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Real Jeep upgrades with RealTruck!

Chris Hamilton . July 09, 2025 . HEADLINE .
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If you’ve got a Jeep Gladiator, congrats, you’ve got one of the most versatile rigs on the road. But let’s be honest, straight off the lot, it still needs a little help in the style and function department. In this tech article, we’re diving into a couple of key bolt-ons to get this 2020 Gladiator looking sharper and working harder. First up, we’re tossing on a set of Dominator D6 running boards from Go Rhino. These steps don’t just look tough, they’re wide, flat, and ready to take a beating. Perfect for helping you climb in and out without scuffing up your rockers or busting a shin on the way out.

Out back, we’re locking things down with a TruXedo Sentry CT tonneau cover. This bed cover has a low-profile look that sits flush and sleek, but don’t let the clean lines fool you, it has a tough aluminum core wrapped in industrial-grade fabric, ready to keep gear secure and dry. Whether you’re hauling tools or camping gear, this cover’s got you covered, literally.

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Now, we’re not stopping here. In an upcoming issue of Street Trucks, we’ll be throwing a full lift kit under this Gladiator to give it the height and stance it really deserves, but that’s a whole other writeup. For now, if you’re looking to start your Jeep build off right, this combo of steps and a bed cover is a smart place to start.

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All parts in this article are available at RealTruck.com
Call them at (877) 216-5446 for more info or to place an order.

 

Currently, our Jeep is stock height, but after a new lift and bigger tires, we will definitely need some steps to get in and out easily.
RealTruck Part #:1523216 – Tonneau Cover
TruXedo’s Sentry CT cover delivers sleek, low-profile protection with industrial-grade strength—perfect for locking down your gear without sacrificing style.
We always measure the fender height before installing a lift or lowering kit so we can accurately determine the final adjustment after installing suspension wheels and tires.
Our Jeep Gladiator came with a nice drop in bedliner, but our stuff still gets wet in the rain so a new rolling bed cover from RealTruck was a must have.
These brackets come with the bed cover and the instructions make it look easy to install. We will see!
We need to trim our plastic bedliner in order to make access the predrilled holes in the bed.
Now we slip in the rubber plugs provided with this kit before mounting the bracket.
The brackets are powdercoated and ready to install right out of the box.
After they are bolted in you can see how they sit flush with the bed rails.
Next we repeat the process on the passenger side.
Moving to the rear, we again ned to trim the bedliner for the rear brackets.
Bolting up the rear brackets is easy thanks to the templates and hardware provided by RealTruck.
Here’s a great look at the rear brackets installed.
The bed cover rails are installed next using an Allen head bolt and the nuts provided.
With the top of the bed rails connected we can attached them to the rear brackets.
Now the fun part! The roll up bedliner can be set into place.
This pic is from the manufacture with shows just how nice this cover looks closed.
Go Rhino’s Dominator D6 running boards add rugged side protection and a wide, flat stepping surface—perfect for climbing in and out of your Gladiator with ease and attitude.
The first step is to insert these bolts and plastic washers, which help secure the bolts while adding the step brackets.
Now the first bracket can be installed over both bolts.
Then we can secure the frame mounted brackets with the nuts that came in the kit from RealTruck
There are a total of 4 brackets per side and they all went in like advertised.
With all the brackets installed we can now move on to mounting the steps.
These steps have adjustable mounting brackets which help with the install. Keep everything loose until all the bolt are installed, then you can fully tighten them all.
The drivers and passenger side have all the same steps so no reason to get to detailed here. We had both steps installed in under an hour and a half total.
Here you can see the final look after the steps, bed cover and lift kit. Interested in the lift install? Check out this months issue of Street Trucks magazine! Buy your copy with the link in the header.

Want to read Part 4? Click here

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Chris Hamilton

Chris Hamilton is an automotive journalist, editor, and lifelong truck enthusiast with extensive experience covering custom truck builds, fabrication, performance upgrades, aftermarket products, and a ...

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