Follow us as we get out and explore in our 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee WK2 Trailhawk. We love camping and exploring, and, of course, wheeling! We’ll have trail and trip videos, as well as how-to/install videos so you can see things before taking them on yourself.
FunkyWK2 is an Ambassador for Offroad Animal & Expedition Hardware.
i am in canada in whitehorse yukon i want to change on my grand cherokee summit 2017 so from where can i buy the parts please guide me which websites and what do i need to order thank you
@@deeppannu608 Rocky Road Outfitters sells a full swap kit, or you can buy the OME lift from someplace like Kolak Performance and source the needed parts yourself. Not sure about any Canadian-specific sellers. Check out JeepGarage for more info about whats’s needed, etc.
advise for removing the front strut without removing cv axels - loosen your lower control arm , youre already going to need an alignment anyways . thank me later.
It needs to be adjusted. Loosen everything, then wiggle the rack until it gets to what seems like the most natural position (it has a little forward-back & side to side movement). Start with the bottom rails, but do not over tighten them. Then tighten the sides to the bottom. Then tighten the front deflector and the horizontal slats. Should be much more solid. The position of the bottom rails is the most critical. They should be touching the weatherstrip from front to back. If there are gaps, it will rattle and squeak.
Man that was a job. Swapped out son's air suspension on his 2012 GC Overland with 5.7. Found out he needed break job also. Felt like i had been run over next morning.😂
I get it. Getting old sucks! Luckily, I had some help, so it wasn’t all on me. I’ve been impressed how long the stock brakes have lasted, so we aren’t there just yet.
Im thinking to get this kit from RRO. 2019 jeep gc limited. Any recomendation before installation? Im trying to find out everything i need before do it by myself to make sure everything its okay. Thanks!! And nice ride!!
Figure out your long term plans ahead of time. Winch, bumpers, roof rack…. Anything that will add weight needs to be accounted for. I have no regrets getting the springs we have (stiffest - 3121/3160) due to our weight. Also, the RRO UCA’s keep the alignment in spec, so also worth it.
It is close to Offroad 2 with Air suspension, which is 3-4 inches over normal ride height. I don’t know where a coil spring WK2 sits normally, so they may be basing it off of that (assuming it sits a little higher).
I just moved on from a Wrangler JKU and bought 4Xe GC TH. I’m from the Austin area and would like to hook up with other TH owners going out to Hidden Falls.
Good job on the video. We will link it from our website and get even more views for you. Brought back memories from when I designed the kit… all the ‘fun’ 😉
Awesome! Thank you! After helping my brother install a lift on his Nissan Frontier, I really appreciated the fact that RRO had the conversion parts & did the assembly. That saved me a lot of trouble. Keep up the good work!!
May I ask how much taller does the car get with this roof rack mounted? I have a pretty low garage entry door and if it is more than 6cm (2.4 inches) it would be a deal breaker for me. Thank you
The camera doesn’t do these obstacles justice. Just went out here for my first time. I was thinking “oh these guys are on easy trails”. Then I realized you were on the same trail (north peak) that I was pretty nervous doing in my wrangler. Props to you guys
Thanks! I love the looks we get on some trails. Our FB group is Texas Trailhawk Trailriders if you like to camp and wheel. Despite the name, it’s actually a good mix of vehicles and most are in TX.
Awesome video! I came across this after I got my RRO Old Man emu lift (air suspension deleted) Same kit as you with HD springs. Since the swap I have had a clunk (front driver) going over bumps especially at lower speed. Did you have any issues?
It’s the front endlinks. Stock set is too long and hit the fork at the bottom of the strut. I’m going to swap to a shorter one. The OEM SRT links are a little shorter, but I don’t know if it’s enough.
@@funkywk2it was definitely the end links… found an aftermarket set that was slimmer at the pivots… Replaced and the clunk is gone. As a plus have grease points. Thanks again Cheers
It took about 7 weeks. I went with their QL conversion, and they said they were waiting on some of those parts since they were also assembling it for me.
Does it ride better then the air suspension and give you better flex. Right now I’m running airlinks and the ride is pretty stiff. Going over bumps is crazy. Other then that it’s been working fine for 176k miles. Also were you able to correct the tire size in anyway to correct the speedometer and mileage.
The ride quality is as good as QL is stock, but more controlled and not as bouncy/floaty. The articulation might be a little better, but it’s not QL that is the limiting factor. The sway bar end links limit flex the most, as do the CV axles. I used AlfaOBD to correct tire size in the video.
