Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum!
If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page.
Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.
The long and short of it is what you want to use your rig for. Once you establish that, you can make a judgement for which setup is a better setup for you. You can box the unibody for added strength.
The uni body is just that the frame and body are one piece, in actuallity it is more flexible a nd stronger under certain circumstances than a standard frame, the flexability is one of the reasons teh XJ wheel well and also why under extreme circumstances it developes cracks in the body.
ya its fun when wheelin to listen to something no other rig can while wheelin. Body flex!! I actually love that sound. It tells me my xj is having fun!
Actually, you can have a stiffer overall vehicle with a unibody than you may have with a body on frame. Look at the back of the cab on most pickup trucks that have been wheeled. there is a reason for the dents that are there at the top of the box! A properly designed unibody carries and distributes the stresses throughout the whole body. however a full frame will handle a load that is inline with the framerails, "eg. towing, plowing, ect" much better than a unibody ever could. A formula car is essentially a "unibody", Just like our jeeps
Theorectically speaking, a unibody is better: it is stronger and lighter because it doesn't duplicate metal (the body on a frame on body is doing nothing but sitting there - it's not helping). But it is more expensive to design and build, more difficult to modify, and more prone to injury - with a frame-on-body design, if you get in a wreck you MAY damage the frame... with a unibody, if you get in a wreck you have damaged the frame.
Not just F1 cars, but GTX (Le Mans) and most high-end sports cars (Ferrari's, Lotus, etc.) use unibody (monocoque) construction. Although, many sports cars use a tube-chasiss in addition to the monocoque construction.
How would you box a unibody? I have seen the T&J stiffeners but I have not seen an XJ that has been boxed. Also, would welding on the unibody frame channel not be a good choice since they are not very thick or sdoes that not matter?
The long and short of it is what you want to use your rig for. Once you establish that, you can make a judgement for which setup is a better setup for you. You can box the unibody for added strength.
What I want to do is trail ride (Colorado Mountains, etc.), climb some hills and play in a little mud. No rock crawling for me thanks. Nothing too, too crazy (I still need to get back home).
check the years on my trucks. the cherokee is a 89 and a 4 door the 4runner is a 85 2 door. big differance between a 98 4runner 4 door 6cyl and a 85 2 door 4cyl fiberglass top 4runner.
and there are differnt frames too like ford, dodge, chevy, all have chanle frames where as my toy has a box frame big differance. that body flex is not there in toys.
check the years on my trucks. the cherokee is a 89 and a 4 door the 4runner is a 85 2 door. big differance between a 98 4runner 4 door 6cyl and a 85 2 door 4cyl fiberglass top 4runner.
Dude, when you compare things, they have to be relatively the same...or else it is not a comparison. What you are doing is like comparing a Ford Courier to a brand new Super Duty...it just dont work.
So called "full frames" are NOT stronger nor are they stiffer. The unibody of the Cherokee is definitely stiffer than a ladder frame design or a peripheral frame design and are actually less prone to roll overs. When a ladder framed rig gets one tire in the air, it flexes like a spring and tends to pull that corner downward. (The Cherokee frame flexes too, but at a much higher frequency and with much less deflection.) I've run obstacles with no trouble at all that had the ladder frame guys sucking their seats up their buttocks- CJs, Wranglers, Chevy Blazers and Toyota trucks to name a few; ones that I have observed personally.
The Cherokee is an excellent off-roader, offering better manuverability, internal space and stability than any other I can think short of a custom built tube framed buggy
and there are differnt frames too like ford, dodge, chevy, all have chanle frames where as my toy has a box frame big differance. that body flex is not there in toys.
Lower profile than a ladder style frame i.e. lower centre of gravity.
Con's
Accidents are guaranteed to cause frame damage.
The torsional stiffness can create very large stress concentrations which can blow welds and start cracks....... these then intensify the problem.
Sandwich design of the unirail can allow rust to get in between layers lowering the longevity of the design in "rust belt" areas.
Body work can be a pain as the rear quarter panel sections are not bolted on. Also, unlike most body on frame vehicles body repair on a unibody truck has to be welded and structurally sound (depending on the area being worked on)
Welding to a unibody truck can be tough due to the thin material.
You can't do body lifts.
Tow hooks require special bracketry to distribute the loads.
ok so a 4cly 85 2door bare cherokee is about 200 lbs lighter than a 85 4cyl 2door 4runner thats about as close of a comarison as you can get as was last year for soild axle. as for frame on my old 85 pickup when you would put it in a spot to realy twist it it would show no sings of twist as with full size you do see twist. hope i can give you guys more to yap about.
