if you're not 100% about getting a truck, and want something that's comfy to drive daily, and able to take out on the weekend and flog it in the bush, I definately recommend the Jeep Rubicon.

well i went out and looked at the jeep today, i thought it was going to have a cramped interior, but its not bad at all.. it really does seem like something that can be driven daily and also be thrown into the bush on the weekends with out hesitation.. not a bad little suv

Not at all, although the six speed has such short gearing it can get a little frustrating at times in city traffic where you're through first gear in all of 2 seconds.

^my heep has dana 30 front and 35 rear

this is why i like the auto tranny in my 4x, i cant imagine having to slip my clutch etc to crawl over stuff

why a 96-01 cherokee with a strait 6 isnt top on you list im not sure tho. im gonna flog my 92 and buy a 99 with 130 000 kms for 5k tomorrow. no brainer for such a tough and versatile vehicle.
add 2 g in a quality lift and 5 tires and it will be capable enough to tackle anything i have the balls to attempt while still being comfortable and stockish

grand cherokee? or the regular one?

regular. one of my mechanics at honda worked at dodge for 7 years. swears by the regular cherokee, and says the grand isnt worth the metal its made out of. trail ready vs soccer mom spec

having said that, a friend of mine has a grand with the v8 and it is pretty sweet as far as comfort and power go

Beyond the interior spec and the V8, what's the Grand Cherokee include that makes it less trail worthy than the regular?

gas tank location makes it real piggy in the rear
more complicated suspension than the normal ones, (its 4 coils instead of coil front and leaf rear) the stamped steel control arms that result from this suspension are a weak point. they also weigh more. the v8 trannys arent as tough as the strait 6 as well
and not all of them came with a real transfer case

Interesting... no regular Cherokee's with coil springs all around, eh? How popular are the four corner coil spring swaps for the rears of regular Cherokees?

^ unless you are going long arm/ 4-link its just not done from what i have seen

im the guy with the ZJ GC V8

trannys and transfer cases are definitely the weak link in the drive train. the transfer case is an AWD center dif that engaged when the rear slips. it does have a positive engaging low range tho. the front ends usually come with CV joins upfront instead of U-joints. that being said, some GCs can be found with Us up front and a NV231 or NV 242 swap is nearly a direct bolt in and can be sourced from a wrecker for a couple bills. another shitty move for Jeep was to throw an aluminum housing D44a in the rear instead of the D35 which makes finding a locker all but impossible (now that Aussie has stopped making them). altho an 8.8 is a common swap. aside from that, the torquey V8 is a pretty strong motor.

the coil spring design and solid axles front and rear make for easy lifting. most lift kids are extremely expandable to go from a simple lift to a full kit. 3.5" lift will clear 31x10.5s at full articulation with sway bars discoed too.

the main reason i like the GC over the regular cherokee is its just a fair bit nicer vehicle all around. its like driving an accord instead of a civic. that being said, if i was building a full trail jeep rig, it would be a regular cherokee, not a GC

well even after all of your guy's help, im still lost as to what i want.. lol. i have never for the life of me been able to settle my mind down and focus on one certain kind of vehicle.. for me the rubicon jeep is just too under powered. i think im just going to go with what i have always wanted from the time i bought my first car, a pickup. 04-05 dodge ram 1500 slt.