gibsonfirebird12

Hello all,

I am the owner of an '01 Wrangler TJ 4.0L 3sped as well as a 2017 Wrangler JKUR. I spend the vast majority of my driving in the TJ because I enjoy driving it way more. I do wheel my TJ pretty regularly.I mostly have the JKUR for family trips and towing my pop up camper that is about 2800lb dry. I don't really enjoy driving my JKUR. I don't really dislike it but it is a very boring and modern vehicle. It is insanely capable, but not fun if that makes sense. I like old **** better and love the 4.0L. Since the used market is really good right now, I could probably easily get a good deal for my JKUR, pick up an XJ and pocket some $ for mods on both of my jeeps.

I think an XJ would fit my lifestyle nicely, they have the same engine as the TJ and a lot of other similarities, but got those 4 doors, and my understanding is that some of them have a tow capacity of up to 5000lbs if they had the towing package from the factory. I know a lot about the TJ and do a lot of my own work on it, so I think I could easily take on the work an XJ would require.

My questions are:

1. Is this a good idea?
   
2. Has anyone done this before? (gone from a JKU or a JLU to an XJ, or vice versa?), if so what can you share about your transition?
   
3. How do I go about finding one that can tow 5000 lbs? Were they specific year models?
   
4. What would I be looking at paying in SoCal for one around 100-120k miles if anyone is aware of the local market here? Cursory look shows anything from 6k-20k.
   

Keep in mind if I sell my JKUR, I can take my time finding an XJ since I already have my TJ, so I would not need to rush to anything.

Appreciate any feedback!

BlueRidgeMark

Welcome, Gibson!

Or should we call you Firebird?




Well, you certainly have our condolences on that!



Only you can decide that. I have no idea what the towing capability of the JKUR is, but I think the XJ is marginal for your needs. More below.


No specific models or years. It's all of them. 5,000 is with a weight distributing hitch, 3,500 without. Tongue weight is 500 and 350, respectively. I think you'd find it a bit much to tow that camper all the time, loaded. Don't even think about if if you are going to put a lift on it or even big tires.

I regularly tow around 5,000 with no weight distributing hitch, and it is fine, but I am not some dumb kid who doesn't know how to keep his foot out of the skinny pedal or leave tons of stopping distance. I keep it below the speed limit and take it really easy approaching any place someone could pull out. I also understand tongue weight and I have a very capable trailer. (Military M101A2) I'm mostly on back country roads, too. I'm not going cross country, and I would not with that weight. (I can get a cord of oak on my trailer, and the trailer's dry weight is 1300, IIRC. You can do the math.)

Remember, it's not the going that is tough. It's the stopping.



Sounds about right. I'm normally in Virginia but I've been in So Cal for a few months now for family reasons, and I've been watching Craigslist. They are pricey around here.

gibsonfirebird12

LOL @ condolences

Why would the lift and/or tires cause the towing to be worse? I could understand suspension, but what about the tires makes it worse? I know that gets a little in to the land of just general towing questions and outside the scope of an XJ, but still curious.

Understood on the towing information and capabilities. I would guess the XJ is the same if not better than the JKUR for towing. JKUR max is 350lbs tongue/3500lbs max. I hate towing the camper with my JKUR. I honestly couldn't see it getting any worse with an XJ with the exception of maybe the hot running 4.0L.

I'm assuming a brake controller and disc brakes (if the theoretical XJ I find has them, or a conversion kit) would really help the stopping situation.

