By Jon Maib
Sometimes you don't intend to go overboard on a build, but things just start happening and before you know it, you have a massive build on your hands. That was the case for the new shop truck over at Collin County Off-Road (CCOR) in McKinney, TX. They had bought a 2021 Jeep Gladiator Mojave as the shop truck to get them around town and for part pickups with no intention to make it a wheeling rig, until one day, the idea was kicked around to build the JT and for it to be sort of a rolling advertisement of what their shop is capable of building.

With everyone in agreement to build the Gladiator, they began to spec out parts they wanted for the truck and began ordering. Once parts were acquired, the shop's employees stayed after hours and even worked weekends to get this build accomplished in a quick fashion.

They knew they wanted the all new Motobilt replacement bobbed bed kit for the JT. The Motobilt bed kit is the first full production replacement bed for the Jeep Gladiator. They did not mess around when building this tub as it is constructed of heavy duty steal in order to reduce the weight of having to add additional body armor, they also tucked the rear tail lights in so you won't be able to knock them off like most JT's (and JLs) with the standard bed/tail light design. Motobilt provides you with almost everything you need to replace the bed of the JT and have made it easy enough to do it with basic hand tools (mind you, better tools make it even easier!). The guys at CCOR will tell you that it's a little nerve wracking to pull the bed off a new truck and to chop the frame to fit a bobbed bed, but the results speak for themselves. The bed was painted to match the current JT color and then the bed was Line-X'd for additional protection. They also included the Motobilt bed rails, bed rack and bumpers.


Once the bobbed bed was completed, it was time to tackle the rest of the build. They spared no expense and went with some of the best products on the market. The build specs are as follows:

-Motobilt: Bob Bed with Bed rails, Bumper & Rack (Line X'd), Front Crusher Bumper, Front Fenders with Inners and Rear Fenders
-ARB Compressor Mount (under Driver front Inner Fender
-RockHard 4x4: JT Cage powder coated in Illusion Orange and Harness Bar
-Artec: Aluminum Skid Plates head to toe
-Fusion: Dana 60 Elite kingpin Front with Yukon Hardcore hubs and 2.5 Ton Aluminum Steering, Big Tube 14 Bolt with 40 Spline Shafts and ARB Lockers 5.38 run by ARB Compressor
-Rock Krawler: 4.5 Longarm – 4 Link Front with Coilovers and 3 Link Rear and Anti-Rock Sway Bars front and Rear
-Rockslide Engineering: Power Step Sliders with Extra Armor Plates
-PSC: PSC Big Bore Steering Box with Hydro Assist (replaced electronic power steering)
-Synergy: Steering Box Brace for PSC Big Bore box
-Warn: Evo 12k Winch with Factor 55 Fairlead and Flat link
-Baja Designs: LP4 Lights on Bumper and Cowl with S1 Pods on Gate Keeper Off-Road High Steer Arm Mounts, S2 Pods integrated into Motobilt Rack and Squadron Pods in Rear Taillight Bezels
-Lux Lighting: Rock Lights
-Mickey Thompson: 43x15r20 Baja Pro Xtreme Tires
-Raceline: 20" Beadlocks wheel in Prismatic Illusion Orange Powder and Rattle canned rings (they just get dinged up)
-Kimball Midwest: Bolts and Hardware – Made in the USA
-Voswtich: Switch panel and Relay Box – 12 Switch Unit
-PRP Seats: Front Seats with Heat and Lumbar – Ostrich quill and matching rear seat cover completed with 4 Point Harnesses
-Max-Bilt: Trail Tail LED Taillights
-Oracle: Bi LED Headlights
-67 Designs: Roll Cage Phone Mount

As you can see, some of the best equipment went into this build and has made for a very sweet looking JT that is very capable off-road. Now the great part of this truck is that it still runs down the road true and smooth.

What was once a truck purchased as a shop truck for errands has now become a serious off-road rig and really shows what this shop is capable of. If you are in the Collin County area of Texas and are looking for a local shop to help your build dreams to come true, reach out to Collin County Off-Road and let them know C4x4 sent you!

Collin County Off-Road
3510 FM1461
McKinney, TX 75071
(469) 450-7703