TM
Trail Manual
DIY field manual
Preview · Jeep Cherokee XJ live · More platforms coming

The field manual every off-road build deserves.

Maintenance schedules, common-failure cures, lift-and-tire fitments, vendor comparisons, and interactive tools — written for DIYers and free to use. Starting with the Jeep XJ and growing across every off-road platform worth wrenching on.

307
Entries
17
Categories
5
Build tiers
300+
Citations
What's open today

Two interactive tools — built for the driveway

Free, no signup, no ads. Use them in your garage with greasy hands.

Why Trail Manual

What forums won't give you in one place

📚

Cross-referenced, not chronological

Forum threads age out. Trail Manual entries are kept current and link to alternatives, prerequisites, and cited sources.

💰

Real prices, real tradeoffs

Every entry lists vendor options and ballpark costs. Pros and cons are honest — including "you don't need this" verdicts.

🛠

Tools, not tutorials

Interactive rig builders, diagnostic guides, and calculators that adapt to your build goal and DIY skill level.

Roadmap

Built one platform at a time

The data model is multi-vehicle from day one. Adding a platform is mostly content work, not engineering — so the cadence will pick up as the audience grows.

Phase 1
Jeep Cherokee XJ (1984–2001) — 307 entries · maintenance, suspension, axles, drivetrain, armor, recovery, wheels & tires, interior, electrical, body, build recipes.
Open now
Phase 2
Wrangler family — TJ, YJ, JK, JL, CJ-7, CJ-5. The natural next step. Shared off-road systems (axles, recovery, tires) reuse XJ entries.
Phase 3
Other Jeeps — Grand Cherokee ZJ, WJ, WK.
Later
Phase 4
Other platforms — Toyota 4Runner, Tacoma, Nissan Pathfinder, and beyond.
Later

Get notified when a new platform opens

About one email a month, usually less. Roadmap updates and the occasional deep-dive.