Wrangler owners, get in here

So, I'm looking for an off road, utility, haul stuff around, possibly plow, BOV. Considering 70's Ford and Chevy trucks, Broncos/Blazers, and Jeep Wranglers. My concern is that a jeep plus a trailer won't have enough room or power to get through really nasty stuff with a large load. Can you guys share your experiences you've had with your Jeeps? I want to know what you like and don't like, what you wish you'd done differently, and if you'd recommend a smaller vehicle over the larger ones. Thanks.

How large a load? Rememeber the jeep concelt was originally a 1/4 ton vehicle. Naturally their size and capacity has gown over the years and they can carry more but they still are fairly small.

I've got the 4 door Wrangler with a 3.8 V6 and a towing package. I only added that because I figure I might get a trailer or small camper at some point.

I have never towed anything, but I have had around 1000 lbs of AK receivers inside with the back seat folded down.

It was fine but the handling was a little mushy.


Rather than a trailer, I bought a Reese cargo rack for the hitch. It can carry up to 400 lbs, and saves the internal space for more sensitive items.


If towing a heavy load is required I would go with something bigger than a stock jeep.

If you're looking at 1970s and early 1980s vehicles, the Jeep equivalent of the later Wrangler was the CJ series. I have a 1981 CJ7 and while it's a lot of fun, I wouldn't try to use it as a BOV. There's not a lot of room inside. I have a tow hitch on mine and have pulled trailers. The Jeep has the power to do it, but I found that the trailer makes it seem even less stable at speeds.

Consider a 1/2 ton pickup truck from that era instead. Maybe one with a camper shell that you can lock. I don't think the original Ford Bronco is much better than a Jeep CJ7 with a hardtop in terms of interior size. If you want a SUV-type vehicle from that era, look at the full size Chevy Blazers, the post-77 Broncos and/or the International Scout IIs.

The trade off with the Wrangler is you get great off-road but poor towing capabilities. It depends on how much you'll be towing, but there would be a weight threshold where I'd rather have my old Bronco over my current Wrangler, which I do love by the way.


ETA: Just caught the 70's part. My Wrangler is a 2012 and the Bronco was a '92. If I were looking at '70's only, I'd probably be looking at the trucks.

When I first built this I took it on a dry run and gave it hell. 20 mi through the mountains ( off road ) as fast and as hard as I safely could while completely loaded down. Totally handled it and kept up with everyone without a trailer. I don't have 4.1 gears like the rubicon so if you did it would allow more of a max. While towing this on the highway I barely notice it besides hitting bumps. No complaints from me with this jeep.

What exactly does the towing package add nowadays? it used to be the way to get a bunch of upgraded components, a better alternator, better rear axle, etc, Etc. Oh a hitch too.

I'd have to look at the paperwork to be exact. But IIRC it has a 4.10 axle ratio and class III trailer hitch, and a 3500lb towing capacity.

You dont buy a Jeep TJ or CJ if you want to:

1.) Get good gas mileage
2.) Have lots of room for your stuff
3.) Tow anything

Yeah, Wranglers are a little short on wheelbase which makes them hard to handle towing anything bigger than a M416. Coming to a stop, downhill, would be sketchy. Pick up from that era would be the ticket. Ford trucks you can find with the high pinion D44 or kingpin D60 (open knuckle) front end, very desireable. Throttle body injection if you're doing steep angles.

90+ (IIRC) Wrangler to get fuel injection, lift it 3-4 inches, toss some 33" AT tires on it and lock the axles with ratchet lockers. If it comes with a D35 rear axle, swap it out for a ford 8.8 with disc (pretty straight forward swap) and re-gear to 4.10 for highway use.

You'll get terrible mileage but it will go through quit a bit and be very reliable. YJ's are decent (87-95 years) but I'd opt for a TJ (97-2007? years) as they use linked suspensions and are generally more refined than a YJ in most regards.

Also, if you can find one get an LJ (long bed version of a TJ) and you get an additional 18 inches of cab space inside IIRC. Other than the extension, identical to a TJ.

