Hey guys, how are you all.
It's been about 3 years owning my XJ and I am loving her.
Sadly though because she can't tow much and uses alot of gas, we are thinking
of selling her.

I've started looking for other jeeps and SUV's for sale that I can use to tow and
still have fun with but I know that it will never feel the same.

What we really need is a car that's as wide and long as my 98' XJ, uses less gas but still tows more.

My Jeep right now can tow about 3500 lbs, I know this because that's around
the same weight as our boat and you can hear at the engine noise that we
are pushing her limit.
What we're looking for is a jeep that can tow atleast 5000 lbs. preferably more

I then thought, instead of selling her, why not increase her towing capacity.
Me not knowing much about cars or rigs (sadly) am limited to what I know.
This is why I'm asking...

What do I have to know and do ?
Are their books that can help ?

My first thought was to put in a v8
Which engines would be recommended ?
Are their any diesel engine (Cummins, Powerstroke, Duramax) that'll fit ?


PS are their any Jeeps, suv's around the same size as an XJ that can tow more ?

 

So you want a small SUV that can tow a lot but is good on gas? Good luck. Get a diesel truck.

 

Our first plan to get a diesel truck but they're too big.
We then looked at the f-150 but that is also too big.

 

That's kind of my point. If you want more towing, it's hard to find something small, but maybe something will pop up. Good luck!

btw, what kind of capacity do you need? Just a little more for your boat, or is there something bigger you need?

My dad's 2000 Tundra was a great hauler, and not too big, but not as small as the XJ

 

Well for now our heaviest haul has been our boat but us having a shop selling
outboards and repowering boats makes me worry that soon we'll have to tow
heavier boats.

5K lbs makes me feel safer and the XJ's lengths really makes it alot easier for us to park boats in our yard.

 

WK with the hemi

 

Will it use less than a 4.0 I6 ?
It doesn't have to be much of a difference but even if it was 2 more MPG's... that'll be great.

 

what you are asking is impossible unless you pick up a diesel.

find a CRD KJ liberty or WK. both are larger than a XJ, but not by much.

 

I think you should probably sit down & figure out what you want the vehicle to do. Why does it have to be a diesel F-150? pick-ups are specifically designed to haul/tow.
As far as fuel economy:
16 mpg * 20 gallons = 320 miles traveled
18 mpg * 20 gallons = 360 miles traveled

40 miles traveled is not enough of a difference to really matter.

 

I never said I wanted a diesel f-150
I was looking at f-150's but they also turned out to be too big.

 

I did mention that I'm still an amateur...
What does CRD mean ?

 

I dont know about the mpgs but even the 4.7 has a towing capacity of 6500 lbs. The hemi is 8500. so surely the 4.7 would be better.

 

common rail diesel.

 

Could be I'm not fully understanding what you mean by "too big". Case in point:
Cherokee length:13'11.5" width:5'9.4"
Ford F-150 XL Standard cab length:17'2.9" width"6'7.3"

ETA:
As was mentioned how about a Grand Cherokee w/5.7

 

My suggestion would be to get a good towing vehicle such as a diesel pickup that could tow any boat you could come across and then pick up a used 5k forklift for moving boats and trailers around your lot.