Back in 2015, I was tired of driving my truck on the long daily commute to and from downtown LA. And my wife was even more tired of me using her car. My truck was an '03 and hers was an '08. So we had enjoyed being without payments for quite some time. But it was finally time for something new. So I set out looking for a new rig to serve double duty as my daily driver and weekend adventure vehicle. As I mentioned, my commute is long with lots of traffic. So I was looking for something that got decent mileage, was comfortable, yet still capable. After researching for a bit, I narrowed it down to a 4runner or a Grand Cherokee. I wasn't familiar with the term "Overlanding" at the time. But I love camping and I was interested in doing some off road exploring. And I felt like those 2 vehicles fit the bill for me. After checking them both out, the WK2 Overland won me over due to the incredibly smooth riding air suspension, the AC seats, and the 0% financing they were offering.
This build is spread out over the last 2 and half years and will be pretty much in chronilogical order.
Here she is the day I picked her up...
Since she was going to serve double duty, I had already planned on having 2 sets of wheels. And since I was a big fan of the Altitude appearance package, I wanted those 20's for the street. So as part of the deal, I had negotiated a set of powdercoated 20's that resembled the Altitude wheels instead of the 18's that come with the ORA II package. A few days after taking purchase she went back to the dealer to have the Overland 20's swapped out for the powdercoated ones...
Here's the first and most important after purchase mod...
Next up were a set of BRIGHTLINES cross bars that I got off of Amazon (need to sell these now).
Now it was time for the off road wheels. Going with 18's over the 20's would provide a little more sidewall and allow me to air down the tires a little on the trail. I settled on some 18x9 MBTKO Wheels with +25 offset and stock size Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. In hindsight I wish I'd have gotten the 17's for even more tire sidewall. They would fit since I don't have the HD brakes. But I didn't know that at the time.
This build is spread out over the last 2 and half years and will be pretty much in chronilogical order.
Here she is the day I picked her up...
Since she was going to serve double duty, I had already planned on having 2 sets of wheels. And since I was a big fan of the Altitude appearance package, I wanted those 20's for the street. So as part of the deal, I had negotiated a set of powdercoated 20's that resembled the Altitude wheels instead of the 18's that come with the ORA II package. A few days after taking purchase she went back to the dealer to have the Overland 20's swapped out for the powdercoated ones...
Here's the first and most important after purchase mod...
Next up were a set of BRIGHTLINES cross bars that I got off of Amazon (need to sell these now).
Now it was time for the off road wheels. Going with 18's over the 20's would provide a little more sidewall and allow me to air down the tires a little on the trail. I settled on some 18x9 MBTKO Wheels with +25 offset and stock size Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. In hindsight I wish I'd have gotten the 17's for even more tire sidewall. They would fit since I don't have the HD brakes. But I didn't know that at the time.
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