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First Mods for a Noob

NWGN515

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Put in my JLR Punkn order a week ago and have almost done nothing but look at what I want to do with it since. The wait is also killing me, ha. This is my first Wrangler/4x4 vehicle and I am pretty excited to get it on trail and just out in nature generally. I come from rural Wisconsin, but have been cooped up in DC for almost a decade, but I am moving to northern Florida and plan on using the Wrangler for some overlanding and just generally getting to some isolation for once, but at this point dont plan on doing anything ridiculous, at least until after the bumper to bumper warranty expires.

My main question is on what my first mods should be. I know I am getting tube doors and seat covers first since I dont plan on having the top or factory doors on much, but after that I was thinking:

1) Rockhard full width Patriot Aluminum Front Bumper
2) Winch (Im open to recommendations here)
3) Rockhard Patriot Tire Carrier/bumper (open to recommendations on similar tire carriers that can hold Jerry Cans/cargo rack)
4) Rockhard aluminum armor/skidplates/rock sliders

I like the aluminum because this will be my daily driver and I dont really want to add like 600 lbs of steel when in all likelihood I dont need the extra strength of steel, I just wish the Rockhard tire carrier came in aluminum. I dont plan on doing wheels/tires until I kill the stock tires and I dont plan on a lift until the bumper to bumper expires. I am also open to recommendations on other companies that make aluminum bumpers/armor.

My main question is do I really need the armor considering I dont plan on doing a lot of rock crawling. Considering I am big time noob when it comes to off roading Im a little worried Im going to get myself into a situation where the armor would come in handy, plans or no plans alike. This is why its on the bottom of my list, but should I move it up towards the top? Buddy of mine used to do a lot of wheeling in CO with his FJ and recommended I do the armor before the winch since if Im using the winch Im likely going to be sliding the bottom on something where the armor would come in handy. Thanks for reading.
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UNC Rubicon

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Bumper, winch, and recovery gear first. Like you said, you’re not going to be on many rocks in Florida. Rather, you’ll see a lot of mud and sugar sand. It is so nice to have the means to get yourself out of sticky situations (see what I did there?).

Armor would be at the bottom of my list unless you plan to hit rocks on a regular basis - even then, get some rock sliders (if you need more protection than stock Rubi rails) and then skids sometime well down the road.
 

mike_b_81

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I did bumpers and winch only on my JLUR, only because they shipped it with plastic instead of the steel bumper, that’s a long story there. Otherwise, it’s stock. I plan on driving it for a while to find out what all I want to do, then prioritize from there. It’s more than capable stock the way it is, as I found out from a recent trip to Colorado. Enjoy your ride.
 

spurly

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There are really only 3 armor pieces I would recommend. An upgraded FAD skid from Metalcloak with steering stabilizer relocation bracket, Rancho front diff skid, Metalcloak rear diff skid. The diff skids are a must because the front will drag the drain plug over rocks, and the rear diff has several lips that can get hung up. So unless you seriously plan on dragging the jeep over rocks all the time, I wouldn't waste money on an entire skid plate system. And since you live in the DC area, a full skid system will only make it harder to wash the salt off from under your Jeep.

I'm still running stock height and stock tires on my JLUR and I followed a JK on 1 ton axles and 40 in tires a few weeks ago. Yeah the factory skids took a beating, but I never once thought I needed an entire skid system. Plan your line and you can make it up relatively unscathed. And nothing a can of black spray paint can't touch up.

Maybe upgrade the front and rear bumper to better protect the Jeep from other drivers, not rocks.

OR

Upgrade as you go. That's what I do. I took my Jeep out bone stock with less than 500 miles when I first hit the trails. Even someone new to offroading should have some idea what can be possible in their vehicle. And if you approach an obstacle you don't feel like doing, don't do it. Or let someone else go first. But the more you use it, the more you learn of its capabilities. Then you can decided what upgrades would be best for you. I like to enjoy a stock vehicle and slowly mod as I need it. That way I can enjoy each phase of the build.

And the first long screech you hear as you drag the entire frame rail over a rock, is the hardest.
 

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NWGN515

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Thanks for the replies and recommendations. I will def check out the metal cloak skidplates/covers. I plan on doing this slowly, I probably wont do much before I move to FL in December since I need to buy a house before I get down there and I find it to be semi irresponsible to put on all this stuff on credit cards simply for the immediate gratification, ha. Protection from other drivers is why Im getting the full width bumper, I hear Jax drivers are as bad as DC, but I find that hard to believe.
 

rallydefault

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Honestly, you'll probably waste a lot of money with armor when most of your stuff is gonna be beachy/sandy/muddy and likely not a lot of rocks. You could easily throw hundreds down the drain getting armor that will never even be scratched, especially if you go aluminum.

I have a 4-door Sport S with the stock tires and I put rubi suspension on it. I was doing huge sand dunes over the summer really flexing the suspension constantly and never once even brushed the undercarriage (and even if I did... just sand lol). If you're gonna be overlanding and doing water/beach stuff down in FL, I would do just the front skid at most.
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