Favorite mods for expo'ing the XJ?

So, I have this fantasy life in which I take the XJ on long trips involving lots of dirt roads & mild to moderate wheeling, camping & hiking. Nothing I'd need a lift for, 2" & 30" tires at most.
I've been focused on trying to squeeze as many mpg as I can out of the jeep. I have torn up but comfy ZJ seats up front, LED interior lighting, factory gas tank & tcase skids, tow hooks, trans cooler, trailer hitch, dual electric fans, headlight harness & high wattage bulbs... some other odds & ends.
But what else have you long-haulers done that you think really made the jeep more enjoyable on trips?

A 3 or 4 inch thick foam mattress for the back makes for a really good night's sleep if you are 6 foot or less. Very nice to not have to setup a tent. At KOH last year, I slept in the back with my 6 year old boy, and even used the coleman camp stove inside to cook breakfast since it was so windy.

One thing that makes long dirt road trips nice, is onboard air so you can run 15psi on the dirt to soak up the bumps, and then air up when needed.

12 volt fridge to keep stuff cold.

Removable interior panels.
I got a case of mres and 18 water bottles in one side.
backups for the backups.

A good set of tools, and an electrical bag.
When I used to wheel with a wrangler club, the electrical bag saved the day on multiple occasions. Everyone had wrenches, nobody had elec repair stuff

ZJ/WJ seat swaps were the best thing I ever did in my XJ's as far as comfort- on and off road.

Do an OME lift, some good OME or Bilstien Shocks. Keep it simple should be the motto on most upgrades, you want parts you can replace almost anywhere with an expo rig.

IslanderOffRoad said:

ZJ/WJ seat swaps were the best thing I ever did in my XJ's as far as comfort- on and off road.

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I didn't know WJ seats would swap... awesome. I'll look for those, as my ZJ seats are pretty whooped.

I've got $50 into my LED interior, if that, and it's totally worth it. Better light quality & more of it overall. If I have a door open, even on a moonless night & under tree cover I can see everything that's in the Jeep like it was daylight. Map lights are now good enough to read a map without my glasses. Just look up which bulb numbers you need & buy them on Ebay.

I'll try and get some OBA and maybe a fridge, too. Good ideas.
I probably won't lift the jeep but if I do... JK shocks. Easily available.

What else are guys doing? And which tires do people like? I kind of want another set of Cooper Discoverer's in an LT. Right now I'm on Kumo "P" series tires that I won't trust in rocks.

Mtr-k
traction is on par with the km2, but with much better road manners

yossarian19 said:

I didn't know WJ seats would swap... awesome. I'll look for those, as my ZJ seats are pretty whooped.

I've got $50 into my LED interior, if that, and it's totally worth it. Better light quality & more of it overall. If I have a door open, even on a moonless night & under tree cover I can see everything that's in the Jeep like it was daylight. Map lights are now good enough to read a map without my glasses. Just look up which bulb numbers you need & buy them on Ebay.

I'll try and get some OBA and maybe a fridge, too. Good ideas.
I probably won't lift the jeep but if I do... JK shocks. Easily available.

What else are guys doing? And which tires do people like? I kind of want another set of Cooper Discoverer's in an LT. Right now I'm on Kumo "P" series tires that I won't trust in rocks.

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Yes, WJ seats are bolt in to 97-up XJ's just like the ZJ's. Super comfy.
If you go with an elec fridge make sure you get a legit one that is a fridge/freezer, not just one of those keep cool elec. coolers.

Since there are usually rebates (factory and treadlightly.org) I would probably go with a set of GY Duratrac's or MTR-k's my MTR-k's have about 10k on them and they still look new.
Otherwise, here is a list of All-terrain tires I recommend

Bridgestone Dueler AT - REVO or 695
Dayton Timberline AT
Falken Wildpeak AT/Rocky Mountain ATS
General grabber AT2, altho I hear from most their MPG went down slightly, but that means they are sticky and which is good on pavement.
Also hear that the Cooper AT3 is much improved over the ATR and previous gen.
Cooper STT, altho I do not know the overall mileage they usually get.