Ok I am hopefully going to buy a new vehicle soon. Well new to me. It will be my daily driver. I want to take this vehicle off road on some trails. Not anything really serious but some pretty good trails. I have thought about a 2003 to 2006 chevy 1500/2500 series trucks or a 2003 to 2006 jeep grand cherokees. All of them will have the V8 engines. In 2005 the jeeps went to the IFS, one reason I like the 2003 and 2004 jeep grands are they are SFA but i still like the newer ones and think they will do fine in what I will put it through. I really want the truck but my only concern about it is that it is also IFS and its is bigger. I worry about the body damage that will happen to it going through trails. Right now I live in Florida but soon would like to end up in NC. I have not seen any of the trails so I have no idea what I will be going through, I just know that this is something I really want to do. Also there will be 2 to 3 large dogs that will be coming along with me. Thanks for your advice.
What would you get?
- Thread starter mcrn
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Go drive an Xterra. Tough truck with a gutsy engine.
You can get Chevy blazers for pretty cheap. They're a tough and reliable vehicle.
None of those work well on Western NC trails. Weapons of choice are spring over Jeep CJ and YJ with big Tires and
highly modified Jeep Cherokees. For Eastern NC a Ford SuperDuty with a 5.4L isnt a bad choice if you like Solid Axles.
highly modified Jeep Cherokees. For Eastern NC a Ford SuperDuty with a 5.4L isnt a bad choice if you like Solid Axles.
WJ's great wheelers. Get the 4.7L and you'll be happy. #@$%!, I am happy with my I6. Watch out for the blend door issues on the limited though. If it has not had the issues yet, it more than likley will at some point though.
There are plenty of suspension lifts and all that fancy stuff available, like you stated. I am doing a mild 3" lift on mine.
There are plenty of suspension lifts and all that fancy stuff available, like you stated. I am doing a mild 3" lift on mine.
WJ or ZJ would be okay. Just not the new IFS GC. Also the factory axles leave a bit to be desired. Especially if you have the aluminum carrier rear axle.
The trails there are mostly Snot Slick Clay, Big Rocks, Slippery Roots, Lots of Moisture, and dont follow the taillights in front of you are you do circles (They are yours!). Lots of great trails in the Asheville area though. Im sure you can find some less demanding trails. The Bud I used to go with had a CJ with a 401 AMC, Full Width Waggy D60's, Very Low Gears, Granny Lo 4-Speed, Low Transfer Case Gears, and 38's. The body was cut alot to get it as low as possible with the 38's. Im sure I saw a bit more difficult trails than some that were available.
PS Solid Axle Toys (of all types) are also popular.
They put 4.7L in the WJ? I thought they came with 5.2L and 5.9L. I thought the 4.7L started with the ZJ.
ZJ's had the 4.0L's, 5.2L's and 5.9L's, WJ's have the 4.0L's, 4.7L's and the HO 4.7L. WK's have the 3.7L, 4.7L's, 5.7L & the 6.1L SRT motor.
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