need a lift that can tow a car trailor, have ideas but no experience, help?

Hello everyone, here is post #1
just bought my first XJ, an 01 sport auto LPD30/D35

i need to convert it into a trail rated daily driver that can tow my race buggy (1300 lbs) and gets me to work, and run the off highway trails out to the hunting grounds and to the remote lakes. i already have a off road only long travel buggy, this xj needs to be a milder street legal version. its alot to ask i know.but im not going to be out foot to the wood snapping axles with this rig,

Looking at all these lifts on the market, its easy to get sucked into the bigger is better kinda game (been there done that) but previous experience is telling me to resist and keep it on the simple side..

i already have 4 new 31x10.5 MT baja MTZ's for the street, and 4 new 31x12.5 SS boggers for play, i need to be able to fit them both, on whatever back space rims are required to get the job done.

Im thinkin my best bet would be to get an OME 2-2.5" lift with the 180Lb springs and LCA's, a JKS T case lowering skid, adj track bar and discos, and bushwhacker cut out flat flares. i imagine this should allow me enough lift to get a little better up travel on the trails and a better stance over all, yet still be able to squeeze under the low hangers in the bush.
the cut out flairs look like they will allow me to run a 31" tire through its full cycle. but i could be way off?
i would think that the 180lb springs would be better for towing, altho a ruffer less flexy ride but i can deal with that, and that the JKS skid will keep my drive shaft angles closer to stock without having a big boat anchor hanging underneath and keeping the vibes down without the need of a SYE,
i would either go OME shocks or tried and true bilstines. i will also re gear from my 3.55 ratio to a 4.10 ratio to compensate for the tire change + some
i was also thinking of keeping my factory LSD in the rear (it still works but will get a rebuild anyhow) and going to some type of selectable locker in the front,its a D30 i know, but its really more to get me across ruts and de activated roads, i need to have at least one axle with the option of full lock, selectable is the only way im willing to go now after previous experience with other types of lockers in what was ment to be a daily driver. again, not for crazy wheeling, just want lots of traction so i dont get stuck.

i have looked at long arm kits and all the other stuff on the market, but i cant really find much info on geometery of such kits, so i cant really imagine how they would function on a vehicle towing a trailor.

i have no Xj backgound so i am guessing at what works and what does not at the moment, i dont want to do things twice.. and im pretty sure if a play my cards right, i will end up with a do it all half decent XJ.

what do you think?

thanks for your time, I need to start ordering parts ASAP, but thought it would be good to ask for opinions before shelling out the $$

sounds like you've got it pretty much figured out. in my opinion i would go with a 3 inch lift.i have a friend of mine who has a Cherokee that has air bags in the rear for when he tows . but he is running Rusty's springs because they are soft.i have a 96 with 3 inch lift Rubicon Moab wheels with 245/75/16 Mtr's.and still run 3.55's.for normal use 3.55 are ok. but for towing i would definitely go with 4.10's. the 30 is not all that bad.i have alloy axels and a full time Aussie locker. and running an Ec ted electric locker in the rear,but i have a 44.if your towing id do the super 35 kit with the larger axles and locker.

thanks, if you were to go 3" of lift, would it be all spring??, i dunno about the XJ, but on my previous suzuki, lifted springs were a stiff way of getting easy lift, i went SPOA on stock springs to allow them to flex better than stock but also lift.. i know this is not a suzuki, and is not 4 wheel leaf, but i would think that in the rear, leafs would act the same on both vehicles, again, no experience with the XJ.


i was only thinking 2" lift to avoid drive line problems, i have never run ANY lift in an XJ, so i dont know how high one can go on stock drive shafts without any problems, reading online i see that around 3" a SYE/D shaft become recomended, that i dont really understand, either you need it or you dont i would think, i will get a 3" and do the sye and buy a D shaft also if need be, i just figured as close to stock setup would keep things simple. you guys tell me what works please

The weight of the buggy doesn't seem bad. The weight of the trailer is what I would be concerned with. I've had car trailers make a 3/4 ton sag. You can load the trailer on the tail but that doesn't make for good road manners. The lift, tire size, and gears I think are good choices. The 30 is plenty strong even with the LP for what you plan on using it for. The 35 is a weak link. Get a 8.25 29 spline off CL or on here and re-gear that when you do the gears.

air bags would work even better i would think, keep the nice 150lb spring for a good ride and let the air bags take the brunt when need be.
i have not looked into the ARB stuff yet, but can the compressor for those ARB's fill a small res tank and the air bags? never used an ARB or bags before, but have been out in a YJ with ARB up front & detroit, being able to disco the front diff sure was nice for the super tight, make it or fall off the cliff corners

My brother has a 99 XJ that has taken some heavy body damage and is probably going to get rid of it sooner than later, it has a HP D30 up front and the 8.25" rear with open diffs, i figured i would pick those up if he ditches his XJ, if not i know where i can get my hands on tow package cherokee with the 44 rear end that i can buy, did these not come 4:56?
but i already have the 30/35 4:10 gears so i figured i would use them, but if its going to be a problem i wont bother.
i do have a friend with a YJ with D30/35 open diff setup on 33" BFMT with 4:88 gears, and we have taken that jeep to most places we wanted to get to, and never broke anything yet
also, it looks like a guy would want to install rear disc brakes (i have on every vehicle i own) especially on a C clip axle, if the axle did break by chance, would the caliper not keep things together?

i have always used a work trailor and work truck to haul the buggy around, big truck big trailor, way overkill. i will build a new trailor light weight custom fit to the buggy once the XJ is set up, this way eveything will work as it should, no miss matched gear

XJs didn't come 4.56 except for a possibly mythical auto 4 cyl tow package equipped model. The 35 is weak, especially if you're pushing the XJ's limits on towing.

