Looking to get some ideas

[Rokbitr]

I know, I know.....that's what everyone says. I live in Northern Arizona and own a '99 XJ. I love rocks and originally planned to turn it into a full-time crawler. However, after much debate, I decided to make a more expedition style rig. In the beginning...
RE 4.5'', 32'' BFG A/t's, ARB bullbar, olympic tire carrier

Added some sliders and 33's then decided I was going to change a few things. As usual, things happen, plans change, and stuff gets put on the back burner. So right now it is stuck in a "transitional" phase...

I'm getting married in a little more than a week so any extra cash has been going towards that. BUT the wife gave me the ok to throw some money at the heep after!!!!:wings:LOL. Future plans include: Bumpers, cage, LA, gears or swap, 35's, roof rack, 4:1, blah blah blah.

Anyways, I would like to get some other ideas on good upgrades to make a good all around rig. It will still be daily driven, and will see camping from 3-5 days.

Sorry for the long winded first post, but ideas would be greatly appreciated. Pics are definitely welcome.

 

[whistle pig]

Looks like you have a great rig to build off of right now. I have the same lift and just through on the rough country drop arm brackets for the lower control arms. Some of rough country's components are suspect, but the the drop brackets are almost identical to the RE. Trust me, best investment in ride quality i ever did. You wont even be looking to get long arms, and only 200 bucks. 4.565 gears made a huge difference in power and gas mileage. and lastly, for camping and storage a roof rack made a world of difference in comfort for us getting everything out of the crowded inside of the Cherokee and up on top. Now theres room for the dog and his stuff in the back. My next investment will be on some kind of quality refrigeration. Really sucks having to rely on ice when camping for more than a day. Good luck and nice rig!

 

[Stumpalump]

A gas tank and transfer case skid would be good. I use Clayton long arms and love them. I have never turned a wrench to them after the install and they are built bullet proof. They cost more than brackets but you can get some cash from your old arms. Like the above poster was talking about and thats nothing will bring your ride back and smooth out the rocks like proper geometry. I really hate to see a unibody wheeled without bumpers. Bumpers add a lot of stiffness to the body and reduce future cracks. Yours is the 97 and up body style and they are really a lot better than the older ones because the whole floor pan is stiffer and the crash worthiness was improve resulting in a less crack prone body. Nice rig. Mines a white 98. White makes touch up paint easy so it will always look good after cutting the body or trail scars. Have you considered chopping the bottom of the rear quarters? Thats a free mod. You also need sliders. They get hit all the time on the rockers and it's a hard place to fix especially if you get into the doors on a hard hit. I'm moving just North of Phoenix in a few months. Maybe I'll see you on the trails.

 

[winkosmosis]

Where's the bumper??

 

[Rokbitr]

Looks like you have a great rig to build off of right now. I have the same lift and just through on the rough country drop arm brackets for the lower control arms. Some of rough country's components are suspect, but the the drop brackets are almost identical to the RE. Trust me, best investment in ride quality i ever did. You wont even be looking to get long arms, and only 200 bucks. 4.565 gears made a huge difference in power and gas mileage. and lastly, for camping and storage a roof rack made a world of difference in comfort for us getting everything out of the crowded inside of the Cherokee and up on top. Now theres room for the dog and his stuff in the back. My next investment will be on some kind of quality refrigeration. Really sucks having to rely on ice when camping for more than a day. Good luck and nice rig!

I have considered drop brackets, but since I still enjoying rock crawling I think LA's will suit me better. I don't have to worry about room for the dogs because we have 2 chihuahua's, lol.

A gas tank and transfer case skid would be good. I use Clayton long arms and love them. I have never turned a wrench to them after the install and they are built bullet proof. They cost more than brackets but you can get some cash from your old arms. Like the above poster was talking about and thats nothing will bring your ride back and smooth out the rocks like proper geometry. I really hate to see a unibody wheeled without bumpers. Bumpers add a lot of stiffness to the body and reduce future cracks. Yours is the 97 and up body style and they are really a lot better than the older ones because the whole floor pan is stiffer and the crash worthiness was improve resulting in a less crack prone body. Nice rig. Mines a white 98. White makes touch up paint easy so it will always look good after cutting the body or trail scars. Have you considered chopping the bottom of the rear quarters? Thats a free mod. You also need sliders. They get hit all the time on the rockers and it's a hard place to fix especially if you get into the doors on a hard hit. I'm moving just North of Phoenix in a few months. Maybe I'll see you on the trails.

Who would you recommend for skids....cheap and durable. I love the white because uless you are close you can't see the AZ pinstriping. I do plan on chopping the lower rear quarters.

Got the sliders. They tie into the pinch seams and also leaf bolt.

They saved my rockers the very next day too!

Where's the bumper??[/QUOTE

One of the first upgrades will be a front winch bumper.

Also, what would be good shocks to run for an expo rig?

