Build Thread j.ironfab Build and intro/discussion

[j.ironfab]

I picked up my Grenadier on Friday June 28th, I put my order in last year when they opened it to non reservation holders. I wasn't sure at the time if I really wanted it as the cost was hard to justify. I have been watching content on YouTube and reading on this forum for a year and I never really had my hesitations with this truck remedied. So I thought the best way to answer my own questions was just to buy it with the idea of a one year trial period where I will decide to keep it or just sell and buy a Jeep which makes way more financial sense.

The goal with this build thread is for the first year keep all the mods where I can reverse them and to not just beat the truck up on hard trails like I want to. I have some 35's from another build so those will go on this month. I do not see any suspension systems I really like so it will just be on stock springs for now. I also want to build sliders for it but these will be more of step/slider than just a slider as I do not want this to be a dedicated crawler. Plan is to remove the center section of the bumper and build a winch mount and maybe set it up for a bullbar style not sure yet.

So initial impressions of the Grenadier is the steering sucks in town. I mean I really do not get why people defend the steering not returning to center. Not returning to center is really just the worst thing about this truck right now. Before you say but it's a something something ball steering and its better off road, for more I thought it was exactly the same kickback offroad as every other powersteering saginaw based system I have used. On highway I did not mind it one bit. I thought the wander was totally fine but I drive a lot of sh!t boxes. Noise in the cabin even at interstate speed is totally acceptable. I could have a normal conversation at 85 mph.

More plastic than I expected used around the body like headlight surrounds, rear door surrounds and the back of the roof by the doors. Infotainment is the laggiest system I have ever used, I thought Alfa made a terrible infotainment system but yeah this is worse. ADAS is awful and turning it on and off is a pain hopefully they fix with the upcoming software update.

Overall I do really like the truck and I am excited to see how Ineos evolves it in the next few years and I am glad we have the option here in the US for another solid axle vehicle. This build thread will be a mix of what I think of the Grenadier, camping trips and building parts for it. I don't mind discussion on this thread I like having everything in one spot to help future owners.

Some pictures of pick up and then getting it dirty.

 

[parb]

You're a prime candidate for the agile off-road steering damper. Made a huge difference for me, got me a bit of return to center and eliminated the wandering on the highway. I also set my tire pressure to 36.

 

[j.ironfab]

You're a prime candidate for the agile off-road steering damper. Made a huge difference for me, got me a bit of return to center and eliminated the wandering on the highway. I also set my tire pressure to 36.

Yeah I really haven't decided what route I want to go with the steering yet. I really want to see what more caster does for it. If you look at the specs of most solid axle front truck and jeeps they run double the caster compared to the Gren.

Well first camping trip and long drive mountain drive for the Gren. Went from western Colorado over Independence Pass to meet up with some friends for camping over by Fairplay. Packing went easy with the height of the rear load area it was easy to get everything loaded in the back compared to the Xterra I normally take. I need to work out a fridge slide for the rear and a better way to carry water.

I can't decide if I want to go with a roof rack for carrying stuff up top or a RTT for more camp comfort. After a few more trips I am sure I will figure out what would suit me best. I keep thinking that a canopy setup on a Jeep Gladiator would solve a lot of issues compared to an enclosed SUV but I will make that decision next year.

Driving wise the steering took a lot of mental effort on the tight mountain roads and even reaching over for a water bottle did not inspire confidence. Power was great over the passes even at 12K feet I never thought it was underpowered but I was also not that heavy. Brakes need to be bigger though it's easy to run a lot of heat into the rotors going down the pass and the engine braking is subpar. Overall happy with the drive.

 

[j.ironfab]

Have 1600 miles on the Gren and I have my issues with it like the turning circle it's a pain to park and turn on tight trails. I found a doc from Carraro that listed their on highway axles unfortunately non of them seem to exactly match the front of the Gren's axle but one thing I noticed was that the max steering angle was 40 degrees for any double ujoint axle. The Gren maxed out at 34 degrees on the dash and during my measurements.

I went ahead and turned the steering stops in till I measured 38 degrees both on the dash and the square measured the same within reason. I figured 38 degrees has a little buffer from the max spec'd from Carraro on their axle doc. Took about 3 turns roughly a little over a degree per full turn.

 

[LC0013]

How did the factory steering damper work for you on off road travel?

 

[j.ironfab]

How did the factory steering damper work for you on off road travel?

Centering sucks it's hard to tell where the wheels are on anything technical. I don't think the steering dampner needs changed though, I just think the whole truck needs more caster like 4-5 degrees. I need more time to measure and start coming up with a plan for the suspension. To be honest the steering doesn't bother me that much but it does suck and completely stupid for any newish vehicle.

