calamaridog
Expedition Leader
Nice rock crawler! But alas, not an expedition vehicle:smiley_drive:
Is it worth building a Kj?
- Thread starter jeepmedic46
- Start date
Nice rock crawler! But alas, not an expedition vehicle:smiley_drive:
Fulltimer
Observer
The KJ in that thread is a member of L.O.S.T. and that thing will go anywhere and do it in comfort. He is/was right about the other 6 rigs. But, there are a few more in different stages of being made. There will be many more. At this time there are 2 companies working on a "bolt on kit" for solid axles.
Myself, I can't see any reason yet why a KJ wouldn't make a good expo rig. I may be wrong but basically any rig that can successfully handle about any type of terrain should be considered. Interior space or not doesn't really matter when there are so many really good off road trailers and campers around.
Terry
Myself, I can't see any reason yet why a KJ wouldn't make a good expo rig. I may be wrong but basically any rig that can successfully handle about any type of terrain should be considered. Interior space or not doesn't really matter when there are so many really good off road trailers and campers around.
Terry
jh504
Explorer
I would rock that thing as an expedition rig. Not much different than my old XJ with 6.5" lift. I used to drive that thing all over the place.
I have no experience with it but it seems like a KJ would have as much space as a TJ. I like the size of them, seems like they would be great on tight trails. How are these things holding up to abuse and high miles? Transmission, axles, T case?
calamaridog
Expedition Leader
The size is certainly trail friendly. I believe it has more cargo capacity than a TJ.
Mine uses the following parts:
Dana 30a (ifs) front axle
NV 242 Select-Trac transfer
3.7L V6 truck motor
45RFE truck transmission
8.25 Corporate (Chrysler) rear axle
3.72 gearing
Reliability has been great, except for the horrible window regulators and lower ball joint recall. You will recall that most Toyota trucks, Liberty's, Durrago's, and Dakota's suffered from lower ball joint problems around the same time frame.
Mine uses the following parts:
Dana 30a (ifs) front axle
NV 242 Select-Trac transfer
3.7L V6 truck motor
45RFE truck transmission
8.25 Corporate (Chrysler) rear axle
3.72 gearing
Reliability has been great, except for the horrible window regulators and lower ball joint recall. You will recall that most Toyota trucks, Liberty's, Durrago's, and Dakota's suffered from lower ball joint problems around the same time frame.
Zeero
Adventurer
In my experience running a Liberty on long distance with modifications, they hold exceptionally well.
There is alot more room in the Liberty over the TJ, especially when you take out the rear seats....there's DOUBLE room.
The Liberty hardware is rock solid. We abused the daylights out of ours all over Canada and the US and the only thing that went on it was the Air COnditioning clutch.....and we lost that in Moab utah, in July....EXTREMELY hot, so we weren't all too surprised.
Yes, we switched over to the Wrangler 4 door JK's....but only for a couple of reasons, out of the box readiness (Rubicon Models) cargo space out the wazoo, and the simplicity of "bolt on" mods.....but other than that, we still love the Liberty to pieces, and have even considered a "Cheap Jeep" project with a 2002 model Liberty that has the Dodge RAM transmission in them.
I don't know too many people that have used and abused a Liberty the way we have, and I gotta say, nothing but a totally positive experience with them.
I've said it before, but, they're a smaller truck with the biggest heart out there, bar none.
:sombrero::victory:
There is alot more room in the Liberty over the TJ, especially when you take out the rear seats....there's DOUBLE room.
The Liberty hardware is rock solid. We abused the daylights out of ours all over Canada and the US and the only thing that went on it was the Air COnditioning clutch.....and we lost that in Moab utah, in July....EXTREMELY hot, so we weren't all too surprised.
Yes, we switched over to the Wrangler 4 door JK's....but only for a couple of reasons, out of the box readiness (Rubicon Models) cargo space out the wazoo, and the simplicity of "bolt on" mods.....but other than that, we still love the Liberty to pieces, and have even considered a "Cheap Jeep" project with a 2002 model Liberty that has the Dodge RAM transmission in them.
