Do you own a Jeep Cherokee (XJ model) and would like to hit the trails, but you don’t have any friends into the 4×4 scene? Look no further, because NAXJA (North American XJ Association) is a club designed specifically for Cherokee owners! No matter what state you live in, and what stage of build your Cherokee is in, NAXJA is the place for you! With a chapter for every region of the US, you are bound to find people near you who are Cherokee nuts as well.
NAXJA.org is an online forum comprised of people who eat, breathe, and sleep Cherokees. It is also a nationally recognized club with official sponsors, runs and events. You can lurk about the forums for free, but to sign up and become an actual member of the club will set you back $35.00 for the first year – a small fee to help support this outstanding group of Cherokee owners.
There is also an online store where you can purchase club t-shirts, sweatshirts, ball caps, stickers and most other things Cherokee.
Once you have signed up and created a screen name for yourself, you can pick the chapter that most suits you geographically and start reading and writing on the forum. The boards consist of a main area, where local issues and runs are usually posted, a “For Sale” section, where you’ll find the best deals on new and used Cherokee stuff from other club members, “Sticky” threads that normally contain rules and regulations, but sometimes information about major events going on in the chapter, and the “Tech” section, which is the proper venue to ask all mechanical questions about your Cherokee. Like other forums, NAXJA has a powerful `search` feature which allows you to track down threads with the keyword topic you enter, allowing you to see what has been said about a particular topic in the past. It is a really good idea to use this feature BEFORE posting question threads, because there is a great likelihood your quandary has been voiced before.
The NAXJA family likes to keep their board content in the PG-13 range as far as language and pictures are concerned, because although it can be fun to joke around and jab each other at times, this is a family oriented Cherokee club and many young people view its pages every day. There is a `private message` feature if you would like to use adult language, or use a risqué picture in order to get a particular point across.
NAXJA regularly has official trail runs, which many times include very cool raffles with such prizes as lockers, rock rails, coupons, club paraphernalia and any number of things that may be donated to the event by members and sponsors. Trail runs vary from mild to wild, and everything in between. Do you have a stock Cherokee and like scenic drives that allow you and the family a relaxing day of sight-seeing and picture taking? There will be a run for you! Maybe you have a monster Cherokee with eight inches of lift on 36″ tires and dual locked-up Dana 60s – there will be a run for you as well!
As an off-road enthusiast, is it your goal to help keep our trails open for future use? You may have found the right club! Many times a year NAXJA holds trail cleanup events where club members are encouraged to bring out their rigs, trailers, shovels, garbage bags and good attitudes, so we can do our part in keeping sanctioned trails open!
The club also has regular “Meet and Greets”, usually held at a bar and grill or other festive location. This is a great chance for new members to shake hands with other fanatic Cherokee lovers, and also an opportunity for the veterans to swap campfire stories and possibly even plan upcoming events.
Whether young or old, mild or wild, NAXJA has something for every Cherokee owner. The people are friendly and knowledgeable, the members will bend over backward to help out a fellow enthusiast in trouble, and it is a wonderful place to build lasting relationships based on the one thing you all have in common – a passion for the Jeep Cherokee.
