Best year and trim for budget adventure off-road build

[WheelNut]

Hey guys,

I sold my ‘05 Liberty Sport earlier this year and we bought a new Mazda CX-5 as our camping car, but now that we have it I don’t want to scratch it up! For the cost of a PPF job I can buy another Jeep. So, I’m thinking about buying another Liberty (or a Land Rover LR3 if I can get a mega deal on one). This would be a third vehicle so it wouldn’t get many kilometers on it every year.

What I’m wondering is what year, trim, and engine/transmission is the ultimate starting point for a family adventure and mild offroad rig? Go for a Renegade? Is it true that you can’t put an Aussie locker in an 06/07?

My basic outline is a small 2” lift, 30” Falken AT4Ws, rear aussie locker, recovery points, engine skid plate, rooftop tent, full time 4wd TC ideally, ABS (good for when the wife is driving!), no silver or white units, and it needs a sunroof (I can’t stand not having one). Mostly it would be used for camping trips and mountain bike shuttles around southwest BC, so fire service roads and a the occasional mild trail.

My old KJ didn’t have a sunroof so this one *must* have that. Thats pretty well the main reason I sold my old one.

 

[KJowner]

100% avoid a Land rover 3 like the plague! And I say that as an English, ex many land rover owner.
I'd go CRD Ltd with the LSD and not bother with the leaky sunroof.

 

[OPSLED]

100% avoid a Land rover 3 like the plague! And I say that as an English, ex many land rover owner.
I'd go CRD Ltd with the LSD and not bother with the leaky sunroof.

CRD isn’t budget.

 

[OPSLED]

Buy a 2002 or early 2003 Limited with the 3.7 auto. They have the 45RFE trans (it is superior to the later 42RLE) and the transfer case has 2 wheel, 4 wheel full or part with shift on the fly from 2 to 4 and also 4X4 low range. Most will have the good leather interior with power seats and many are heated too. Sun roofs are also more prevalent on a limited. 02 had rear drum brakes. 03 had rear disc. I have and like both. Limited will do anything a Renegade or Sport will it just has more comfort built into it. Any lift or off road additions will go right on and perform the same way.

We have 4 2002 Limited’s. All have heated power leather seats and sun roofs. All are 3.7 autos. 2 have 3” lifts, factory Renegade light bars added, rear disc brake conversion from 2003 donors and Meyer snow plows. Great go anywhere in any weather comfortable honey badgers. The other two are daily drivers for the wife and I.

My daily has 249,800 miles right now. The wife’s daily has 190,000. The other two are at 202k and 230k.

Service and maintenance is key to life on them.

Parts are everywhere and cheap for the 3.7 auto combination. 4 cylinder gas, diesel and stick shift versions are the exact opposite. Trouble and expensive.

 

[OPSLED]

Both are 2002 Limited’s. 3.7 auto, Renegade light bars, lifted, full power heated leather, sun roofs. The silver is 4:10 gears with rear locker.

 

[KJowner]

CRD isn’t budget.

Mine was £800 two years ago! Good simple old Jeep that can tow unlike the new stuff.

 

[derekj]

Sunroof will limit you to just Limited and Renegade models I think - here's a few I found on marketplace tonight

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:e107d2ce-864e-45f3-9c70-7cdff305972d

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:e107d2ce-864e-45f3-9c70-7cdff305972d

The Renegade should have all the skids from the factory too, just doesn't have the full time TC.

 

[OPSLED]

Ps, you said you want abs. It was optional on early Liberty’s and many don’t have it. My I advice is to stay away from ABS Liberty’s if you can. I have one. Modules are not available anymore so if you have issues (mine does) you are kind of screwed.

Buy a 2002 or early 2003 Limited with the 3.7 auto. They have the 45RFE trans (it is superior to the later 42RLE) and the transfer case has 2 wheel, 4 wheel full or part with shift on the fly from 2 to 4 and also 4X4 low range. Most will have the good leather interior with power seats and many are heated too. Sun roofs are also more prevalent on a limited. 02 had rear drum brakes. 03 had rear disc. I have and like both. Limited will do anything a Renegade or Sport will it just has more comfort built into it. Any lift or off road additions will go right on and perform the same way.

We have 4 2002 Limited’s. All have heated power leather seats and sun roofs. All are 3.7 autos. 2 have 3” lifts, factory Renegade light bars added, rear disc brake conversion from 2003 donors and Meyer snow plows. Great go anywhere in any weather comfortable honey badgers. The other two are daily drivers for the wife and I.

My daily has 249,800 miles right now. The wife’s daily has 190,000. The other two are at 202k and 230k.

Service and maintenance is key to life on them.

Parts are everywhere and cheap for the 3.7 auto combination. 4 cylinder gas, diesel and stick shift versions are the exact opposite. Trouble and expensive.

Mine was £800 two years ago! Good simple old Jeep that can tow unlike the new stuff.

I just realized you guys are in the UK. Probably a lot more diesel’s there.

Here in the US it’s the opposite. 3.7’s are everywhere. Diesels and 4 cylinder gas are very hard to find. Limited’s are also popular here.

 

[WheelNut]

Used cars in the UK are way cheaper than in Canada/USA. You’d be looking at $8000-9000 for a CRD here. I inagine the extra complication of the diesel engine would really blow the budget. The 3.7 is bad on gas but it is reliable and cheap to work on.

Thanks for the links Derek. I actually test drove that black KJ. Piece of junk. It was for sale by a nice Japanese guy who is leaving the country in a couple weeks. An hour after I drove it he sold it to someone else and then that guy relisted it for $5000 the next day! Trying to do a quick flip. I messaged him and asked how long he has owned it for, he said two years! Liar! Anyway, not its not in great shape.
I think the tough thing about buying a KJ is that they are so old now and they have been cheap for so long that most of them haven’t been well maintained. The ‘05 KJ I bought in 2021 was a gem and I dumped a ton of parts and work into it, but I didn’t pike the spec of that build. Grey on grey and no sunroof was kind of lame. Mechanically that thing was pretty dialled but the rear axle was in need of a rebuild sometime soon. If I can find another KJ for sale by someone who cared or one with super low mileage that would be the ticket. I’ve got four months to find something so I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a good one.
That Renegade could be a good candidate but the dealer selling it is a bit cagey about the details on it. I might go check it out if I have time. Renegade trim would be the way to go for sure, but they are rare.
This one in Kelowna is nearly perfect but sadly it has no sunroof. Looks awesome in that colour and the condition is really nice!

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Anyways, the KK has really caught my eye now! I never really looked at them to close before but actually it seems like the improvements they made are significant: More interior and cargo space, brake lock diffs, flat folding seats, normal liftgate rear (better for mountain bike racks and supposedly the ride is better due to the redesigned suspension. Shame they never did put the Pentastar in it. Seems like I can get a KK for a similar price to a KJ, so its pretty high up the list now. There aren’t a lot of them for sale though.

Also a note on sunroofs: I know a lot of folks gate them because of the dtra complication and the extra hwat they bring in. I want the extra view. I’m 6’4” and my eyes are basically level with the top of the windshield so I cant see hardly anything above the vehicle. This makes driving through the mountains a literal pain in the neck as I crane my neck to lowered my head so I can see. With the sunroof I at least can get some glimpses of things up above. Also if I can get power seats they go a bit lower than the Sport’s seats so that will help a bit too.