jbennett

Hey everyone, new here and relatively new to the Jeep world.

I'm currently planning a build on an '01 XJ and I'm trying to decide if frame stiffeners are worth it or do they possibly even weaken the overall unibody as I've heard various people say?

I know this has been brought up a million times, but there is so much conflicting information, it's hard to know what to believe.

I'm looking to build a driver/crawler, not looking to go extreme, just want it capable offroad in the rocks here in AZ and also want it to be very well mannered on the road to drive a couple hundred miles up north to some trails.

Are all the kits the same? If you do anything, should you do front, rear and mid? Or is just mid ok? Do you have to pull the carpet when you weld them to the floorboards? Do you just need a few stitch welds or fully weld the whole thing?

I'm leaning towards them being a good idea. I currently have a '98 4-door XJ that I bought built and was well used to say the least. It doesn't have stiffeners, long arm front and leaf rear, about 6" of lift on 33's. The roof has buckled a little bit, it's a bit wavy. The doors seem to shut ok. Would the stiffeners prevent the roof from getting wavy over time?

Anything else I should be looking for when considering stiffeners? Thanks in advance for any help!

Rogue4x4

First off, welcome to the forum.

Second, whoever told you they weaken the unibody, yeah, stop listening to those people...they only way it would is if you did fully weld them. Which answers your other question, LOL...stitch welds spaced apart and rosettes filled are all you need. All kits are not the same. I went with Ruff Stuff mids, they went the extra mile with their design IMO. You can find them in the vendor section. Contact Dan Fredrickson here on the site to learn more. At a minimum, I would do mids, but I went with DirtBound Offroad's front and rear kit, there's several options out there, though.

How are your fab skills? Doing this yourself?

Rogue4x4

A link to the vendor section here...

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f10/ru...cement-138436/

Also, feel free to check out my build thread, that's what you'll be up against if doing it yourself...

srb53150

frame stiffeners can save the unibody from the damage rocks can do to it, they are a good idea.

XJlimitedx99

I just recently purchased the RuffStuff mids and Dirtbound front and rear sections. I'm also considering boxing the front rails on atleast the bottom as well.

unidentifiedbomb

I have HD mid stiffeners waiting to burn on.

jbennett

Thank you, I've been lurking for a while, figured it's time to post.

No one in particular told me they weaken it, just in general I've read a few threads where they say any welding on the frame weakens it. Stitch welds make sense and makes it a lot easier too!!

I'm in the process of reading your build thread, 50 pages is a lot to get through! I've read the part on the stiffeners and am considering the Ruff Stuff mids. What's the reason for the Dirtbound fronts and rears as opposed to all Ruff Stuff?

My fab skills should be up to par, I just recently upgraded my welder to a Hobart 210 and need to get 220v run in my garage so I can use it properly. I already bought Dirtbounds front and rear DIY bumpers, I like their stuff, I'll take a look at their frame stiffeners as well.

Sounds like Ruff Stuff mids and Dirtbound front and rear are the way to go.

Will installing these save the roof from getting wavy or is that potentially going to happen anyways?

LACK

When welded in properly they add a lot of strength and protection. I personally went with HD Offload stiffeners. I immediately noticed a difference after I welded them in. The chassis feels a lot better, less vibration and when flexed offload my doors open and shut with no issues when they used to bind without the stiffeners.

As roni said. only stitch weld the edges and fully weld out the rosettes. Its relatively cheap insurance to protect your unibody.

jbennett

Looks like I'll be doing the stiffeners for sure. Just ordered a needle scaler as that seems like a necessity to do this job properly.

What are the advantages/disadvantages between the HD offroad and Ruff Stuff mids?

jbennett

I think I figured out the main differences between Ruff Stuff and others.

Ruff Stuff is 3/16" (.1875") vs 10ga (.1406") most others

Ruff Stuff extends past the LCA mounts in front and past the rear hanger, others don't

Ruff Stuff extends to floorboard a little and that looks beneficial

That's all I came up with, is that about it?

I'm leaning towards Ruff Stuff mids at this point.

LACK

Yup you pretty much nailed the differences.

If you're not going to be running a long arm kit you'll have to cut the front portion of the ruff stuff stiffeners off. The 10ga is plenty thick enough in my opinion. The main place you'd benefit from the 3/16 is if you drag your unibody rails over a lot of rocks, then the thicker material would be beneficial. The 10ga will be a little easier to conform to the unibody for welding.

I don't think you could go wrong with the HD offload or ruffstuff stiffeners. Both great quality products and great companies, just decide which is right for you.

Check my build thread for some photos of the HD offload stiffeners. I just finished up installing the fronts as well. I bought the whole kit.

dmondeac

Another option is the Currie stiffeners/ connectors, that is what I'm running less welding.

cbs_24

Do you have a link? I've never seen the currie version. Will likely go hd offroad when i finally do mine.

dmondeac

Try this link,
http://www.currieenterprises.com/JS-9411

Rogue4x4

The reason I went with RS mids and DBO fronts/rears, was RS only offered the mids at the time I bought them. RS now has fronts, but no rears. Also, at that time, DBO was local to me, I got them from Max just before they moved out of state. As far as your wavy roof, hard to say, why is it wavy in the first place? Was it purchased like that? Might just be the PO got up there/had cargo, and dented it up. Hopefully...LOL

Nailed it, as LACK said. He also stated that he noticed a difference in ride quality right away, as did I. Everything is more solid, and a lot of my creaks/pops went away after install.