OptionXIII

1. I would say it's not the greatest idea, but you can make it work if you're dedicated to working on and modding an XJ. Other than the convertible aspect and a roll bar intruding on interior space, a 4dr Unlimited Wrangler is basically what a new XJ would look like, and it is definitely selling to the same kinds of customers 20 years after the last XJ was built. While there is a certain charm to the lightweight XJ, I won't pretend the JK isn't an improvement on it in pretty much every other way.
2. I've never "transitioned", but I have a lot of time behind the wheel of XJs, JKs, and JLs. The XJ is just... flimsier, in every way. Less stiff chassis, weaker engine and cooling system, weaker brakes, 20+ year old plastics that were cheap when new, etc etc. A lot of the XJs driving appeal tends to come from that, but I still enjoyed driving JKs. Especially manual ones.
3. The 5,000lb setup is the tow package. It should be available in pretty much any year with a 4.0, but I'm guessing you're looking more at the 97-01s. If I remember correctly, it consists of a Class III hitch, 3.73 gearing, a transmission cooler, heavy duty radiator, and slightly stiffer springs. It's a nice find, but to be honest I wouldn't worry about it. Most every original leaf spring needs to be replaced by now. Same goes for any factory radiator, and the HD radiators are no longer available so you have to either live with the standard OEM replacement radiator, or find an aftermarket item to your liking. A transmission cooler is an easy addition, as is a tow hitch. The only hard or expensive part is the 3.73 gears, but that's such a small difference compared to the normal 3.55 gears in most automatics that it isn't worth worrying about.
4. I can't comment on California prices other than they are high. XJs are fast becoming modern classics, and the price good condition examples are starting to command is driven by nostalgia more than it's comparative value to other 4x4s.

I love my XJ for what it is because I have a lot of memories with them, and they're super cheap and easy to modify. If you are looking for a project and have a nostalgic itch the JK just can't fix, take a look at some build threads. There's a lot of work in involved in getting an XJ to reach that same level of get in and go reliability, capability, and quality a JK has.

If you do not want a project and want to tow 5,000lbs safely, regularly, and reliably, an XJ is not what you should be looking for.

gibsonfirebird12

Thanks for the awesome reply. Some things to think about, and really interesting to hear an XJ owner say that the JKU is basically better in every way. If you could trade your XJ directly for a brand new JLUR or JKUR with no extra cost, would you do it?

OptionXIII

That's not an easy answer haha. I'd only be interested in a manual trans JKU, or an automatic JLU. The JK manual is so much more of a joy to shift than the JLs cable shifter, and the 8 speed auto in the JL is a massive upgrade over the JKs 5 speed. I thought long and hard about ordering a JK manual before production stopped. In the end, I couldn't justify the expense. But that transmission was just so satisfying with every single shift that I decided I wanted to try to swap the 4.0L version found in later TJs into my XJ.

Sure, a Wrangler is basically built to be customized and the aftermarket for it is immense. But most of the upgrades are massively expensive in comparison to junkyard parts. Plus, JK/JLs are so capable out of the box you don't even really need to mod them.The XJ gives me what I want - a fun to drive, almost classic cruiser with offroad capability, and a lot of things to upgrade or fix for stupid cheap. If I didn't have an XJ as a project, there would be something else in its place.

If you have kids and enjoy the camping and adventuring significantly more than the wrenching, stick with the JK. If all of the work sounds fun to you, you may want to consider an XJ.

BlueRidgeMark

Gearing. Taller tires are effectively higher gears. Not what you want when towing. A lift makes you less stable in corners and in crosswinds.



Remember, the 5,000 rating is ONLY with a weight distributing hitch. Without that it's the same 3500.

The weight of the towing vehicle also makes a big difference in stability, particularly when you encounter crosswinds and fast moving big rigs. The towing vehicle really should outweigh the trailer.


Brake controller is aftermarket only, and not a difficult installation. I would not try towing that much without trailer brakes of some kind. My trailer has surge brakes, which are better than nothing. They did fail on my once and I got pushed through a stop sign onto a highway (pucker power!), but that can happen with any brake system.

XJs, are disc front, drum rear, no factory option for anything else. Converting the rear to disc is a common upgrade, using brake assemblies from the Liberty, IIRC.

BTW, if you tow that kind of weight with an XJ, you do it in third gear, not 4th (overdrive), unless you want a cooked transmission.

Aftermarket trans cooler is a MUST, of course. Temp gauge is not a bad idea.