 

[Purple People Eater]

I think he meant 'What happened to the ARB bullbar?'. If you took it off and just have it sitting in the garage, DIBS!

 

[Rokbitr]

I think he meant 'What happened to the ARB bullbar?'. If you took it off and just have it sitting in the garage, DIBS!

Ahhhhhh....the bullbar is long gone. I had originally taken it off and sold it in order to purchase something new, but things came up.

 

[lamontagne]

As a former built XJ owner, I'll toss in my $.02

Get the long arms!!!

Claytons or Rock Krawler, doesn't matter. The single best thing you can do for your suspention.

Gears, nuff said.

Have you ever checked out www.c-rok.com ? Great bumpers. I tested/demoed several products (my old XJ is in several of the pics on the site). For a testimonial, PM me.

Tires, stick with the 33's and your axle shafts, drive lines, and transmission with love you for it. I went everywhere with 33's (and long-arms) that everyone went with 35's NO PROBLEM.

Cage......XJ's are already so tight inside and they are so cheap to buy right now. Spend the money on an ARB fridge and be happy (and drunk!), then build a roof rack to suite your needs.

Skids, get them.

 

[Stumpalump]

I like those sliders! I used a DPG skid plates because at the time they were probably the best. Expensive but life time warrenty. I think I remember them being hardened steel. The gas tank is important as hell and I don't need to tell you why but you want a good one. XJ's can take a hard hit on the skid and still push the tank up. This kinks the fuel lines and kills the engine. Not so fun trail fix. The other nice thing about a good one is that it spans the rear frame rails at the reciver hitch mounting points. This acts to stiffen the rear. Your sliders help also but can you see how it's starting to tie the whole rig together. What about a roll cage? Don't forget to duck if you go over and I recomend keeping your seat belt on but pulling your shoulder out so you can duck. Those roofs have been known to fold sideways and go flat so you need to duck. I hate to see huge strong roof racks on a rig without a cage because it just adds more of that sidways leverage to the door pillers in a rollover. Do the seat belt thing when you get to any iffy spot. It may save your neck.

 

[Stumpalump]

As a former built XJ owner, I'll toss in my $.02

Get the long arms!!!

Claytons or Rock Krawler, doesn't matter. The single best thing you can do for your suspention.

Gears, nuff said.

Have you ever checked out www.c-rok.com ? Great bumpers. I tested/demoed several products (my old XJ is in several of the pics on the site). For a testimonial, PM me.

Tires, stick with the 33's and your axle shafts, drive lines, and transmission with love you for it. I went everywhere with 33's (and long-arms) that everyone went with 35's NO PROBLEM.

Cage......XJ's are already so tight inside and they are so cheap to buy right now. Spend the money on an ARB fridge and be happy (and drunk!), then build a roof rack to suite your needs.

Skids, get them.

Thats good advise and I also like Nates for cheap bumpers. He sold me a bracketr kit to make fabing up a rear bumper real easy. I used a Detours winch bracket for the front and just welded square tube on it to fab a front bumper. Check out these prices:http://nates4x4.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=33&products_id=84

 

[Rokbitr]

As a former built XJ owner, I'll toss in my $.02

Get the long arms!!!

Claytons or Rock Krawler, doesn't matter. The single best thing you can do for your suspention.

Gears, nuff said.

Have you ever checked out www.c-rok.com ? Great bumpers. I tested/demoed several products (my old XJ is in several of the pics on the site). For a testimonial, PM me.

Tires, stick with the 33's and your axle shafts, drive lines, and transmission with love you for it. I went everywhere with 33's (and long-arms) that everyone went with 35's NO PROBLEM.

Cage......XJ's are already so tight inside and they are so cheap to buy right now. Spend the money on an ARB fridge and be happy (and drunk!), then build a roof rack to suite your needs.

Skids, get them.

All good advice. I'm pretty set on a cage though...I'll sacrifice some space but not mine or my wife's life.

I like those sliders! I used a DPG skid plates because at the time they were probably the best. Expensive but life time warrenty. I think I remember them being hardened steel. The gas tank is important as hell and I don't need to tell you why but you want a good one. XJ's can take a hard hit on the skid and still push the tank up. This kinks the fuel lines and kills the engine. Not so fun trail fix. The other nice thing about a good one is that it spans the rear frame rails at the reciver hitch mounting points. This acts to stiffen the rear. Your sliders help also but can you see how it's starting to tie the whole rig together. What about a roll cage? Don't forget to duck if you go over and I recomend keeping your seat belt on but pulling your shoulder out so you can duck. Those roofs have been known to fold sideways and go flat so you need to duck. I hate to see huge strong roof racks on a rig without a cage because it just adds more of that sidways leverage to the door pillers in a rollover. Do the seat belt thing when you get to any iffy spot. It may save your neck.

Never leave the driveway without it.

I plan on eventually adding some good seats and probably just 3-point harnesses for now.