Started on new toad

[JDCrow]

After the last Jeep was totaled, picked up a Jeep Gladiator. 
 

This a Mojave edition. I decided to go with roadmast this go around. They make a Mojave specific mount for it. It bolts up to existing holes, just one to drill. 
 

It does require cutting the skid plate to fit over the mounted plates. However I have a Jeep rubicon steel front bumper to add. Because it’s skid plate mounts to the bumper and the Mojave’s does not, I had to cut it to fit over the mounting plates as well. I also need to recut the Mojave skid plate to fit around the Rubicon bumper. Anyway got the winch in as well. 
 

I’ll be modifying a Mopar wiring harness from a Jeep JL Wrangler to fit this truck. 

[jacwjames]

How do you like the Gladiator as a toad, any problems or complaints?

I'm looking for a different toad and test drove a used 2020 Jeep Gladiator yesterday.   It already had a heavy steel bumper with a winch attached.  It actually drove pretty well and my wife said it would work, she said it was "cute".   Only issue was the check engine light was on and the salesman couldn't tell me why, said they had a work order in the shop for it.   So pulled out my code reader and it came up with the PO441 code Evaporator Emission Control, which could be as simple as the gas cap or purge valve. 

But the Gladiator does look promising so I'll keep it on the list. 

[JDCrow]

The Glad has been great. The bad: the dual battery set up is dumb. The small battery under the main battery, which powers the jeep when the auto start/stop is running. The small battery goes bad, about every year, and it will take out the main battery, they are connected. I got tired of it going bad. The only way to get rid of the auto start/stop was to add a Tazer to the jeep, that was easy. I then went with a dual battery set up from Odyssey and that is nice, but heavy so ended up adding HD front springs. 

5 hours ago, jacwjames said:

How do you like the Gladiator as a toad, any problems or complaints?

I'm looking for a different toad and test drove a used 2020 Jeep Gladiator yesterday.   It already had a heavy steel bumper with a winch attached.  It actually drove pretty well and my wife said it would work, she said it was "cute".   Only issue was the check engine light was on and the salesman couldn't tell me why, said they had a work order in the shp for it.   So pulled out my code reader and it came up with the PO441 code Evaporator Emission Control, which could be as simple as the gas cap or purge valve. 

But the Gladiator does look promising so I'll keep it on the list. 

[jacwjames]

Thanks,

Had not read that in any of the forums/posts I've been reading. 

 

[jacwjames]

So you peeked my interest so I did some searches and the battery issue is pretty common.  There have been no recalls but in early 2024 Jeep/Chrysler started disabling the car connect type system when the sell a vehicle.  People can still enable it but I read one post on a jeep forum saying that the dealer had him sign a disclaimer.

When you park the vehicle it is suppose to go to sleep but evidently a parasitic drain is causing the batteries to go dead.   Not sure if they've figured it out yet.

This is not a problem unless you don't use the vehicle on a regular basis which means that it would be an issue for me.  We have the same problem with the 2020 Ford Transit van I bought my wife, if we don't drive it every 4-5 days the battery voltage drops to where it is too low to bring the dash alive to start.  I've done everything that I could to stop this, even bought the Faraday key pouch to put key into.  But battery still goes dead, so now I just keep it plugged in an let the inverter/charger keep both chassis and house batteries charged. 

 

Also read of several other recalls on the Gladiator, including issues with steering with specific mention of the Death Wobble.  Have you had any problem with that???

 

 

[SteveD]

I just bought an older F150 to rig as a toad. We live in the country and the wife’s Camaro was taking a beating on the back roads so she drives the 150 as a daily. 
 

Have not rigged it for towing yet. My coach came with a Falcon tow bar. I’m almost afraid to ask but… does anyone have any experience with that brand? Any insight would help. 
 

it’s a 5250 model number. 

[jacwjames]

54 minutes ago, SteveD said:

I just bought an older F150 to rig as a toad. We live in the country and the wife’s Camaro was taking a beating on the back roads so she drives the 150 as a daily. 
 

