Halley - '17 WK2 Trailhawk Overland Build

2180miles

Endurance Adventuring
I have an almost completely unrelated question. I ended up getting the same tires as you and Storm. And, as I am somewhat new to this, I’m just learning about the “airing down” concept. What pressures are you using for off road vs street? TIA!

Great question. To be honest, I run them around 36 PSI on the road and might drop that to 28 or so off-road if it's a longer trip off pavement. YMMV, but that has always worked for me. We've got a fair amount of weight in the WK2 on trips so I shy away from going too low.
 

2180miles

Endurance Adventuring
That rack really looks cool Ryan. I’ve been shopping around for some sort of roof rack/basket system for my recently acquired Grand Cherokee Limited. How did you like the Rhino bars you had before?

Appreciate it! One month in it has performed fantastically all around. The Rhino bars served me very well for two years and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. They do taper off prior to the edge which is why I chose them aesthetically, but if you've got a wide roof basket system that may not work as well. I've got my Thule Traverse crossbars and the clamp style mounting brackets for sale as well if you're interested in them.
 

Bourget117

New member
Appreciate it! One month in it has performed fantastically all around. The Rhino bars served me very well for two years and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. They do taper off prior to the edge which is why I chose them aesthetically, but if you've got a wide roof basket system that may not work as well. I've got my Thule Traverse crossbars and the clamp style mounting brackets for sale as well if you're interested in them.
Send me a PM on the rhino bars. I don’t think I’d be interested in the Thules as I’d want something a bit more more streamlined without any clamps
 

hard_landing

New member
Ryan,
First let me say I'm LOVING reading about your WK2 build. Thanks for all the great detail, it's really giving me inspiration of things I might want to do to my WK2.

If you have a second, would you mind posting the length and width of the Chief roof rack surface area when it's configured in "full roof rack system" mode? I'm super interested in this rack and want to make sure the stuff I want to put up there on it will fit.

Thanks!
 
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Nice build and write up.

I plowed through the pages and prob missed it...

How is the ride when its all loaded up and weighed down? I am considering a similar path with a GC sometime next year...
 

15midnight

New member
Just wanted to say thanks for spending the time to write everything out so well and documenting your trailhawk. This thread helped my wife and I decide that her new jeep was going to be a WK2 Trailhawk. Just picked up a 2017 for her yesterday.
 

2180miles

Endurance Adventuring
If you have a second, would you mind posting the length and width of the Chief roof rack surface area when it's configured in "full roof rack system" mode? I'm super interested in this rack and want to make sure the stuff I want to put up there on it will fit.

Thanks!

So sorry for the unbelievable delay here, life has been crazy with work travels. I can measure this out for you tomorrow and update with an answer!

Nice build and write up.

I plowed through the pages and prob missed it...

How is the ride when its all loaded up and weighed down? I am considering a similar path with a GC sometime next year...

Thanks John, appreciate you taking the time to read! The ride is actually fantastic, even fully weighted and outfitted for our adventures. I actually had the misfortune of crashing into a pretty good ditch on a recent 5-day overland trip through Maine's Allagash Wilderness... hurdled at about 30 mph over a huge section of ice under a fresh snow, and basically crashed through a snowbank, into a 45 degree ditch, and came to a stop about 100' from where I went in. Jeep performed flawlessly and actually sustained no damage... and even the crash was comfortable under full load.

Happy to answer any more questions you might have, and definitely do consider the WK2 platform for a build!

Just wanted to say thanks for spending the time to write everything out so well and documenting your trailhawk. This thread helped my wife and I decide that her new jeep was going to be a WK2 Trailhawk. Just picked up a 2017 for her yesterday.

Congrats on your new WK2! I'm really glad to hear that this build helped you decide on this direction :)
 

2180miles

Endurance Adventuring
Torro Offroad SkyLux Roof Top Tent Installation

A few months ago I was approached by Corey Johnson, founder and owner of Virginia-based Torro Offroad, about testing out their new SkyLux Roof Top Tent (hereinafter referred to as RTT). It’s always a great privilege to be able to try out products for companies, but Corey immediately was adamant about wanting transparency with my thoughts on the tent given the experience we have with our previous COE Vehicle Solutions tent. His enthusiasm for that kind of feedback made the idea of taking the SkyLux off-road and into the elements that much more exciting to me.

