2020–2026 Jeep Gladiator Upgrades, Ranked: 4 Mods for the Open-Top JT, in the Order to Buy Them

There is no trailer hitch guide for the Gladiator on this site yet, and many owners won't need one. Our vehicle data lists a Class III hitch with a 2 in receiver and a maximum of 7,700 lb. Jeep's 2024 and 2025 releases quote the same ceiling, along with a maximum payload of up to 1,725 lb; Wikipedia gives 1,000 to 1,700 lb depending on configuration.

Read that as up to 7,700 lb when properly equipped, with three cautions. First, it is the best case. Wikipedia's JT page gives 4,000 lb for the standard truck, 7,650 lb for select Sport models with the heavy-duty towing package and 7,000 lb for Rubicons with the automatic. The maximum varies with trim, axle ratio, transmission and model year, so the figure that counts is on your door-jamb labels and in your owner's manual. Second, we could not confirm from a Jeep page which trims and years leave the factory with a receiver. Jeep's 2024 release lists Trailer Tow equipment under the Willys, Mojave and Rubicon, and Mopar sells an accessory receiver, part 82215648, described as a Class IV, 2 in hitch for 2020–2026 trucks, which suggests not every truck is built with one. Look under the rear bumper, or check your window sticker, and read the class and limits on the receiver's own label. Third, a receiver never raises a rating; the lowest-rated part of the chain sets the limit.

The same look-first rule applies to running boards and rock rails. The site has no Gladiator guide for either yet, so they aren't ranked here. Wikipedia notes the Willys comes with standard rock rails, and other trims may have rocker protection as well. Whatever is bolted under your doors now decides what, if anything, you need to add.

Trail Rail is Jeep's cargo management system and the Gladiator's one real bed variable. It is a 52 in rail across the front of the bed and two 48 in rails along the sides, with sliding cleats and optional cross rails. Some trucks got it at the factory. Mopar also sells it as kit 82215956, which Jeep's gear store lists at $492.20 and describes as identical to the production system, so a used truck can have it even if the original build didn't. Look inside the bed before ordering.

• Covers: the BAKFlip MX4, Gator EFX, TruXedo Sentry and BAK Revolver X2 are listed with or without Trail Rail, and Tyger says the T3 fits with or without the Utility Track System. Gator's soft ETX is titled for trucks without the track rail. If a cheap listing doesn't mention the rails, assume it doesn't fit them.

• Racks: clamp racks grip the bed sides where the rails sit. Yakima says tracked beds need Track Kit 1 or 2. Rough Country's drilled 10620 works around the rails. RealTruck's GoRack page doesn't say how it handles them, and the budget listings don't either, so ask.

• Loads: Quadratec and Jeep's gear store give a 250 lb limit per rail. That suits tie-downs and light accessories, not a tent and two sleepers. The rack carries the tent.

On install day, slide the cleats away from where clamps or rails will land, or take them off.

Jeep's 2025 press kit describes a folding windshield, three removable roof choices and removable doors. That one design choice reaches into all four categories.

Floor liners. With the cab open, water reaches the footwells directly, so walls matter more than they do in a sealed truck. Our liner guide puts Husky's WeatherBeater first for wall height, with 3W and LASFIT moderate and the Mopar and Rough Country mats lower. Owners on JeepGladiatorForum describe rubber drain plugs in the floor, under perforated carpet cut-outs on the driver and passenger sides. None of the liner listings in our guide address those drains, so if you plan to rinse the cab and pull the plugs, ask the seller how the liner sits over them.

Bed rack. No fixed roof means no conventional roof rack, so tents, awnings and boats go over the bed. A mid-height rack keeps the tent near the cab roofline. Our rack guide notes that with the roof panels off, a tent just above the cab can make the open cabin noisier, and that a full-height rack lifts it clear.

Tonneau cover. A soft top weakens every hard cover, because the tailgate lock follows the power locks. Owners on JeepGladiatorForum describe unplugging the tailgate's lock actuator for key-only use, or adding a mechanical lock.

Lights. A long light bar mounts on windshield-frame brackets, not on the removable roof panels. Baja warns its 50 in roof kit may cause wind noise depending on vehicle configuration. A-pillar pods and bumper lights stay out of that airflow.

Trim changes very little on the Gladiator. Sport, Willys, Mojave and Rubicon share the same cab floor and the same bed, so liners, covers and racks ignore the badge. These are the exceptions.

Our two bed guides give opposite advice on which to pick first. The tonneau cover guide says rack first, and the bed rack guide says cover first. Both make the same point: settle both before you pay for either. These are the pairings the guides could document.

• Rack on the cover's rails: RealTruck says the GoRack mounts to any bed cover with a T-slot style rail system, so the bed stays closed and locked under a tent.

• Adapter kit: Yakima offers Tonneau Kit 1 for the OverHaul HD on select covers. Yakima's page doesn't name the Gladiator, so run the truck and the cover through its fit lookup.

• Owner-reported pairs: on JeepGladiatorForum, Pace Edwards roll-up covers under Yakima-style T-slot racks, and a Diamondback HD cover with a rack that bolts to the cover.

• Open-bed racks: Rough Country's 10620 drills into the bed and isn't a match for a folding cover. The OTHOWE 22 in is listed for trucks without a tonneau. The SUORTO listing doesn't say.

Then fit things in this order. Floor liners go in first; they need no tools. Next, move or remove the Trail Rail cleats. Fit the cover, then the rack, since a rack that sits on T-slot rails needs the cover in place, and check that the third brake light is still visible behind the load. Lighting goes last, because a rack gives lights a second home: the SUORTO rack ships with two LED bars, and many owners put rear-facing scene lights on a rack. Our lighting guide's wiring rule is a relay, a correctly sized fuse and a switch for each circuit. Baja lists its 50 in S8 bar at 20 A, so it needs its own. Use an upfitter harness only if your Jeep has the factory auxiliary switch bank.