Have not rigged it for towing yet. My coach came with a Falcon tow bar. I’m almost afraid to ask but… does anyone have any experience with that brand? Any insight would help. 
 

it’s a 5250 model number. 

WOW 150 daily, bless her heart. 

What does the F150 weigh???    I think that falcon is only rated for 5K weight.  

IMHO the tow bar needs to be rated for higher weight as a safety factor.  I pull a ~5k Jeep and use a BlueOx Aventia II 10K tow bar. 

Do a search for that particular model. 

No matter what you will have to install a base plate.  Get the beefiest you can find!! 

[jacwjames]

So I went to try and make a deal on a new 2024 Jeep Gladiator Sport yesterday.  Dealer listed on the website for $37295 which was a very good price.  When I asked about the the young salesman pointed to the price on the window sticker, I brought up the webpage with the advertised price and he looked clueless, so we went into the office and he wrote me up ticket.  The price he used was $1000 more, he couldn't tell me why, he had to go talk to his manager.  Manager came in saying that the advertised price ASSUMED I was going to finance (which they make money on), Nope I said I'd pay cash and if he wanted I'd count out $100 bills.  Manager finally agreed to the advertised price and made up another ticket and brought it in, doing quick math in my head I saw the sales tax was way too high.  He said they charge sales tax on MSRP and couldn't tell me why.  I got up and walked out, not dealing with dishonest people. 

Got back home and found a 2024 TN document on sales tax guidance and it says

REBATES do not reduce the sales price subject to tax. Sales tax applies to the full sales price before the application of a rebate.
DISCOUNTS result in a reduction in the sales price. Sales tax applies to the price after the discount is taken

The price I was negotiating did not include a Rebate, the sales price.    

There were markdowns offered by Chrysler but they were not rebates and tax should not have been for the MSRP price but my negotiated price.

Just something to watch out for. 

[JDCrow]

On 2/3/2025 at 4:57 AM, jacwjames said:

So you peeked my interest so I did some searches and the battery issue is pretty common.  There have been no recalls but in early 2024 Jeep/Chrysler started disabling the car connect type system when the sell a vehicle.  People can still enable it but I read one post on a jeep forum saying that the dealer had him sign a disclaimer.

When you park the vehicle it is suppose to go to sleep but evidently a parasitic drain is causing the batteries to go dead.   Not sure if they've figured it out yet.

This is not a problem unless you don't use the vehicle on a regular basis which means that it would be an issue for me.  We have the same problem with the 2020 Ford Transit van I bought my wife, if we don't drive it every 4-5 days the battery voltage drops to where it is too low to bring the dash alive to start.  I've done everything that I could to stop this, even bought the Faraday key pouch to put key into.  But battery still goes dead, so now I just keep it plugged in an let the inverter/charger keep both chassis and house batteries charged. 

 

Also read of several other recalls on the Gladiator, including issues with steering with specific mention of the Death Wobble.  Have you had any problem with that???

 

 

Zero issues with Death wobble, and I run them tall. My Glad is on 37” tires. 
 

I had another Glad as my wife thought she wanted one, and that one chewed through batteries. 

The Tazer plug in programmer disables the start/stop and a slew of other things like tire size, gearing, code reader, etc.  It is super easy to use and pretty much a necessity 

 

https://www.zautomotive.com/product/z_tzr_jlm/#camera-kit

[LuckyJack]

I have a 2020 Wrangler unlimited, and I just removed/eliminated the small battery under the fender when it went bad.  I also removed the original main battery (it was bad, too), and then installed a bigger main battery (the tray was already sized for a bigger battery). I then had to remove the ESS fuse ( number 21, I think), so that the computer would not have any issue with the missing battery.  All works great now.  

[jacwjames]

7 hours ago, LuckyJack said:

I have a 2020 Wrangler unlimited, and I just removed/eliminated the small battery under the fender when it went bad.  I also removed the original main battery (it was bad, too), and then installed a bigger main battery (the tray was already sized for a bigger battery). I then had to remove the ESS fuse ( number 21, I think), so that the computer would not have any issue with the missing battery.  All works great now.  

Found a video showing how to remove the battery and install a larger on in  a Wrangler, fuse they pulled was 42