What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS]

[ShadowsPapa]

I took an idea from another member and locked down my tonneau cover back edge.
However - I failed to take into account that I have a ladder mounted on the tail gate that interfered with the left latch. It's driving me nuts that I had to reposition the left latch and have extra holes in the bed now. May have to order a new box to clean it up again. The extra hole is going to forever bug me.
But - you can't pull up the cover with the tailgate closed now! You'd have to have something to really pry and break things to get into it.

I started with latches from Amazon, cut off part so it would hook over bars at the rear of the cover.
I attached the latches using 5mm rivnuts. The trick was to cut away the bed liner so that the rivnuts would sit against the steel of the bed and not sit proud of the spray-on bed liner.
I tried just drilling and setting the rivnuts but they didn't want to work with that thickness and I didn't like how the flanges sat out and held the latches out from the bed. So I got creative.

This is the right side. I used the existing hole (enlarged it) for one of the rivnuts and drilled for a second one.

One of these holes was a factory hole I enlarged for rivnut -

This is the left side. I originally tried to center it like the right side was - making two new holes. Note the holes in the latch are not centered in the latch body itself so to center it meant moving the holes back. Thus the rivnut you see here - but when closing the tailgate the ladder on the tailgate hit the latch. So, I had to remove the latch, move it forward and set two new rivnuts, so now I have one that shows. I may try to get a black plug to cover it as it's driving me NUTS! Ugh.
I had to tip it a bit as in the end I did end up using the existing lower hole but to clear the ladder mount had to move the top of the latch forward a bit. Didn't want three holes down there (existing from factory and new ones). So the lower screw is in the existing factory hole like I used on the right side latch.

Aside from my mega-screw-up, here's how I got there otherwise:

Latch hook arrives closed - I cut part away. I later had to trim away even more to clear the bar and fit between the cover bar and the cover itself.

Below is how it ended up after trimming more to fit over the bar.
I also drilled the mounting holes a little bit more and countersunk them for the screws I used.

And the holes - I drilled and then cut away the bed liner for the rivnut flange to sit down against the steel bed.

The tools used - drill bit of course for the rivnut size being used, then I used a spade bit to start cutting the bed liner just a little bit, then a Dremel stone to finish cutting into the bedliner without enlarging the hole in the steel of the bed.
Since it was not always easy to get the bed liner cleared out perfectly concentric with the hole in the steel, I also have a really small cutting bit for Dremel I used in my drill to get it rounded and centered over the hole in the steel.

Now the kicker - the rivnut tool assumes the flange of the rivnut will be up against the tool itself. In this case it's recessed a bit into the bed liner, so pulling the tool handles first wanted to pull the rivnut back out of the hole until it contacted the tool.
To get around that, I put this part in my lathe and cut it back a bit so it would reach into the hole in the bed liner and contact the rivnut flange. I created a shoulder on this part of the rivnut tool so it could reach into the hole in the bed liner and contact the shoulder of the rivnut.

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[mx5red]

I took an idea from another member and locked down my tonneau cover back edge.
However - I failed to take into account that I have a ladder mounted on the tail gate that interfered with the left latch. It's driving me nuts that I had to reposition the left latch and have extra holes in the bed now. May have to order a new box to clean it up again. The extra hole is going to forever bug me.
But - you can't pull up the cover with the tailgate closed now! You'd have to have something to really pry and break things to get into it.

I started with latches from Amazon, cut off part so it would hook over bars at the rear of the cover.
I attached the latches using 5mm rivnuts. The trick was to cut away the bed liner so that the rivnuts would sit against the steel of the bed and not sit proud of the spray-on bed liner.
I tried just drilling and setting the rivnuts but they didn't want to work with that thickness and I didn't like how the flanges sat out and held the latches out from the bed. So I got creative.

This is the right side. I used the existing hole (enlarged it) for one of the rivnuts and drilled for a second one.

