XJ or WJ

VistaCruiser

Observer
DubJ for all the reasons I listed in dan0's thread. XJ's are extremely nimble on trail, but the space and comfort in the WJ (especially with the grand kids+their gear) is a big win.

Sam
 

govt1911

US Paratrooper
I've owned both XJs and WJs. I'll pretty much echo what most others have said, XJs have MUCH more aftermarket support, but WJs are bigger, more power (if you go with the 4.7 V8), more comfortable, etc etc.

I no longer have any XJs but I still own a couple WJs. One 4.0 and one 4.7. I use the 4.0 for my Daily Driver and it's mostly stock, the 4.7 has 3" lift, 31" tires, winch, custom front/rear bumpers, CB, roof rack, etc etc. It's EXTREMELY capable offroad and MUCH more comfortable than my TJ on the trail.

Around here a clean XJ will run you around $2-2500 while a clean WJ around $2500-3500 stock. If I had a choice to start over and wanted to build a medium duty trail/camping rig, I'd go with the WJ. I fell in love with it after stumbling across one for a GREAT price. Prior to be getting that first one, I always looked down my nose at them because as a CJ and TJ owner, it wasn't a "REAL" Jeep. Now, unless I'm heading out to do some serious rock crawling, I choose my WJ everytime I want to get out in the woods.
 

SDDiver5

Expedition Leader
My brother owns an XJ and my sister owns a WJ. I like the box style of the XJ but its getting harder and harder to find one that is not hacked up and ghetto. There are tons of WJ's but the aftermarket support is very little unfortunately. I also don't like the how the ZJ and WJ have a lot of plastic...
 

Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
I had an '04 WJ Overland. I loved that Jeep! So did my girlfriend and our two dogs. For a live axle vehicle it drove and handled beautifully.
The 4.7 HO is seductive in its power delivery and smoothness. It also got pretty decent fuel mileage.
For an SUV it was pretty good off road with just stock Michelin M+S tires.
.
That said, if I was to do another one with an emphasis on off-road, I'd probably do the Laredo with the 4.0.
The 4.7 has a hydraulic fan setup, and the steering pump flow divider can be an issue.
Most all the 4.7s come with Quadra-drive, which is awesome in the snow, but Select-trac with lockers front and rear would be easier for the hard core stuff.
.
The corner is starting to turn, with more aftermarket stuff becoming available. It does have a long rear overhang, and there isn't a lot that can be done about it short of big lift and big tires.
It also requires a big lift for big tires, as the fender openings are surprisingly small.
the front and rear linked suspension works very well, and is pretty flexible.
There have been some awesome WJ builds on this forum to draw inspiration from.

Good luck on your choice. :beer:
 

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