25th Anniversary of the Jeep Cherokee - Cherokee Bash

It is hard to believe, but 2008 marked the 25th anniversary of the Jeep that changed the face of the auto industry. In 1983, as a '84 model, Jeep introduced the unibody-framed four-door, four-wheel-drive utility vehicle. We are talking about the XJ Cherokee of course, and as soon as it was introduced it was a hit. Shift-on-the-fly 4WD, affordable price, seating for four and decent mileage numbers made it a favorite for young and budding families everywhere.

Fast forward 10 years, the used Cherokee was hitting the market at very affordable prices, the 104-inch wheelbase, front coil springs, rear leaf springs and extra cargo space found a home in the hearts of the off-road oriented enthusiast.

The North American XJ Association (NAXJA) pays tribute to the Jeep Cherokee and is a major player in the off-road world. Every year NAXJA throws an event in Moab, Utah, in the fall and for this milestone, we had to check it out. If you have a Cherokee or even a regular Jeep and have an open mind, check out NAXJA to meet great Jeepers and maybe even attend this event next year.

This just shows some of the...        read full caption This just shows some of the camaraderie and just how far NAXJA reaches. Maybe Rainer Lappi of Gruenburg, Austria, didn't know that the "NA" part meant "North America." Maybe he didn't care. He flew out here to accompany Geoff Armstrong of Torrance, California, on the trip, but Geoff ended up not being able to make it. So Geoff did what many NAXJA guys would do, he let Rainer drive his Jeep from Torrance to Moab and wheel it for a week without him.	Don't be so quick to judge...        read full caption Don't be so quick to judge this Jeep by its paint. There comes a time in your life when you stop doing things because it's what everyone else thinks you should do, and do what you want to. "Purple is the new Chrome" is a favorite saying of Andy Steiner of Las Vegas, Nevada. He purposely painted his Jeep purple, and he's eccentric enough that he doesn't feel he needs to apologize for it.	Charles Stein of Escondido,...        read full caption Charles Stein of Escondido, California, has a '98 Cherokee that looks like it is ready to run down bull, deer, and whatever else. With its lights and beefy custom front bumper, Charles is ready for some nighttime action. However, he is shown here piloting his Jeep up the Hell's Gate obstacle on Hell's Revenge trail. With 4.56 gears, Goodyear MT/Rs and a front Detroit Locker and rear ARB Air Locker, this Jeep is well equipped for Moab slickrock too.
	Vince Bentley and Rachel Buckley...        read full caption Vince Bentley and Rachel Buckley of Hausen Am Albis, Switzerland, ship their Jeeps over to the States for most of the year. The Jeeps are registered in the U.K, and as such, are right-hand drive. It took us a double-take or two but we finally got it. So, to carry the point across, we handed the guy in the left hand seat of Vince's '01 Cherokee a Jp magazine to read. People who weren't part of our group were tripping out that the person in the "driver's seat" was reading a magazine instead of watching the obstacle.
This '88 Cherokee is a total...        read full caption This '88 Cherokee is a total sleeper. There is nothing in it that Michael Rollins didn't go through, and there are tons of cool ideas and tech using readily-available parts that beef up this Jeep and make it what you see here. Couple a capable vehicle with a guy who's been wheeling the same Jeep on just about any trail you can think of for eight years and you've got the makings of an awesome trail leader and spotter.	Sure, it's a '08 Wrangler...        read full caption Sure, it's a '08 Wrangler Unlimited and not an XJ. But its got four-doors, and Eugenio Leijten of Somerton, England, ran this really clean Jeep up every hard obstacle we saw that day. And, if that wasn't enough, it had just been built and was his first time wheeling this nice looking Jeep.	We hit Moab after a few days...        read full caption We hit Moab after a few days of rain, and the hot tubs are always more fun after it rains. You can crawl down into them, but as the name implies, water sits at the bottom, and the trip up the other side is much more interesting. Thanks to getting the tires wet at the bottom, some wheel speed is often required to dry the tires off and get out. This can lead to all kinds of predicaments, like the lifting tire shown here.
