Advice on a setup for desert driving

[Bu3askoor]

Hello everyone and happy new year.

I have been looking around for a good suspension setup for desert driving. It is really more about speed driving and being able to absorb big hits.

On my 2DR JK i have 2.5 RK max travel paired with bilstein shocks. It preformed well in the desert and comfy as a daily driver.

I have now JLUR and planning for a 2.5 lift.

Looking at the offerings mainly from icon, RK,MC. I will most likely pair it with adjustable shocks. While I believe shocks choices are straight forward, selecting a proper lift with just the right components is much tougher.

In other words, while the 2.5 max travel on 2dr jk àwas amazing, I don't think I needed all the components for my purpose which is desert driving vs rock crawling .

With that introduction, i would like to get your experienced opinion on just the right/ minimum components required (obviously aside from springs) that I should get.

Thank you

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[AZDustMuncher]

If money is no object I would think a long arm coilover setup along with the shock absorber style bumpstops would be best. I probably wouldn't go too big with the tires and try to keep everything as light as possible.

 

[Bu3askoor]

I lived in AZ for 20 years, 20 years ago, and that’s the kind of wheeling we did. I didn’t have a Jeep then, I was in a ‘74 land cruiser fj40. The technology wasn’t what it is today, we lifted our vehicles just enough to get the m/t tires on it. But one thing we did then, that I would do today is reinforce the axles. Because either intentionally or unintentionally at some point your going to get airborne, and that is going to pound on your axles. We had gussets welded on, but I think they make bolt on things these days. Why do you want to go up 2.5 inches, are you going with 37s or taller tires? If you’re going with 35s, they’ll fit on stock jlur. Just remember the higher the lift the more adjustable components you’ll need to keep everything straightened up. Sorry if this doesn’t answer your question. But it was nice to here desert running, took me back in the day.
Thanks

I'm glad I was able to bring back good memories. They're is something about the desert that gives you peace.

The reason for the 2.5 lift is because of the high dunes we have to tackle. You can easily get stuck and sink in. In addition, crossing top of the dune at the edge need some clearance.

I will try to come back to post few videos to show the way we drive in some cases but this link will give right an idea and might make you laugh:

 

[Bu3askoor]

If money is no object I would think a long arm coilover setup along with the shock absorber style bumpstops would be best. I probably wouldn't go too big with the tires and try to keep everything as light as possible.

That would probably be ideal, but is always an issue lol. Especially if you own a jeep.

 

[Covfefe]

I highly recommend an independent suspension system for desert runs. If our humvees had solid axles, I would have broken every single one already.

 

[Bu3askoor]

What kind of differentials did you have in your last Jeep?

I had JK sport 3.73. It did well overall in 4hi. Had to use 4 lo in tricky situations. It sucked that i didn't have lockers. But i made sure to save up for the Rubicon to enjoy the lockers and the additional diff ratio.

You probably rarely loose traction side to side though? I wired my lockers to my auxiliary switches #3 &#4 in my rubi. Since it will only let you use lockers in 4 lo and limits speed. Now I can lock up in 2wd, 4h or 4lo and speed is not an issue. I don’t know if that would benefit you or not.

Traction is really useless in the desert, it does become sometime helpful when you are stuck and need to get out. In the JK, most people had a kill switch to turn off the traction completely to enjoy the drive. In the new rubi JL, the traction disable procedure that is built-in completely disables the traction which is useful and does not require an additional kill switch.. However, i am super annoyed that in 4 lo the speed is limited. I tried the tazer jl new feature to completely disable traction and ability to use lockers. It worked with the lockers, but the speed limitation was still there. Did you mean that you were able to bypass the speed limitation in 4lo in the JL model? i would love to know how you did it. You will actually be my personal hero Speed is really everything when it comes to desert driving here. I used to be able to speed up in the JK, but not in the JL which is really upsetting. Couple of people i know here is annoyed as well.

 

[Bu3askoor]

Yes, I bypassed computer completely, I got wiring harnesses from Mopar and wired them to my auxiliary switches.

Amazing.!!

Did yours come with auxiliary switches?

No, but installed mine to hook the extra aux lights.

Check out my thread “ lockers, when I want them not when Mopar says I can” I explain how I did it there.

