unixxx wrote:
We have both an 05 KJ and an 06 TJ. While the unibody and IFS of the KJ are negatives, I feel the overall KJ design is better than the TJ design. The entire front half of a Trail Rated Liberty is covered with flat skids. A Trail Rated TJ lacks an engine skid and has one transmission and one transfer case skid which meet at a two inch height difference. The TJ also has folded steel control arms and plastic stabilizer bar links, while the Liberty has thicker steel tube control arms. The Liberty has mini skids on the unibody lower control arm mounts, a better placed muffler, and a high-tech engine. The Liberty transmission and transfer case are identical to the TJ. While the Liberty does weigh more, with my limited engineering experience, I'd say that it's just as strong. It does have twice the towing capacity. Like the TJ, the Liberty is the only vehicle that uses its platform. It doesn't have many light-weight vehicle compromises. We all know how much it weighs

The same can't be said for the new Liberty, Patriot, or Compass, which are all based on car platforms. Take a look under a Trail Rated Liberty and you'll see that it was designed for off-road.
woah that is "out there" dont ya think?
first I will say that I have no clue what the under side of an '06 TJ looks like but I know what my '02 looks like and I can tell you this
you dont need an engine skid on the TJ it has a huge axel that protects it as well as how high up the engine sits in the hood
I will admit that an oil pan skid would be nice but other than that no biggie
yes the control arms do "bring the suck" but still the only time I have ever seen them fail is when some one hit a root or a rock going WAY TO FAST
The KJ only weighs more by about 300-500# so not enough to count
and if you dont think that poor excuse for a trany skid is light weight then OK
I am not trying to argue here on this one but I have seen both the bone stock '02 TJ and a bone stock '03 KJ on the same trail at the same time and on some stuff the same driver ,me, and I know that the TJ is a better trail machine
yes the KJ made it but not nearly as easily as the TJ
Do I think that the KJ is good for light duty trails?
YES I plan to wheel the KJ on the "easy" trails around home when the wife gets a new ride
mostly because I would rather ride in the KJ for the 100-200+ round trip highway miles to and from the trails
but when I go to ride the "good stuff" I will be in the TJ I know that a moded KJ could do it but I dont think that it will too long if I do