I bought a 200 Cherokee Sport and the pervious owner has put some nice Michelin tires on it, But they are taller then stock. When I add any weight at all to the truck the rear tires rub the inner fender/flares.( trailer with Lawn mower etc.)
I don't want to down size the tires because they look and work great.And I really like the tires!
Instead of a full blown lift kit can I simply put some air shocks or something on it for when I want to add tongue weight ?? And what is the ride like with Air Shocks ??
I may add some lift to it later but for now the money is tight ! As I'm sure you can understand....

Thanks for some dicussion !!

 

Bump!!

 

I have never had air shocks on any of my Cherokees, but had a set on a Chevy wagon and they rode good and I pumped them up when pulling a motorcycle trailer. Helped keep the rear from sagging under the increased tounge weight.

 

Thanks, I may try a set and see how they do...I'll post results when I Get-R-Done ..

 

They do make them... I can't remember who though. Possibly Monroe.

I had them on a Chevy Nova I had in High School. We used to pump them up as high as we could get them from the farm compressor and cruise around town like that, lighting the tires up at every intersection.

 

Milmat what type trailer are you going to pull and what type hitch do you have? I ask because there are the equalizing hitches which help to take the sag out of a heavy tounge and run some of that into the hitch. You need to be careful of those because the unibody is kind of delicate to those hitches since they are not true frames, but unibody sheetmetal frames.

 

The hitch you mentioned Blue, I would only reconmend using if you are pulling something like a camper or car trailer that weights over 10000 lbs. Plus he said he was on a budget, and the hitch like you mentioned cost about $150 just for the rechiver(part the ball mounts on). Then the arms and hooks for the trailer. After you buy all of that It would still be as much as a small lift which would take care of the problem. Just so there is no confusion this is the hitch like what I'm talking about.

http://www.reese-hitches.com/product...ch%20Bar,66084

They are great hitchs but for the money unless you are pullin something big, get a 2" lift. They make different sizes but themoney issues still stands.

 

For simple load management, air shocks will work just fine. They do make them for the XJ, check out Pep Boys. You will want them to air up off of the same valve so that if you stuff one it will transfer the air to the other side and not limit up travel. If this does not make sense to you, let me know and I'll explain in more detail. HTH!! Later!!

 

I do believe rancho makes a set that you can control from in your cab. But I have heard that it is more of a novelty then anything.

 

I think I would like it explained more. Cause at times my shocks appear to get beat up considerably and bottom out. So I was thinking of putting air shocks all the way around. And I might be able to adjust them for driving conditions, and they would be cheaper than the bilstiens. But you got me worried about this up travel.

 

I had a pair of air shocks on my old 97 XJ because I towed my boat quite a bit. The were Gabriel's. They came with air lines and a simple valve stem to fill and lower the system. I ABSOLUTLY loved them. The reese set up finneys98xj is talking about is nice but not needed. And at 600 bucks and then some, not really worth it. My dad's 87 XJ had the same air shocks and he would frequently move his 10000, 32' camper around with it and had no issues!! Go with the Gabriel Air Shocks.

 

Correct me if im wrong but arent air shocks more expensive then a simple AAL 3inch lift?!?!

 

I was thinking more of the Gabriel ones, not the really nice ones. I was thinking along the lines of some that have the travel I need. So that during the Daily driving I could let out enough air to be comfortable.

 

I've had air shocks in 2 differnt full size GM wagons.
It's a nice way to level to rig out when loaded down.
For a small utility trailer and associated loads, the air shocks will be suitable.
I you get into towing 5000-7000lbs on any regular basis, then the load distribution hitch is the only way to go in order to have acceptable road maners.

 

jc whitney makes them i think its like an inch lift my friends camaro had them for drag slicks