The ride itself was really good I ran 60 miles on dirt and 2 track and never really felt the need to air down.

Next steps is to build sliders as I don't really like anything on the market right now.

 

[parb]

Hey @j.ironfab ,
I'm complete novice when it comes to steering geometries.
What happens to the vehicle when you change caster? Is there any more load or wear in an area as the result?

I like the work you did with expanding steering angle, I haven't really found a great reason why gren doesn't come with greater steering angles since the axle supports it. Any ideas?

 

[j.ironfab]

Hey @j.ironfab ,
I'm complete novice when it comes to steering geometries.
What happens to the vehicle when you change caster? Is there any more load or wear in an area as the result?

I like the work you did with expanding steering angle, I haven't really found a great reason why gren doesn't come with greater steering angles since the axle supports it. Any ideas?

I would guess that the tie rod ends would see a small amount of more wear with more caster as the tire is trying to move back to center but I really don't think it would make a difference in service life. If you look at Jeep's or any other solid axle truck they usually aim for like 5 degrees of castor from the factory.

We do not have to worry about driveshaft angles for vibration at least as we have CV's but I imagine we will run into the same issue as Jeeps with rzeppa joints where the boot fails then the joint.

No idea why Ineos choose such a conservative steering angle.

 

[j.ironfab]

Had some 35's I picked up used for another project but decided to hold off on that axle swap for now and moved the tires to the Gren. Kenda Klever RT's in 35x10.5 on the factory wheels. I wanted to get it on 35's before I decide what direction I am going with the sliders/step.

Looks really good on 35's but at full front stuff and steering lock it does hit the cover for the bumper wing radiator. I will also need to build a spare tire bracket as it no longer clears the small door.

I will need to work on solution for a smaller profile radiator cover.

 

[ForceV4]

Nice rig - looks like we picked ours up from the same dealership (Red Noland / Colorado Springs). See you out there! - Mark (Gold Camp Road)

 

[j.ironfab]

No real updates. Been using the truck trying to figure out what I want build out wise and if I want to keep it.

Did White Rim road in Utah with a friend who has a new Land Cruiser. I saw that some rain was in the forecast so made some brackets real quick for the 270 awning. Turned out okay just need to pull them off and do final clean up then paint.

Have a 5-7 day trip starting the 15th so going to try and knock out a quick and dirty rear organizer next week.

 

[ADVAW8S]

You should use AI to make a rope pulling the land cruiser.

 

[Krabby]

Hit anything where one vehicle struggled and the other didn't (besides the HVAC )? I know they're not apples to apples but I think people will cross shop the two vehicles.

 

[MurphyMurph]

Hit anything where one vehicle struggled and the other didn't (besides the HVAC )? I know they're not apples to apples but I think people will cross shop the two vehicles.

I saw this comparison with the Grenadier, Land Cruiser and Defender by a guy out here in Washington. It’s long but thought it was an entertaining watch.

View: https://youtu.be/fWNsl3-USuc?si=BtT_dN8XZ0k68kte

 

[j.ironfab]

Hit anything where one vehicle struggled and the other didn't (besides the HVAC )? I know they're not apples to apples but I think people will cross shop the two vehicles.

To be honest White Rim is pretty mild so both trucks had no issues. The LC does have less departure angle and he hit a little on the ledge at Candle Stick camp.

Both have some quirks, he makes fun of my steering I bring up the eye tracking system. The LC has the bigger inverter at 2400watts but you have to have the truck on to use it. You can just turn the key for the gren inverter.

LC seems to be smoother on big dips where the gren likes to sway side to side with the higher center of gravity. Gren seem smoother on good dirt roads.

To be honest I can't go back to IFS but if I was debating the two and my use would be like the white rim I would choose the LC. It is cheaper, better riding and will have a better aftermarket.

 

[j.ironfab]

Did half of the NM BDR with friends last week. I was in mad rush to get an organizer together in the rear of the Gren. I will call this 1.0 I need to make some updates and stiffen things up but overall it worked for the trip and made my life easier. I moved the stock L track up to the top and then bought another section off amazon to add a center section and some down by the water cans.

I will add some pictures of the BDR later but they Gren kinda sucks on the side to side sway over rocks it needs some stiffer shocks or something with all the weight. I will detail what I learned on nearly 652 miles of dirt roads and the 12 hour drive on the interstate to Dell City, TX. A friend also let me borrow a RTT so I had to buy rails before the trip.