Most of the guys we run across...        read full caption Most of the guys we run across that wheel their Jeeps hard and obviously have no concerns about damage are very outgoing, boisterous, loud guys. Not so with our trail leader for Metal Masher, Wayne Thomas. He was quiet and laid back yet obviously knew the trail and how to spot people through it.	John Chun of Costa Mesa, California,...        read full caption John Chun of Costa Mesa, California, started with a clean '98 Cherokee and then wheeled it until it looked like this. John's not a throttle-down kind of guy, but he's willing to try just about anything, like this climb here. He swapped a Dana 44 into the rear and added a 33-spline Detroit Locker, kept the Dana 30 front axle but added a No-Slip, bolted on some Allied Beadlocks and 285/75R16 Maxxis Bighorn tires. Truth be told, short of the banged and dented body panels it still is a nice late-model two-door.	Usually our trail runs only...        read full caption Usually our trail runs only last a day. But in Moab, we almost always stay for more than one day, and this trip was no exception. The first day we ran Hell's Revenge, the second day, Metal Masher. When we handed a tech form to Josh Newren of Sandy, Utah on the second day, he told us he'd already filled one out the day before. He heard us talking about Metal Masher and decided to run that trail in hopes of making it into the magazine. Well, it worked. We didn't have any useable pictures from Hell's Revenge but got this flex shot on Metal Masher.
Brendan King is another one...        read full caption Brendan King is another one of those quiet, unassuming guys who just seems like he's been wheeling forever. This Long Beach, California, native had a day of point-and-shoot wheeling. He just cruised on through every obstacle like it was a walk in the park.	Yet another international...        read full caption Yet another international participant, John Teghtmeyer of British Columbia, Canada, came down to enjoy the warm weather and a week of wheeling. Not only did he drive the Jeep to Moab, and drive it home, he used it to tow his housing for the week, a 2-bed tent trailer.	Odds are good that if you...        read full caption Odds are good that if you show up on a trail run that Trasborg is shooting with an MJ, and you wheel the snot out of it without any regard for the body, he's going to shoot pictures. Every once in a while one comes out decent. This shot of Curt Shelp's '87 Comanche with 5 1/2-inch Rubicon Express lift, XJ Dana 44 rear, TJ Rubicon Dana 44 front, 33-inch BFG Mud Terrains, and hammered long rear overhang on the eight-foot bed actually didn't turn out too horrible.
There is a whole group of...        read full caption There is a whole group of Cherokee guys who like the Cherokee platform just because of the gear it can carry. They enjoy being able to just cruise out into the middle of nowhere and not have to deal with "civilization" for however long they want. Alex Himes of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is one of them. He prides himself on carrying enough gear and supplies to be self-sufficient for weeks, but still enjoys the occasional rockcrawl.	This undercut obstacle is...        read full caption This undercut obstacle is rough for Cherokees. The TJ in the group made it right up the second bump, but the 104-inch Cherokees had a little more of an issue. Here, Michael Lee gives it a whirl in his '88 Cherokee.	This obstacle is called "The...        read full caption This obstacle is called "The Widowmaker" for the bed of spikes and the sheer 40-foot drop next to them. The obstacle tilts the whole Jeep towards the ravine. Oh, the "spikes" are actually portions of street sign posts and 3/8-inch woven wire mesh holding rocks in to control erosion. Kyle Wilkins shows us the line in his '95 Cherokee.
Jeremy Benson and Michael...        read full caption Jeremy Benson and Michael Lee show off yet another use for their cool internal/external cages: photo platform. We aren't fans of exo-cages, but these cages protect the roofs, drip rails, and A-pillars while the down tubes at the B, C, and D-pillars provide the structural integrity inside the cab. This design saves a lot of space inside the already tight enclosed cab of the XJ.