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limits of a stock XJ?

Here is some advice that you wont hear from anyone.

Invest some money in a front winch bumper. (doesn't have to be fancy) and a winch.

Why spend all sorts of money altering your vehicle and making it a pain to work on and maintain, when all you want is a rig you can go out and get some wood with?

I'm sure the dealership could put a winch on it for about $1000.

People who reccomend lifts and tires and lockers right off the bat make me angry. Get a winch. You could winch a honda civic through the woods with a trunk full of firewood ffs.
 
we use 12 psi on our dirt bikes. 25 didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference from the 35 street pressures.

No doubt a winch would have saved me an hour in the woods but I thought that would require about a grand in winch and 300-500 for the bumper?

Once I had the leaning hunk jacked a winch would have stabilized the rig so I didn't wake up in a cold sweat the next morning at 4am seeing an XJ hovering precariously over me . . .
 
The photo in the avatar is my 00XJ bone stock (except for skids) going down wipeout hill in Moab. Last spring Paul ran his stock XJ right up Top of The World, no problem.

The only limit is what you are willing to try and have the personal ability to do.

Hi-Lift makes an adapter for grabbing bumpers. I haven't used it (yet).

Tom
 
Boatwrench said:
Hi-Lift makes an adapter for grabbing bumpers. I haven't used it (yet).

Tom
Click to expand...
The strongest parts of the bumper are where it bolts on.

Ever since I've put my lift in I've run some trails I ran nearly bone stock and I always ask myself one thing...HOW? The XJ is very capable but it is like any tool, you gotta know how to use it right.
 
I have a 97 with open diffs, 30'" tires, 2" OME lift(because it rides nice and I get 20 MPG), and no skids. I have made it through some pretty crazy stuff(I usually run with guys who have 33's, lockers, 5+inches of lift, and full skids). If you know how to drive and choose your lines properly you dont need a whole lot to get where you want to go.
 
KarlVP said:
Here is some advice that you wont hear from anyone.

Invest some money in a front winch bumper. (doesn't have to be fancy) and a winch.

Why spend all sorts of money altering your vehicle and making it a pain to work on and maintain, when all you want is a rig you can go out and get some wood with?

I'm sure the dealership could put a winch on it for about $1000.

People who reccomend lifts and tires and lockers right off the bat make me angry. Get a winch. You could winch a honda civic through the woods with a trunk full of firewood ffs.
Click to expand...

Well if you run a locker you know why they recommend it and if you don't then you don't even know the difference. It makes all the difference in the world. I have had a winch for 8 years and have only used it to pull out other people. Why ? Because I have did all the things the others have recommended and I don't get stuck. If you think that I don't do hard trails take a look at the vids on my website and you'll see that is basically all I do.
So get over your anger and let people try and help the guy. It is how we learn to build them. It sounds like that is what he wants to do. Once you start it doesn't stop usually.
 
A couple of things I didn't hear. You can actually use the parking brake to bias your rear wheels some. Power goes to the wheel with the least resistance, pull the parking brake and goose it, power is biased to both rear wheels. I have a limited slip in my 35 and still use the parking brake on occasion. You can also work the brake pedal some and do just about the same thing for the fronts. I prefer a limited slip, lockers do strange things on ice and snow around curves and corners.
I keep a 30 yard coil of steel cable, with clamped loops in likely places. A twenty foot length of chain, with appropriate bolts and *washers*, tree padding. I've used my high jack in place of a winch on many occasions. I've jack winched my trailor full of wood, through some really deep mud getting the load back out of the forest. I probably should get a hitch winch.
The coil of cable fits nicely behind the spare (if your carefull not to kink it). I use 5/8" cable, way heavier than necessary.
Working with chains and cables isn't smart for every occurance. But works well to get you through moderate stucks. You have to know when to stop and go find a tractor or something, before things get ugly. A buddy once neglected to put the washers on the bolt, when looping my chain, it tried to go through the windshield when the bolt head slipped through the chain loop.
Heavy straps would probably be a better solution, if you can find some large and long enough.
I rarely get stuck, I've been mudding for a long time, technique and good judgement is 90% of it. Flotation usually doesn't help much in the mud. Inertia (don't stop) and a tire with good cleats (if you can find the bottom) are much more helpfull. In many instances a skinny tire actually works better.
 
boise49ers said:
Once you start it doesn't stop usually.
Click to expand...

ooh, I can this coming for sure. My list has already doubled while I try to keep this mild and have a DEFINATE end point.

