ok dont kill me but i do have a serious question...

I know I know how many people have posted here asking "what setup should I run?" !!!1
but my question isn’t what do you guys think I should run more of the what do you guys run and what would you have done different knowing what you know now.

This question is more aimed at the XJers who use their rigs as daily drivers but take it out o the trails and in the mountains, desert, or forests.

I am located in Southwest AZ so a lot of sand but moving to Flagstaff soon and I want to get a feel for what everyone out there in my kind of category is running I am just getting started with my build, understand that I have a wife and kids I will be driving around and I do not major rock crawling just trails and stuff “expedition style” is what I am looking at running as a general guide, plans will change I am sure as the family grows and the wheeling fund is depleted, however I want to minimize any “shady” mods and keep things as safe for the Family as possible. I am not afraid of some fabrication as I am a Machinist by trade and have unlimited access to a Machine and Weld Shop. this is what I am looking at.

Build Dana 44, plus upgrade front D30: Superior Alloy Super 44 with ARB, ZJ disc Conversion. Super 30 with ARB. Both with 4.10s (maybe 4.56) I plan on running 32s maybe 33s

4.5in Rough County lift (short arms for now, may upgrade to long arms down the road)
SYE

Looking to build a 4.6/4.7 stroker down the road (I also have a 26ft Camper I would like to tow)

When I get out of the USMC planning a trip back home to Orange County, NY stopping by Level Ten in Hamburg, NJ for a Trans rebuild.

Eventually ORB front winch bumper w/Smittybuilt X2O 8k winch, Rear bumper with tire carrier.

EDIT: this is what i am thinking to give you guys an idea of where my head is and if any of you have used these parts maybe you have some feed back?

I'm in kind of the same boat as you, just getting started with a DD '00 xj. I am using the same lift that you are talking about, but I bought a set of iron rock adjustable uppers (just be prepared if the kit your looking at has fixed arms). I'd make sure that you have a SYE to install at the same time as your lift.

In my opinion, (worth what you paid for it) if your thinking about long arms now, don't mess around, just get those. I was in a hurry to get a lift on my rig and bought the rc kit, but looking back, I should have done some other things to the jeep first, then saved my pennies and picked up a long arm lift.

in hindsight, stiffeners should have been my first mod

Should've done armor and stroker first. 30's and a BB got me through plenty and the stroker would've been more fun on a more regular basis...

I would not be trying to tow a 26 ft camper with a stock XJ, much less a lifted one. A cherokee is just too small to safely do that, not to mention they have very questionable braking systems.

I upgraded the brakes on my 88 to a dual diaphragm booster, and I won't even tow my 3000 lb boat with it, much less a 5000 lb camper.

I have 2 XJs, and I use my Silverado to tow my 25 ft camper.

I've been DDing my '00 for 8 years now, along with a slew of road trips and a certain amount of trail riding and "expedition" style wheeling.

'Kept it mostly stock, but here's mu advice: Get a gear control switch. The biggest frustration I've had has been the trans controller's programmed lack of a 2nd gear.

As you have a '99 you're limited on choice. The Montana Fab unit works great:
http://montanafab.com/products/
I have this, here's my writeup:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1010278
If you read this thread: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1034635
it tells you how to make a switch that will generally work without throwing an engine code.

Rocker protection/sliders are a good idea.

In hindsight, I'd also recommend a good replacement transmission crossmember. Make or buy something like the Currie product:
http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/Product569.aspx?id=2619

TRCM said:

I would not be trying to tow a 26 ft camper with a stock XJ, much less a lifted one. A cherokee is just too small to safely do that, not to mention they have very questionable braking systems.

I upgraded the brakes on my 88 to a dual diaphragm booster, and I won't even tow my 3000 lb boat with it, much less a 5000 lb camper.

I have 2 XJs, and I use my Silverado to tow my 25 ft camper.

