It sure adds up

[DaveF]

I've been thinking this more and more. Buy a dedicated trail rig and beat the crap out of it. For every day, drive a slightly modified LJ and enjoy it!

Thing is my LJ is basically trail only 95% of the time, BUT if I want to go bigger, and I do, it means axles, outboarding, shocks, mid arm? — a LOT of money... so much that I could have bought that CJ @B00mb00m just mentioned. That said, then I'd have to figure out how to store two vehicles, and if my wife drives one and I the other, trailer two? there are logistical issues with a second vehicle that are detractors.

I may just end up going more the @NashvilleTJ route eventually though without the Hemi probably.... (37+, bigger axles, longer travel shocks, stretch? I just need more knowledge and I need to put together a game plan, order of operations so I can have a goal to save for or work towards. But then I go back to this.... a buggy with exo-cage that I wouldn't be afraid to roll....

 

[zackcj7]

I added and kept track of all expenses with my first Jeep build. Have not done it on any vehicle since. Too depressing. Especially when you build in stages.

 

[B00mb00m]

Three times I've started tracking money spent on a build. Three times I've failed to complete. What I can say, in totality, is that I've received far more value than expended. Knowledge, fun, and friendships to name a few. I honestly no longer want to know what I spend, because you can't put price on those kinds of things. I've got a friend who hoards money, but isn't happy. I'm not going to be reckless, but that will never be me. We get one shot at life!

Preach! i catch a lot of shit from other boring engineers but i tell you what i have gained FAR more hands on skills from building a jeep than going into the office these past 4 years.

 

[B00mb00m]

.... a buggy with exo-cage that I wouldn't be afraid to roll....

This is the big one when you come down to getting after it. Like going aggressive in naches, it's so vertical that any slip up an its a flop.

 

[Apparition]

I may just end up going more the @NashvilleTJ route eventually though without the Hemi probably.... (37+, bigger axles, longer travel shocks, stretch? I just need more knowledge and I need to put together a game plan, order of operations so I can have a goal to save for or work towards.

There's something to be said for a street legal rock crawler that is welcomed at cars and coffees.

Much of why I bought another LJ instead of building a trailer queen, I won't be happy if I can't daily it.

 

[DaveF]

This is the big one when you come down to getting after it. Like going aggressive in naches, it's so vertical that any slip up an its a flop.

or many spots at Reiter... Candy Corn anyone?

 

[B00mb00m]

or many spots at Reiter... Candy Corn anyone?

Hah yup, haven't tried that one and not planning to. Were you looking at that exact CJ in Yakima? my buddy who wheels a clean T4R picked up the jeep because he didnt want to hurt his collectors item, lol.

 

[JMT]

Ya exactly, what i was thinking lol. Theres no reason to beat up a perfectly nice driving LJ! My buddy just picked up a stretched CJ with LS and old school 44's on coilovers for $10k.

I've been thinking this more and more. Buy a dedicated trail rig and beat the crap out of it. For every day, drive a slightly modified LJ and enjoy it!

I look at Jeep's for sale every day, and I often find trail rigs for $6-8k on 37's with ARB's 513 gears, coilovers, et al.. They may be CJ's or YJ's, but I keep thinking more and more the way you guys are thinking, snag one and use it for the trail, keep the TJ nice and use for lighter wheelin.

Example, though not a YJ, which makes me suspect.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/664210348153036/

 

[DaveF]

Hah yup, haven't tried that one and not planning to. Were you looking at that exact CJ in Yakima? my buddy who wheels a clean T4R picked up the jeep because he didnt want to hurt his collectors item, lol.

The one I was looking at was in Ellensburg if I recall.

 

[DaveF]

I look at Jeep's for sale every day, and I often find trail rigs for $6-8k on 37's with ARB's 513 gears, coilovers, et al.. They may be CJ's or YJ's, but I keep thinking more and more the way you guys are thinking, snag one and use it for the trail, keep the TJ nice and use for lighter wheelin.