I would caution you on towing a car trailer behind an XJ.

Hmm your options are wide open. If it was me, as mentioned look for a 29spline 8.25. Get rid of the 35 turd. The LP30 up front is more than likely fine. But I would go HP if it was me. I have also heard great things about aussie lunch box lockers. Maybe that could be an option up front. Might be something for you to research. If I was towing on 31's I would want 4.56 gears over 4.10's. And as mentioned I would do like a 3.5" lift and not worry about cutting the fenders and installing bushcrapper flares. Leave the stock ones on. But this is your rig and your build. For your 31x12.5's I would just bumpstop and be done.

not cutting the fenders is great with me, not to bring up the suzuki again, but i ran 4 rear YJ bush crapper flairs on it and they broke up like mad and soon were replaced with 4 factory rear YJ flairs, only reason i was considering the flats was because of the supposed more flexible construction,

honestly, i would like to leave the cherokee looking as stock as possible other than the lift/tires, but i figured keeping the lift lower and opening up the fenders instead, would help for towing?

Boost_Retard said:

Im thinkin my best bet would be to get an OME 2-2.5" lift with the 180Lb springs

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Do the OME 3" lift with the heavy-duty springs and an OME add-a-leaf for the rears. This is exactly the setup I went with on my lift as I occasionally tow as well, and I have no regrets with having chosen it. Unladen the rear can be stiff going over speed bumps, but with a trailer on there it wouldn't make sense to have not included the AAL.

and LCA's

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At 3" you can probably skip those. I ran stock UCAs and LCAs at 3" for over a year with no issues.

a JKS T case lowering skid,

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Do not do this. You have the LP30 up front, and it typically does not play well with transfer case drops. Degree shims in the rear leaf pack will probably be sufficient to get the pinion pointed up to where it needs to be, but be prepared for possibly needing an SYE and driveshaft at that height.

adj track bar and discos,

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Yes on both.

and bushwhacker cut out flat flares.

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Your call on these, but depending on how you manage the positioning of the wheels and bumpstops, they may not be necessary even with the 31x12.5" boggers.

the cut out flairs look like they will allow me to run a 31" tire through its full cycle. but i could be way off?

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Doable with a 31x10.5" and stock flares at that height. To reiterate: bumpstops. They should be extended.

i would think that the 180lb springs would be better for towing, altho a ruffer less flexy ride

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The OME HD leafs are very flexible, even with an AAL in there.

i would either go OME shocks

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Yes.

i will also re gear from my 3.55 ratio to a 4.10 ratio to compensate for the tire change

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Yes.

i was also thinking of keeping my factory LSD in the rear (it still works but will get a rebuild anyhow)

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Don't bother rebuilding it if it still works. Change the gear oil and friction modifier and put that time, money, and effort you just saved towards a locker in the future instead.

and going to some type of selectable locker in the front,its a D30 i know

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I'd lock the rear ahead of the front, personally, and any selectable locker for the front should be fully-open when unlocked. Just my opinion, but having had a locker that acts as an LSD up front for the past three-and-a-half years, I really wish that there had been another electrically-selectable option for the D30 when I did mine.

i have looked at long arm kits

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Not needed at 3".

Add extended brake lines to your list; I don't see them on there and you will want them.

Which transfer case do you have? I didn't see it mentioned in your post.

brake lines are on the list, just forgot to post
3" HD would do just fine, and i figured the OME shocks would be good considering the reviews i have read, but its good to get first hand feed back, thanks

i can pretty much guarantee that stock controll arms will work for me strength wise, i had really set my mind on using stock controll arms because i thought they would be well within reason for a mild lift also, i only thought of LCS for rash resistance if they were to rub on somtheing, i would be running factory rubber style bushings either way.

thanks for the advice on the T case drop idea, things i would not know otherwise

the reason why i was thinking of keeping the rear LSD, is that it works better than expected at the moment. it has gotten me through snow every morning that i would never get through with an open diff, and its not aggressive in any way on the icy road. its far from premium, but it does work, every day on the way to work, at least half dozen vehicles get sideways and stuck on this steep grade to the mine in the snow, the jeep hauls in 2wd where others are getting stuck in 4 wd

2001 xj sport, 4dr 4.0L AW4 NP231 D30F D35R/LSD 3.55:1 154k Kilometers bone stock
i just sold my ZJ also bone stock but it had the NP242

just a heads up i would do the sye with the towing your planning to do. if you buy the right sye kit you can run a stock front shaft in the rear.

Boost_Retard said:

i only thought of LCS for rash resistance if they were to rub on somtheing, i would be running factory rubber style bushings either way.

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They hold up pretty well. I wouldn't want to come down hard directly on one of the LCAs, but depending on the type of wheeling you do they may be OK. I'd tend to run the stock ones for a while, see how you like them, then decide on whether or not upgrading the control arms is worth it at this height.

the reason why i was thinking of keeping the rear LSD, is that it works better than expected at the moment.

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Oh, definitely keep it - it beats an open rear any day of the week. What I was recommending not doing was rebuilding it; if it's functional, it makes better sense to just leave it be.

thanks for all the info everyone, i am going to make some calls today and see about picking up a better rear end to swap in when im doing the lift, if the 35 is really no good for towing, i will need to find something that can do the job without worry.

also it looks like i should lift it first, then see if the fender trimming is needed.

thanks again