I am a tall big boned skinny guy with huge legs (from cycling). I have set in every vehicle that has any kind of all wheel drive and ground clearance. We road trip and have done 18 hour days with two kids in the car. Comfort is important. If it matters I have short legs and a long torso. On the commander I believe that jeep pushed the firewall forward which made the transmission tunnel bigger. The grand cherokee and most jeep products, do not have much front foot room. The commander is the worst of all. It forces legs into an unnatural angle. If you can live with the seating position it is a good value, but comfort is not a compromise I would be willing to make no matter how much money it saves me.
Whats the story with the Commander?
- Thread starter zolo
- Start date
I agree I wouldnt make that compromise either. Thats probably the single biggest concern for an expo rig; will you be able to take a day or more at the wheel? Thats why I didnt buy a wrangler until the new interior, in the 07-10 my knee always rested on hard plastic and the was no place for my left elbow....couldnt take more than a couple of hours driving like that.
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
There are a TON of the CRD GC's in Victoria where I live, the are very popular in Canada... quite a few Liberty's and Dakota's got ordered before Chrysler had to drop that motor (thanks California Laws). There are also a lot of the Commanders on the road here...and on the trails. They seem to do quite well off road, even with stock trim. There are some vids of them keeping up with the Wranglers and Cherokee's and the like on some of our tight twisty treed trails.
They do need to pick their lines, but they seem to be a decent off highway vehicle. I love the look, but have never sat in one let alone driven one. I have a Cherokee Classic (2000), it is pretty tight in there too, so I might feel right at home!
They do need to pick their lines, but they seem to be a decent off highway vehicle. I love the look, but have never sat in one let alone driven one. I have a Cherokee Classic (2000), it is pretty tight in there too, so I might feel right at home!
Sal-XK
Observer
I think and I am bias that the Commander (XK) makes a awesome expo rig. I have been modding mine for almost two years now and it's coming along nicely and the after market support has doubled since I started. I have wheeled the crap out of my XK as well and it has yet to let me down. I mostly go wheeling with heavily modded wranglers and I can take the same lines or path as they do about 75% of the time. I should say that the after market parts you can purchase are considerably more expensive then for other brands like the cheapest sliders you can buy that will do the job are $600. It has plenty of power a giant stock alternator which I like. As stated the QT2 and QD2 dirve systems are awesome the QD2 has ELSD it will lock axle when wheel slip is detected and I've seen it work and it works great. QT2 uses brake torque traction control which works well just less predictable but a rear locker is available. I sleep in the back a lot and it's very comfortable with my air mattress and the rear heat keeps you warm on those cold nights. Also considering its tow rating and the available heavy duty springs putting weight on this rig is no issue. MPG's really stink but I get 15MPG loaded down highway my buddy in his JK on 38" can't get that empty. You can check my build thread out. Also you can check my YouTube page out plenty of wheeling the XK and WK's on there right Scott?
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SSF556
SE Expedition Society
I think and I am bias that the Commander (XK) makes a awesome expo rig. I have been modding mine for almost two years now and it's coming along nicely and the after market support has doubled since I started. I have wheeled the crap out of my XK as well and it has yet to let me down. I mostly go wheeling with heavily modded wranglers and I can take the same lines or path as they do about 75% of the time. I should say that the after market parts you can purchase are considerably more expensive then for other brands like the cheapest sliders you can buy that will do the job are $600. It has plenty of power a giant stock alternator which I like. As stated the QT2 and QD2 dirve systems are awesome the QD2 has ELSD it will lock axle when wheel slip is detected and I've seen it work and it works great. QT2 uses brake torque traction control which works well just less predictable but a rear locker is available. I sleep in the back a lot and it's very comfortable with my air mattress and the rear heat keeps you warm on those cold nights. Also considering its tow rating and the available heavy duty springs putting weight on this rig is no issue. MPG's really stink but I get 15MPG loaded down highway my buddy in his JK on 38" can't get that empty. You can check my build thread out. Also you can check my YouTube page out plenty of wheeling the XK and WK's on there right Scott?
Sal wheels his Commander..seen it first hand. The XK/WK are great practical rigs. I like the that they are sleepers in the expo world......
zolo
Explorer
I think and I am bias that the Commander (XK) makes a awesome expo rig. I have been modding mine for almost two years now and it's coming along nicely and the after market support has doubled since I started. I have wheeled the crap out of my XK as well and it has yet to let me down. I mostly go wheeling with heavily modded wranglers and I can take the same lines or path as they do about 75% of the time. I should say that the after market parts you can purchase are considerably more expensive then for other brands like the cheapest sliders you can buy that will do the job are $600. It has plenty of power a giant stock alternator which I like. As stated the QT2 and QD2 dirve systems are awesome the QD2 has ELSD it will lock axle when wheel slip is detected and I've seen it work and it works great. QT2 uses brake torque traction control which works well just less predictable but a rear locker is available. I sleep in the back a lot and it's very comfortable with my air mattress and the rear heat keeps you warm on those cold nights. Also considering its tow rating and the available heavy duty springs putting weight on this rig is no issue. MPG's really stink but I get 15MPG loaded down highway my buddy in his JK on 38" can't get that empty. You can check my build thread out. Also you can check my YouTube page out plenty of wheeling the XK and WK's on there right Scott?
SO this rig is sitting on 2" lift with 1.5" spacers outside the struts and rear coils?