I don't know too many people that have used and abused a Liberty the way we have, and I gotta say, nothing but a totally positive experience with them.
I've said it before, but, they're a smaller truck with the biggest heart out there, bar none.
:sombrero::victory:
Fulltimer
Observer
Root Moose
Expedition Leader
Umm, no.
A Sam will kick a Liberties butt all over the place off-road. KJ/KK is a better truck overall for things off the trail and for things like cargo capacity, comfort, etc. but off-road there is no comparison. A Samurai is much closer (better?) than a GPW/MB than Liberty.
I'm going to the cafeteria to get some Kool-Aid.
kcowyo
ExPo Original
Everybody having fun in here? :lurk:
Good. Lots of good info in this thread so far, but let's not take it down the 'Brand A is better than Brand B', path please. There are a lot of great vehicles out there for a lot of different applications. I'm sure no one meant to be offensive or phallic.
Let's keep it that way, huh? Carry on....
.
.
Good. Lots of good info in this thread so far, but let's not take it down the 'Brand A is better than Brand B', path please. There are a lot of great vehicles out there for a lot of different applications. I'm sure no one meant to be offensive or phallic.
Let's keep it that way, huh? Carry on....
.
.
I would have to argue that the D30a is most certainly not rock solid. Many have destroyed that thing (including myself) in situations that most would not consider to be all that abusive.
That being said though, I love my Liberty. Just take it easy on the gas.
Zeero
Adventurer
Well any truck will have some breakage...thats a pretty serious one though.
We've had ours up and down outback mountain passages through the Rockies, Continental Divide, the LaSalle, and the Laurentians....with no problems.
Banged the living daylights out of the undercarriage, with nothing more than the factory Mopar skids on it.....and those things held well.
I think in any situation with any brand, taking it easy on the gas is ALWAYS the preferred method. Trailing and expedition driving, in a non-competitive scenario is not racing. Its about travelling and enjoying, not smashing banging and speeding.
Ours would routinely do a 800-1000 km day with bursts of 50-100 km off-highway and open land points three or four times a day.
Based on that, we call them rock solid.
How did that breakage affect the drive, did the whole thing stop, or did it keep you rolling till you got to where you needed to be to look at it?
:sombrero::victory:
We've had ours up and down outback mountain passages through the Rockies, Continental Divide, the LaSalle, and the Laurentians....with no problems.
Banged the living daylights out of the undercarriage, with nothing more than the factory Mopar skids on it.....and those things held well.
I think in any situation with any brand, taking it easy on the gas is ALWAYS the preferred method. Trailing and expedition driving, in a non-competitive scenario is not racing. Its about travelling and enjoying, not smashing banging and speeding.
Ours would routinely do a 800-1000 km day with bursts of 50-100 km off-highway and open land points three or four times a day.
Based on that, we call them rock solid.
How did that breakage affect the drive, did the whole thing stop, or did it keep you rolling till you got to where you needed to be to look at it?
:sombrero::victory:
Well we weren't on a trip, just some off-roading, so there was no real destination. This was on a long hill climb and I stopped immediately when I heard it crack and got winched up to the top. We all knew what had happened before looking.
Slow and steady is definitely the way, but I wasn't racing or anything when this happened. I was trying to get up over a ledge toward the top of the climb.
Yes, all trucks have breakage, and all trucks have issues. Just pointing out that this is a common issue with this particular vehicle.
Root Moose
Expedition Leader
We used to get this problem with Suzuki Sidekicks/Vitara. It got to the point where now the aftermarket makes a steel replacement for the housing in the front of a Sidekick/Vitara.
Does anyone make such a thing for Libbys? If not I sense a product opportunity.
Does anyone make such a thing for Libbys? If not I sense a product opportunity.