2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk

My Grandfather owned a 1940’s Jeep Willies truck that he had named Jezebel. I have fond memories of riding around the hills of Elsie, Oregon in her and cutting firewood with the family. Jezebel’s floors were rusted through in some spots but she was a real workhorse around the property for as long as I can remember. Before he past away, Grandpa sold Jezebel. I have no way of knowing where she went but I keep her and my Grandfather’s memories alive by passing the name on to my 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk.
I have a history of doing dumb shit with my vehicles. Thinking back, I can’t recall a single one that I haven’t managed to dent the gas tank of by taking it off-road. This is the exact reason I chose a Trailhawk as it comes equipped with a 1″ factory lift and skid-plates that cover the majority of the sensitive parts underneath. I never had any intentions modifying her beyond the custom wheels. Then, a chance connection with a rock took out a chunk of the front bumper which sent me to Google where I discovered a group buy option for the Expedition One bumper and things changed…

The bumper added so much potential but I knew nothing about winches, lighting, lift kits etc. What I did know is that my Wife wouldn’t allow me to drop a couple grand on a winch I’d likely never use, just because “it looks cool.” A friend reminded me that our Oregunian® brand has a decent following and he encouraged me to reach out to Warn Industries so see about some sort of sponsorship…So I did… To my joy, Warn stepped up to the plate in a very generous way. And that’s how this adventure began.
Then came the learning. While there’s not a ton of options out the for the Jeep Cherokee Kl platform, when you know nothing about modifying an off-road vehicle, there’s still a lot to learn. It was also difficult to find a local shop to help with the installs. Most places had negative opinions on anything that wasn’t a Toyota or Jeep Wrangler. The arrogance of some of these shops was amazing. It took me awhile to find Pacific Upfitters, in Troutdale, OR but they have been the most helpful shop I’ve found in the area. They, and many of the companies listed below, have been extremely helpful with mods, troubleshooting and generally educating me about what I’ve gotten myself into.
Over time, my confidence in Jezebel and my own driving ability has strengthened. These days, I jump at the chance to take her off-road. In fact, I feel most at peace when I’m crawling my way down a trail miles away from civilization. She’s definitely not a pavement princess.
Use the tabs to check out the mods for each section. More to come…
Jezebel’s original engine developed the inevitable Pentastar lifter/rocker tick. The shop that did the repair work completely botched the job creating further damage. In October of 2024, at 161,163 miles, that engine was retired.
We pulled a 3.2L V6 engine from an identical 2015 Trailhawk with only 20k miles on it. Stripped it down, went over it with a fine tooth comb then added every upgrade currently available. In the end, we “jailbroke” her computer to take full advantage of all the engine modifications with a custom engine and transmission tune performed by Daniel Haasmann.
- Gibson Performance Engineering Hi-Flow Mopar PUG Lower Intake
- Gibson Performance Engineering Hi-Flow Mopar Pentastar 3.2L Upper Intake
- Modern Muscle Extreme 80mm Ported Throttle Body
- RPM Motorsports 3.2L Intake Torque Tube
- K&N 77-1569KS Performance Air Intake System (CIA)
- RIPP V6 High Performance Coil Packs
- NGK Ruthenium Spark Plugs
- Mopar 5281427AA PUG 8 Hole Fuel Injectors
- Dorman Engine Coolant Water Outlet
- Dorman Engine Coolant Crossover Pipe
- Optima Red Top 35 Battery
- JS Alternators 400A High Output Alternator
- JS Alternators 4″ Big 3 Wire Kit
- Dayco 5060800 Serpentine Belt
- Dorman Aluminum Oil Cooler
- Baxter Performance Spin-On Oil Filter Adapter
- Aracey Flexible Valve Stem Extenders
- Dorman Aluminum Crossover Pipe
- Dorman Aluminum Thermostat Housing
- HP Tuners MPVI3 (allows custom tuning of the engine and transmission)
- HP Tuners PCM “Upgrade”
- AEM X-Series OBDII Wideband AFR Controller Gauge
Over the years, Jezebel has seen many changes to her suspension. All the modifications have added a lot of extra weight. Over time, that ruined the stock shocks, struts and springs so those have all been upgraded to support her current configuration.
