Hi all

[sycofirefighter]

Hi everyone! I found this forum and I can't stop reading it. I am saving up to buy a Jeep Wrangler and have a couple questions and need some advice. I'm looking at buying 05-06 and have some questions.
1. Is one year better then the other?
2. Auto vs. Manual? I live in Northern VA (just south of D.C.) and it has the worst traffic in the U.S. Am I stupid for wanting a manual?
3. Why does it cost so much money to make a rig expedition worthy?


I have a job that will forces me to work a minimum of 12 hour days, so I only have to work 3 days a week to keep my full time status. I think I would like to work it out so I work 42 hours in 3 days (14 hour days) and have 4 days off to go anywhere within a days drive and still camp for 2 days. Then any week I don't go camping I can work that much more to pay for goodies (and possibly some savings ) . I could work a lot of hours and save up enough money for an adventure trailer one day as well :wings:.

 

[Colorado Jeeper]

05 & 06 are both great years. Not much of a difference between them. I'd consider looking at an unlimited model. The extra space will be nice if you plan to do much traveling or camping with it. Most of the modifications made to vehicles on this forum are done with parts that are constructed in small (relatively) quantities with top notch materials. Many parts are handmade. A combination of these factors is why the cost to outfit a vehicle is so high. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[Wildcat]

welcome. can't answer your question 1 as i have an xj. it doesn't have to cost alot for an expo rig. watch the classifieds here and elswhere, craigslist and make stuff yourself. i bought a used 4" lift and roof basket from a local forum member. he was upgrading so i got it cheep. 3 days on and 4 off sounds like a sweet gig. plenty of time for play and building the rig how you like it. post pics when you get your jeep and trailer.

 

[bldeagle10]

building an expo rig doesn't have to be expensive. my XJ is a budget build. can find parts cheap if you look around, it just takes a bit longer this way. and that way you don't have to much money into it if you buy the part and it doesn't work out for you...as far as which models are better, I am a die hard Jeep fan, I don't like Mercedes' influence on the newer Jeeps, the newest one I would buy would be the LJ (05-06 unlimited) they have more room and if I remember correct you can get one with the 4.0l inline 6. I like TJ's, YJ's I'm not the biggest fan of, they can be nice but a lot of them around my area are pretty rough. CJ all the way if you like the simplicity of older motors...I would like a manual because most of my driving is highway, but if you plan on doing crawling and a ton of off roading personally I wouldn't. i don't have experience with it and I know I would burn the clutch up trying to crawl over stuff up hill. but again, manual's are easier to work on, and id say cheaper if something breaks...