Intro and jeep?

[Nightkrawler]

Intro first my name is Tim been into jeeps and offroad for awhile. Wife has a disease so hiking trips are out and we are currently camping out of our 97 tj (4.0 , auto, 33 bfg at's) looking to tour national parks and more out of the way places. I have been lurking for a bit and reading alot of boards. I understand the toy push but I love my jeep and like access to the harder 4+ trails so want solid axle.
locistics: need jeep (solid axle vehical for week or longer trips) needs to seat 4 comfortably
Here is my questions.
1) would adding rear bumper racks and roof racks be suitable for my needs

2) have a chance to score a 98 xj with low miles 33" toyo ats with roof rack and the 4 doors I am looking for.

Any other jeep options ( needs to be had for about 10K as I have an offer for my tj minus recovery gear of $9800)

majority of travel s mountain Big Bear trails and desert trips baja someday.

I appreciate any knowledge you can share as this is new to me. :wavey:

 

[CA-RJ]

First off, welcome to Expo Tim. If you need to fit 4 comfortably and the XJ is your only other choice, I'd choose that. I don't even think that I'd want to run 4 people in my Unlimited and 4 in a TJ with gear is not really possible. An XJ on 31's or 32's will get you out and through most anything except the hardest of trails.

For less than $10k though, you can get into a lot of other rigs. Look at a Land Cruiser FJ80 if you want a solid axle. I'd also look hard at a 3rd Gen (96-02) 4Runner. Both are very comfortable and reliable and have more room to haul your gear.

 

[Nightkrawler]

the need for the room for 4 will be on shorter trips as when we do the weeks trips it would be with other vehicals or solo trips to remote places. the rig will see limited duty but may be driven daily in rain and snow. I live in socal and have looked at tlc 80's i like the solid axle but the gas mileage and cost of lower milage is making me lean towards the xj although i like the idea of a frame for the harder trails. Do the expo xj's use frame stiffners? or should i give up my jeep and get a toy?

 

[CA-RJ]

I'm not sure if the XJ's have frame stiffeners or not. Hopefully someone else will chime in about that. I don't think you need to abandon the idea of an XJ either. I had a 93 and really liked mine. I was just tossing a few other ideas out there.

 

[silvergrand]

My vote would be for any of the XJ (4 door)/ZJ/WJs. Solid front and rear, 6 or 8 cylinder opotions, plentifull on the used market, very customizable and not too big for the narrow locations.

Just my vote...don't want to upset anyone...HaHa!

 

[Andrew Walcker]

Welcome Aboard! :beer:

Not to familiar with the Jeep, but I use an Adventure Trailer to haul all the gear and get maximum area for the passengers. You would be surprised what kind of trails an AT can tackle.

 

[expoxj]

I don't believe the lack of a solid frame really hurts the xj. One of the first things you would want to do is get a good set of rock rails. Most of the good ones bolt to the "frame" and the front leaf spring bolt with a row of bolts going through the pinch seam. This will stiffen the frame enough you shouldn't need any extra frame stiffeners.

Also upgrading the factory crossmember and tc skid plate will stiffen the chassis some.

My set up seams pretty stiff. I can open and close the doors under full flex without any change in the gap size.

I've got.

Tomken gas tank skid
Tomken tc skid
Rustys front skid
C-rok steering brace
C4x4 rock rails

and probably the con-ferr rack adds some rigidity too.

I will tell you how it does in moab with 3 poeple and all their gear plus recovery and spare parts.

 

[madizell]

Do the expo xj's use frame stiffeners? or should i give up my jeep and get a toy?

Very few XJ's have had any frame stiffening done. That is really a JeepSpeed thing. Expo driving should not unduly stress a Cherokee when kept is simple trim. Huge lift kits and aggressive driving can stress the uni-body, but subtle expedition changes should not.

Bumper and roof racks can extend your cargo carrying ability, and if you want to stay with the short wheelbase you have, you can try this option. There are lots of good products to choose from in the line of racks.

Whether to drive Jeep, Toyota, or some other vehicle is entirely up to you. Even an old Ford station wagon can be made expo worthy, so I would not choose a brand based only on an "expo" concept. Choose based on money, reliability, utility, and personal preferences.

 

[troy]

My vote would be XJ.

I previously had an '01 TJ 4.0 auto with 33's. My XJ is 4.0 auto with 255/70/16 (31's). While I liked the TJ, it was not ideal for camping with more than two people. The XJ is much better traveling distances and gets pretty good MPGs if it is geared for the tires. If someone is willing to give you $9,800 for a '97 that is more than fair.

I don't think frame stiffeners are necessary on the XJ. Parts are cheaper and more common than other jeeps. The AW4 auto trans is dead nuts reliable (same trans used in many toyotas). Good aftermarket. Has rain gutters for easy mounting of rack, RTT, etc.

Generally '97-99 are considered the best years. They've got the HP30, and 8.25 29 spline. They also don't have additional items like 4 cats of the '00-01's.

If you get $9,800 for the TJ, that would be enough to have a very serious XJ. You may even have enough left over to buy the toy you want.

Check out www.naxja.org it is probably the largest XJ only site.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

FWIW a lot more XJ owners (me included) and ZJ/WJ owners are adding frame stiffeners, weather shop fabricated or homebrew. They do help tremendously, even street driving.

 

[Nightkrawler]

Thanks for the great info. I will be purchasing the XJ this weekend. I did look for a 80 series landcruiser but the milage is what is killing me. I do have many parts that will change over to the XJ including a 24 gal gas tank, cb, and all the recovery gear. I will post photos and a build is of course in-order.