The SkyLux is a hard-shell styled tent that unfolds like traditional “soft” tents in the market. What makes this stand out so much compared to our current tent is that it doubles the sleeping space, up from a twin size bed to a king size, integrates an overhang from the elements, comes with a winter insulation kit, and even has integrated LED lights both inside and out for nights at campsites. All in all, a great lineup of features that our current tent (and many other tents, for that matter) simply don’t offer.


Torro SkyLux Roof Top Tent
by 2180miles


UNBOXING & INSTALLATION

The Torro SkyLux arrived well-packaged in a shipping box alike other items of this size. The delivery company easily moved it around on a pallet and it was dropped inside our garage within a few minutes, safely out of the way of pending inclement weather in the Boston area. My Kershaw knife quickly cut through the packaging material and tape holding everything together, and after moving the large cardboard top piece off and away, I was able to lay my eyes on the sleek silver aluminum frame that comprises the floor of the tent. It came wrapped in a protective plastic which can sometimes be a pain to remove, so I used the tip of my knife’s blade to delicately run down the lengths and edges of the plastic to more easily pull it off. With it removed the underside was completely bare and ready for install, so I flipped the tent over to get a look at it right side up. It weighs in at about 150lbs, which is twenty more than our previous tent, but is comprised of a lot more surface area. I for one would rather know the flooring system is made to support me than to hear it creak every time I move around inside the tent, so the few extra pounds aren’t a huge problem. Chief Product’s new WK2 Roof Rack system is designed to carry over 300lbs dynamic (while in motion) so it’s barely breaking a sweat with the SkyLux up there.


Torro Offroad - SkyLux Packaging
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SkyLux RTT - Removing Protective Wrap
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SkyLux RTT - Unboxed
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Once the tent was flipped over I made quick work of the six 2” wide Velcro straps and two 1” ribbed plastic retaining straps, and gently lifted the black plastic shell. The two internal pistons immediately took over and raised the clamshell roof to its 60ish-degree angle, exposing both the folded flooring of the tent and the myriad of accessories and hardware that the tent ships with. Included with the SkyLux are the insulation panels for frigid nights, two channel-hung pockets/containers for shoes and the like to be held outside of the tent at night, extra support braces for the gas pistons at super in the event of 40+ MPH winds, and a half dozen metal props for holding the tent’s entryway awning and side windows out when you wish to open them.

The hardware that’s sent along includes a 13mm ratcheting wrench, eight bolts, four brackets for connecting the tent to your crossbars. In further conversations with the Torro team they’ve told me that the brackets included here (on the left in the photo below) will be replaced with flat bars to cut down on unnecessary tightening on installation. To the right in that same photo are the RTT brackets that Chief Products sells for integrating a tent with their WK2 Roof Rack. The 1/4” steel plates are drilled out perfectly with the Chief crossbar Planks, and allowed the SkyLux to be installed without a hitch.



Included Accessories (Insulation, Ladder, Etc)
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Torro Hardware / Chief Roof Rack Brackets
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REAL WORLD TEST RUN

A mere 24 hours after installation of the SkyLux on the WK2 Trailhawk, I took off for a five day overland trip through Maine’s North Woods with a few friends from our overland group. The temperatures would include single digit nights, 30+ MPH winds, and a thousand miles of travel from our Boston home. Our 1 year old black lab, Delta, came with me on the trip and shared the tent with me each night; not only were we dry in all kinds of weather including rain, hail, and snow, but also warm in our sub-zero sleeping bags. The SkyLux did a great job with ventilation and mitigating build-up of precipitation and only minor frost was exhibited each morning, easy to wipe down with a camp towel every morning.

Having only set the tent up once in our driveway before departure I was quite happy with the 2-3 minute set-up time each night, and nearly identical take-down times each morning. The ladder extended easily and unfolding the tent into its fully opened position was no problem at all for a person to do solo. I mainly utilized the “front door” opening for our ventilation, but did open the side windows on one night for some additional air flow.

In the mornings I moved the sleeping bags to the driver’s side of the tent where the clam-shell hinge resides, which I found made closing the RTT up much easier. From there I’d remove the metal props that keep the doors and windows open, storing the window ones inside an included pouch in the tent, and the door props in the back of the Jeep for easy access at camp each night. This is a habit I’ve had since we first for a roof-top tent, as digging around for these while trying to set up camp isn’t always the most fun activity when all you want is a beer and a campfire.

