If I were to start a build.... What?

[O.D.]

Well......

Looks like i am going to get into building a trail right out of a Jeep YJ/TJ. At this point i have nothing.... Just a plan :stir: And even that is full of holes

Could anyone through out some pro's cons that i should be looking out for?

What are some of the prefer's that people look for when attempting to build a trail jeep?

I WILL get it safetied, however after that, i will be tearing it down.


All replies welcomed!!

Cheers.,

 

[Farm Boy]

If you don't have anything yet and are only in the planning stages, the best advice I can give you is DON'T BUY A HEEP!!! :stir:
Get a Zuk and swap it over to all Toy stuff or get a Toyota to begin with
The narrower trucks work better around here with all the tight trails and I'm a huge fan of wheelbase, I wouldn't trade my 112" WB for anything (well maybe I'd trade it for 114")

 

[Kunker]

I'm also a little biased (Zuk guy), but I have to agree with Farm Boy for different reasons. It often seems like prices for everything is just a little bit higher if it's a Jeep versus a lot of other trucks.

First thoughts on YJ vs. TJ:

YJ's are cheaper to find but being at least 13 years old (95 I think), you're going to have more rust repair and maintenance, and at the end of the day, you'll have leaf springs. If you're looking at going custom links, coilover/air shocks, etc anyway, it's a great base.

TJ's can be found relatively rust free, nice soft and flexy coils, and tons of aftermarket support. You can practically bolt on everything for a serious trail rig over a couple of weekends.

As to what you're looking for, I'd say look for a TJ with the Rubicon package. It gives you Dana 44 axles front and rear, factory lockers, lower gears (if I remember correctly), etc. A very capable wheeler out of the box, and a great foundation to build on.

My 2 cents.

 

[Mitko]

You need to clarify your plans in terms of purposse:

- dependable daily driver with some offroad capabilities
- dependable daily driver with high offroad capabilities
- offroad truck with some on-the-road capabilities
- custom bugy with NO on-the-road capabilities
- hard core rock crawling buggy
- BAJA1000 - tipe truck
- long term expeditions tipe truck
- mall cruiser/caffe racer

Than you need to clarify your budget - any one of the above mentioned can easylly reach the value of a good downpayment for a new house, there is no limit of the expences.

Last but no the least: if you are married or living with GF she need to be very undurstandable, quiet and possibly spending 9 months of a 12 somevhere else, lets say Alaska

Welcome to the club, the place of endless fun.

 

[Root Moose]

It depends alot on what your expectation levels are. I don't know if you've been out before but, if you haven't, before you decide anything I suggest you go on a couple of trail rides and go to a few meetings to check out some vehicles.

OVO has different clusters of guys that pray at different churches. It's great but sometimes can be confusing if you don't already know what you want.

Before picking a platform I suggest you make a "short list" of stuff that your really want in your new machine. Stuff like:

Is it going to be a daily driver?
It is going to be a trailer queen?
Maybe something in between?
How much do you care about "creature comforts"?
Are you just looking for a sheet metal box you can hose out at the end of the trail?
Do you expect to tow a trailer?
Do you want to do more expedition style wheeling - or want the option to do that type of wheeling?
Are you afraid of electronics?
Diesel vs gas?

Lots of people make a big deal about the price of parts/components of one brand over another. Before getting too caught up with that train of thought keep in mind that sometimes time equals money. Sure, you can build whatever but a lot of times it is more cost effective to just buy something and get on with it. Some brands have aftermarket stuff that is pricey, but then the product doesn't even exist for the other brand so is it even an issue with respect to cost?

Then there is the whole expectations level thing. What are you expectations of a truck? Be honest with yourself.

Ultimately it doesn't matter what platform you start with. Anything can be made to wheel. Make sure you like the platform and it does what you want though, otherwise you'll end up switching a bunch of times.

HTH

 

[Root Moose]

LOL

Me and Mitko are on the same wavelength.

 

[Buster]

You need to clarify your plans in terms of purposse:


Last but no the least: if you are married or living with GF she need to be very undurstandable, quiet and possibly spending 9 months of a 12 somevhere else, lets say Alaska

Very well put, nice and subtle

 

[SWest]

Ummm

Well.. Id figure out how much I could sell it for to upgrade my samurai!!! :beer:
But in the end keep it simple and dont complicate things and nothing will brake. If yopu start going all Bill gates and wiz kid on it well shit will brake....

If the flexcapacitator wasnt so complicated he wouldnt of gotten stuck in the 50's

 

[O.D.]

You need to clarify your plans in terms of purposse:

- dependable daily driver with some offroad capabilities
- dependable daily driver with high offroad capabilities
- offroad truck with some on-the-road capabilities
- custom bugy with NO on-the-road capabilities
- hard core rock crawling buggy
- BAJA1000 - tipe truck
- long term expeditions tipe truck
- mall cruiser/caffe racer

Than you need to clarify your budget - any one of the above mentioned can easylly reach the value of a good downpayment for a new house, there is no limit of the expences.

Last but no the least: if you are married or living with GF she need to be very undurstandable, quiet and possibly spending 9 months of a 12 somevhere else, lets say Alaska

Welcome to the club, the place of endless fun.

