:roflmao: you had a KJ?! Glad you saw the light! Oh and the header install looks easier than I thought.
Awe, man....don't be harshin on my shizzle. When the Libby first came out with the '02 model, I really liked it and I was a victim to the 0% interest rate program they had at the time. If you know anything about me, you will know that I am a cheap bastard and I figured making payments without interest for 60 months was a good deal. Also, because I am like a trout and love flashy things and lots of gadgets, I had to buy one with all the skids, lights, trim, and larger alternator, so I had
that going for me. That Jeep had it all. Exciting style, skid plates, cool lights...IFS....unit-body construction.....huge price tag.
There was something unique about the Liberty that I really liked, and never having owned a Jeep or real off-road vehicle before (84 Bronco II and 85 Jimmy, not withstanding), my flimsy ego was overpowered by grand visions of wheeling with my boy on the Sierra trails of Northern California. After all, those Jeeps were "
Trail Rated," as witnessed by their
fancy badging and
4-lo transfer cases. I was a wheeling eunuch. A Jeep wannabe. I was ignorant to the ways of the off-road world. I was enticed by the Jeep culture and I wanted to be a Jeeple like the rest of them.
I had an obligation to tow a large tent trailer at the time and my family was in the midst of outgrowing our standard cab '99 GMC Sierra, which I really loved. The Libby promised a tow rating of
5,000 lbs and weekend
fun on the trail, and I proved that to be true for the subsequent two years. I never had a problem towing my oversized tent trailer and all my gear and we beat the crap out of it on the trails. I'd say it was a perfect entry-level off-road vehicle, albeit hugely expensive. Funny what relative peace ignorance can bring.
Ironically, we began to outgrow the Liberty Renegade with the unexpected birth of our second son 12 years after the first (oops). Truthfully, the birth was not unexpected, but the conception was, since we sort of had 9 months of warning signs that birth was iminent. But I digress, most people do not intentionally plan a 12 year gap in the births of their kids, unless unforseen circumstances causes such delays. Uncontrollable growth of unwanted body hair, impotency, court-mandated abstinance, prison terms, or things of that nature can cause those sorts of delays, but normally you pop them babies right out early so you can retire while you are still young....what was I say? Oh yeah, the baby seat would only fit in the
center of the rear seat and
100K XJ, as he would later be known, was growing fast and getting cramped in the back seat. Something had to be done to accommodate my growing family. (Dropping the new kid off at the mall for an indefinate period was not the best option, but discussed at length).
After two years of moderate wheeling and truly great memories on Stawberry Pass, Eagle Lakes Trail, and Galleria Mall, that pseudo-Jeep was sold at huge loss of money and tremendous impact to my newly discovered love of 4-wheeling. It's replacement was a 2000 Grand Cherokee Loredo, which I found to be a fantistic vehicle ON the road. With the sale of my beloved Libby, I lost the one hobby that I found most satisfying:
Wheeling. I had initial plans to lift the '00 WJ, but those plans fell apart when I sold the Jeep in favor of a new Honda minivan upon the request of my wife. That brought her happiness, but owning a van (my second) eliminated all remnants of my dwindling manhood. In just a few successive years, I progressed from ignorant fun with a pseudo-Jeep to dimished promises with a Jeep station-wagon.
The few years that I was without a Jeep is known to me remorsefully as my
Dark Years. Sure, the Liberty is bloated by fat, curvy body panels and limited by it's IFS, but it was something that I really enjoyed owning. I owe a ton of gratitude to my first Jeep as it helped develop a life-long craving for the trail and an
unbreakable bond with my son. I am now aware of my past mistakes and I shudder at the thought of ignorantly passing up a brand new 2001 XJ from the same dealer that sold me that Liberty, but I cannot ignore that past, for it has certainly shaped my future. Long live the KJ. Fat, bloated, and moderately capable as it is.
discount at Brown Dog may pay for most of your 