Used to spend my time and money screwing around with Jeeps, always impressed me with how well they work.

Hey - where in NY are you from? You might want to do a trail ride with a 4X4 club just to get an idea of the various capabilities. It is amazing where a good driver can make a vehicle go and anywhere you can drive is that much less walking and carrying. Even a Jeep can carry way more than you can in one trip. If you use a jeep with a backpacking mentality you'll be fine. If you go at it as though you are on an expedition across Asia you'll have issues.

1991 was the first year for FI.... it was also the last year for the slanted rear roll bar.

non-selectable lockers don't tend to work well in front axles and the D35 is shit for anything serious, weak and c-clip. the D30 in the YJ also has the vacuum selector fork to engage the right side... pure shit and needs attention if you're serious about the jeep.

transmissions in the YJ are also shit. the NV3550 or an older T18 would be a good swap and while you're at it the t-case will need a slip yoke eliminator if you're installing a suspension lift.

+1 on the 8.8 swap and 4.10 re-gear.



the TJ suffers some of the same issues but is generally a better option.

both the TJ and YJ can (and should be) had with the 4.0 inline 6cyl. best jeep motor ever!!!



the 3.8 in the new-ish JK is shit. the 2012 has a 3.6 that is (according to jeep) a better motor.

the JK easily benefits from a computer tuner as soon as you get it home. seriously, don't waste time just get the programmer and thank me later.

the front axle is complete trash for anything serious, this goes for the standard and Rubicon models. the only real difference between the JK D30 and D44 front axle is the ring gear size.



jeeps are great and will serve you well when taken care of. to make one into a decent off-road machine you will need a few important mods to keep it function.



one of my current jeeps....



i don't tow anything of any substantial size nor would i. even with 4.88 gears, CAI, new exhaust & computer programmer the jeep lacks any real power. that and the 2 door, even though it's larger than older jeeps, still doesn't have much room.

I've got a CJ7. I've taken it four wheeling quite a bit - camping out of the jeep on national forest trails over the course of a few days. Very similar to bugging out.

Pros - go anywhere. We didn't have a trailer, but I don't doubt that pulling an M416 type 1/4T trailer would not have compromised us at all. Ease of maintenance - we even repaired a leaf spring mount on the trail. Plenty of power (258 I6), good gearing (although modified)

Cons - not a lot of room. 2 adults, plus fuel, plus spare parts, plus tools, plus camping gear equaled no room for anything else. That jeep was packed. Forget hauling a family with it.

Wash - fuel mileage. Averaged less than 10, offroad. But you'll get this no matter what you're driving.

3.8 is crap. Get the 4.0 or the new 3.6 or plan on being disappointed. I had the 3.8 and it just makes a lot of noise and does nothing when you put your foot tot he floor. My dads 2 door 6 spd was a little better but still pretty weak. He bought a 2012 and it got a lot more power for towing and passing.

Oh yeah, if I were to get another I'd get a rubicon unlimited with a cummins diesel or Hemi conversion on 37's. That do look great and they are fun to wheel in with the top down.

Unless you have a small diesel. You can't really get one off the shelf with a jeep (how long ago did they have Perkins Diesels? Wait they had a rare diesel option in the '80s too there was one for sale local to me once on CLI think it was a Peugeot diesel. Of course those old diesels were less than gutless and you wouldn't be able to tow ANYTHING worth a hoot.

Someone makes a kit to put a Mercedes OM617 in a jeep- that would be much more worthwhile and should get 30+mpg, maybe more if tuned for economy.

The advantage of the TJ is running a stock suspension with 31 inch tires and any kind of rear locker (or limited slip) will still be superior to a lifted or stock YJ. The stcok TJ suspension with 31x10.5 inch tires should not be taken lightly. You can conquer a lot with that set up.

Perkins diesels were early 70's CJ5's I believe. I'm racking my brain to try to remember what other diesel was in a CJ - I think the CJ10 had a diesel that is easily swapped into a -7?