Click to expand...

rear disk brake swap on a D44 or 8.8 and a D44 front with a big double piston caliper would fix that real quick. Booster from an E series van is a popular swap on rangers no idea what works in a jeep...Would definitely put some unibody stiffeners, trans cooler, and a stroker in. Other than that it would be no different than a midsize suv for towing all of which are very happily rated at towing 6K

Let's face it, a tow vehicle the XJ isn't. That said, and automatic will pull the entire 5K it is rated for, you just have to watch out for the "tail wagging the dog" syndrome. I flat towed another XJ with mine. Worked OK, but I took my time. Brake system is all stock (98' with the 8.25" rear).

Since you aren't going to wheel it much, mainy DD, keep it as stock as possible and make only changes which make the most sense.

Armor: Prevents undo damage on those off-road occasions.

Tow Points: Make sure you have them.

Reasonable lift: Look for opportunities to gain ground clearance. 4.5" of lift, 33's, D44 and overbuilt 30 may not be items you may need to accomplish this. If you already have a 8.25 out back, a set of alloy std spline inner and outer axles for the D30 would not be out of line for the larger tires. If you have the 8.25, shave it.

Gears: Bigger tires=steeper gears. Gears needed will depend on auto or manual, and what kind of mileage you are willing to put up with out of your combination. Too small a gear will eat gas, while too deep will eat gas (but be great for towing!).

-Ron

cdawall said:

rear disk brake swap on a D44 or 8.8 and a D44 front with a big double piston caliper would fix that real quick. Booster from an E series van is a popular swap on rangers no idea what works in a jeep...Would definitely put some unibody stiffeners, trans cooler, and a stroker in. Other than that it would be no different than a midsize suv for towing all of which are very happily rated at towing 6K

Click to expand...

I'm not going to tell you what I would've done because I did it and now the Jeep isn't on the road anymore.

But towing a 26 foot trailer is not a good idea in my opinion. You'd be towing a 5000 lb unloaded trailer around with a vehicle that weighs about 3500 lb. If that trailer decided it doesn't want to do what it's supposed to it WILL throw your Jeep around. Even if you do build the suspension to handle a 5k load, the vehicle itself cannot sustain that amount load pushing on it.

My DD currently has a 4.5" lift that will be going up a tad (will not exactly how much until it is in) when I install the new to me rear axle I'm getting from firelt. I will be keeping the D30 and running 4.56:1 gears. I have found an already built D30 and will be getting it this weekend. The back axle should be in my grubby hands in a couple of weeks or so.

Detroit Locker in the back (comes with the axle...) and an ARB to be installed in the front this Spring. P285/75R16 tires. Should be very Streetable and still do OK on the trails.

You really must armor first and foremost. It gets real ugly when you whack a rock and are unprotected. If it can be bent and has the potential to ruin the day, armor it. Gas tank, Transfer Case, Lower Control Arm Mounts (axle end) and Rock Rails are considered basic minimums these days. I have seen what happens to an XJ without rock rails. Guy had to crawl out the window as the door was no longer functional.

Ounce of prevention and all that...

Brake upgrade
Stiffeners
Armor
Lift bout 3"
31" ATs
Recovery

In that order. That's how I roll.

WB9YZU said:

Let's face it, a tow vehicle the XJ isn't. That said, and automatic will pull the entire 5K it is rated for, you just have to watch out for the "tail wagging the dog" syndrome. I flat towed another XJ with mine. Worked OK, but I took my time. Brake system is all stock (98' with the 8.25" rear).

Since you aren't going to wheel it much, mainy DD, keep it as stock as possible and make only changes which make the most sense.

Armor: Prevents undo damage on those off-road occasions.

Tow Points: Make sure you have them.

Reasonable lift: Look for opportunities to gain ground clearance. 4.5" of lift, 33's, D44 and overbuilt 30 may not be items you may need to accomplish this. If you already have a 8.25 out back, a set of alloy std spline inner and outer axles for the D30 would not be out of line for the larger tires. If you have the 8.25, shave it.

Gears: Bigger tires=steeper gears. Gears needed will depend on auto or manual, and what kind of mileage you are willing to put up with out of your combination. Too small a gear will eat gas, while too deep will eat gas (but be great for towing!).

-Ron

Click to expand...

