Air down. Night and day difference.

 

Easy fix. Find a club, a bunch of nice people, or even a shop that does customer rides to go wheelin with. Talk to them about what to do in preparation for your first ride, then go wheeling with some(even mildly) experienced people. Listen to what they say about how to tackle obstacles, how to pick a line, how much to air down, etc. Not that i'm raggin on you in any way, but from your post you sound like you have very limited experience off road in anything with a similar size/weight of a Cherokee. Through the years I have taken people out wheelin for their first time with all kinds of near stock vehicles and they all were amazed what they were able to climb. My very mild daily driver XJ with a 3" lift and 31" tires has surprised a lot of people with where it can go. Before you commit to HAVING to spend any money to have fun, Talk to some people with similar set ups. Spending money on upgrades will definitely increase you capabilities off road, but it is not necessary to have a **** ton of fun bangin around in the woods. In other words don't get caught in the "I HAVE to have it to go off road" trap.

 

This^^

 

The dimensions and robustness of the running gear make XJs "capable." A TrailHawk has "lockers" in the form of electronically controlled limited slips (I'm riffing, so please correct me if I'm wrong). It's also pretty well kitted out in terms of off-road friendly stuff like traction aids and adjustable air suspension.

Jeep made a "TrailHawk/Rubicon" version of the Cherokee - the UpCountry package - that ditched the rear sway bar, added about an 1" of lift, a rear limited slip and skid plates. Without that package, you've got a compact, family-friendly SUV that was marketed as a competitor to the Ford Escape and Rav4.

All a lift does is allow for more suspension articulation (in some cases maybe less) and more importantly, more space for bigger tires. It's still a mechanically open/open vehicle with designs dating back from before the XJ even existed.

What I'm trying to get at is you can't drive a stock XJ - and lets face it, that's what yours is but with the added disadvantage of greater unsprung weight via greater rotational mass - the same way you would a modern TrailHawk which is designed to handle loss-of-traction situations without any input from the driver. If you would have left-foot braked, taken a different line and aired-down (yeah, it really does make that big of a difference), things might have been different. I say use the rig as a learning tool - tighten the nut behind the wheel and learn to drive a disadvantaged vehicle.

I know an ex-Navy Seal who now owns and operates an outdoor adventure park that includes off-road trails where he routinely trains people (sometimes service men) how to drive. He cut most of the trails with a four door JK Rubicon and would always try his best to stay open/open and only use the lockers as a last resort. I use to wheel a twin locked XJ on 33s. It's true - you really can just drive over things with that kind of mechanical advantage, but now that I'm back with a stock XJ on 27s, the wheeling experience is a whole different game. Last time I went out, I really had to work and concentrate on how to drive in order not to get stuck because the possibility of that greatly increased. It's a humbling experience, that's for sure, but a very valuable lesson can be learned if you keep being underwhelmed by your vehicle in order to be impressed by your own abilities as a driver.

 

In addition to all the above, I would tackle that sort of terrain with a fair bit of throttle, rather than crawling, especially with open diffs

 

I have crawled every trail around rampart range area in colorado springs (pikes forest) with open diffs. Never had any issues.

I was sent down some very terrifying trails by some ppl who knew what they were doing when they sent me down... Impressed the hell outta everyone when I made it through.


This is with just a RC 4.5 inch lift... not even upgraded steering anything. 33in tires. Steering took beating of lifetime, and still did it time and time again. Each time was less road worthy afterwards, and why I just replaced all my steering components recently.

But I also don't make it a point to take the worst path.... I see some people 'showing off', really showing off how much more money they have to lose than I lol. For me, it's about getting from A to Z. So if I can take a different line that is not as crazy as the ones showing off, I will. I don't swerve to drive over 3 foot boulders just to prove I can, I swerve to avoid driving over that 3 foot boulder, unless that is my only option. Am I doing it wrong?

 

Maybe go to the Google Play Store and see if they have an App you can open and make your stock Cherokee a beast off road...............

 

Yes!

 

A Detroit locker or spartan in rear of a stock rig will out wheel alot of long arm lifted rigs with 35s.

I run my rear welded I am never heavy on the throttle and often idle through lines that tall lifts and open diffs need speed to get through if they can get through at all.

I do run on the streets and highways but not daily. I sure get people looking when I come in squealing for fuel at the gas station.
I like idea of Detroit or spartan that has alittle give compared to welded solid.
this is my 8.25


A open diffed anything in my opion isnt all any owner cracks it upped to be. And trust me ive been stuck plenty of times with the only two tires getting power barried in mud or snow or wedged ahaisnt a rock or tree. Sometimes feathering on brakes will put a load on free spinning tires and send some power to side thats still got some traction.

 

Talking about feathering brakes.

I learned this trick recently: pull the e-brake a couple clicks and it will help with traction. Makes a real difference in my F-250 with a LSD. Haven't had a need in the jeep.

Long story short, driver skill and know how make a world of difference.