Total of 3.5 of lift? Looks good.
OME also makes a lift for this rig anyone have exsperience with that set up?
Sure seems like a hell of a truck for the current prices.
SSF556
SE Expedition Society
OME hd is the way to go i think....even though Sal's setup works well. I will be doing the OME in the near future.
I got all the armore underneath plus the sliders and my stock grand goes a lot of places.
Sal-XK
Observer
The OME HD setup seems like a sweet setup and lots of guys are running it and loving the setup. The super lift design is pretty good and gets you to a 4" lift safely addressing all the drive line issues. I was going to get the SL but for just $2k more I can swap to a SFA on a 6" lift and I think I will save up for that option. I've been slowly but steadily turning this into a expo rig and I'm loving it. I should have my dual battery setup complete in a few days. The great thing is even putting 1000LBS of gear in and on this rig the power handles it well and the suspension upgraded of course has no issues with it. Wheeling fully loaded I've been pretty happy with it. I do wheel a lot but it always serves a purpose toward expo. I see it as field testing for that dream trip I will take some day LOL. The XK has great bones and of course you can turn anything into an awesome rig with enough money, but even with just a budget lift and 32" tires I was going places most other full size 4x4 would not venture. Also consider the entry price you can get a fully loaded 06-07 for under 17k you can't beat that. I can't tell you how many times I've rolled up the windows and kicked the air on and popped in a DVD for the kids while crawling down a trail. 
I did a 15k mile road trip (mostly on road) around the country in my Commander when my wife deployed.. I hit 27 states and did some mild offroading in CO, MI, NC, and FL. This was all done with my twin 2 year olds.
I find it to be the perfect family expo/mid level wheeler. I pack it to the gills and just roll..
I did a Jeep Jamboree a few months ago and I was the only Commander and you can hear in this video all the Wrangler guys talking about how well the 4wd system works.
If you are familiar with Big Bear, CA spots the video is on Gold Mountain.
I've got a 2.25" budget boost lift, 32" Goodyear Silent Armors, and some extra armor..
[video]https://s-static.ak.facebook.com/rsrc.php/v1/yF/r/WE6KXRY0dum.swf?v=1891737585334&ev=0[/video]
My only complaint is gas mileage, but it is a Jeep with a Hemi after all, so it really isn't the mileage that bothers me but more the tank size.
I find it to be the perfect family expo/mid level wheeler. I pack it to the gills and just roll..
I did a Jeep Jamboree a few months ago and I was the only Commander and you can hear in this video all the Wrangler guys talking about how well the 4wd system works.
If you are familiar with Big Bear, CA spots the video is on Gold Mountain.
I've got a 2.25" budget boost lift, 32" Goodyear Silent Armors, and some extra armor..
[video]https://s-static.ak.facebook.com/rsrc.php/v1/yF/r/WE6KXRY0dum.swf?v=1891737585334&ev=0[/video]
My only complaint is gas mileage, but it is a Jeep with a Hemi after all, so it really isn't the mileage that bothers me but more the tank size.
Mrknowitall
Adventurer
Greg- Wait- WHAT??? You guys got to buy Dakotas with a CRD? I'm about to roll on the floor, throwing a baby tantrum down here.
The Commander was offered in GHermany with the MB 3.0 V6 diesel. with that engine and without the 3rd row, it would make an excellent rig. I have a friend with a AWD V6, who claims he regularly breaks 20mpg with it. He drives straight country roads, which is about optimal for fuel economy. His doesn't have the 3rd row, and THAT gives you a nice amount of cargo space. The downfall of his is the fact that it has a single speed t-case.
So unless you're in Europe, where you can pick up an old Patrol in every other town, you'll get dismal fuel economy or limited off-road capability.
The Commander was offered in GHermany with the MB 3.0 V6 diesel. with that engine and without the 3rd row, it would make an excellent rig. I have a friend with a AWD V6, who claims he regularly breaks 20mpg with it. He drives straight country roads, which is about optimal for fuel economy. His doesn't have the 3rd row, and THAT gives you a nice amount of cargo space. The downfall of his is the fact that it has a single speed t-case.
So unless you're in Europe, where you can pick up an old Patrol in every other town, you'll get dismal fuel economy or limited off-road capability.
Calin.Macrinici
Observer
Import an engine and install it in a cheap XK? Import a car all together? Maybe it is worth it, after all the Germans have environmental laws, which means the truck has all it needs to pass here. Also the exact same engine was quite a success in the WK.
Alternately wait on the next big Commander from Chrysler and hope it's not a $60,000 Durango like and that it has a diesel, even if it's a Fiat based one
Mrknowitall
Adventurer
Hold the phone- they put a diesel in the Dakota up there? Bastards!
The trouble I see with the XK is that we never got the right combinations (here)- the V6 drives fine if you're not in a hurry and actually gets decent fuel economy (a friend claims 20 highway). It was saddled with the AWD t-case. No 4Low. A swap to a 2-speed case shouldn't be too difficult.
Base models also could be hasd w/o the (useless) 3rd row. Then there's a ton a cargo space back there. Suppose you could always rip it out and put a sweet drawer system back there.
The XK was sold in Europe with the CRD option. It was spec'd to be quicker than the 4.7V8 and got great milage. They go for very reasonable money on the used market. Need to do some research about importing one, since the engine should be compliant. Hmmmmmm