'04 Vs. '05 Wranglers

As my other posts have mentioned, I am considering getting a Wrangler. I will probably pick from dealer inventory, as I have zero patience to wait for my jeep. With that said- I would prefer these options:
A/C
Cruise
Full Windows/glass
5/6 speed manual

I was looking at Unlimted and Sport models. The Unlimited doesn't have an MT yet does it? However, I found that most Wrangler X's have everything I want except the full door, minus about $2000 in cost.

Is there a better year 04 vs. 05, especially in the Unlimited?
Can I buy the full doors after market?
I noticed I had axle and gear ratio options? any suggestions- is the stock option ok?
Any other options that i would want?

TIA-PRL

the lower the better for gears, then you can wait longer before buying new gears if you get bigger tires. I think I remember reading that the 05 Unlimited will have the Rubicon package available and a 6 speed stick to go with it.

2004s are 5-speed, 2005s will be 6-speed. The Unlimited is available only with automatic for 2004. In 2005, the Unlimited will be available with auto or 6-speed, and there will be a Rubicon version availablefor 2005.

You can also order an extra set of doors too, though I'd prefer the full doors with the hard top and then pickup a set of safari doors for the soft top season. That way you can leave the full doors and hard top at home...

Local dealer has a 05 Unlimited on showroom floor w/6spd,hard top ,AC,3.73 gears /wD44 and 30 " tires
Sticker price is $26,000
Wayne

prljeep said:

Any other options that i would want?

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Dunno what you would want, but I would definitely want the 30" tire option with the Dana 44 axle. The fact that this option includes 3.73 gears is a plus.

I would also get a Trac-Lok. You might prefer to leave the dif open and add a locker.

Anyone know if the Unlimited is built off the Liberty platform?

How are TJ/YJ as everyday drivers? (I doubt anyone here will say they suck, but)

Could a Wrangler tow my MJ, a 22' boat, and a waverunner (not at the same time)?

How do Wrangler stack up in snow? I have had 2 Explorers (which were OK) and an MJ (which had a broken 4x4 and ran well as a 2wd with 200lbs in the bed).

Thanks all

prljeep said:

Anyone know if the Unlimited is built off the Liberty platform?

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I doubt it, since they are two radically different beasts. Actually, I know it isn't, because I recently saw a photo (somewhere) of TJs and LJs being built simultaneously on the same assembly line.

The unlimited is just a longer TJ. The '05 Unlimited Rubicon with the 6-speed is what I would buy. I think it would tow your stuff but it's not build to be a tow rig so it probably wouldn't be ideal.

prljeep said:

Anyone know if the Unlimited is built off the Liberty platform?

How are TJ/YJ as everyday drivers? (I doubt anyone here will say they suck, but)

Could a Wrangler tow my MJ, a 22' boat, and a waverunner (not at the same time)?

How do Wrangler stack up in snow? I have had 2 Explorers (which were OK) and an MJ (which had a broken 4x4 and ran well as a 2wd with 200lbs in the bed).

Thanks all

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1St question, no, they are built on a longer wrangler frame.

2nd question, good, suprisingly even over long distances, I'm 6'6" ~250lbs and back in late august drove one of our two up to cape cod from the pocconos and back, my son drove his all the way. They handle nice, ride nice, the new sail cloth factory soft tops are, from what I hear, quieter than the the hard tops but even the besttop replacement tops we put on this past spring are really not that noisy and with the vent or A/C on kind of inflates the top and windows out.

3rd question, waver runner for sure, seen two of them behind wranglers at different times, the boat, maybe carefully, same with flat towing an MJ, carefully. The things are short after all and both the boat and MJ are pretty heavy though the brakes on both TJ's seem pretty strong even though they are running 30x9.50 BFG's on them.

4th question, fun in the snow though you do have to stay on top of them, they will switch end for end on ice pretty quick but they are also darn heavy, they may be smaller than the XJ but they a bit heavier foot for foot. We'll findout how good the new LSD's in the 35's work this winter as well as the auburn in my XJ's 8.25....