Ive had my half tonne Ram for a few months now, I bought it to haul junk around for work and stuff, but Im not really doing that as much anymore and I want something a bit better off road. Looked into Jeeps, liked Wranglers, apparently TJs ride much better. This would end up being my daily as I can only really justify having one car. I drove a 97 TJ, it had the 4.0l, 4 inch lift, 31" tires, and it was perfect but a bit pricy. YJs are generally cheaper but I dont know how they ride and if they would be tolerable for driving everyday (I assume CJ's are similar as they both have 4 wheel leafs), lift kits seem to be about the same, gas milage difference is negligible. I hope to offload my truck to someone before the summer (or maybe trade if I can get lucky), what is everyones opinion on this? Im in school and I have very limited money so is it worth the extra money for a TJ? Thank you.
Also I do understand that an XJ or WJ would be more practice, but the wrangler bodystyle is just cool and I want something different that I can remove the roof of.
Last note, if anyone knows someone who wants a work truck Ive got a nice one. (I swear its never been offroaded, haha)
i wanted a yj but every one i looked at was rusty. found a cheep tj and after i got it was happy.
Tj over a YJ for sure, i have had both. TJ has better susupension and a better motor. both of mine had 35's and lift. i loved them both at the time.
Ive read many tj owners find the coils give a rolling feal in corners. Also I even came across a thread where a tj owner put leafs into the rear of his tj to give it a stable feeling on off camber trails and reduce the body roll. .
Just a few considerations
I love my TJ, suspension really soaks up the bumps on those rough trails,although there is a little body roll feeling when cornering,its not bad though. Test drove a 2.5 yj..it was hideously underpowered, put me right off the smaller 4cylinder. oh and driving topless is great!
Rust is the issue with YJ & TJ models ...
As mentioned by Kiwiboy ..... the 4cyl. is underpowered. Best to avoid.
A moderate lift with 32" - 34" tires are acceptable for a daily driver
Shop around ..... Kiji is your friend. Good luck !