About two months ago I reached out to an Austrailian company called Chief Products who makes skid plates, push bars, etc. for the Grand Cherokee platform. Reading about their recessed winch mount, and noting their comments about looking for a 2017 M.Y. & Trailhawk platform test vehicle, I emailed them volunteering myself to assist with the test-fitting of their new WK2 Hidden Winch Mount. In a few long e-mails back and forth between myself and Bill, the owner of Chief Products, we decided that he'd ship me one of their winch mount systems at a reduced rate in exchange for install and final-product photos, and measurements of the fitment within the 2017's new sloped grill style. This was an immense first step in making the Grand more capable on its own.
Knowing that this winch mount would need a winch to go in it, I reached out to Warn and asked about their corporate sponsorship opportunities for the Trailhawk build. In doing a fair amount of research and speaking with Bill at Chief about what winches he already knew fit the mount, it became pretty clear that the Warn Zeon Platinum was going to be the most ideal option for the WK2. Yeah, okay, it's insanely expensive - $1750 - (this especially emphasized due to me being a guy who has rocked a Smittybilt XRC-8 for 6 trouble free years on the front of my TJ), but the Platinum is the best winch on the market in Warn's 4WD product line, and has one key quality that will prove immensely useful in the Grand Cherokee: an electronic clutch. Once this puppy is recessed into the front end, accessibility of the free spool/engage clutch would become rather difficult as far as I can tell. It's waterproof, wifi-based remote operable, has an accessory 12v port for driving lights (bypassing the need to run wiring through the firewall) and is wound with the Spydura Synthetic line. After a few e-mails with a woman in the sponsorship department at Warn, she informed me that while they couldn't give me a Zeon Platinum for free, she could send me one at a deeply discounted rate. So for about a thousand dollars under retail, I'll have the most highly regarded unit they're currently manufacturing in the front end of the WK2 on the Chief Products mount.
These, combined with a discounted FrontLink winch hook courtesy of Factor55 which I'm equally excited to install, will transform the front end and my self-recovery abilities immeasurably. For now I've got some stock imagery, but should have some great photos coming when I tackle the install with my buddy Rob in a few weeks. In the mean time, I'm pretty excited for these upcoming modifications to the rig.
You can click the images below to enlarge them.
Knowing that this winch mount would need a winch to go in it, I reached out to Warn and asked about their corporate sponsorship opportunities for the Trailhawk build. In doing a fair amount of research and speaking with Bill at Chief about what winches he already knew fit the mount, it became pretty clear that the Warn Zeon Platinum was going to be the most ideal option for the WK2. Yeah, okay, it's insanely expensive - $1750 - (this especially emphasized due to me being a guy who has rocked a Smittybilt XRC-8 for 6 trouble free years on the front of my TJ), but the Platinum is the best winch on the market in Warn's 4WD product line, and has one key quality that will prove immensely useful in the Grand Cherokee: an electronic clutch. Once this puppy is recessed into the front end, accessibility of the free spool/engage clutch would become rather difficult as far as I can tell. It's waterproof, wifi-based remote operable, has an accessory 12v port for driving lights (bypassing the need to run wiring through the firewall) and is wound with the Spydura Synthetic line. After a few e-mails with a woman in the sponsorship department at Warn, she informed me that while they couldn't give me a Zeon Platinum for free, she could send me one at a deeply discounted rate. So for about a thousand dollars under retail, I'll have the most highly regarded unit they're currently manufacturing in the front end of the WK2 on the Chief Products mount.
These, combined with a discounted FrontLink winch hook courtesy of Factor55 which I'm equally excited to install, will transform the front end and my self-recovery abilities immeasurably. For now I've got some stock imagery, but should have some great photos coming when I tackle the install with my buddy Rob in a few weeks. In the mean time, I'm pretty excited for these upcoming modifications to the rig.
You can click the images below to enlarge them.
