A Gladiator Built for Adventure: Michelle Patton’s Mojave Journey

A Jeep Gladiator Mojave Built for the Long Haul

While there are plenty of options to choose from within the midsize pickup truck segment, only a handful of them are truly off-road-ready straight off the lot. Even in that narrowed field of worthy rigs, it all comes down to one in the end. Many factors are responsible for convincing someone to fork over a healthy down payment and to willingly participate in years’ worth of monthly payments to come, but there are few factors as powerful as staying loyal to vehicle type and brand badging.

“To add more travel clearance and ride quality, the Pattons installed front and rear sets of Rock Krawler 3-inch lift springs along with Fox 2.5 reservoir shocks.”

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Keeping It Real 

My husband Josh was in the middle of building his third Jeep Wrangler when I said, ‘hey, it’s MY turn.” says Michelle Patton, a real estate appraiser and broker from Central California. “I’m a truck girl to begin with, and I am obviously familiar with Jeeps, so the Gladiator was naturally a perfect fit for me. I chose the Mojave edition given its upgraded suspension package, its uniqueness and rarity on the road—plus, I was absolutely in love with the Gator color, which was only featured on this model for only half of a year.”

“Michelle picked up a set of 17-inch KMC Grenade Crawl bead lock wheels along with Milestar Patagonia M/T-02 tires that will allow her to travel up and over any obstacle standing in her way.”

Upward and Onward

With a solid idea of exactly what she wanted for her factory Gladiator, Michelle had zero intention of leaving it in OE condition for long. Giving this truck moderate trail capability was the number one goal. Of course, Michelle also wanted her Jeep to handle well on paved roads as well since she bought it to serve as her daily driver.

To add more travel clearance and increase ride quality, the Pattons installed front and rear sets of Rock Krawler 3-inch lift springs along with Fox 2.5 reservoir shocks. To further promote frame rigidity and overall comfort on all terrain types, Steer Smarts’ Yeti XD front and rear track bars, drag link, and tie rods and steering stabilizer were installed. A Rock Jock Antirock sway bar was also thrown into the mix for good measure.

With so many suspension upgrades made to the Gladiator, there was no chance of continuing to run the stock wheels and tires. Instead, Michelle picked up a set of 17-inch KMC Grenade Crawl beadlock wheels along with Milestar Patagonia M/T-02 tires that will allow her to travel up and over any obstacle standing in her way. Upgrading to 38-inch tires required a switch from stock 4.10 gears to Yukon 5.13 gears, which made a huge difference in performance. Keeping a full size spare handy was a piece of cake thanks to a DV8 spare tire mount located conveniently in the bed.

Trail Style

Even though Michelle was quite fond of her Gladiator’s outer appearance, she was more than ready to start making some upgrades there, too. To add a dose of rugged good looks to the frontend, as well as some necessary function to boot, a high-clearance Quarter Pounder steel bumper from Evo Manufacturing was bolted up and quickly outfitted with a Warn winch and remote Fox reservoirs.

“…A KC HiLiTES Pro 6 lightbar containing 8 LED lights has been mounted to the roof at the top of the windshield…”

Since nothing beats a killer auxiliary lighting setup when surrounded by pitch blackness, a KC HiLiTES Pro 6 lightbar containing 8 bright LEDs has been mounted to the roof at the top of the windshield, which required a special prototype bracket for testing purposes. Additional Pro 6 Gravity LED lights were then mounted to the A-pillars for even more illumination power. To add an individual fingerprint to her Gladiator’s exterior, Michelle then created her own racing stripe design to the rear of the bedsides. Pro Line Wraps of Chatsworth, California, then added matching graphics to the lightbar to incorporate the same design to the front end.

It’s All About the Journey

It’s been three years in the making, and the build is still ongoing,” Michelle admits. “When you own a Jeep, you never really are finished. Since owning my Gladiator, I have already put 100,000 miles on this baby, and it has taken my family on so many adventures. We’ve hit the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, Trail Hero in Sand Hollow, Utah, Jeepers Jamboree on the Rubicon, and so many other local trails.”

“…the feeling of doing things on our own felt way too awesome to do differently.”

Buying a new Jeep Gladiator Mojave isn’t cheap to begin with. The total price becomes even heftier after purchasing a ton of aftermarket parts, but Michelle has made it her life’s mission to get her money’s worth. More importantly, she has taken a lot of non-monetary value away from the process of creating a trail-worthy truck.

“I’m not a mechanic, so every time my husband and I wrenched on this thing, it was a learning experience for me,” she adds. “I didn’t know much about anything when we first started, but now I am able to assist in putting together an amazing rig. Another important takeaway is that saving money was not our motivation to take on most modifications on our own. I have no idea what a shop would’ve charged me to build this version of a truck, but I’m sure it wouldn’t have been in my budget. That doesn’t matter though because the feeling of doing things on our own felt way too awesome to do differently.”

UPGRADES

2020 Jeep Gladiator Mojave 

OWNER: 

• Michelle Patton
• Sonora, CA

Engine & Drivetrain: 

• Factory 3.6L V-6  Morgan’s Metal Worx
• AFE Mach Force-XP Hi-Tuck cat-back exhaust

Chassis & Suspension: 

• Rock Krawler 3-inch lift springs
• Front Fox 2.5 shocks w/ remote reservoirs, rear w/ piggyback reservoirs and DSC adjusters
• Steer Smarts Yeti HD stabilizer, front and rear track bars, drag link and tie rod
• RockJock Antirock sway bar
• 5.13 Yukon gear and axle
• Yukon diff covers front and rear
• RPM Steering & Suspension double triangulated 4-link rear

Wheels, Tires & Brakes: 

• 17-inch KMC Grenade Crawl wheels
• 38×13.50R17 Milestar Patagonia M/T-02 tires

Body & Paint: 

• LED upgrade package
• Front EVO Manufacturing Quarter Pounder bumper
• Warn Factor 55 Flatlink E VR 10-S winch
• KC HiLiTES Pro 6 lightbar roof-mounted, Pro 6 Gravity LED lights on A-pillars
• Graphics on lightbar by Pro Line Wraps, Chatsworth, CA
• Builtright Industries molle panels in truck bed
• DV8 spare tire carrier
• GenRight half doors color matched by Anderson Auto Body, Sonora, CA
• Power Tank 10-lb CO2 tank and Monster Valves

Interior & Sound: 

• Mojave edition OEM seats w/ black leather and orange stitching
• Stinger Heigh10 stereo
• Two 8-inch subwoofers, 1,000-watt amp
• Stinger pod RBG lights under the dash and front seats
• Stinger dual side camera system
• Rugged Radio GMRS hard mount
• sPod 6-circuit switch panel
• Ultimate 9 EVC throttle controller

Editor’s Note: A version of this article appeared in TREAD Mar/Apr 2024.