18:22 - did you attach the sensor back to the new control arm? Conflicting reports on if this is for the ride height or the headlight leveling sensor. Thank you
No, the adjusting headlights were only thru 2018, IIRC. My 19 has the HID’s, but they do not adjust. If you have the adjusting headlights, then you’ll want to hook up the one on the passenger side. The RRO UCA’s have a ball socket that it connects to.
@@funkywk2 Thank you for the reply. I have a 2012 WK2 Overland w/ HID as well. So that ball socket on the RRO UCA is not for the ride height sensor then? There is an identical socket and piece of plastic on the driver side, but the RRO UCA does not have the ball socket on that side.
Hey Sir! This is Cherry from Coverado selling car accessories. Nice to meet you! We are now looking for some partners to try Cherokee our seat covers and help us make a video. Are you interested in collaborating with us?
Hey, I appreciate the effort but you really have to lose the REALLY annoying shaky transition thing. I couldn't watch the whole thing. I just fast forwarded over it. If you're planning on continuing to use that transition, count me out!
Have you had any problems or regrets on the change you did to your suspension? I am looking into changing mine out as well but I wanted to get some feed back first. Thank you
Absolutely no regrets. Be sure you get the correct springs for your mods and engine. I went with the stiffest springs (Hemi, F & R bumpers) and actually wish they were a little stiffer. They ride just like QL, but with more control and no floating.
@@funkywk2 I currently have airlinks installed and have not put them to offroad use but I will this weekend ( in a few hours after writing this) at Windrock. I can tell you now from driving from Texas to Oliver Springs TN that when I get back they will probably be changed out before my next trip. I have the the same (Hemi) front and rear bumper you have along with other body protection that put additional weight on my WK2 so I will let Rocky Road know when I purchase their suspension lift kit. Another concern I have is disabling the air suspension and it having any affect on the other components that relate to when it is in rock, mud, or sand mode--other than raising and lowering the jeep? btw the floor jack was a tremendous help with leveling the front bumper--it took me a great deal of time to get adjusted correctly - thank you!
Thank you for putting this product out as I probably would not have known about it otherwise. I finally got around to installing it and it looks great. I took your advice and used a rivet nut tool and put in a 8mm threaded insert which made for an easier install.
Gives me motivation to get out more with my WK2 Trailhawk as well. We were in Moab a couple years ago but limited myself to Chicken Corners. I’m curious about the display on your screen right before the end which showed your pitch and roll. Is that an app you added to your Uconnect? I’d love something like that.
why did you chose offroad animal over others? I'm looking for something for my RTT (120 lbs) and honestly I'm not sure what to get. This looks solid and I don't do any crazy offroad (rock crawling, etc). I've got a 2021 GC Trailhawk.
I like the design and weight savings it offered over all-steel racks. I’m also a brand ambassador for them, but I only did that b/c I already liked their products better than others. I’ve had for a while now and am still happy with it. We’ve loaded it down with gear, I’ve stood on it for different things, and no problems.
On the upper control arm bolts/nuts they have a little U shaped tab on the end that hook onto the body. I thought the purpose of those was that you could loosen and tighten the nuts without needing another person to hold the bolts. Once it spins enough it'll hit the metal and stop it from spinning. Just torqued mine down to 70, hope I didn't bend or damage them doing that. In your video you say to get someone to hold the bolt.
You are correct in that the tabs ARE to keep it from spinning. However, there are 2 things that can happen that I didn’t realize at first. First, one of the nuts was so stuck that it spun the bolt and bent the tab up. Second, when you’re tightening the firewall side, you lose a 1/4 turn or so with the slack the tab allows. If you don’t have a ratcheting wrench with a high tooth count where you don’t have to turn it far to catch the next cog, then that 1/4 turn costs a lot of extra time and frustration. That was the case with mine.
Quadralift isn't unreliable at all. People just don't understand how to maintain it, that's all. If atmospheric air gets into the system for any reason, it's going to cause issues. That's because there is moisture in atmospheric air and moisture causes all kinds of issues from internal corrosion to freezing in cold temps. So to keep your air suspension working properly, make sure it's filled with nitrogen and it should work just fine for decades. I'm on my 3rd air suspension Jeep and have never had an issue with any of mine.
