I figured it was time to go ahead and start a build thread to keep track of what I’ve done to this Jeep. My wife and I love to travel and see new places and in 5 months this rig has already seen National Forests and Parks in 5 states. It’s pretty normal for us to take a Friday off and be out the door on a Thursday night to visit some random destination. We also like to check out local wineries wherever we travel and (of course) try the best local food. Because of the miles we rack up, this needs to be comfortable on the interstate as well as capable off-road. I think a lot of people lose sight of the fact that even the most capable rigs still spend most of their time on pavement and it’s important to make sure the on-road capability is not lessened by the off-road modifications. That being said, I lIke the flexibility of being able to take the road (trail) less traveled for some great scenery. I don’t do a lot of rock crawling but I like having the capability in a pinch so I’ll likely add a 2“ lift later on. We’ll see how it goes.
I chose the Cherokee Trailhawk because, after almost a year of research and test drives, it was the vehicle that met both the ‘wants’ and the ‘needs’ best for me. So far I’ve been very happy with it. I got well north of 100,000 miles out of my last rig and I hope this one will do as well.
OK, on to the progress. Here it is on day 1, a stock 2019 Cherokee Trailhawk:
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I don’t have a name for this one yet but I think it sort of looks like the shark from Jaws. I’m still kicking around some ideas. The roof rack was the first addition and I picked up some recovery boards
(full post about the boards and mounts here) because getting stuck sucks. I‘ve done it in the past and don’t recommend it at all.
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I also added a Cobra 75 WXST CB radio
(full post here). Even with the renewed popularity of HAM and the recent surge in GMRS/FRS radios, CB is still the one most used. I mounted the base under the passenger seat and the CB can stay out of the way in the center console when not in use. I also keep a cheap Baofeng with a 12V adapter an a mag mount antenna in the truck in case I want to reach out a bit further. Lately I stick to DMR but, again, its nice to have options.
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I had the front two windows tinted to match the rear ones. I don’t like limousine tint but I also don’t like slow-roasting on the interstate when the sun is on me. The back windows tested at 28% factory tint so the 35% I had put on matches almost perfectly. No problems seeing at night and I don’t turn medium well as the sun sets.
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This week I finished changing the interior lights. I’m used to having a red dome light in my work vehicle to save my night vision so I always do it to my personal vehicle as well. Some people love it, some hate it. it works well for me. In my last rig I just changed out all the bulbs but in the Jeep, the front map lights and the rear cargo lights are incandescent while the rear passenger lights are single LEDs soldered on a circuit board. For those, I had to buy some red window tint and cover the lenses with two applications of the film. That ended up matching the LED bulbs I bought for the front and cargo areas perfectly. I left the white lights in the visor vanities and I left the white LED that shines down on the center console because it can be turned off. If I were to need super bright white light for anything, I also have an LED lantern on board. So, yet again, now I have options.
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So here is how she sits right now. Still close to stock with some minor changes. I wanted to make this post so I would have a record of the changes/additions I’m making and I’ll try to keep it updated as I go.
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