the other units 22 channels? I love the profile of the Midland units.
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Stephen said:
My understanding is that there are 15 GMRS channels (1-15) and 8 repeater channels (15-22) , totaling 22 (overlapping channel 15).
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There are 22 GMRS channels, and every one of them is shared with FRS. The FRS radio service is limited to 2W max output on channels 1-7 and 15-22, and is limited to only 0.5W on channels 8-14. GMRS is allowed to transmit higher power than this, but only on select channels. The GMRS output allowances break down as follows:
  • channels 1-7 = 5W maximum output power
  • channels 8-14 = 0.5W maximum output power
  • channels 15-22 = 50W maximum output power
You'll note that GMRS is limited to the same half watt output on channels 8-14 like FRS. If you're using a wimpy bubble wrap radio, no problem. But the Midland mobile radios are typically manufactured such that their LOW output setting is 5W. Furthermore, the FCC also requires all FRS/GMRS radios operating on channels 8-14 to have fixed antennas. Again, bubble wrap handheld radios follow this rule, too. But since all mobile radios have external antennas, and since they are operating in excess of the allowed 0.5W power output, Midland (and all other mobile radio manufacturers who obey FCC rules) simply omits channels 8-14 from their mobile radios. Tah-dah! Now you've only got 15 GMRS channels available to you.

(And as for repeater operation, there are 8 designated repeater input frequencies not included in the above. Each one corresponds to one of the channels 15-22, and the output frequencies are the same as channels 15-22. So even if you have available repeaters in your area and you decide to use them, you won't have any more channels available to use with your mobile GMRS radio.)
 
mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
So, dirt day #5 happened today. Sliver Lake mountains by Wendover. The truck is pretty cool.

20221119_111015.jpg

Runs 80 mph on the freeway all the way out there. Lots of various trail riding. Higher speed 2WD roads, solid performance. 4WD high, it cruises around with the sway bar disconnected and flexes decently. I used 4Low a bit on a couple icy downhills and a fun and windy snow packed climb.
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As we cruised back to Bend over for some chow, we did some runs at some pretty solid speeds. Seriously fun stuff. Air up and head to town and then home.
 
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mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
Another trail day in the books. #6 for those counting. Headed northward from Bountiful with Joel German, Ryan Ward, Brett Davis and a new acquaintance, Todd Nebeker.

20221126_102655.jpg
Airing down for the day. You'll notice we lost Joel. He had a little trailer mishap on I15. IMG_20221127_074420.jpg
We were able to find the tire in an orchard and he headed back to the shop. Trashed spindle on that dawg. We'll have to see how he fixes that.

IMG_20221127_074423.jpg

We did a fun little loop without incident and were back to town by about 11:30. We need to find something else interesting.

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So we found some snowy goodness. I believe this type of trail riding puts the modern Jeeps right in their element. Good highway manners but still pretty capable when things get interesting.20221126_111634.jpg20221126_112132.jpg
 
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mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
We got Todd in a bit of a predicament as he was breaking trail in his 3.6 JLU. IMG_20221126_184839.jpg
We pulled Brett around him thinking we could pendulum swing Todd back to the road. IMG_20221127_074433.jpg

That didn't quite work so we ran about 200' of cable up to a large tree and just winched both the JT and the JLU back up and headed down the road.

Headed down the mountain by about 4:00 in light snow20221126_152419.jpg

I headed off to have dinner with my bride of 31 years yesterday (is there a reason she sends me away on our anniversary?).
 
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