I know even stock Cherokees can be used off road, but what do I need to buy and add to it to make it a more practical off road vehicle? lift and tires, but how big for each of those? and what else would i need? Im almost 16 and have my first Cherokee, but I want to know what I should save up for. I know not to get something that is cheaper, and that its better to save up for quality. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

If it were me, I would get up to date on any and every maintenance issue I could. Most things on an XJ are really cheap, and easy as well.

After that, I would get sturdy recovery points. Both front and rear.

Depending on budget, I would work on a winch and armor after. Lifts, tires, armor, all that is great, and can get you to far and neat places. However, none will get you unstuck if your ever alone. And there will be times when you are alone. Or, at least, in a spot where its tough for others to help.

From there, a nice 3" lift is great. Very capable, and offers lots of future options. Tires to follow, of course. And depending on how much your willing to use a grinder, you can get up to 35" tires on that setup.

After that, lockers. Great things. Locked is a whole new world. Period.

Then, once those 35s are "too small", axles...as long as you don't have a D35 to start with....

 

what are lockers? sorry i dont know much about this

 

Right now your truck has (most likely) open diffs. the solid bars between your tires.

When one loses traction, it spins freely. The other tire on that same axle loses power.

A locker prevents that. Forces both wheels on that axle to spin at the same speed all the time.

 

o ok i got ya. How much would this possibly be?

 

for all of what you suggested i mean

 

Oh, jeeze...depends on what/how you do it.

Few grand easy.

But maint, thats only a few hundred at most.

 

ok, thanks

 

Not to sure if your worried about mileage or not...but with bigger tires it will drop a few mpg(went from 31's at 17mpg to 33's at 14mpg) and a bit less power...probably the most usefull/helpfull offroad mod i have done is trimmed the fenders, gained a ton more flex Me personall(some may disagree) but i wouldn't go over 33's without higher gears and would not go over 35's without an axle swap, shoot i'd regear with my 33's if i could afford it(hate it being so sluggish and shifting a ton down the highway)...but from what it sounds like you'd be best with 3-3.5" lift, 31-33" tires and trimmed fenders...also you'd need less backspaced wheels(or spacers) for 31's and up.

 

Just as Gee said, maintenance and recovery points should be first on your list.

If a lift (and all associated mods: locker, SYE, tires, yadda yadda...) are too rich for your blood, look into a nice solid skid plate set up. With your underbelly protected you can push your rig a bit more and not worry about punching a hole in the oil pan or ripping something apart. It makes a world of difference.

 

Skid plate setup would be quite expensive...T-case skid $100, Diff covers $320 or diff gaurds $120, engine/tranny skid $180, fuel tank skid $220, rock slider $350...not much of a money saving route.

 

So what route do you suggest?

 

If he has the 8.25 rear it can easily handle 35s.


I suppose if you bought all name brand goods it would be that expensive.

However our trucks come with fairly decent gas tank skids. And a supporting vendor here sells diff covers for a great price is the if you wait for a sale, the price gets even better.

The other skids can be made simply enough. Or buy used, lots of folks trade parts or part trucks out.

Lots of options available.

 

I'm going to assume here your like my own son,
Big ideas and no money to fund them.
Thats the way I was too when I was 16 so I had to learn from others.
We didn't have the Internet then to gain the knowledge from others that we can now.

Budget Lift with junk yard parts.
http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/...udget_Lift.htm
3" is a good number and seems to not have many issues associated with larger lifts, like Slip yoke eliminators, and transfer case drops, and death wobbles.

3" your going to need 4 new shocks, longer ones, the stock shocks will be fully extended with a 3" if they get there at all.

As was said you need recovery points, these are anchor points/looks places to connect a cable to pull you out of that hole your stuck in.

Lockers/track-lok'/positive traction units, will bind both wheels on the axle together and help you get in deeper if not get out of the muck. Lunch box lockers replace the spider gears in the differential and are almost a plug and play solution.

My little XJ is not wild at all but it goes where I point it, but I'm also careful too, with a 3" lift, and just 235/75/15's on it and it keeps my mpg at 17 to 20mpg.
Typically wider tires have more rolling resistance, and since no one makes a truly tall skinny tire anymore I just keep the smaller ones to keep fuel mileage.

Enjoy your jeep and learn to wrench on it and keep the fluids changed and most will run a very long time.

 

Look right above your post...it specifically says what I suggest.