One of these holes was a factory hole I enlarged for rivnut -

This is the left side. I originally tried to center it like the right side was - making two new holes. Note the holes in the latch are not centered in the latch body itself so to center it meant moving the holes back. Thus the rivnut you see here - but when closing the tailgate the ladder on the tailgate hit the latch. So, I had to remove the latch, move it forward and set two new rivnuts, so now I have one that shows. I may try to get a black plug to cover it as it's driving me NUTS! Ugh.
I had to tip it a bit as in the end I did end up using the existing lower hole but to clear the ladder mount had to move the top of the latch forward a bit. Didn't want three holes down there (existing from factory and new ones). So the lower screw is in the existing factory hole like I used on the right side latch.

Aside from my mega-screw-up, here's how I got there otherwise:

Latch hook arrives closed - I cut part away. I later had to trim away even more to clear the bar and fit between the cover bar and the cover itself.

Below is how it ended up after trimming more to fit over the bar.
I also drilled the mounting holes a little bit more and countersunk them for the screws I used.

And the holes - I drilled and then cut away the bed liner for the rivnut flange to sit down against the steel bed.

The tools used - drill bit of course for the rivnut size being used, then I used a spade bit to start cutting the bed liner just a little bit, then a Dremel stone to finish cutting into the bedliner without enlarging the hole in the steel of the bed.
Since it was not always easy to get the bed liner cleared out perfectly concentric with the hole in the steel, I also have a really small cutting bit for Dremel I used in my drill to get it rounded and centered over the hole in the steel.

Now the kicker - the rivnut tool assumes the flange of the rivnut will be up against the tool itself. In this case it's recessed a bit into the bed liner, so pulling the tool handles first wanted to pull the rivnut back out of the hole until it contacted the tool.
To get around that, I put this part in my lathe and cut it back a bit so it would reach into the hole in the bed liner and contact the rivnut flange. I created a shoulder on this part of the rivnut tool so it could reach into the hole in the bed liner and contact the shoulder of the rivnut.

I think you’re overthinking it. Just screw some black bolts in, they would look like they’re supposed to be there.

edited to say that is a very nicely done project.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I think you’re overthinking it. Just screw some black bolts in, they would look like they’re supposed to be there

Good idea. I did buy extra 5mm screws in black...........

 

[JTzntz]

I went a little more simple for my Mopar rolling tonneau “lock”.

 

[Koaloha]

Is that 2nd or 3rd generation?

3rd gen

 

[LILJOE]

New to forum. Owned it for less than two weeks but so far. Did the RC all weather mats, Rugged Ridge sill protectors, KMC 719s, and WeatherTech mud flaps. Pretty sure the mud flaps are going to be a temporary solution.

 

[punk'n]

I also recently locked down the rear of the tonneau but went the easiest route I could think of. I had some old strap laying around, plus a couple quick release buckles and hook ends.

So, I just wrapped the strap around the bar, and then attached it to the bar with two rivets and washers going through each strap. I adjusted the strap length on each side so I just un-clip the buckle to release. Simply re-clip the buckle to secure.

Easy peazy with built in adjustment and no drilling required.

 

[johnparjr]

Finally got around to installing a new GMRS antenna been sitting on this project for months. Waiting on 1 piece that I misjudged the length but that will be here in 2 days.

 

[JTzntz]

I also recently locked down the rear of the tonneau but went the easiest route I could think of. I had some old strap laying around, plus a couple quick release buckles and hook ends.

So, I just wrapped the strap around the bar, and then attached it to the bar with two rivets and washers going through each strap. I adjusted the strap length on each side so I just un-clip the buckle to release. Simply re-clip the buckle to secure.

Easy peazy with built in adjustment and no drilling required.

I originally just looped the strap over the bar like you had but felt that since the strap is so close to the hinge, that it could still be lifted enough to reach in and pull the release. Also, wasn’t sure on the strength of the plastic buckles I had laying around.

Definitely liked the more simple approach. Glad it is working out for you.

 

[Brekka]

Thanks! I really like it. Between the gull wings on the RSi Smartcap and the bedslide it's really convenient to get to anything I need. The bedslide sits about 1/4" short of the MOLLE panel in the back and is just slightly more narrow than the wheel wells so there is room to hang a few things off the MOLLE panels in the back (Fire Extinguisher, etc..). Also my wife is too short to get to the back of the bed from the sides of the truck easily so it makes it really easy for her to get to anything with the Bedslide.

