JLU Gladiator 1-Ton Build

[casco_bay_rc]

I started with a frame, links, and the pre-painted body for this project. From there, I went wild with the Ryft axles and fit them to the chassis. I'm still tinkering with geometry, link length, driveshafts, and shocks. But I wanted to share this ongoing project.

Tonight, I added some Treal brass bits to keep that weight low. Then, I made a custom swaybar setup using Reef's swaybar arms.

Details:

• SCX10-III JLU chassis
• Pre-painted JLU Gladiator body
• Tekin T-440
• Tekin RX4
• Tekin ROC 412 2300Kv
• Spektrum SX107 for dig and two-speed
• RC4WD Warm 9.5cti
• RC4WD Tough Armor JLU winch bumper
• RC4WD King Off-Road Dual Spring Shocks (100mm Medium OD)
• SSD Bouncer 2.2
• Pro-Line Mickey Thompson Baja Pro X 2.2
• Custom MIP driveline components
• Custom Swaybar setup with Reef's arms
• Mix n' match Axial M6 links for proper geometry
• Club 5 "Blade Runner" Stainless Rock Sliders
• Club 5 Bar Fenders (Wide)

There's still so much work to do, but that's the fun part.







I spent some time tonight adding some brass and making a custom swaybar.

So, put the chassis up on jacks:







Add brass diff covers:





Now, for the link mounts:



And then a swaybar:



The supplied torsion bar is too narrow for this build. So, I broke out some tool steel rods I had and made my own. This rod is 2.56mm, which is a bit thicker than the supplied bar.



I like to add collars to the bar to keep it in place laterally:





And, now for some flex shots:

[twade984]

Very cool project


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[AK KRAWLER]

I dig it man! awesome build.

I think the Gladiator looks good with those axles & tires sticking out.

[Traulus]

Cool looking rig, the only thing is that the shocks are garbage. Altough they look pretty, they are absolutely crap

[casco_bay_rc]

Originally Posted by Traulus

Cool looking rig, the only thing is that the shocks are garbage. Altough they look pretty, they are absolutely crap

I agree with the shocks. They are placeholders until the new ones show up.

RC4WD shocks are pretty garbage as a whole, but they look cool.

[JimK]

That's a great looking Gladiator! Lovin' those big chunky MT Baja Pro's.

[Lashlee]

I dig it!! My wife has a 2018 JLUR on 37's with a 3.5" lift, and my best friend has a JTR on Dana Ultimate 60's with 40's on a 4.5" lift. We just made a trip to Moab and had a blast!

[mikro383]

I'm building nearly the same thing, same color too, but with wraith AR60 axles. I didn't know the Ryft axles had a panhard mount or I would have probably followed the same route, curious about the sway bar, do you feel it's a necessity with the top heavy body, I plan on some extra scale stuff in the bed too so really considering a sway bar as well. I am running chassis mount servo and servo winch both in HK35+ flavor and a hobby wing fusion pro, both dig and 2 speed as well. Will post up pics when the rest of my axle parts show up, wheel, tire combo and shocks are still undecided.

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[casco_bay_rc]

Originally Posted by JimK

That's a great looking Gladiator! Lovin' those big chunky MT Baja Pro's.

Thank you

[casco_bay_rc]

Originally Posted by Lashlee

I dig it!! My wife has a 2018 JLUR on 37's with a 3.5" lift, and my best friend has a JTR on Dana Ultimate 60's with 40's on a 4.5" lift. We just made a trip to Moab and had a blast!

The Gladiator looks amazing on 37-40s in real life

[casco_bay_rc]

Originally Posted by mikro383

I'm building nearly the same thing, same color too, but with wraith AR60 axles. I didn't know the Ryft axles had a panhard mount or I would have probably followed the same route, curious about the sway bar, do you feel it's a necessity with the top heavy body, I plan on some extra scale stuff in the bed too so really considering a sway bar as well. I am running chassis mount servo and servo winch both in HK35+ flavor and a hobby wing fusion pro, both dig and 2 speed as well. Will post up pics when the rest of my axle parts show up, wheel, tire combo and shocks are still undecided.

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I made a Panhard mount for these axles. I originally had this on 60s, but I decided to go bigger since I had Ryft axles from a kit laying around.

I put swaybars on most of my builds. I find it helps when side-hilling and on longer trail runs where speed is necessary.

[jimmyjames]

What are you using for driveshafts?


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[xwaz]

Any pictures of this truck out on the trails?