Thank you, i will look it up.

 

[Bu3askoor]

@Icon_Adrian @Rock Krawler Suspension
@Northridge4x4

HI!!

I was hoping you can contribute to the Original Post. Thank you so much

 

[Tech Tim]

@Bu3askoor,

The suspension is pretty good in the new JLs though a good quality set of shocks makes it even better.

A 2.5" lift under a Rubicon will easily fit 37s and the 37"s really seem to be well balanced in a JLU, height to wheelbase.

We put a set of the Falcon shocks under David's (Northridge4x4 Pres.) JLUR and they made a huge difference.

Northridge4x4's Falcon Shock Install

For lift, it is currently sitting on a 2.5" EVO spacer kit and the combo really is pretty amazing in all terrains we've ran it in so far; snow, desert (Moab, UT), dirt, rocks, etc. And David pushes it pretty hard.

Northridge4x4's 2.5 EVO Install Story

Rock Krawler does offer the Max Travel kits for the JL, if you liked the one in your JK, take a look at their JL kits.

There are quite a few other kits on the market now, so you have many to choose from. We'll be changing up suspensions and trying others under his JL in the future.

In general, travel helps a bunch and anything you can do to add travel and control it will make the Jeep perform better. I would say to keep the lift as low as you can and then add in a smooth belly pan like the Artec aluminum Belly Pan. The smooth belly will help smooth out those dune transitions without the crossmembers acting like a plow.

Northridge 4x4's Artec Belly Pan Install Story

I would echo @AZDustMuncher's input, keeping low and light is huge when it comes time for high speed transitions like in your video.

I would definitely say to run a shock with reservoirs to keep them from heating up. We've got reservoir JL shocks from King and Falcon in stock and can drop ship the Icon resis out to you.

Coil-overs would be nice, but not a necessity. EVO offers a High-Clearance PRO long arm kit with coil-overs if you are wanting to go that big.

 

[JLAFAKASI]

@Bu3askoor,

The suspension is pretty good in the new JLs though a good quality set of shocks makes it even better.

A 2.5" lift under a Rubicon will easily fit 37s and the 37"s really seem to be well balanced in a JLU, height to wheelbase.

We put a set of the Falcon shocks under David's (Northridge4x4 Pres.) JLUR and they made a huge difference.

Northridge4x4's Falcon Shock Install

For lift, it is currently sitting on a 2.5" EVO spacer kit and the combo really is pretty amazing in all terrains we've ran it in so far; snow, desert (Moab, UT), dirt, rocks, etc. And David pushes it pretty hard.

Northridge4x4's 2.5 EVO Install Story

Rock Krawler does offer the Max Travel kits for the JL, if you liked the one in your JK, take a look at their JL kits.

There are quite a few other kits on the market now, so you have many to choose from. We'll be changing up suspensions and trying others under his JL in the future.

In general, travel helps a bunch and anything you can do to add travel and control it will make the Jeep perform better. I would say to keep the lift as low as you can and then add in a smooth belly pan like the Artec aluminum Belly Pan. The smooth belly will help smooth out those dune transitions without the crossmembers acting like a plow.

Northridge 4x4's Artec Belly Pan Install Story

I would echo @AZDustMuncher's input, keeping low and light is huge when it comes time for high speed transitions like in your video.

I would definitely say to run a shock with reservoirs to keep them from heating up. We've got reservoir JL shocks from King and Falcon in stock and can drop ship the Icon resis out to you.

Coil-overs would be nice, but not a necessity. EVO offers a High-Clearance PRO long arm kit with coil-overs if you are wanting to go that big.

Would you say the adventure series RK lift stage 1- 2.5 with Fox 2.0 shocks on a JLU sport on 285/75/17 light tire and combo would make for a better ride than stock in the dessert? I'm tied between the RK adventure series and the AEV Dualsport lift. I'm not planning to run metal bumpers at all.

 

[Tech Tim]

Both of those kits would be a good choice.

The best upgrade you can make is to pair either of those two kits with good shocks.

The Fox 2.0s are good, the Fox 2.5s are a big upgrade.

The TeraFlex Falcon shocks are are very impressive.

I would recommend going to an adjustable shock so you can adjust it depending on your likes and what you are carrying on the various trips.

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