My uncle drove one the 4 cylinder a little offroad and on road also he was very dissapointed he said he had it floored most of the time and still didn't go like he wanted it to he said he shifted from 4th to 5th and it didn't seem to go any faster and overall he said it was very underpowered. I would go for the 4.0L if you can find one. I like the old CJ's a lot also. I looked at one with the 4.0L when I bought the Ram but decided it didn't pull a trailer as well as I needed it too and was a little too small. If the size is ok and you don't mind not having much power though they should be ok. I would personally put about a 6" lift on it and some 33" tires not sure how much of a lift you have to have to fit them but I would guess about 6" you might get away with 3".

Jeeps are what they are. I'm a Jeep guy and drive a 98 Cherokee (XJ). Of the Wranglers, up to 95 (YJ) they had leaf springs both front and rear. The new ones (TJ) have coils all the way around. A better ride but it's still a Jeep. About the only thing that you can do to improve the ride is put a slightly bigger tire with less back spacing on the rim. Basically it widens your stance. You can slap a budget boost on a TJ for less than $100 and 2-3 hrs of your time. The XJ Cherokees are still gonna be the best bang for the buck. I have 112K miles on my 1998 and it runs great. My buddy just got 285K miles before the motor died, this was a 90 and not as good of a motor. The inline six is a good proven motor. Now the ZJ Grand Cherokees from 93-98 are great too. Good ride and you can find them in a V8 which is great for towing. Especially if you can find a 98 with the 5.9L. It hauls!! Then you have the new Unlimited (LJ) which is a medium between the Wranglers and Cherokees. I don't have any experience with them though. My 98 is sitting on about 5.5" of lift though.

Is the 5.9L the 360 that is used in the Rams? If so that thing is a freakin gas guzzler I do have slightly larger mud tires but I get about 8-10mpg with it that thing drinks gas like it is nothing. It seems to be a good engine though I just don't like the gas milage it gets. I used to want a Cherokee but never have had one still wouldn't mind having one although there are plenty of other vehicles I would rather have now.

hometheaterman said:

Same motor, throw 8,000 pounds behind it, you'll get 6.5 mpg.