Glad your experience was better than mine. I know there are more happy customers out there than people with QL issues or it wouldn’t be viable for Jeep to keep using it across platforms. However, that’s a pretty broad statement to make regarding all the people that are having issues with QL. Especially when most of them seem to have also had their suspensions serviced at dealerships. ALL of the work on mine was done at Jeep dealerships under warranty, so, unless the dealers aren’t properly refilling the tank with Nitrogen, that’s not why it failed. Our first issue was the valve block on the compressor, which was allowing the whole front end to leak down. The system was nitrogen-filled from the factory. The second was the rear bag blowing out. Neither were due to incorrect gas type. Most others have leaks and such, which are from the flimsy fittings used to connect the air lines. I had less issues on my 07 TBSS that pulled outside air for the load-leveling rear suspension.
@@funkywk2 True, an airbag blowing out isn't because air got into the system. But a failed valve block can absolutely be caused by air (moisture) getting into the system. In fact, it's a leading cause. The issue with these air suspension systems is that they have the ability to pull in outside air if the nitrogen charge get low. And since it's a sealed system, then the only way for the nitrogen charge to get low is if there's a leak. That said, there are so common areas that are prone to leaking with age. The elbow connecters on the top of each bag (under the hood in the front) have an o-ring inside them that gets brittle with heat and age. Anyway, my point is that these are robust systems that can last a long time without issues if you simply maintain them and make sure they are properly charged with nitrogen. My current 2019 Trailhawk is the same year as yours and you really shouldn't need to scrap the air suspension on a Jeep that new.
@@marine0331inf I do have the tow package, but I actually went HD in the rear due to our rear bumper and load when we’re camping and wheeling. It’s at least an extra 800 #’s, probably more. With the Wilco and RotoPax on the back, I was actually sagging a little. And, I chose not to level it, so I’m gonna look into helper bags.
Definitely! It’s about my height (6’4”) overall, even with my OME lift (close to OR2 height if you have QL). I’m still not close to my garage door when I pull in.
@@funkywk2 cool, I was kinda worried about that...plus with the city parking garages, they have very little to no height above 7 feet, dont want to scrape...... I dont have the adjustable ride height so I think it would be good. 👍👍👍
@@funkywk2 quick question, does the rack come with all new hardware or do you reuse the stock mounting hardware? Because I have had a leak on one side every time it rains hard and alot.... Ill habe a video posted of it tomorrow before noon.
@@marine0331inf It comes with all new hardware. I’d chase down your leak once you get the OEM rails off. I’d guess it’s either a clogged roof drain or an issue with the OEM rivnuts that secure the rails to the roof. If it is the rivnuts, some JB Weld may fix it.
Don't bet against the Trailhawk Jeeps! It might not be a Wrangler Rubicon but it's still a top of the line Jeep ! Also, keep in mind, yeah you can modify Trailhawk jeeps but typically you won't get much more than a 3 inch lift and a 32/33 tire on them and less tire than that for Compass and Renegade. However, you CAN achieve pretty darn good angles on the Trailhawk jeeps with slight modifications and the Grand Cherokee and Cherokee Trailhawk in particular , when slightly modified can arguably follow stock Rubicons many places as they have both angles AND the power to really climb like crazy. I don't think there's a limit lol... If you have the traction .. it has the power to climb ! That's pretty much how it goes for Cherokee and Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. The compass and Renegade are great , but they need more power. That's the ONLY issue with compass and Renegade. If the hills aren't super super step, you've still met your match even with a compass or Renegade. It's still a Jeep and it will still blow you away.
I really like this design, especially how easy it is to access under the rack for cleaning the roof, most other racks I've seen make that job near impossible. I've just ordered my rack so hope to have it in a couple of days. One thing I didn't check before buying is whether the tilt function of the sunroof has clearance to the rack? It looks like it does but if you can confirm it would be great. Thanks for the video.
There are no clearance issues between the sunroof and the rack at all. Cleaning under it is still kind of a pain, but a wash mit or sponge makes it easier.
Great video. Wish I had it when I installed everything. I love the lift. Only issue I’m having is the double rubber upper ball joint boots. Any time it rains mine fill with water and I have to re-grease them to push the water out, I’m talking a lot of water and my grease leaks out so much. There’s got to be a boot off some other vehicle that is one piece that would work but I haven’t researched it yet.
The only one you need to worry about is the original that covers the joint itself. The 2nd one doesn’t need any grease in it. It’s just there as a spacer to make up the difference.
On the screen for it, it tells you what steps to follow. I’ve also used this post as a guide: offroadpassport.com/forums/topic/5690-how-to-calibrate-speedometer-change-tire-size-on-2021-jeep-grand-cherokee-wk2-using-alfaobd/
Its terrific offroad. Much more controlled, no banging from maxed out struts, much more comfortable. I’m not sure how much more wheel travel it has due to the sway bars, etc, but I think it could with some changes.
