Locker / Gear setup...

[Root Moose]

That was sort of my point as well...

Also, I believe NAXJA site is for more of the "wheeler" type drivers, rather then exploration type...

In reality, to WHEEL your rig, you want to drop you gear ration as low as you can, selectable lockers front/rear, lock the transfer case, throw in the 2LO option, and trailer your rig everywhere you go...

Well, I am looking for a different advice here... my Jeep drives on pavement probably +/-60% of the actual trip, and -/+40% is the actual "off-road", so the options on the lockers have to be different and considerations are different as well...

For one, I dont need a roll cage, but frame stiffeners have been considered.

Yeah, my build is very biased to on road performance. I keep waffling about a roll cage. These trucks fold up when rolled but by the same token there isn't a lot of room to make a cage fit for the way I want to use the Jeep.

I keep coming back to making a hoop over the rear seats that triangulate into the rear cargo floor. Roll the dice and hope that is enough structure to help keep the green house from completely pancaking.

 

[Nikson]

Yea - my street manners went out the window with the Aussie locker int he rear, but it was affordable. Roll cage? I'll get one at some point because I like to go fast in the desert...I've seen too many rollovers where the pillars just don't hold up...I like my dome.

Weight is somewhat of a consideration on my end... I understand it is simply impossible to be totally weightless and carry all the necessary gear and be "safe"...

I guess another way to go is full ALUMINUM frame, etc... but thats too big of a deal (at least on my end at this time)...

(I was talking about an actual ROCK CRAWLER CAGE)...
I guess a small inner support never hurts... and sure makes it nice to be able to weld all them tabs from inside to connect / hook up all them accessories...

 

[Nikson]

Yeah, my build is very biased to on road performance. I keep waffling about a roll cage. These trucks fold up when rolled but by the same token there isn't a lot of room to make a cage fit for the way I want to use the Jeep.

I keep coming back to making a hoop over the rear seats that triangulate into the rear cargo floor. Roll the dice and hope that is enough structure to help keep the green house from completely pancaking.

In all the honesty, you cant ever be protected 100% at any time. Only way to protect yourself in reality is to be a "sober" driver when it come to decisions on speed and your approach angle on some of the offroading...

Roll cages help, but not 100%... its sort of like with condoms... they help and can guarantee protection, but only up to 99% ... the other 1% is in "guy's hands" LOL (i hope you catch on the idea!)

 

[Momrocks]

By no reason am I bashing NAXJA, its just sort of different cup of tea in comparison to EXPO, if you know what I mean...

:ylsmoke:

My post count on there is ultra low too. I find many boards are better to use as a reference than as a place to participate. There is no denying that NAXJA folks have done most of the trial and error R&D when it comes to XJ mods, good or bad. I have had very good results using the search feature for troubleshooting, equipment recommendations and mod execution ideas.

`

 

[Black Dog]

By no reason am I bashing NAXJA, its just sort of different cup of tea in comparison to EXPO, if you know what I mean...

:ylsmoke:

I agree, we've got daily drivers here with child safety seats in the back and stuff. Rock crawling and mudding is fun, but what we do is more all encompassing.

 

[Momrocks]

On here: Momrocks is right, there is a solid group of people with good XJ experience that I trust when they shed light on an issue.

</end hijack>

And SWbySWXJ can count himself in that group. Many good XJ posts from that screen name.

`

 

[Nikson]

My post count on there is ultra low too. I find many boards are better to use as a reference than as a place to participate. There is no denying that NAXJA folks have done most of the trial and error R&D when it comes to XJ mods, good or bad. I have had very good results using the search feature for troubleshooting, equipment recommendations and mod execution ideas.

`

Definitely with you on that one... I would imagine it becomes a difficult task to moderate that amount of traffic / messages...

 

[Nikson]

I agree, we've got daily drivers here with child safety seats in the back and stuff. Rock crawling and mudding is fun, but what we do is more all encompassing.

Kids are with me at times, but never wheel with them hard... Just isnt that age in their life yet... although they are JEEPER's kids...

 

[FishPOET]

I also stay away from NAXJA for the same reasons mentioned above.

I have frame stiffeners. A roll cage is my next big mod. Still unsure whether it will be inner or exo. Probably a combination.

I have 44a/HP30 - 4.56 - with a 5.2L

I have an Aussie in the rear (my only option in the D44a) If I had a choice I would have went with a Detroit.

The Aussie has been fantastic.

I have an ARB up front. It has been problem riddled since the install. If I were to do it all over I would have went with an Ox. IMO the only way I would use a non selectable locker up front on the street would be with locking hubs.

 

[Nikson]

I also stay away from NAXJA for the same reasons mentioned above.

I have frame stiffeners. A roll cage is my next big mod. Still unsure whether it will be inner or exo. Probably a combination.

I have 44a/HP30 - 4.56 - with a 5.2L

I have an Aussie in the rear (my only option in the D44a) If I had a choice I would have went with a Detroit.

The Aussie has been fantastic.

I have an ARB up front. It has been problem riddled since the install. If I were to do it all over I would have went with an Ox. IMO the only way I would use a non selectable locker up front on the street would be with locking hubs.

Good advice...

From my point of view, after considering all the advice, rear LSD such as TrueTrac will be great for all type of conditions (used considerably)... and a selectable front for when you really need it... since I double that both of the front wheels will be in the air (during normal driving )

 

[DrMoab]

After reading this thread I am saddened and disheartened to hear what you guys are saying.

