Is it worth building a Kj?

[calamaridog]

I like my Liberty, but I would not choose it as a platform for international expedition travel, when there are so many better choices for such endevors. I'll readily admit I've not undertaken any such travels to date, but having owned vehicles that are more suitable to such duty, my opinions remain.

As far as exploring my own continent, I've big plans for my Liberty. As a matter of fact, I just showered off two days of grime from my last off highway trip.

Zeero, I admire your accomplishments with the Liberty platform and will continue to be inspired by your journeys.

 

[4Rescue]

I still dont buy the argument, even on an international level. Liberty's are everywhere with the exception of Northern Africa.

Europe, Australia, Siberia, Asia, South Africa, Middle East (UAE, Iraq, Iran, SA)....theyre even in places where Wranglers dont exist...

Not trying to be a ********, but where is that???

I guess that yeah it's worth bulding a KJ if you own it and like it. If that's the case... THen yeah, whatever get's you out there is a great vehicle for you I guess eh. I also gotta say, I fnd the new body style alot better IMO than the first gen's, I like the boxy styling cues from the Dodge Nitro (at least to my eye). How different are these two trucks underneath from Gen1 to gen2???

...but if you're looking for an expo rig and don't mind getting poor milage (unless you get a CRD :drool: ) there are far better options here in NA and there are deffinatly even more from a global perspective. If I'm only going to get 13 or so MPG with all the assosciated gear I need to make a KJ into an Expo rig(for my uses and tastes anyway) I'd rather do it in the roomier and far more capable FZJ80.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Zeero]

Not trying to be a ********, but where is that???

Ummm....good point. I stand corrected...haha, it seems that they have them everywhere that Wranglers are....there was time when they weren't....buuuut....oops. :sombrero:

Hey and no worries Calamari. Everyone has got there own opinion on trucks preferred.

My journey with the Liberty started out because by THEN better half wasn't keen on Wranglers or Cherokees or XTerras or anything else. So, we bought a Liberty. We got heavily into adventure travel then eventually hooked up with some like minded people.

We then built a Liberty Expedition platform and were off the corners of NA. Along the way we put up with alot of SCHTIK from offroad "purists" but showed them otherwise.

The Liberty has always been a tough sell to people for any type of adventure utility. Always called a soccer van and grocery getter. Even outfitted with a suspension lift, MTR's, roof rack, Pelican cases, two spares and fuel and water tanks fixed to it....."Nice Grocery Getter!!" to which I would respond "Yeah, where would I put them??"......our back seats were taken out and the rear had a drawer system in it.

Then on the day trips we'd be out with Wrangler 4x4 clubs, they would get a TJ Rubicon stuck and the Liberty would just shimey on by without a care for what was under it, and jaws dropped so hard you got splashed by the muddy water.

Hey, its a great little truck with a huge heart. They will surprise you and mystify you. I know I was, and thats why I trusted it on long term trips.

I will always recommend them to anyone considering one.

 

[4Rescue]

Ummm....good point. I stand corrected...haha, it seems that they have them everywhere that Wranglers are....there was time when they weren't....buuuut....oops. :sombrero:

...

Then on the day trips we'd be out with Wrangler 4x4 clubs, they would get a TJ Rubicon stuck and the Liberty would just shimey on by without a care for what was under it, and jaws dropped so hard you got splashed by the muddy water.
....

HAHAHAHAHA No worries mate, that's why I qualified the question, I was just really trying to rack my brain to figure out where that place could be... I thought you were privvy to some info I was not

Again, not trying to be a ********, but what was the deciding factor that made the KJ get therough where the Rubi couldn't. I ask because as good a platform as the KJ may be, the RUbi is better in every single way off-road so I feel like maybe the URbi had crap tires and the KJ had new Mudders or somethign you know. OS what was so different about the KJ?

Cheers

Dave

 

[tommudd]

only 13 MPGs something must be badly wrong with that KJ, I pull 20 plus all the time on the road and mines loaded with tools, spare parts, lifted larger tires and all the skids etc. Makes me laugh when someone says that then go look at what other vehicles get.
The Liberty may have a few shortcomings but all in all a great vehicle. With a good driver you can amaze a lot of people when out on the trails. For two people I think it would make a great expedition platform, may not be for everyone but thats why some have Toyotas, pickups, vans etc.

 

[calamaridog]

Let me say this about the Liberty. It may be unibody, but they won't be adding any stiffeners to this unibody. They might as well have built a body on frame suv instead, it's as heavy as one.

It's a little smallish. That's my main complaint for travel. So I'm looking at roof racks. Of course on the trail it's nice and nimble.

 

[Fulltimer]

Let me say this about the Liberty. It may be unibody, but they won't be adding any stiffeners to this unibody. They might as well have built a body on frame suv instead, it's as heavy as one.

It's a little smallish. That's my main complaint for travel. So I'm looking at roof racks. Of course on the trail it's nice and nimble.

Would you believe it has the stiffest body of any Jeep? That is according to Chrysler.

Terry

 

[calamaridog]

Would you believe it has the stiffest body of any Jeep? That is according to Chrysler.

