jscusmcvet

And so begins a hopefully long story of my 2001 Cherokee build. Excuse the long start post. I am the owner of this rig through a series of less than fortunate events, but all is well that ends well. A brief history...

I have been a jeeper for 20+ years. My first experience was with my older brothers Commando half cab... don't remember the year, but I was struck with the ability and ruggedness.

I have been through the following Jeeps:
1984 Wagoneer (not the fullsize) Great vehicle, **** poor engine - wheeled quite a bit stock - great fun in the sand and flat lands of and around Camp Lejeune, NC
1982 Scrambler - I know, DUH... sold it in 1990 as my daughter was on the way... Should have kept it and modded it into a four seater, but... my eyes were blind by the happiness of fatherhood, what can I say.
1997 Cherokee - Had just begun modifications and light wheeling and lightning struckkkkk.... in the form of....
2003 Rubicon - Love of my life. Built to take it, with armor everywhere, winch and on 33's. Went to 35's but saw no offroad improvement, really. With the armor and the winch, my son and I wheeled all over the southeast, banging and dragging that rubi up and over places we had no business being in ahhh memories.

Bad news is the old blue rubi caught fire on the interstate in SC last May. Burned to the ground. I replaced with a 2000 TJ, lifted, arb's and a nice platform to build on.

Wife bought a pop up camper and I needed something to pull it. TJ was not a happy or particularly safe option. Tried to go the Land Rover route, but could not keep extra vehicles for financial reasons, so the LR got sold. I am a Jeeper at heart. TJ went to my 16 year old son. He has been wheeling with me since 2004 and is an excellent driver, good student, great kid and deserving.

So on or about November 1, I began driving the 2001 Cherokee. Planning to build a multipurpose rig that will:

Be my DD
Weekend Wheeler with my son
Family hauler
Camper puller
Farm/Firewood worker

Think that covers the background

Here is what I have done so far:
3" Rough Country lift with full spring packs - I know the hit on RC, but they have always done right by me, and their stuff has held up well for me in the past. No vibes, no drop, no SYE.
33x10.50 BFG MT (older style) My favorite tire. Skinny is the way to go IMO.
Fender Trimming Looks good from 20, or maybe 30 feet. Have Pacer Flexi Flares, but not installed yet
Roxolid Front winch and rear bumper. Rear has receiver built in and extra attachment points. Patrick was good to work with. These are not as Heavy duty as you can get, but they are well made and light. We'll see how they hold up.
ZJ gas tank skid (yet to be installed)
Crane D30 front diff cover - beefy, bought used
Warn xfer case skid - yet to be installed





Plans include:
Engine Skid
Rear Locker
Uprgraded axles shafts
Tranny cooler
Rear Diff cover
Rocker guards
Grill Guard added to Front Bumper
Quick Disconnects
HD steering components
Full size spare and a way to carry it...
Side Awning for campground
Rear work lights for camping/farm work
Off road lights

I will keep things posted. Cherokee Forum has been of great help so far, with good natured advice and assistance... not always the case when folks are hiding behind the keyboard, so I appreciate that greatly.

Semper Fi,

John

99Classic

Looks great. I have a roxolid bumper on the front of my xj as well. I finally got a winch on it today

jscusmcvet

Thanks,

Oh yes, I forgot that in my future plans... winch...

Skipper

Looks good. Glad to hear you came to your senses and bought a Cherokee.

To am looking to bild a similar rig. DD, Weekend worior, Pop-up trailer puller and work rig.

I will keep checking in to see if I can get some good ideas.

jscusmcvet

Just read your build thread. Like what you are doing. I am going to have to look into some of those fuel delivery mods.

John

jscusmcvet

Did you do any extra reinforcing at the bumper attachments? Interested to see how it will hold up.

99Classic

I have not, but its on my list

jscusmcvet

Mounted the Warn xfer case skid plate this morning. Easy install and typical Warn quality.

jscusmcvet

And finished...


And my christmas present from my son... told you he was good stuff...


I've got some learning to do...

jscusmcvet

A couple minor things today to kick off the new year:

Needed trailer wiring to pull the pop up and the utility trailer for property duty, going to the dump, etc...



And added the Pacer Flexi flares... primarily to cut down on dirt mud distribution as I get in and out of the property, but also to cover some of my less than stellar body work when cutting fenders (first time hacking on any of my vehicles. I like the way it came out. Simple, if a bit tedious install. Vice grips were my 2d set of hands.




That's it for today. Moving on to house work, some electrical for the outside security lights.

Happy New year and Semper Fi.

John

Skipper

I like the flares. Let us know how they work on the trails.

farmerjohnson

Nice build man. Simple and clean. I like it a lot!

mcguyver_xj

those flares are pretty cool

jscusmcvet

Appreciated! I cannot promise to not get carried away in the future!

John

jscusmcvet

Thanks, they are Pacer Flexi Flares
http://www.pacerperformance.com/

Much less expensive than other options I could find and I absolutely hate the stock mounting method!