Liberty is not a 4x4

4X4KID · **Joined:** Tue Sep 06, 2005 9:54 am **Posts:** 1

Hello: I saw your site and wanted to post a comment on the Jeep Liberty. I made the big mistake of buying a new 05 Liberty a couple of weeks ago. What a mistake, the Liberty is not a 4x4 it has no ground clearance and can't go over anything bigger than a speed bump. How can they rate this a trail rated 4x4. What trail did they use, a couple of speed bumps in a parking lot??? I have been off roading in the Colorado Rockies for almost 10 years, I took the Liberty on a shakedown run last week. I hit more rocks in one day than I hit in 2 years with my former stock chevy Blazer. What a joke!!!! It looks like the only way anyone can do anything in the Liberty is if it has a lift kit. How much are they paying all of you to say how great the Liberty is???? I really wanted the Liberty to be a good off road vechicle, am very disapointed!!!
The 4x4kid

krazz1e · **Posted:** Tue Sep 06, 2005 11:14 am

With that kind of attitude nothing we say can change your frame of mind.

Speedbumps....... :roll:

mjfoto · **Posted:** Tue Sep 06, 2005 11:38 am

You can't please the masses. Let him go!!!

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Tue Sep 06, 2005 3:08 pm

Sell it to someone that knows HOW to off-road......in a KJ. Hitting rocks doesn't mean that it is bad. Armor the belly. Yes, put a lift on it and get bigger tires. Just like all the other off-roaders do in Wranglers, Land Rovers, 4-Runners, Bronco's, and Blazers.

Also, we'll be glad to tow that Blazer when it breaks down.

Guest · **Posted:** Tue Sep 06, 2005 6:29 pm

Tokyojoe wrote:

Also, we'll be glad to tow that Blazer when it breaks down.

Speak for yourself. :wink:

Bwahahahahah! As Hammer crawls around that POS Blazer.

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

That's funny...I could have sworn mine said "4X4" right on it. Let me go check...

Yep, its a 4X4.

Seriously though, sorry you had a bad experience. It sounds like you are only looking at one issue though - ground clearance. When you consider the approach, departure and breakover angles the KJ beats your Blazer. When you look at the engine your KJ beats the Blazer. The suspension flexes more than TokyoJoe's mom (or your blazer for that matter). When you consider the amazing low range crawling ability of the KJ it beats your Blazer. When you look at water fording the KJ...you get my point. Throw a $200 lift kit on it and you'll outwheel the Blazer any day of the week.

BTW, 4 wheeling does not consist of driving straight over rocks and praying for the best. If you see a large rock put a tire on it, not your differential. I bet that would alleviate most of the problems.

Also, it seems like you are blaming LOST for your decision?.?.? There are plenty of people that are unhappy about the stock ground clearance and it has been discussed here. Why do you think everybody has a lift? :lol:

Good luck. Your welcome to come wheeling with us anytime. You'll see USAFCOP do things in his KJ that you never dreamed of with your Blazer! :shock:

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Wed Sep 07, 2005 1:01 am

Every vehicle wheels differently. Do you think you can off-road the same in a Hummer as a Wrangler can or a 4-runner like a Land Rover? No. You have to drive differently due to each of the characteristics of that particular vehicle.

Why do people lift their Wranglers and put huge tires on them? The Wrangler is already the best off-roading vehicle, when you add all aspects into it. Yes, the HumVee performs better, but it is too wide and long on some trails and the cost ratio is ridiculous. So, why lift a KJ? It will perform better, just like any vehicle would.

A stock 4x4 KJ can do a lot that you don't know about. You just need to learn how to utilize the KJ.

btolle · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2005 10:19 am

I must agree just a little with 4X4KID. When I bought the Liberty the front ground clearance was totally unacceptable.

I think the problem is they use the same front springs on all Liberty 4WD's. In the first place they all are low in the front. Secondly, if you get the OffRoad Group with skid plates and then add rock rails, etc. the extra weight brings the front end down even more.

There is a solution: See http://www.a-buyers-realty.com/personal ... berty1.htm for how I solved the problem for about $300.

Unfortunately 4X4KID was not familiar with the saying "Jeeps are built, not bought". I just bought an 05 Rubicon and within 10 days had installed about $3,500 worth of mods including OME suspension. Even though the Rubicon is almost the most capable stock offroad vehicle on the market I still had to add a lot of things to get it ready for the harder trails. The only thing more capable right out ot the showroom is the Hummer H1. We won't even talk about where the H2 fits in the picture.

It is unfortunate that Jeep advertises "running ground clearance" in their brochure instead of the true ground clearance. I have complained at length to Jeep Custome Service about that and they refuse to acknowledge that "running ground clearance" is a sham.

BTW, I bang skid plates regularly. Ask Clint and some of the others how much I banged them in Moab with the 04 Sahara and it had OME suspension. But that is what skids are for.

I saw a couple of dozen Liberty's run 4 (on a scale of 1 to 5) rated trails in Moab last April and they went a couple of places that I bypassed in the Wrangler. I could have made it but I am old and there are just a few things I didn't want to do.

The Liberty is a fine vehicle but the sales people do not know enough to really clue the customers in on what it is really capable of and that they may have to spend a little money in order to offroad it a lot.

Bill Tolle
05 Rubicon
04 Liberty

If you love offroading and want the trails to stay open please join Blueribbon Coalition.
"Preserving our natural resources FOR the public instead of FROM the public"
http://sharetrails.org/

Liberty is not a 4x4

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