She’s gone from stock height to a Rough County 2″ lift, then an MFC Offroad 2.5″ lift, up to a 3″ Gleaming Alloy/Hyper Hero/Dobinsons suspension lift. The last change lowered her a bit due to concerns on CV Axle stress. She now sits at 2.2″ with a Hyper Hero/Gleaming Alloy/Dobinsons suspension lift.
- HyperHero 1″ Front Lift
- Gleaming Alloy 1″ Stiletto Rear Lower Control Arms
- Dobinsons +1″ HD Springs
- HyperHero Cherokee Adjustable Rear Upper Camber Arms
- HyperHero Tuned Fox 2.0 Reservoir Rear Shocks
- Air Lift 1000 Air Spring Kit
- Power Stop PWR-KC6540-36 Front Brake Kit
- Power Stop PWR-KC6543-36 Rear Brake Kit
- Les Schwab P265/65/17 Open Range tires
- MFC Offroad High Performance Strut Clamps
- MFC Offroad Stainless Brake Lines (front lines fit but back were too long)
- Boro Spacers 1″ Rear & .75″ Front
- XD811 Rockstar II wheels (one of a kind custom cut. Cerakote Stoplight Red highlight
- Vision 405 Korupt (one of a kind custom wheels coming Spring 2025)
- Warn Zeon 10-s Platinum Winch
- Warn Epic Hawse Fairlead
- Warn Medium-Duty Epic Recovery Kit (shackles Cerakoted Stoplight Red)
- Warn 100′ 3/8″ Spydura Nightline Synthetic Rope
- Factor 55 Ultrahook
- Factor 55 Rope Guard (Cerakoted Stoplight Red)
- Gleaming Alloy Rear Sub-Frame Skid Plate
- Gleaming Alloy XOPLATE Exhaust Skid plate
- Expedition One KL Bumper
- Rocky Road Outfitters Super Sliders with kick outs
- Gobi Stealth Rack (need to install)
- Gobi Jeep Cherokee KL Exterior Molle Panels x2 (need to order)
- RIGd Ultraswing
- RIGd UltraTable
- RIGd WobNot
- RIGd SideHack
- Rotopax Fuel Cans
- MFC Offroad 42” Hybrid Dual Beam LED Light Bar
- MFC Offroad Utili-Rail
- MFC Offroad OEM+ LED Reverse Lights (produces a license plate light error)
- MFC Offroad OEM+ Interior LED Kit
- MFC Offroad A Pillar Utili-Mount
- Baja Designs S2 Pro Wide Cornering Foglights
- Diode Dynamics SS3 Pod Ditch Lights w/ Combo lenses and Amber Backlight (need to install)
- MFC Offroad 6 Switch Power Distribution Center
- MFC Offroad Utili-Dock (usb port burned out within 48 hours of install)
- Powerwerx Quick Charge 75W USB Device Charger (upgrade usb C to replace burned out MFC port)
- Bulletpoint Mounting Solutions 20cm Carbon Fiber/Kevlar Hybrid Mount Arm
- Bulletpoint Mounting Solutions Wireless Phone Charger with Motorized Cradle
- Bulletpoint Mounting Solutions Cable Management Kit, CB Radio Holder & 3-Way Connector
- Brandmotion FVMR-1100 Dual Camera FullVUE® replacement mirror w/ DVR
- Console Vault Center Console Safe
- Midland MXT575 50w GMRS Radio
- Midland MXAT05VP 3dB Gain Highland™ Heavy-Duty Bullbar Antenna (need to install)
- Midland CB Radio
- Prostick 3` Foot Fiberglass 1000 Watt CB Antenna (need to install)
- Baofeng Handheld HAM Radio
- weBoost Drive Reach OTR (need to install)
- Starlink Roam (need to install)
- FanPole (hitch mountable flag pole)