A little back ground on me...
I have been around naxja since it's formation. I personally knew most of the guys that started it and lurked around as a regular joe until 2003 when I paid to become a member. In 2005,2006,2007 I was the president of the Intermountain chapter and 2006-07 I was a national director on the BOD.

This year I ran as president of the Intermountain chapter again.

Right now I am on the sixth XJ I have owned in that amount of time. I've gone from a 1989 to the 00 and 01 my wife and I own now and they have ranged from stockers to full on, un-roadworthy trailer rigs to the mildly built rig I have now.

When I first became a part of naxja the group was a lot smaller than it is now and you didn't see a ton of lifted XJ's running around. The guys who did build them were usually a unique breed that spend a lot of time fabricating parts and building their own stuff due to little product support. At that time the tech you could get there was invaluable. Over the years, as I grew more and more confident of the inner workings of an XJ I used the tech forums less and less and started concentrating more on the chapter "club" aspect of the site.

It's disheartening to hear you guys talk like you do but I must admit that you are correct. As the older members either grew out of the XJ thing by building dedicated rock buggys or just drifted away and parts (and XJ's) became cheaper and cheaper the "old group of friends" feeling as gone away.

Naxja now to me wouldn't be worth paying the membership if it wasn't for the local chapter support. I would strongly suggest before you give up on them completely that you spend a little time getting to know the locals in whatever chapter you reside in. I think you will find the attitude there a lot different then if you are just going after tech. A lot of times the best advice you can get is by the local guys anyway.

 

[Nikson]

After reading this thread I am saddened and disheartened to hear what you guys are saying.

A little back ground on me...
I have been around naxja since it's formation. I personally knew most of the guys that started it and lurked around as a regular joe until 2003 when I paid to become a member. In 2005,2006,2007 I was the president of the Intermountain chapter and 2006-07 I was a national director on the BOD.

This year I ran as president of the Intermountain chapter again.

Right now I am on the sixth XJ I have owned in that amount of time. I've gone from a 1989 to the 00 and 01 my wife and I own now and they have ranged from stockers to full on, un-roadworthy trailer rigs to the mildly built rig I have now.

When I first became a part of naxja the group was a lot smaller than it is now and you didn't see a ton of lifted XJ's running around. The guys who did build them were usually a unique breed that spend a lot of time fabricating parts and building their own stuff due to little product support. At that time the tech you could get there was invaluable. Over the years, as I grew more and more confident of the inner workings of an XJ I used the tech forums less and less and started concentrating more on the chapter "club" aspect of the site.

It's disheartening to hear you guys talk like you do but I must admit that you are correct. As the older members either grew out of the XJ thing by building dedicated rock buggys or just drifted away and parts (and XJ's) became cheaper and cheaper the "old group of friends" feeling as gone away.

Naxja now to me wouldn't be worth paying the membership if it wasn't for the local chapter support. I would strongly suggest before you give up on them completely that you spend a little time getting to know the locals in whatever chapter you reside in. I think you will find the attitude there a lot different then if you are just going after tech. A lot of times the best advice you can get is by the local guys anyway.

Too hard to keep the organization in tact when it grows to such large sizes...

 

[DrMoab]

Too hard to keep the organization in tact when it grows to such large sizes...

Exactly, which is why most of us who have been around for ages have moved into the chapters and away from the national side of things.

 

[SWbySWesty]

Exactly, which is why most of us who have been around for ages have moved into the chapters and away from the national side of things.

I agree with you Ryan - I only visit the SoCal section of NAXJA...I hardly ever visit other areas, besides the "Adventure Forum" and sometimes the national "For Sale" area. I have found that the guys in my local section are awesome and knowledgable and definitely range in age...in fact we just had a thread on ages

 

[Root Moose]

Naxja now to me wouldn't be worth paying the membership if it wasn't for the local chapter support. I would strongly suggest before you give up on them completely that you spend a little time getting to know the locals in whatever chapter you reside in. I think you will find the attitude there a lot different then if you are just going after tech. A lot of times the best advice you can get is by the local guys anyway.

This is consistent with my feeling on it as well. I bought my first XJ in 2003 and became a member of NAXJA not long after that. I stopped paying to be a member in 2007 (IIRC). That's when signal to noise became more trouble than it was worth. The Den can only keep your attention so long.

For us Canucks there is little else at NAXJA other than the tech forums in spite of the "North American" moniker on the club. I'd expect the feeling might be similar in Mexico. In my opinion NAXJA is mis-named.

That's not a criticism by the way. In order to have a practical chapter for Ontario (for example) you'd likely have to have at least four or five chapters alone. Between population density, distance and just the level of involvement that people running XJs would want now it is not practical. I'd expect similar for British Columbia, Alberta and possibly some of the other provinces. Québec is a whole other manner.

There are no Canadian 4x4 clubs (of any marque) to my knowledge. I suppose the closest thing would be the Canadian arm of the TLCA but I don't know how consistent that is.

The XJ owner demographic sliding younger and younger doesn't help either. I think the reason why TLCA has been more successful in this regard is that the entry level is higher which implies older (i.e. more focused) membership.

We have a pretty good representation of XJs in our local club (ovo.ca). To be honest at my stage of life I'm only really interested in hanging out with one or two other guys that happen to not be into the club thing. One of them isn't even a Jeep guy.

Just some observations.