Thanks for the info.... Firstly, i would be looking more at
- offroad truck with some on-the-road capabilities

As my plans... It's NOT an absolute necessity to have onroad abilities, but i would LIKE to be able to drive it to trails when wanted rather than always having to trailer it.

RE: expenses... Oh I know. I have built up an '83 toy, '88 YJ and was just starting a project of building up a Ford Excursion. However none of these were really built for trails... More for show and the occasional trail ride...

RE: wife... She is understandable.. She just HATES the fact that I change my hobbies and interests more often than my skivvies :lmao:

Cheers,:beer:

It depends alot on what your expectation levels are. I don't know if you've been out before but, if you haven't, before you decide anything I suggest you go on a couple of trail rides and go to a few meetings to check out some vehicles.

OVO has different clusters of guys that pray at different churches. It's great but sometimes can be confusing if you don't already know what you want.

Before picking a platform I suggest you make a "short list" of stuff that your really want in your new machine. Stuff like:

Is it going to be a daily driver?
It is going to be a trailer queen?
Maybe something in between?
How much do you care about "creature comforts"?
Are you just looking for a sheet metal box you can hose out at the end of the trail?
Do you expect to tow a trailer?
Do you want to do more expedition style wheeling - or want the option to do that type of wheeling?
Are you afraid of electronics?
Diesel vs gas?

Lots of people make a big deal about the price of parts/components of one brand over another. Before getting too caught up with that train of thought keep in mind that sometimes time equals money. Sure, you can build whatever but a lot of times it is more cost effective to just buy something and get on with it. Some brands have aftermarket stuff that is pricey, but then the product doesn't even exist for the other brand so is it even an issue with respect to cost?

Then there is the whole expectations level thing. What are you expectations of a truck? Be honest with yourself.

Ultimately it doesn't matter what platform you start with. Anything can be made to wheel. Make sure you like the platform and it does what you want though, otherwise you'll end up switching a bunch of times.

HTH

*lol* I hear ya on allot levels.. When i had my Toy, it was great. It was bulletproof. I was running 35X14.5 MT's with the stock gears/motor and it nevers stopped. Drove to Daytona and back, spent ALLOT of weekend in Limoges, etc..... However i always liked the jeep. For the short wheelbase, the openness, etc... Then i bought one, however i did not have the time, money or freedoms at that time to really get into it. Now, i am a bit more settled, i have the time (Well, not really) to start from scratch and take my time somewhat.

I am looking to keep the cost down to start and then build from there. I was (And still am) very interested in ArmyGuy's jeep, however i just do not have the 11K right off the bat without taking out a loan and i do not want to do that.... BUT, this is pretty much where i want to go to.

My big questions really were:

- Worth the savings to go springs rather than coils?
- Big differences say from YJ to TJ from a trail worthy perspective?


Lots of info here guys... Very much appreciated

 

[Richard]

I've had an SOA YJ and now have essentially a long armed TJ and both can be very capable off-road. The drawbacks of SOA leafs are they age quickly and break, and even with a ladder bar it will hop climbing rocks. The drawback to coils is cost.

It also depends where you're going to off-road. Around here with mostly mud and slippery rocks the leafs are suffient. But in Moab or Paragon I was cursing the leafs when everyone else walked up a rock ledge and I was humping it instead. After switching to coils I had no problems.

These are the main reasons I switched to coils, but it is more expensive so it's up to you to decide if it's worth it for you. If you do want coils and don't mind taking the time to do fab work buy a YJ since they're cheap and put on a TJ long arm kit.

 

[O.D.]

Thanks Richard,

I read up on your build (Nice work BTW) and it is in line with where i would like to go (Along the lines of ArmyGuy's jeep). Plus, as i am about 30 minutes south of you, i would be riding similar to what you do, however is not a high priority to travel abroad (However that can easily change

Cheers,

 

[tlowe]

pm sent

 

[Kunker]

My big questions really were:

- Worth the savings to go springs rather than coils?
- Big differences say from YJ to TJ from a trail worthy perspective?

Leaves vs. coils:

How many people have you heard taking coils out of their TJ and putting in leaves? None? Okay, how about those guys taking leaves and putting in coils/airshocks/coilovers? Half the guys on here, with the other half dreaming about it.

Coils will give you a softer ride, more flex, and better traction. You can nearly forget the word wheelhop.

YJ vs. TJ:

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but all TJ's definitely came with fuel injection where as the early YJ's didn't. Similar axles between them (AFAIK), but you can get the Rubicon package for the TJ with Dana 44s front and rear. As I said before, a nice base to start from. TJ's also came in an Unlimited form, giving you a longer wheelbase. As Farm Boy said, wb is often hard to beat. Check around for Jeep builds, and you'll see a lot of comp cuts and moving the axles around for a stretch.

TJ's will be newer as well, giving you less miles/rust/headaches. You can also find them with some pretty nice creature comforts if you want (A/C).

Both have huge aftermarket support, although I'd say the TJ might get a bit of a nod in that department as well.

If you're looking for something pretty capable out of the box, I'd say the TJ is the better platform. If you want a challenge, or have some wild ideas, the YJ would be a cheaper and slightly more unique starting point. But I've always liked the square headlights myself.