Hi guys, my name's Sam. I just picked up a totally stock 1999 Cherokee Sport 4.0L auto. Got it with 190k for a good deal. For now my plans are to make sure it's reliable, so I'm doing some maintenance (bit of front end work, oil/filter change, spark plugs, etc). I'm also pretty excited to put some more aggressive tires on it. Apart from that I'll probably put a small lift on it (maybe with V8 ZJ front springs up front and S10 leaf springs in the rear), a tow hitch, maybe some rock sliders, etc. I mainly use it for camping and exploring, but have no plans to be doing any rock crawling or anything. I'd like to retain as much of its stock on-road characteristics as I can while making it a little more capable off-road. Anyway, here's some pics. Excited to get out and explore!
Sweet! and welcome!
Cherokees were born to wheel, you'll have lots of fun in that.
Welcome to vioffroad! nice looking jeep - look forward to seeing you on the trails.
Welcome to the community! If you don't have one already, pick up a back roads mapbook for VI! there's tons of spots all over the island to explore, and it makes finding them a breeze!
Also welcome to having an empty wallet. Once you start modding it won't stop.
Welcome and thats a beauty jeep! We'll keep you posted with some fairly stock friendly adventures all the way through to crazy stuff if you want.
Hey Sam,
Beautiful Jeep. Looks like the day it rolled off the lot.
Figured I might as well piggyback on your thread rather than starting my own. So hello everyone, I'm also new to the site, and have returned to owning a 4WD after 22 years (yikes) away. Anyways......been lurking and learning here for a couple months and am excited to get out as much as I can. My truck is still stock and might have to stay that way for a while until my wallet feels fat again. Looking forward to some stock-friendly runs as well.
Thanks guys! Yeah, I was pumped to find such a clean stock example. I'd love to join on some stock-friendly adventures in the coming weeks!
Quick update. Did a bit of maintenance to the Jeep, and put some BF Goodrich A/T tires on it. Went and did some exploring from Cowichan to Port Renfrew and found a cool spot by the river.
On the way home I realized how ridiculously dim the stock sealed-beam headlights are, so i did a bit of research and upgraded to some Hella Vision Plus housings and bulbs, and also upgraddd the headlight wiring harness to get more voltage from the battery. Super easy and made a big difference. There's a couple pics for those interested.
We used the backroads map book to navigate through the logging roads but eseentially got lost a couple times. What software do you guys use, and what hardware do you need to support it?
Jeep me posted as to any trail runs that a stock XJ could handle. Cheers!
https://www.vioffroad.com/forum/general-chatter/gps-question-and-introdu...
this thread has a lot of info.
have to echo everyone and say Canada Topo maps is the bees knees. get the paid version. offline storage of satellite imagery with GPS overlay. sploosh.
that, combined with OSMand offline maps and i never get lost.
Awesome, I'll have a read through. Thanks!
hey Sam , have you checked out the Jordan River dam yet? it's not a long drive in maybe an hour at the most.
here's the thread for it: https://www.vioffroad.com/forum/routes-destinations/jordon-river-bear-cr...
the washouts look nasty but my stock Tacoma managed just fine. as long as you pick your route right and go slow you should make it.
I haven't! I think that'll be my next trip. Thanks for the link!
Yo! Nice Jeep, looks super clean! Im pretty new here and noticed you were asking for stock-friendly off road adventures, have you found any? I'm also looking for some. I've been to Jordan River dam but thats about it, where else you have been?
Thanks man! Apart from that rocky riverbed pictured above I haven't done any off-roading lately. I was up at Tall Tree festival a couple weeks ago, which is on Pacheedaht land, that was pretty cool. I feel like they must close off all the festival grounds the rest of the year, but it would be such nice camping up there if it were open.
I am going to camp on Hornby this weekend and then hopefully do the Jordan River dam the weekend after. Let me know if you find anything or want someone to tag along on a trial in a second vehicle!
I've only been in that area once, Lizard lake, not for offroading but just camping, and yeah its awesome out there. I feel like there must be some cool trails in that area, still have to explore. I've only had my xterra for about 3 weeks now so I'm keen on doing some trips.
I was at Jordan River last weekend, its pretty fun. My friend's truck's 4x4 didnt work so he was RWD all the way and had no problems. Really dusty though!
Ill PM you closer to next weekend see if youre still heading out there, enjoy Hornby!
Yeah it is so dusty up there! Really nice though. My last vehicle was an '02 Xterra SC. It was awesome off road. Sold it when I moved to Poland for school because I had nowhere to store it. I still haven't been to Lizard lake actually. Sounds good man!
I sold the red Cherokee a couple years ago, but just picked up this awesome one owner, 2 door manual! Drives amazingly well, the previous owner did a ton of maintenance. Stoked!
Looks sweet! The 2 door XJ is an under appreciated model IMO.
Agreed!