Help me get the xj ready for road trip

Hey all so this summer we are going on a road trip. More than likely CO, possibly rapid City SD. Anyways, what do I need to do to get her ready? Obviously regular maintenance stuff, but Whatelse do you guys suggest?

maintenance on : Belt, cooling system and brakes. Carry water and oil and other fluids. Rear DS U joints.

when is the last time you went on a 4-5 hour road trip? if its been a while, or never, do that first. in my experience, the truck is gonna fight you around hours 7-8 then fall into a groove an hour or so after that. you going wheeling? dont rule out weird ass problems... i sheared 4 tcase studs in moab and the tcase was never taken out of the jeep after it was put in at the factory.

get AAA gold. for 100 bucks, its worth the piece of mind for a 100 mile free tow.

XJLI said:

get AAA gold. for 100 bucks, its worth the piece of mind for a 100 mile free tow.

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This.........I have used this many many times.


If you are wheeling at all.........be prepared.

Ujoints
coolant hoses
coolant
oil
gas tank/radiator sealant tube patch kit
tire plugs
spare tire
flash light
tools for all of the above
tire iron
jack
cell phone


if you are really wheeling and not just trail riding

set of axles(not as important if you are on open diffs)
ball joints
Tie Rod ends
Track bar end(same as reverse thread tie rod end if using stock type single shear track bar...........if you don't know what a double shear track bar is, then you don't have one)
ujoints
electrical wire
first aid kit
water
non perishable food
cell phone charger

Im sure there is alot more that can go along with this

Good point about the towing coverage. If you are AARP age (50 something, I think), Allstate and AARP have a purely road service cover for $65. In addition to the usual gas, keys etc, they will tow for up to 100 miles to anywhere you want to go.

I just renewed for the fifth year after having a significant tow in each of the first 3 years.

What I like about this service is that they will tow me home where I work on the Jeep as opposed to some shop.

Pelican said:

Good point about the towing coverage. If you are AARP age (50 something, I think), Allstate and AARP have a purely road service cover for $65. In addition to the usual gas, keys etc, they will tow for up to 100 miles to anywhere you want to go.

I just renewed for the fifth year after having a significant tow in each of the first 3 years.

What I like about this service is that they will tow me home where I work on the Jeep as opposed to some shop.

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Consider AMAC instead of AARP. I won't get on the soapbox but there is a big difference.atriot:

AAA is my biggest "oh crap" card. I've played it a few times.
You can't predict everything... I'd been keeping the jeep in pretty good shape but a couple months back I lost the ignition coil doing 70 mph. Never had a symptom or a hiccup, just, bam - dead.
You can, though, spend a lot of time with a flashlight looking for potential problems before they start.
Fluid loss is a big one, you want all of them slow & predictable if you have them at all. Coolant loss is never OK to me, though I do lose a little bit of oil through the valve cover gasket. belt condition another, any worn bushings / joints should be addressed. Listen to the front of the engine / the accessory drive - any bearings about to go? Because if, say, the AC compressor seizes you are losing not only your alternator belt but your water pump drive (happened to my car, though I wasn't there) Tires getting funky? New tires now > new tires later
Etc.
You can't guarantee a trouble-free trip but you can take care of the things that are obviously on their way to trouble.

USAF007 said:

Hey all so this summer we are going on a road trip. More than likely CO, possibly rapid City SD. Anyways, what do I need to do to get her ready? Obviously regular maintenance stuff, but Whatelse do you guys suggest?

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How long have you had the jeep? Has it parked or DD? I would hop into my DD and just go an not even worry. My other jeep not so much. i would carry u joints for it and a belt. I also wouldn't beat the crap out of my jeep offroading while traveling on vacation, unless i had it on a trailer.

Change fluids and give her a tune if you haven't in the last year or so and take off. New/clean air filter for sure before you take off. Have a great trip

Thanks guys, planning on spending the $300 to replace all the TRE's before we go, as well as o2 sensors. There is a slight tick, although it seems to run fine.

Keep the old 02 sensor with you, just in case.If it ain't broke i don't fix it