What to Buy

[avyoung]

Well I have had the terrible thought that It may be time to bid my Jeep farewell. I have not decided for sure yet but I am leaning that way. My wife and I decided several months ago that we are going to adopt and not only that but we would like to adopt a sibling group (brother and/or sister together) that will at least double our children sinse we have 2 now.

The problem is my CJ will only hold 4 and that makes family 4 wheeling very hard to do. The only Jeep that I know of that will hold at least 6 is the new Comander and It is about $30,000 over my price range and I don't think it would do what I would want. So my question is What do you guys know of that seats at least 6 and is good off road. I have been thinking of an older Blazer I think they were 6 passenger with the bench up front. Is this correct? What other options do I have?

 

[TwistedCU]

If you want to stay Jeep, you could always add a rear seat from a CJ/YJ/TJ to an XJ or ZJ. Maybe even a full size Cherokee! You could just have it face the real like the old wagons used to be (we called it the "way back" when I was a kid. Add belts and youre wheelin' familty style!
-or-
Get an old Suburban. It'll take a lot of lift to clear obstacles with that wheelbase but it'll comfortably seat 8-9 passengers if it has the 3rd seat.

Kudos to you guys for wanting to adopt! We've talked about that several times. With 5 of our own it just doesn't seem rational right now but it is something we have always wanted to do.

 

[88Wrangles]

An older, straight axle 4Runner would probably be the best route if you plan to wheel it. Almost anything else (in general) will be IFS.

If IFS of straight axle doesn't matter to you...then you could always go with somthing like an older Tahoe, suburban, Yukon, explorer, etc...as long as it's got a bench up front. Or, you could go with a crew cab pickup.

 

[NCjeeper]

i put my CJ rear seat in the back of my XJ and fastened it down pretty good for an extra seat. it doesnt take up to much room at all. problem is, if you're over 4 foot tall, you're going to have to do some severe slouching and forget seat belts.

 

[bchcky]

get your wife a cj/yj/tj and teach her some off-roading driving skills. 3 per vehicle, problem solved.

 

[avyoung]

That Cherokee Idea is a good one. If I put in a Newer seat I could use the fold and tumble when the kids are not in. A little fab work and I could mount seatbelts to a roll cage. Boy the gears are turning now in my head. My kids are tall but I would think I would have a few years before they were to big to fit. I am going to have to find someone with a cherokee and take some mesurements.

 

[TwistedCU]

I am going to have to find someone with a cherokee and take some mesurements.

Kinda late right now, but I'll try to do that tomorrow. It's something I have considered. I still have the fold and tumble seat from my 92 YJ. I was thinking lap belts because I can have 2 of them in car seats back there. The only problem there would be they would have to face forward, which would have them kind of close to the tailgate

If no one beats me to it, I'll post some measurements ASAP