Best modifications to get a smooth beach ride

4x4RE

Active Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Location
Carova Beach
I picked myself up a 99 XJ at an auto auction. She is handling the beach enviroment well so far but I'm getting tossed around riding in the rutts down the beach compaired to the ride my Durango would give me. As a REALTOR up here, I need to be able to take my buyers 10 miles up the beach & back sometimes. I'm currently running on 235s and am considering changing to 31s to get a bigger footprint but then I don't know if i will have steering issues. if I do should I go for a body lift or someone suggested that I can actuall space the tires further apart.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

J-P
 
first off, you can't body lift a cherokee.

second, I have been to carova a number of times and know what you are talking about with the ruts and being tossed around. Bigger SUVs and trucks absorb more of the uneven terrain and flatten out the sand more as they roll over it, cherokees just try to go over the ruts. For 31s, your suspension will be moving quite a bit with the deep ruts and sometimes higher speeds., so you will need some type of lift. Most lifts are more harsh than stock suspension, so you might just add some spacers to the front and maybe a lift shackle and possibly a 1 inch lift block to add height to the rear. to keep the stock springs and spring rate. Then get a good set of shocks to control body movement. Old Man Emu shocks are very nice, and Rancho makes some that are adjustable for firmness. Edlebrock makes some shocks that have internal valving for different terrain, but I've never tried them. If the rear of the jeep is sagging, which most do after a while, a new slightly lifted spring pack might be in order. Rubicon Express or Old Man Emu have fairly nice riding leaff packs.
 
slowing down will help. otherwise, http://www.jeepspeed.com/ is a good place to start looking.

a lift kit is only going to give you a stiffer ride. however a larger tire will fill out the ruts better and you wont feel them as much.


there are coil/shock configurations you could play with. air pressure levels in your tires, i think i remember someone along time ago mentioning running water inside their tires?
 
The larger tires will certainly help. A good monotube shock will help as well. Could think about a 2" budget boost and keep the stock springs. Not all aftermkt springs are stiff though, fwiw. New shocks and replacing the control arm bushings will help quite a bit though.
 
old man emu springs are real soft. give a better than stock ride but not quite as high as they advertise. I use them along with ruff country shocks and i am very happy with it. 31's will make a big difference out there. I love renting a place up there in the sand
 
Thanks for the tips everyone!
It looks like 31s are a definate and I'll try to price out the other options. Speaking of price, I ran into a guy who say that he 4 "brand new" 31s that he put on his Bronco and then the truck died. He's willing to sell them to me but neither of us have mentiond price. He says that although their on the truck they are so new that the tips are still sticking out of the tires. What do you think I should offer for them?
 
To be really honest, assuming these clients are well off and you need to make a positive impact, I think the XJ is probably the wrong vehicle.

It has a leaf spring rear suspension, they are MUCH stiffer than the coils springs that your Durango has. That is the reason most car companies have moved to coils, to get a nicer ride/feeling.

I know you may have gotten a really good deal on this XJ, but I would sell it and buy something newer. Jeep Grand Cherokees have the coil spring suspension and ride MUCH nicer. (Should be very comparable to the Durango)

Something else that sells REALLY dirt cheap is the Toyota Land Cruiser or Lexus LX450. Both of which would also make a good impression on the client and ride very nicely. (3rd row seating too)

The biggest gain from the 31s is the extra floatation / which comes from the extra width of the tire and lower air pressure that you need to run on the sand.

The Land Cruiser / Lexus have 31-32ish tires on them STOCK, no need to lift, etc.

I hope this helps...honestly if I was in that situation I would switch vehicles, not suspensions.

Beautiful area there...really wish I was a customer/could afford a place there!
 
Well I'm definatly not going to sell her just yet. She's too much fun of a ride & theere are many more aftermarket parts availble than there were for the Durango. You are right about the impressions of the clients and I am thingking about a Tahoe for those rare occaisions that I have to haul the clients up myself.
 
May I suggest something more along these lines for ultimate beach riding comfort and client impressing...?

awww.yesbutnobutyes.com_archives_wonderbug3.jpg


:edit: And write it off as a business expense.
 
The taller, wider the tire the better - Only because you can air down more(taller) and spread your load more(wider).

With 33 X 12.50 Radials aired down to 20 psi I still got tossed around some.
 
SHINTON said:
Something else that sells REALLY dirt cheap is the Toyota Land Cruiser or Lexus LX450. Both of which would also make a good impression on the client and ride very nicely. (3rd row seating too)
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Yeah, as someone else mentioned I can't say I agree.

I don't think I've seen an FJ80 that didn't go for at least double or triple what you're likely to pay for a little XJ. A quick search of ebay brought up 2 that are near/over the $5k in bids and their reserves are closer to the $7-8k range, a '96 and a '97.

For a comparable year XJ you could build a desert racer for that price. The FJs are awesome, don't get me wrong. But dirt cheap doesn't really belong in the same sentence.


To the OP, you're looking at a solid axle truck with a shortish wheelbase and leaf springs in the rear. Can you improve it? Yeah. Will it ever be a coil all around IFS dunemonster? Only if you dump a lot of money and fab into it.

'97-'99 XJs are great and quite likely the cheapest SUV to to build as long as you aren't attached to the stock look...Which you are.

I guess I can only put it this way: Its gonna be hard no matter how you build it to convey the image of success in a car that the NEWEST one on the road is already 8 years old and wasn't much of a status symbol when it was brand new.
 
benXJ said:
but just think, every morning you get to drive on the beach for miles and watch the sunrise over the ocean. now only if there were a lot of steady jobs around.
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You are so right.
Quite often I get asked how i like "living" up in Carova. My usual answer is "If I could make my money without going onto the pavement, I would be very happy".

J-P
www.EscapeThePavement.com
 
I go to the Outer Banks often and my 93 Suburban with the tires aired down bounced alot. I tried different shocks and ended up with adjustable Ranchos. I run them stiff on the beach, the soft tires soften the ride and on the pavement with normal air pressure I soften the shocks for a decent ride.
 
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