'course, that's dreamin', I know.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their insights and experience. With your help I can show up at my first few events without being totally unprepard or dangerous . . .
 
boise49ers said:
Well if you run a locker you know why they recommend it and if you don't then you don't even know the difference. It makes all the difference in the world. I have had a winch for 8 years and have only used it to pull out other people. Why ? Because I have did all the things the others have recommended and I don't get stuck. If you think that I don't do hard trails take a look at the vids on my website and you'll see that is basically all I do.
So get over your anger and let people try and help the guy. It is how we learn to build them. It sounds like that is what he wants to do. Once you start it doesn't stop usually.
Click to expand...


I am trying to help him. I understand that on your wheeling trips you stick to the easy lines and help other guys out. That is okay with me.

I totally disagree with adding traction enhancement to a vehicle first. You should add reliable recoverey gear first. It is the SAFE thing to do.

Why don't people see this? A locker will just get you into more trouble, where a winch saves the day. Lockers don't make you unstoppable. Winches do.
 
The very first thing I've decided to do is add reliable recovery points so you guys can pull me out withouy twisting the flimsey thing in half.

Next , fresh ( Upcountry ) springs, shocks, loose the rear sway bar.

Now, I've run into the 'while it's apart might as well do . . .'

SO, I'm looking at the 2" budget lift from Rocky Road. From what I read this is a +1 1/2" shackle with 1/2" "mini-block, coil spacers and extensions for the shocks. That and discos for the front sway bar. Maybe skids, especially the gastank skid as it bolts up to the hitch I'm using for a rear recovery point.

A radiator and OEM fan clutch will probably have to come before the tires/wheels and locker.

Finally, the frontbumper/winch

Then the Garvin rack, some lights . . . oh, no, I've bled over into a 'modified ' thread on an OEM forum.

Do you guys think the 2" spring lift will sack the new leafs and give me axle wrap on the moderate trails I'm planning for?
 
Throw at least 1 locker into it. If it's a D35, toss a lockrite style in it until you upgrade. :) The're 2-300 and I'd bet while you were digging yourself out you would've given a couple hundred to have not been stuck.

On the "easy" run at Johnson Valley for the Naxja guys a couple weeks ago, the locked guys were were spending quite a bit of time watching the non-locked guys try to get over obstacles they just drove over. Winches were broken out a few times to pull people through. Whatever you do don't invest too much into the D35 though, it's a turd and polishing it will still leave you with a turd. :) At the most I'd consider a lockrite for one with the theory that you could sell the whole axle and lockrite to recover at least some of the cost of the lockrite.

Oh, yeah, recovery points, front tow hooks from Custom 4x4 or factory, and a rear factory hitch. Both obtainable from a junkyard, got mine for $50 total for both.

Again, at least 1 Locker. It'll be cheaper than a winch, especially a lunchbox style which just replaces the spider gears in your stock carrier.

Oh, get some JKS front disconnects, your front swaybar limits your droop.
 
Last edited:
docchaynes said:
Also, I want to be careful about losing drivability.There are times we'll take Scouts 5 hours away to the white water rivers in the mountains. You don't think I'd miss that rear sway bar with a full load and passengers?
Click to expand...

I only ever saw benefits from no rear sway bar.

I currently have none on my xj, and take 3-4 hour trips with it regularly. Feels very safe, and im at 3" of lift.

I would get a 31" BFG AT OR MT, a locker (front or rear), make some home made dsicos for the front, lose the rear sway bar, and maybe buy the adapter to hook the high lift to your rim, it uses a strap design to hook into your rim, that way you can jack up just the tire, stuff w/e u need under it, and go from there.

a 2 wheel drive 4x4 xj? Well, thats what stock is all aabout!! haha
 
kf_chris said:
can you get full suspension travel with the 31's? I'm thinkin 30x9.5 should tuck a lot better, that's what I'm going on with our street Jeep.
Click to expand...

If you run factory rims then yes. You can do it stock but there will be rubbing.

This is a buddy of mine running 31x10.5's on rims with a tad more offset than factory with no lift and sway bars in:

100_4751.jpg
 
docchaynes said:
Hey, now that is good advice.

Although, again, I'd like to develop some capability and competence before showing up on the trail with others.
Click to expand...

The only way to learn is by doing, once you know how your vehicle wheels stock and how to get out of certain situations with a stock rig it will make you that much more of a better wheeler. It sounds kinda funny at first but in time you'll see what I mean.
 
Zoro said:
The only way to learn is by doing, once you know how your vehicle wheels stock and how to get out of certain situations with a stock rig it will make you that much more of a better wheeler. It sounds kinda funny at first but in time you'll see what I mean.
Click to expand...

Yeah he has that right. The one thing I have learned above all else is that the skinny pedal can cause more problems then it can help. It is hard to get used to
when your first instinct when you can't get over something is to mash down on the gas. This alot of the time ends up causing breakage and getting you in a worse pickle then you started out in. Just a little beginner advise. Also just remember all of the guys on the trail were rookies at one time.
Have fun is the main thing
:laugh3:
 
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