Example, though not a YJ, which makes me suspect.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/664210348153036/

I haven't found any that cheap.... maybe not looking at the right places.

 

[DaveF]

I look at Jeep's for sale every day, and I often find trail rigs for $6-8k on 37's with ARB's 513 gears, coilovers, et al.. They may be CJ's or YJ's, but I keep thinking more and more the way you guys are thinking, snag one and use it for the trail, keep the TJ nice and use for lighter wheelin.

Example, though not a YJ, which makes me suspect.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/664210348153036/

says he did a cj hood/grill swap... but it also says super swampers and light bar which i don't see in the pic

 

[B00mb00m]

I look at Jeep's for sale every day, and I often find trail rigs for $6-8k on 37's with ARB's 513 gears, coilovers, et al.. They may be CJ's or YJ's, but I keep thinking more and more the way you guys are thinking, snag one and use it for the trail, keep the TJ nice and use for lighter wheelin.

Example, though not a YJ, which makes me suspect.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/664210348153036/

I may be poor but im not leaf spring poor!

 

[JMT]

The one I was looking at was in Ellensburg if I recall.

I see several decent looking Jeeps show up in Ellensburg. @Wildman is over there. I know there was an Inca Gold Rubi recently. Priced at 18k, dropped to 16k last week. No Rubi flares, no Moab's, so it had already been toyed with a bit.

Yeah, that YJ with the CJ hood and grill swap didn't have a lightbar that I could find either. If it only had an angry grill I would have already bought it.

 

[Irun]

I may be poor but im not leaf spring poor!

Having come from the leaf spring world, coil springs were a revolutionary step forward. I couldn't ever see myself going back either!

 

[Irun]

Preach! i catch a lot of shit from other boring engineers but i tell you what i have gained FAR more hands on skills from building a jeep than going into the office these past 4 years.

I have that same conversation with my wife, who is an engineer, all the time. "Honey, guess what I learned in the garage today?" Unfortunately, this is the look I get!

 

[NashvilleTJ]

...

I may just end up going more the @NashvilleTJ route eventually though without the Hemi probably.... (37+, bigger axles, longer travel shocks, stretch? I just need more knowledge and I need to put together a game plan, order of operations so I can have a goal to save for or work towards. But then I go back to this.... a buggy with exo-cage that I wouldn't be afraid to roll....

It's very, very dark on this side, but come on over my friend - bbbuuuwaaaaahaaahaaahaaaaaa....................

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I did the math retroactively when I decided to switch from TJ to LJ. I wanted understand how much I'd be losing if I sold the TJ, bought an LJ, and started over, vs buy an LJ, swap my build onto it, and then sell the TJ stock.

Turned out I had about $20k in my 99 TJ Sahara, and $8k in stuff that could be moved over to the LJ that might have gotten 2-3k in resale value at best, so I decided it was worth it. I haven't done the math again but I've dumped some more into the LJ after the fact (chromoly axles, front locker, SwayLOC), and since I bought the LJ for $4k more than I sold the TJ for, I'd guess I'm close to $26k total invested now.

 

[JMT]

I did the math retroactively when I decided to switch from TJ to LJ. I wanted understand how much I'd be losing if I sold the TJ, bought an LJ, and started over, vs buy an LJ, swap my build onto it, and then sell the TJ stock.

Turned out I had about $20k in my 99 TJ Sahara, and $8k in stuff that could be moved over to the LJ that might have gotten 2-3k in resale value at best, so I decided it was worth it. I haven't done the math again but I've dumped some more into the LJ after the fact (chromoly axles, front locker, SwayLOC), and since I bought the LJ for $4k more than I sold the TJ for, I'd guess I'm close to $26k total invested now.

STOP bringing up numbers.

 

[DaveF]

It's very, very dark on this side, but come on over my friend - bbbuuuwaaaaahaaahaaahaaaaaa....................

Teach me master....

 

[freedom_in_4low]

STOP bringing up numbers.

to be clear, those numbers include purchasing the rig. It's not that amount on top. So it's not that much above what we tell people it takes to run 35s.