I have wanted an offroad vehicle for a while and when we made Arizona our home base this became the perfect time to purchase one as we have about six off road areas within a 30 mile radius of our home.

I first started looking at side by sides, but quickly realized that they are very expensive, they run about the same price of a brand new two door Jeep and they don’t have A/C which I felt was a must have for the Arizona desert.

So, I started looking at Jeeps as they have always been a vehicle I wished to own. I quickly started looking at Jeep TJ’s which are Jeep Wranglers made from 1997 to 2006 mainly because of price, I feel the Jeep TJ’s are the best bang for the buck Jeeps. I did look at Jeep YJ’s for a bit, they were made from 1987 to 1996, but I had a difficult time finding one that had Air conditioning, so I ruled them out.

So I mentioned price was a concern when shopping for a Jeep, but what I also found beneficial about the TJ compared to newer Jeeps was its size and weight. The Jeep TJ is much narrower than the newer Jeeps, making it perfect to fit down tight trails and the fact that it weighs 700 lbs less than a new Jeep made it ideal to tow behind our RV. This is a great advantage of a Jeep TJ that a newer Jeep will never have.
I knew whatever model Jeep I would buy, I was going to mod it out the way I wanted which meant I was going to be adding weight to the Jeep and at a stock weight of 3200 lbs the TJ was a good starting point compared to a new Jeep that weighs over 3900 lbs.

And at a 10,000 price tag I felt this Jeep was well worth the price. Jeep shopping is extremely frustrating, especially for these older ones. I looked at some many Jeep TJ’s that had much higher asking prices, but a list of issues some even including the 4x4 not working, but this Jeep here for 10K has zero rust and was in perfect working condition, I would even say the body is in excellent condition as well and everything on the Jeep works the way it should. This Jeep TJ also has many features I was looking for, Air Conditioning was a must on my list, but also I had Cruise Control on my wish list, but was not a must have, which this Jeep does have.
I was also able to get dana axles and the bullet proof 4.0 liter engine, this engine is known for it’s unmatched reliability. I was also able to find it in the 5 speed manual which was a must have for me, the 5 speed just makes it a fun driving vehicle, on and off road. I also wanted and got the 3.73 rear gear ratio and the Tru Track Rear Diff which is what Jeep calls their posi rear, what that means is both rear wheels will get power when stuck compared to an open diff where power goes to the wheel with the least resistance so if you have one tire in the air that is the tire that gets power instead of the wheel on the ground. This Trutrac has worked very well for me offroad.

The TJ I suppose does have some downsides compared to the newer Jeeps. No powered locks or windows, I suppose this is a downside as it would be nice to walk away from the Jeep click a button and have everything lock on it including the swing gate.

Power windows really isn’t that big of deal as it is so narrow I can just reach across and role the windows down.

Some people will say that the TJ has a rougher ride than a new Jeep, personally I don’t think this is true, even Sabrina feels as if my TJ rides better than a JK, which I know is not the newest model of Jeep, but I haven’t driven in a new JL two door to compare.

I had Ranchero Shocks installed on my Jeep which I highly recommend, these have been great for comfort on and off road.

Jeep TJ’s did not come with blue tooth radios, although it was fairly inexpensive for me to purchase a new radio that was Bluetooth enabled.
My TJ like most others also does not have anti lock breaks, so that is something to think about when shopping, I’m pretty sure all of the newer jeeps will have antilock breaks. I grew up in a time thought that most of my cars and vehicles did not have antilock brakes so I am comfortable not having them. Also you will find that newer Jeep Wranglers have a much better airbag setup then the TJ’s all I have is the two front airbags and that is it.

Finally the last negative of the older Jeep is they are louder than the newer Jeeps, I wouldn’t say by a whole lot, but this Jeep hear even with the hard top on is pretty loud at highway speeds, once you hit 65mph it sounds like a window is open, I have taken the top off checked and even replaced some seals and it’s still pretty loud compared to the newer wranglers.

Honestly, they are the only downsides to the TJ, which I personally don’t think is that bad and am 100% satisfied with my purchase of an older Jeep.

I would love to hear from you though in the comments, do you have a newer Jeep or an older Jeep what do you like and dislike about it and what made you purchase the particular model you have?