Terry

I don't doubt it. It also has the strongest roof (Also from Chrysler)

Now if only they had hired a Toyota engineer to desing the IFS

 

[2500Adventures]

only 13 MPGs something must be badly wrong with that KJ, I pull 20 plus all the time on the road and mines loaded with tools, spare parts, lifted larger tires and all the skids etc. Makes me laugh when someone says that then go look at what other vehicles get.
The Liberty may have a few shortcomings but all in all a great vehicle. With a good driver you can amaze a lot of people when out on the trails. For two people I think it would make a great expedition platform, may not be for everyone but thats why some have Toyotas, pickups, vans etc.

Not sure how you are getting 20-20+ mpg???? I can only manage maybe 13.5-14.5 mpg with 3.73 gears, 255/70/16 tires with steel wheels and a roof basket. I don't carry any gear in the Jeep unless I know I will be heading to the trail. Interesting....i'm closeto 52K miles now and will be replacing the spark plugs so that should help some I would imagine. But still....20 mpg? Are you a CRD and not fessing up?

 

[tommudd]

Nope not a CRD, running 265-70-16 BFGs, 119,500 miles on her. And yes last trip of 583 miles from one side of Ohio down across to the hilly side and back gave me 20.3 avg according to the scan gauge, and 20.5 according to just fiquring miles/gas used long hand, so very close and that was running at 68/70 on the Interstate, 55/58 on 2 lane roads and that included about 25 miles of gravel/dirt roads
I do change plugs every 25000 miles at least and all syn fluids throughout.

 

[2500Adventures]

That is also with 4.10 gears installed as well?? Maybe they are the missing gap in my rig? Good thing I just got some, just unfortunate they didn't show up in the best of conditions...

 

[Zeero]

Again, not trying to be a ********, but what was the deciding factor that made the KJ get therough where the Rubi couldn't. I ask because as good a platform as the KJ may be, the RUbi is better in every single way off-road so I feel like maybe the URbi had crap tires and the KJ had new Mudders or somethign you know. OS what was so different about the KJ?

Cheers

Dave

It was the solid axle up front that kept getting hung up lumps....where as the Liberty has that neat little inverted "V" in the front middle.....I now have two JK Wranglers and have experienced that.....but also alot of Wrangler drivers have never driven anything offroad and come to rely on its offroad features. The Wrangler makes it very easy to get comfortable with the equipment doing all the work. The Liberty forces you to learn proper trail technique, and the drivers tend to be a little better skilled as a result....picking lines, etc etc etc.

:victory::sombrero:

 

[Zeero]

I don't doubt it. It also has the strongest roof (Also from Chrysler)

I'd be careful with the strongest roof quote. On our last KJ mounted trip, I will admit we did a have ALOT of weight up top in the rack, but as a result, we were getting minor "waves" in the sheet metal in the rear pillars as a result of the heavy weight pushing down doubly during acceleration.

It was amazing how much weight we carried, but we saw the effects starting to show in the body after about a week on the road. That said, it didn't get worse, BUT we were slowly consuming items that were stored on the roof, so the load got progressively lighter the longer we were away.

:victory::sombrero:

 

[4Rescue]

only 13 MPGs something must be badly wrong with that KJ, I pull 20 plus all the time on the road and mines loaded with tools, spare parts, lifted larger tires and all the skids etc. Makes me laugh when someone says that then go look at what other vehicles get.
The Liberty may have a few shortcomings but all in all a great vehicle. With a good driver you can amaze a lot of people when out on the trails. For two people I think it would make a great expedition platform, may not be for everyone but thats why some have Toyotas, pickups, vans etc.

Well, that changes things a bit then eh. Most of the reports in this thread are quoting 13.5 or so I thought, 20's not bad. I'm getting 19.5 around town even with a heavy foot and not really trying to do any better, but I don't think I can tow anywhere near what the Libby can and again... C R D !!! (I know yours isn't but I love the option) I mean guy's it's got one of the things we all seem to want so badly a Diesel power plant and a pretty damn good one at that. I'd say if you can find a CRD and you like it, then do it. The owners of these trucks have spoken and given them a solid thumbs up, so that plus Diesel = something hard to find here in N.America.

It was the solid axle up front that kept getting hung up lumps....where as the Liberty has that neat little inverted "V" in the front middle.....I now have two JK Wranglers and have experienced that.....but also alot of Wrangler drivers have never driven anything offroad and come to rely on its offroad features. The Wrangler makes it very easy to get comfortable with the equipment doing all the work. The Liberty forces you to learn proper trail technique, and the drivers tend to be a little better skilled as a result....picking lines, etc etc etc.

:victory::sombrero:

Ah, I see that makes sence to me, in fact yesterday I found the same to be true out at the beach. I yanked a guy in a wrangler out who had plowed his front fiff and high centered. I had no issues in my IFS Toyota. And just like you say, when I got to talking with him he had pretty much NEVER been off-road in the thing and just assumed because it was a jeep and had 4wd that he could drive through anything, he clearly had no sence of line selection, using Low Range etc. Then I got out on the highway around him and apprently he wasn't too up to speed on driving in general... To me driving is tannamount to carrying a loaded gun, you have alot of potential to kill if not handled correctly... I don't think this guy should have been allowed behind the wheel no matter what he's driving on or in.

Cheers

Dave

 

[jh504]

this guy thought it was worth it to build a KJ. What a nice setup he has!

http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60227