Once the inside of the tent was set to be stored I collapsed the ladder simultaneously while pushing up and folding the cantilevered aluminum flooring up over onto the main portion of the tent. Think of the closed SkyLux as a tortilla shell folded over in thirds. With the flooring surfaces folded up I then climbed up and collected the fabric shell of the tent, shaking off any snow or ice build-up and tucking it towards the center of the tent before grabbing the nylon strap and pulling down the plastic shell of the tent. The same exceptionally easy Velcro straps were quick to affix, and the plastic locking straps snapped into place despite the snow and ice buildup I faced each morning.

This tent truly seems like it will be a great match for us and our future trips with myself, Dani, and Delta. The space inside, durability, multitude of well thought out accessories, and overall ease of use make it a fantastic product for veteran overlanders/travelers and the newly vehicular adventurous alike. Dani's thrilled about the king-size bed inside, and Delta loves the view from the top of the ladder more than I could ever describe.

I'll circle back after the next few trips and update this with photos and a more long term review, but for now I'll leave you with a link to Torro's website so you can check the SkyLux out for yourself... you might even recognize the Jeep on their homepage!


GET 10% OFF YOUR ORDER OF THE
SKYLUX WITH CODE "2180MILES" AT CHECKOUT!




Torro SkyLux - Setup by Dani
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SkyLux Closed For Travel
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Campsite Set with Integrated LED
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Torro SkyLux - Campsite Set-Up
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Torro SkyLux Entry Door & Cover
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Torro SkyLux - Rear Profile
by 2180miles
 

beyondink

New member
how did you attach your awning and light bar to the Chief roof rack. I am ready to pull the plug on the rack just wanted to know what is involved to get those to fit.. Thank you!
 

tobyjefe

New member
how much overhang did you have on the passenger side? I can't quite tell in the pictures but I can tell the tent wasn't centered. I am trying to find out if there is an acceptable overhang and if more anchor could be used to accommodate an overhang on the passenger side.
 

2180miles

Endurance Adventuring
how did you attach your awning and light bar to the Chief roof rack. I am ready to pull the plug on the rack just wanted to know what is involved to get those to fit.. Thank you!

Really sorry for the delay here, it's been a crazy busy few months. I used the Rhino Rack Batwing brackets originally, then at the VERY last minute (morning we left for the winter Overland trip) switched to the ARB 50mm Awning Brackets. Hardware wise, I used the Chief Products channel nuts for the crossbar planks.

I have since flipped the bracket, lowering the awning by 2", and it now all works seamlessly... these are the added adventures in being the first person to run these setups together! Long story short, the ARB brackets linked above are the best solution in my opinion. The Black Oak LED light bar is attached with some of Chief's roof rack accessory hardware, but basically is a flat bar stock drilled out to get the light bar forward.


how much overhang did you have on the passenger side? I can't quite tell in the pictures but I can tell the tent wasn't centered. I am trying to find out if there is an acceptable overhang and if more anchor could be used to accommodate an overhang on the passenger side.

Thanks for the question. I answered a bit above, but basically the first set of brackets, the Rhino Batwing ones, didn't work out (too many gussets) so I changed to the ARB brackets. Unfortunately with the last minute change I didn't have time to fully figure out the arrangement, so I actually shifted the RTT to the passenger side in the dark when we arrived at the first campsite of the trip which is why you see it as such in those trip photos. It's now lowered a little bit and fits perfectly with the tent centered.
 

Septu

Explorer
Ryan, question for you. Do you have a side profile shot with the tire carrier? Seems to stick out a lot on the back end. Not that there's too many alternatives I suppose if one wants their spare out of the cubby.
 

2180miles

Endurance Adventuring
Ryan, question for you. Do you have a side profile shot with the tire carrier? Seems to stick out a lot on the back end. Not that there's too many alternatives I suppose if one wants their spare out of the cubby.

Sorry for the delay here @Septu - I haven't been on here in a while. Here's the best photo I have of a side profile shot. It does stick out a bit, but with the RotoPax in there it's only an inch or so off the rear tailgate so it fills out nicely IMHO. As you said, few options exist in this market space. We have used, abused, and loved this Wilco since the day it was installed, and it's taken quite a beating. During one of our winter expeditions a buddy's wrangler hit black ice and smashed into me at 15-20 mph, bent the locking pin on the Wilco but no damage to the steel, powder coat, or my Trailhawk.



Winter Camping - Profile Shot
by 2180miles
 

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