This nicely set-up '98 TJ is owned by John Atherton from Back Country Off Road in Waterford, Michigan. The Jeep has a unique rollcage that has been very well thought out right down to the windshield camera mount. A 5 1/2-inch Rubicon Express kit provides lift while a 4.0L powers an ARB'd Dana 60 rear and Dana 44 front with 4.88 gears and 36-inch TSL SXs on bead-locked wheels.
David Neu used to wheel quite a posh Cherokee. After a few too many comments about its shininess, he decided to build up this Jeep which he'd been trying to get rid of for a few years. It sits on four YJ rear springs on top of the axle with a Ford 8.8 out back and a Dana 30 with TJ shafts up front. The 4.88 gears and High Angle Driveline shafts turn the 35-inch Parnelli Jones Dirt Grips.
Ed Turonek's Cherokee has been a project from the start. After the first small lift, his wife said to just go for broke, and this is the result. Modifications are extensive for a Jeep having only 14,000 miles on it. Ed is a toolmaker by trade, and fabbed up a custom long-arm setup for his 8-inch Rockcrawler coils that sit on dual Dana 44s. The 38-inch TSL SXs provide traction even on a trail like this.
This '03 Ruby is Jerome Plouhar's first Jeep. It was set up right from the beginning with the 6-inch lift kit from Nth Degree Mobility. The Dana 44s run the stock lockers out to chromoly axleshafts for the added stresses of running the 35-inch Trxus tires. If that doesn't get him through, an XD 9000i winch is ready to get the rest of the way.
Grand Cherokees are becoming quite popular to build up as trail rigs. Marv Farley got his a while back to be different out on the trail. The Jeep has the 5.2L V-8 with a JET Performance chip that feeds a custom NP249/231 custom combo to create a part-time unit. Other mods include a Ford 8.8 rear and Dana 30 front axle with Detroits and 4.10 gears, a six-point custom rollcage, a 7.5-inch Rubicon Express kit, and 34-inch Trxus tires.