Oh dear lord, I agree with Ron! :helpme:

Like Souske said, stiffeners would be my first mod if I had it to do again. I have a thrashed body because I installed my stiffeners too late. For what you said you will be doing I would just do a cheap 29 spline 8.25 diff and use the money you would have spent on a 44 for other parts.

If I were to do it over again, I would start with frame stiffeners first.

I read a lot of people posting up that they wish they had built what they wanted to end up with first instead of building it up in stages and wasting money, so I started building for 35's or possibly 37's.

Spent a lot of money on long arms and building D44s instead of a small lift and armor, and I haven't wheeled the thing in 2 years. Kind of wish I had just stayed on 31's or 33's and had fun with it instead of keeping it under the knife for so long.

So I would say to prioritize your build in an order that would let you use it while it's being built. That way you will have fun with it and get some experience and a feel for your rig's capabilities.

I am in the same boat you are and I called Dirk at http://www.dpgoffroad.com and he is going to get me going with a really solid lift and everything I need. I would personally call Dirk and talk to him. He is really nice guy and will be more than happy to answer any question you might have on getting your XJ setup right from the beginning. I believe that Dirk has one of the best setups around. He uses OME and JKS and Rubicon Express all mixed to give you that perfect lift.

Thank you guys for your good inputs, I wasn't 100% to towing with the jeep, some of the rv old timers here in Yuma (and we have a lot of them) where saying its "possible" but they wouldn't recommend anything over 5k for sure. As far as the rear D44, I currently have the POS D35 and I got a steal on a 44 ($100) at the pick and pull junk yard in phx, I was shopping around and I found D30/D44 kits for like 3500 ish, I figured either way I have to put some money into the axles for at least lockers/limited slips why not put my best foot forward with a strong setup, I do plan a future stroker. And my lift plans were 3in 4wd hardware kit with adj track bar etc, however rough country seems very well reviewed (and a better deal) I am doing a disc conversion on the rears right now, and I would be interested to see if anyone know of a brake booster for say a 1/4 ton or so that would fit. I will certainly look at stifiners and armor, I will even see what I can fab in the weld shop at work, if anyone is local and wanted to help me design some armor I would gladly make doubles... Just throwing it out there, I figure one hand washes the other plus you never know when you may run into someone on the trail and need some help. Again thanks to everyone who has given some good advise and if you have anything else please send it my way.

1999red2DR4L said:

Again thanks to everyone who has given some good advise and if you have anything else please send it my way.

Click to expand...

Using paragraph breaks to separate trains of thought make it easier to read and understand. Long paragraphs are discouraging to some of us lol, and if we don't wanna read what you're typing you won't get the helpful responses you're looking for. You're gunna hear it from someone sooner or later so here ya go.

:cheers:

mini=man said:

I'm not going to tell you what I would've done because I did it and now the Jeep isn't on the road anymore.

But towing a 26 foot trailer is not a good idea in my opinion. You'd be towing a 5000 lb unloaded trailer around with a vehicle that weighs about 3500 lb. If that trailer decided it doesn't want to do what it's supposed to it WILL throw your Jeep around. Even if you do build the suspension to handle a 5k load, the vehicle itself cannot sustain that amount load pushing on it.

Click to expand...

Stock is rated for 5K. Hell my little pickup weighs 3600lbs and is rated for 6K. Damn near every vehicle made to tow something is outweighed by its load carrying ability. CGWR on 2500/3500 is well more than double the weight of the truck. The vehicle weight vs trailer weight means nothing in this instance.

The big decision I should've made was is the XJ gonna be a long-term DD/expedition rig or is the ultimate goal to be a trail rig. That's were I wasted the most money. Had a really nice & clean setup with 3.5" RE lift & 31s. Was a well behaved DD that could do some moderate east coast trails.

Bastardized the entire setup when I started running harder trails trying to keep up with my buddy running a TJ on 39.5" IROKS & the guys in the local club. Of course, east coast wheeling seems like it's alot different than western wheeling or expedition.

Spent a ton of money on more lift, bigger tires, SYE, driveshafts, regearing for larger tires, and traction for front & rear axles. Beat the XJ to pieces on the harder trails. It's no longer a very good driver at all and requires a lot more maintenance that most shops won't do because of all the customization.

hth, DougN