Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives jeep what should i look for

i just sold my jeep Sahara 1993 4.0 today, it has over 200,000 miles and has been used by me here on the ranch as a hunting and trapping jeep, now i need to replace it with something newer, with a hard top heat and air,standard tran.want something i can take the doors off of for trapping, what do i look for?haven't looked at jeeps since 1993.rio7

It sounds like you already know what you want. The only bit of advice I would give is the newer ones come with 3.21 gears standard and 3.73's as an option. Most people seem to want the 3.73's. That's what I ordered mine with and I'm very pleased with it. In 2012 (I think) they went from the 3.8 to the 3.6 Pentastar engine. The new motor is all aluminum and about 40lbs lighter and makes about 85 more horsepower.

The Rubicon is a nice upgrade if you can swing it.

TC1, thanks for the info on gearing, i don't drive my jeeps on the hi way, just on the ranch, mostly real sandy, don't go much over 30-40 mph on the hard roads. think i would like a 4 dr for more room, saw one on the hi way going to town the other day that looked like a 4 dr extended cab hard top, don't know what it was, think i will go jeep shopping this weekend,its about 85 miles to a jeep dealer one way,so i guess i will take a day and go looking.rio7

I don't know a damn thing about jeeps other than I like them. I like the Rubicon. When I don't have to haul kids around on a daily basis, I'd like to get one.

Still confused why the 93 hit the road.........

Killkenny,i sold my 93,for a couple of reasons, #1 it had 260.000 miles and to much wrong to go to the expense of repairing everything,but the biggest reason i sold it was it was getting to damn hard to get in and out of it had 33's and a 3" lift kit and sat to high up for me to get my 77yr. old ass into and out of. and i sold it for way more than i ever dreamed i would get for it.i will admit i miss the hell out of it, i hauled more big game and predators out of the brush with it than most people have ever seen. but now i want something with more comfort and heat and air. guess im getting soft in my old age. rio7

Well, explained. Just seemed odd. Heck I just bought a Jeep hunting rig with over 200K on it!

RIO7, I have a '08 JKRU or in non-jeep speak it's a newer Wrangler 4 door, with the Rubicon package. We love it.

It doesn't have as much power as I'd like but with the Rubicon package it has 4:10's in the diffs and so less horsepower isn't as noticeable.
It comes stock with a 4:1 low range in the transfer case and electric lockers front and rear, as well as an electric sway bar disconnect so when the "road" is real bumpy the suspension will flex a lot more and you keep the rubber down easier, as well as feeling less bumps.
Comfort wise I don't think there is a real comparison. These new ones have power everything, A/C, heaters & defrost that work, and even a radio!;)
The doors can be taken off, as can the fiberglass top, but I don't think it's as easy as the old ones.

My wife is 5'4" and ours has a leveling kit on it so it sit's a little higher than stock, and is on 285's. She gets in and out without much fanfare. My Father is 79 & get's in/out ok and has had both knees replaced.

If you are going new, get a rubicon. It has lockers front and rear and that can be very helpful on a ranch truck. Also the newer smaller engine is much better designed. Lastly the Rubicons have a lower 4wd low than standard. If you use 4 wheel low, it will idle itself out of most situations or you will need very little gas pedal.

I bought a 2010 in August. After driving about a dozen used and new Jeeps ranging from 2006-2013 I'm pleased with my choice. Mine has the less powerful 3.8 engine compared to the 2012 and newer vehicles. I have 3.73 gears, 6 speed and standard 32" tires. Compared to a 2012 I drove with the more powerful engine with 3.21 gears and 33" tires I felt I have more power. I drove a new 2014 Jeep with 3.21's, stock tires and an auto. I could feel the difference in acceleration, but towing is the same, and not much.

The newer 2007 and up will allow up to 33" tires with no lift. That is a plus for me as I consider 32-33" about perfect. You have to go up to 35-37" tires to see any difference and they require a lot of expense to make them work. Not worth the cost to me. OLder versions really needed to be lifted for any tires bigger than about 30"

Compared to the older versions you'll find the newer versions ride much more civilized and I doubt you'll give up a thing off road comparing unmodified vehicles. We've taken ours on a couple of long road trips and the ride and comfort level is almost as good as a car. Fuel mileage is much better too. I'm getting 17-18 around town, 21 ish on the road with as much as 23 on a couple of tanks.

I like the Rubicon, but felt I was paying for a lot of features I'd never use. Mine has traction control which works great in snow, sand or light mud. A locking read diff would be a nice addition and may be added later, but nothing else on the Rubicon would help me. The 4:1 transfer case is not any advantage to me over the almost 3:1 on mine. I don't do rock crawling.

Overall a new Jeep would have been nice. I almost delayed my purchase for about a year until I could have afforded new, but ran across the 2010 at a fair price, about $12,000 less than a 2014.

Wife and I drove it to Daytona just after buying. This is from a ski trip to NC in January and crossing SMNP on our way home.

when i bought my 93 jeep, i drove it up on a 30 ft flat bed and hauled it home to the ranch never lic.never insured, never left the ranch never saw black top again, that's what i will do with the next one i get. lots of good info here, thanks to everyone, now the search is on!! rio7

I've got a 2005 Unlimited with 51,000 miles I'll make you a deal on. Let me know if you're interested....

I'm going to put some money down on an ordered Jeep tomorrow. This will be my 3rd.
If you really need weather protection and don't like running around with it opened up and topless, the hard tops are very nice now. You can do an open "T" top, for instance.
I decided not to bother buying a Rubicon. For my uses, the locking diffs, and the extra low 4:1 transfer case won't be as useful as what I'm getting. That's because for most uses, the 4:1 transfer case is too low. And the lockers only work while in low range. In mine, a Willys Wheeler version, I'll have a limited slip diff which will do fine for me. It works in any range, etc.
The thing about the 4dr., Unlimited version is that their breakover angle is pretty low. I know I need more than that. However, one can lift a Jeep to get an improved breakover angle. They, the 4dr. versions, do have alot more room and the seats are very comfortable.
So, good luck. BTW, all of them can have any of their doorss removed. E

get you one of the first rubicons with the 6 speed, 4:10 gears and the 4 to 1 transfer case. It s climbing mule. If you want more room get the LJ. I have one and a new JK out front. IMO the JK is a pile of crap compared to my 06. But with lots of green I will make it a better rig

my jeeps don't have to do a lot of climbing, they just need to go in deep sand, there's not a rock on this ranch that we didn't haul in to build something, but i'm in the brush a lot and it can be rough in some places,use my jeep for hauling in game and trapping, my old 93 had a five speed tranny, and i never once put it in fifth gear for 260,000 miles just cant go that fast in the sand.i have about 65 miles of hard road where you can go about 40 mph safley, and about 250 miles of sand roads that 5-20 mph is about all you can do,i just want the comfort of more room and heat and air,maybe a radio. i will put a winch on it and a big bumper basket for hauling critters, that's about all i need.rio7