Lone Wolf 87

First and foremost, sorry MODs, I wasn't sure where t put this thread, hopefully I put his in the right place.

Anyways, I traded in my JKU for a Toyota Tacoma. I love my Tacoma and wouldn't mind modding it to go off road, but I am leaning toward just building an trail-only vehicle. In my mind Jeeps are the king off off roading, so I want to stick with them, but would also be open to other makes, like an vitage Ford Bronco, or a vntage Toyota FJ, or hell even a Suzuki Samurai. I think you guys get the point. But the main focus is keeping costs down and to have parts readily available and cheap. So the XJ cherokee automatically came to mind. I was also looking into an older TJ, but the aftermarket prices are still sorta up there. What about Jeep trucks? Thanks in advance!

Zpack

Having owned 3 xjs and a cj in the past and taking all of them Offroad, I would say I would look for a cheap samurai or yj. Simply because of the cost and ease of building. I've toyed with the idea of building a samurai but don't have the funds for a Offroad only you at this point. There are also a lot of old yjs out there that can be built up for cheap and are fun to wheel. I'm from Ohio so our trails are primarily just wide enough for a jeeps so that's why I personally would buy something smaller than a full size.

Xjs are fun to wheel an the extra space is nice but the unibody design has its flaws especially Offroad and depending on how high you want to go could affect that. They do have a good aftermarket and can be found relatively easily for a good price. I didn't think I'd ever buy anything other than an xj for a long time..... Until a friend picked up a jk. If you do look for an xj 99 was my favorite year, had the better Dana 30 up front and didn't have the head issues the 00 and 01 had.

Kind of long winded but hopefully it helps

Lone Wolf 87

Yeah I'm trying to stay small cause the only realy place to off road here is in Rausch Creek, and it's all woods. I mean I could probably fit my tacoma on the trails with my dual cab and 6ft bed, but I got spoiled with my older 2 dr jk. I was looking at some of the 4cyl jeeps, but am not sure if they'd be able to turn 33" or 35" tires.

Edit: no that's perfect, thanks Zpack!

OJK12

4 cylinder would do fine with either tire as long as you gear it right. I had a TJ with 4" and 33's and a 4 and I also had a TJ with the 6 and 4" and 33's and because the 6 only had 3:07 gears while the 4 had 4:10's they actually ran about the same and the only place I noticed the diff was on the interstate. The 4's are also known to outlast the 6's x2 and cost less. I'd own another one. I wheel with a guy that has an XJ and he goes everywhere I go in my 2dr JK. We wheel at Rock Run in Patton PA and its very tight so an XJ would fit good as would your taco but the jeep would be better!!!

Zpack

Buddy had a four banger on 35's and turned them fine, hes right its all about gearing.

Ryan0260

I know a guy that turns 38's with the 4 banger. Like you said its all about the gearing

Noxian

And articulation, if you can keep the tires planted and let the gearing do the work you wont need much power.

Lone Wolf 87

Wow, I guess I really underestimated the 4cyl. I still gotta compare the prices of aftermarket parts for the YJ against the XJ. So what are the cons of having a unibody on the trail? I see the trail guides at Rausch Creek driving XJs so I figure, use what the pros use right haha? I know it's mainly b/c of price. In my area I can get a XJ for under $1000. Of course it's not street-able, but that's perfect for me.

As far as 6cyl vs 4cyl in the YJ, how do they stack against each other as far as reliability and price of parts?

Thanks again everyone. And yeah, it seems I'm a little biased toward the XJ, but that's only b/c it's the one I've researched more... and now on to google to do homework on the YJ Jeeps.

1BAMFR

I would do a wrecked or salvage title 07' 4 door JK...build it up and make it a trail queen!

Lone Wolf 87

Man I would love to do that, but the budget I'm saving up for around $2000 - $3000 grand for a vehicle. Heck, that might be a little high, ideally under $2000, but 3 is my max.