Jeep always raises the bar with every new version of the iconic open-top Jeep known most recently as the Wrangler (since 1986 with the '87 model year), but the company may have hit the pinnacle of Jeepdom with the '04-'06 Jeep TJ Unlimited-also known colloquially as the LJ. The TJ Unlimited sits atop this pig pile for a few compelling reasons we will get into shortly, and no, not everyone is going to agree with our perspective, but the argument can be made ... soundly.
The LJ retains the rugged basic design of the open-top Jeeps since their inception and are the last Jeeps powered by the venerable AMC 4.0L MPI engine. They retain this Jeep simplicity while including some creature comforts like an HVAC integrated into the dash and a longer wheelbase with more space. The JK and JL Unlimited Wranglers are great Jeeps (with longer wheelbases and more space), but they compromise various aspects of Jeep ruggedness for fuel economy, and with all the complex electronics of a luxury car, they lose even more of the ruggedness.
We recently got the chance to run the fabled Dusy/Ershim Trail east of Fresno, California, with two well-built yet different Jeep LJ Wranglers. The two contenders were the 2020 Ultimate Adventure Long Range Jeep (UALRJ) and long-time contributor Harry Wagner's super-clean and well-built '06 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. Comparing the two demonstrates two build styles that may give you some ideas no matter what type of 4x4 you're building.
Ultimate Adventure Long Range Jeep (UALRJ)
1 Not strictly an LJ, UALRJ is more of an amalgam of various Jeep and aftermarket parts with a definite trend toward looking like a WWII military jeep from North Africa. The LJ tub offers more space and is a bit narrower than a Jeep Wrangler JK, making this one ready to hit some pretty tough trails and obstacles.
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Denne historien er fra July 2022-utgaven av Four Wheeler.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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2022 Summer Safari
NEK Overland led the way into parts of Vermont and a bit of New Hampshire most will never see
This fourdoor Ford foreshadowed late-model Broncos
Ddecades ahead of the '20 four-door Bronco, and even preceding the Ford Explorer and Excursion, came an SUV that could have passed for OEM and was built to answer the call for a three-row people-haulin' off-roader.
JEEP OR BLAZER BUILDING
I was hoping to pick your brain as to a couple of different builds. I have a '19 Jeep Wrangler JL and a '74 Chevy Blazer. I'm a little baffled as to what to focus on. The '74 full convertible Blazer is my dream vehicle. She's been a long build and now I am thinking of focusing my energy on my wife's '19 Jeep JL. I recently joined a Jeep club and have been going off-road with a few guys. I'm shopping around for lift kits. Would you suggest that my time be spent and focused on the Blazer or enjoy the Jeep? I really can't do both.
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A new alternative to the old off-road jack
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SANDTASTIC!
Dangle the opportunity to put the hammer down on more than a dozen square miles of the largest coastal dune complex in the world, add in partying with family and friends at sand camps, spice it up a bit with a variety of motorsport competition and nightly concerts, and it's easy to see why the five-day