The diesel from the Mercedes is supposed to be a pretty easy swap. I think it's the motor that came in all the 300 sedans you still see chugging along. Not sure what sort of adapters it requires to bolt up to truck/jeep transmissions, but it sounds like it'd be a good choice.

I wanted to do a 4BT in mine but that was a pretty big undertaking, and a huge amount of weight.

I was recently reading about someone who swapped in a Cummins 3.3l and was getting something crazy like 38 MPG. That would be pretty cool. Of course one of those engines was available locally for $800 last fall on CL and I said "what the heck would you use that in?!?" doh!

you can always get a 70's FJ40 and beat the snot out of any jeep you come across

I was going to stay out of this one...but since someone else brought it up.

The 3.6 is an amazing motor, but I would rather have a 4.0 for a BOV. The 3.8 was weak (OK, very weak), but a fairly simple, cheap, reliable motor. It went in everything, so parts are cheap. The new 3.6 is very strong and very good (so far). The only problems have been the sorts of things that will not actually affect your ability to use the jeep. Mostly misfires... just enough to light the check engine light, you won't notice anything performance or longevity wise.

I fit down some ATV trails in the pinelands here is Jersey, larger vehicles wouldn't have done so well there. But I'd imagine hauling a trailer of any type down those trails wouldn't have worked. I'd say if you're carrying a lot then go with something else.


Or you could do what my buddy did and put a corvette engine in it, then all is well...


Edit: I miss my jeep

I think the "myth" of the bugout vehicle is posted somewhere..different site.

I have a CJ w/warmed 304, a wrangler 2.5l, and have driven a '07 iirc a bit. If you want a Jeep "lifestyle" grab one...they are fun. They don't haul a lot inside and there's no security with a softtop.

The older ones aren't really too crashworthy during hwy accidents. I have been hit and ended up on the side....no you cannot flip it back over by yourself. Have seen a guy ejected and killed in CJ after striking tree w/hard doors! Saw a few guys who "borrowed" a wrangler after they hit a stone wall and went off a 15 foot embankment w/hardtop..landed upside down w/ejections. Prob not the optimal choice as a primary "bugout" vehicle, but would have for other reasons.

The 07 had a 6 spd tranny that was just too much shifting...I would pass on that version. Friend had some windshield seal problems also.
The 2.5 barely moves on the hwy, but is fine for the town.
The older jeeps are fine, but as the mileage increases you prob better not bet your future on one.

I have been in the older K-5 Blazer and would prob go with that type for safety, capability, parts availability, etc. The one I drove in had a granny low w/wamred engine. Nice, but fuel economy was low.

Good luck

You know, another option, if you're between an older truck and a Jeep, is to get a Jeep MJ––the 'commanche' model and update it with the last-gen 97+ front end. I think these are really cool, and they are very capable 4WDs:

Pic is not of my truck––but a nicely updated Comanche.

Comanche=No


Some stuff to read:
http://www.alpharubicon.com/bovstuff/bovstuff.htm

Only problem with the MJ for me is the inability to sleep in the cab comfortably. Other than that the parts are plentiful and I'd certainly feel confident in one. The pictured MJ has the newer XJ interior as well and one of my favorite Jeeps.

If the SHTF for real, at some point every vehicle will run out of fuel or break, no matter how tricked out it is.

So make sure you have a good pair of boots and a reasonable load.

I second all of this.

I had a 1998 TJ Sport. Traded it in 2010 on a used Nissan Titan. It had 175K miles on it and smelled like farts and coffee.

I bought a Congo Cage and a Hitch Haul to help mitigate the poor cargo space, but that was only a marginal solution. I towed a small trailer with 12' aluminum boat and a mild breeze had me all over the road. Gas mileage was awful.

We tried, of course. It was paid off, and taking the top off on a sunny spring day was magic. My son loved it. We just couldn't fit anything in. Two adults, a very small cooler, a small boy and a diaper bag and we were nearly stuffed to the gills. When we found out Baby #2 was on the way, we traded it in.

It never got stuck, but it did slide around a bit on wet pavement.

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