Happy to provide any more pictures or details if that would help, I went through a few different configurations before landing here but it's working great now.

Thanks! The part that makes me most nervous is drilling through the bed, and future corrosion. Did you paint or protect the exposed metal in any way? Worried about it at all, or am I nuts?

 

[punk'n]

I originally just looped the strap over the bar like you had but felt that since the strap is so close to the hinge, that it could still be lifted enough to reach in and pull the release. Also, wasn’t sure on the strength of the plastic buckles I had laying around.

Definitely liked the more simple approach. Glad it is working out for you.

Mines tight enough that they would have to really work to get the edge of the cover high enough to get to the red strap. Besides, its more for the passing, prying eyes than to keep someone out. Unfortunately people that know Jeeps know the back end flips up without some sort of tether.

I figure if they can't see into it, hopefully they don't bother with it. But, if they want to really get into it a knife is easy access anyway.

 

[PhantomChameleon]

No photos, but I FINALLY got my suspension issues figured out so I'm very happy about that!

I had a friend install the Mopar lift right before going to Utah for a couple weeks. While on that trip, a couple suspension parts loosened up a little, which was to be expected. When I got back home, I took the Jeep to the dealership to have everything tightened back up.

Everything seemed great for a week or so, and then I noticed some pretty bad creaking noises coming primarily from the rear suspension. It seemed like it only popped up in cold weather and it was still pretty warm out, so it only happened once in a while...not enough to really concern me.

Once colder weather set in, the creaking got worse and was happening all the time. Then, some clunking noises started up and the whole suspension was really just sounding awful. I made an appointment at a local 4x4 shop to have them look at the suspension and see what the heck was going on. I suspected that the dealership had tightened up the suspension while the Jeep was up on a lift instead of on the ground like it should be.

Sure enough, the 4x4 shop told me that they suspect the suspension was tightened while the Jeep was up on a lift, causing everything to kind of bind up once it was set down on the ground. In addition to that, a large number of the bolts were over tightened by almost double the factory recommended foot-pounds. Lastly, the track bar was a little loose and kind of wonky so they got that straightened out too.

SO! The jeep drives great again, no creaking or clunking, and I'm hoping that this suspension crap is finally behind me! I've had a couple Jeeps over the years so I know all about the suspension noises and the noises in general, but this seemed like more than the normal "Jeep thing" - which it was, so I'm glad I didn't just ignore it and that now it's all good

 

[mazeppa]

While we are on the subject of locking tonneau covers.

Disklike keeping up with extra keys, so I mounted a 48" retractable keychain under my Diamond Back cover. If the doors and tailgate are locked the cover key can't be accessed to unlock the cover, when the tailgate is unlocked the key is handy and easy to access without having to keep up with an extra key.

 

[bhadfield]

Thanks! The part that makes me most nervous is drilling through the bed, and future corrosion. Did you paint or protect the exposed metal in any way? Worried about it at all, or am I nuts?

Probably less of an issue for me since I have the Smartcap on all the time but I did hit the exposed metal on the inside of the holes with some black paint (using a Q-Tip) just to be sure. The first hole is the hardest, after that it's a done deal.

The Bedslide centers up really good on two of the ridges in the bed and it's a pretty straight-forward install once you have the holes located.

Let me know if there are any other details I can provide. For reference I have the JCR Offroad MOLLE panels and it's a pretty tight fit but nothing it touching or rubbing at all.

Brian

 

[Gatorized]

While we are on the subject of locking tonneau covers.

Disklike keeping up with extra keys, so I mounted a 48" retractable keychain under my Diamond Back cover. If the doors and tailgate are locked the cover key can't be accessed to unlock the cover, when the tailgate is unlocked the key is handy and easy to access without having to keep up with an extra key.

good idea - but
you need to put that on a quick release so you can get to the front lock…!

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