i have always wanted a jeep and now can finally get one.  my price range for the vehicle is $5000.  i would like to get a wrangler. i like to hunt , fish, and have fun with friends, i also drive 20 miles to work everyday so hwy driving is a concern.  what are the main essentials you would recomend for me to get besides tires. Is a lift needed? Do i need to put in lower gears? i was just looking for some tips and pointers.

thanks
Billy  

Not sure what area you live in but if it's wet and often muddy I'd start with a '97-'06 Wrangler. The best one you can afford. Slap on some 31-inch mud terrain tires, with a full-size spare of course, and get a subscription to this mag: www.jpmagazine.com.

Build it as you need to. 31=inch mud tires will fit stock and get you pretty far down the trail. Next mod might be a winch if it get really muddy and you'll be by yourself.

John  

I dissagree with the jp editor. You can only find a quality JY for the price alone in the mid east or eastern area. It all depends on where you life. CJ's are becoming a collector type so they are going up in price. I suggest the YJ. Its the *** child of jeep because of the square headlights but the frame is bullet proof( I have a 93 and I love it so I can talk smack about YJ). They are fairly cheep, can still cruise down the hwy at hwy speeds with no problems(get one with the H.0. 6). Look for years from 92 and up. These are the years that where the best ones for the YJ. Stay smaller then 32's or the rear axle will get grumpy(brake). The front axle housing is stronger then some think. Mine withstood 36 swampers in the rocks. They are super easy to work on and fix. lifts are easy and straight forward. A front dana 44 from a 1982 or newer FSJ will bolt right in with no welding(except for the steering link from the box). Im just saying you can do more to a YJ with less money then you can do to a TJ. Unless you REALLY want 4 link coils. It just cost more to lift and modify. A TJ will give you a softer ride down the road and off road. They are just as capable machines, but cost more when it comes to do modifications. It all depends on how far you want to go and which way and how much money you got. Good luck  

i got a 91 YJ 4cyl open front rear and its amzing. its true that they are easy to fix. i bought it for $3500 and i have put about $2000 into it. $1500 for a rubicon express extream duty 4.5" lift, CV driveshaft and a slip yoke emliminater kit. that thing has been known to keep up with yotas with lockers front rear. (don't go bigger then 33" tires on stock axels they will snap easy with 35") with the lift and 31" cooper discover mud terains it gets about 18-20 mpg freeway. and 15-16 around town. with gass prices they way they here in cali i havn't broken $50 on a full tank. it is my daily driver. but if you don't want that big of a lift i recomend just a leaf over (about $250-$300) and 33" tires would be prime for hunting excursions as well as daily driving. if you want a good mag for parts and stuff subscribe to 4wheelDrive hardware. www.4wd.com its FREE  

Jp Editor:
Not sure what area you live in but if it's wet and often muddy I'd start with a '97-'06 Wrangler. The best one you can afford. Slap on some 31-inch mud terrain tires, with a full-size spare of course, and get a subscription to this mag: www.jpmagazine.com.

Build it as you need to. 31=inch mud tires will fit stock and get you pretty far down the trail. Next mod might be a winch if it get really muddy and you'll be by yourself.

John

you tell em Cappa, these guys that think the TJ costs so much to build simply don't pay attention, probably haven't even driven one either. If they had the YJ would get traded in.
TJ's can be found for 5 grand already lifted with winches and a set of 32's or 33's if you look for them, a little more and you could really make a good score. spending 3500 for a 4 banger then another 2500 for a lift and a few YJ accessories? what gives? although that is a bargain on a budget, could have had a TJ. Don't get me wrong, I do Like the CJ's and the YJ's but when they are sitting next to each other in my driveway the TJ is the one that gets to go for a ride, the others just sit. thats no joke I do have one or two of all three, Oh yeah don't forget that subscription


http://forums.jpmagazine.com/active-posts/index.html  

beings to how I actually looked at some in your area, dang now I know where all the cheap TJ's are, and I came up with one TJ for 4200,............http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/495852399.html I found a few more for just under 6000 better move on it, I might buy it......http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/497231594.html

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/500634463.html

there are a few awesome YJ's to pick from..........I'd still go for the TJ any day. http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/501657659.html

well enough of that, I was on a roll, check out.......http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ look through the many pages of jeeps in your area. wow, just realized that thread is almost four months old. SO, Billy, what did you get?  

TJ  all the way U can find a used trail ready, very easy out here in the mid west!     Check out your local jeep clubs!  People are Always unloading rigs & upgrading!!  

well of corse living in california you can't find a tj that is not shitty for under $13,000 at least not from San Fran to Fresno  

I'll have to look lol  

Im just saying it depends on where you live. I live in the South west(currently Southern Ca) and prices are stupid expensive here in Ca for a decent quality TJ, much less a YJ. One guy wanted 8500 for a 1994 JY 4 cyl with 120k+miles!! It was in good condition but, yikes!
All  the best deals seem to be in the south east or east.

Any ways, my next rig is going to be a Tube job with my YJ motor  

that could be to much fun,  

Real jeeps have round headlights...lol j/k. I am a die hard TJ fan. I started on CJs then moved up to TJ. SOOOO Nice. I sold mine when I moved out west, Colorado, from Florida thinking they would cheaper here. I was so wrong, can not touch a running one for under 6k. A salvage one will run 3-4k. I may be forced into a YJ.  

don't knock the yj. mines a 95 and i love it to death. i'm going on the advice that mud gave me, by not test driving the tj. i live in pa (lancaster county) and picked up mine for $7000, and it's my daily driver.  

with 5 g's to spend you can get a decent yj or tj in fairly decent shape and you should have a little left over to play with. as far as one or the other, it really just depends on your preference and comfort desires. dailey driver/weekend warrior...go with a tj. if you're like me and like it a little more primitive and dont mind washing the interior out with a water hose...go for the yj. the tj's ride alot smoother, but from my experience the yj can take more of a pounding because it has less suspension components to break. which ever you go with, they are still the most capable on the trail in stock form. if you have money left over after the buy, get a good set of dependable mud tires and a locker at least for the rear. 31's and a rear locker will allow you to go where guys with 35's and open diff's wish they could. good luck  

You have received some good advise, but not necessarily of the unbiased type.  I too have cj,yj,and a rubicon tj.  The tj is so expensive to modify, have you seen the cost of a good long arm suspension, and that is just the  start,because at every modification, you will have a new weak link that must be dealt with.  In my opinion, you should look at what you want to wheel, and where, and spend the least amount of money to do so.  A balanced build of any jeep platform is going to be better than buying something that needs a constant flow of cash to enjoy.  The rubicon is nice, car like, but when you are in a hole and giving it everything that she has to get out, I see night and day difference on a 25k rubicon and a 5000 cj or yj.  Especially for a newbie.  Just getting out of the hole when you are broken can be an instant education.  The mags address this with every article, the difference between having fun and making sure that the situation stays like that.  If you check out youtube, you can see videos of people that spend an enormous amount of money on a vehicle that cant do what a 30 year old jeep will do 5 minutes after the big rig gets snatched our of the hole. The difference, big and new doesn't mean better or more capable. My last point would be to join your local club and ride along for several offroad events.  They can show you firsthand how they do it, and how they have personally have overcome the same obstacles that you need to address.  This is a growing industry, and allows your personality to show in your jeep.
Again, good luck.  Keep asking those good questions.