New 2 door rubicon needs advice

[ChadTx]

I have a bone stock 2019 2dr JL Rubicon. I have driven it cross country from Georgia to Utah twice and another trip to Colorado.This is my 5th Wrangler and 2nd Rubicon. I've been trail riding from Georgia to Utah and Colorado since 1991 and have learned a lot-mostly you don't have to tear up you gear to have a great time, and you still have a nice vehicle to drive when you get back. The bone Stock JLr will go places I don't want to go. I'm into offroading not spending useless money and/or banging up a perfectly good vehicle-especially a new one. There are thousands of miles of offroad trails that don't involve tearing up your $50000+ vehicle in the process. Remember 98% of that addon crap never sees a trail; it's for "lookgood" . When I got the JLR, I thought of putting on 35's and maybe a lift, but have decided...Why? I did that lift and big tire stuff 2 Wranglers ago, then I got a my first Rubicon, a JK in 2007 and decided it is more capable than I need already...and the JLR is even more so. I'm telling you it is probably more offroad capable bone stock than you and I are. It has a suspension designed by experts with a lot of safety and offroad considerations-why mess with any of that just so you can take a photo of one tire hiked up on a boulder a half inch higher than the bone stock guy....and nobody gives a $hit about that except you.

How do you differentiate the trails that will tear stuff up from ones that wonlt? I’m looking at so many places I want to go but it’s hard to tell if they are trails I can do and make it home or trails that will tear up my brand new 50,000+ Jeep

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[Whaler27]

I agree with everything your saying. What’s mods have you done to your Jeep?

Here's my partial list of the bigger $$ chunks:

Mopar lift
Adjustable front and rear LCAs
Yeti Adjustable track bar
Warn Elite rear bumper and Tire carrier
Warn Zeon 10s winch
Maximus-3 winch mount for factory steel bumper and tow rings
Air Force One braking system (for pulling Jeep behind diesel coach).
KMC wheels & 37" BFG KO2 (summer), Vision wheels and studded 37" Grabbers (winter)
Tazer mini
sPOD
Front, rear, interior, and rock lights by Rigid, KC, and others.
Katzkin leather
Artec aluminum belly pan (still in boxes in shop since Black Friday purchase)
Rhino-rack backbone system
ARB twin compressor in rear tray with aux battery and remote fill station (American Adventure Lab mount)
67 Designs rail-mounts for electronics
Tuffy Security deck
Outdoor Adventure Products tailgate table

Then there's a ton of little stuff -- mounts, handles, trays, rock sliders, radios, netting, seat-height adjusters, etc, etc.

To do:
Alcon brakes (the difference between my braking and my brother's braking is incredible). Almost 50% of his vehicle life is on the Colorado trails near his home, and his brakes are amazing. (They're just too expensive for me to swing at this point, but I'm determined not to opt for an inferior solution.)

Someday? Regear to 456 (probably)

 

[rkwfxd]

There is virtually no difference between a 315/70-17 and a 35 x 12.5-17 tire. The only people having issues on a stock Rubicon have changed to incorrect offset wheels. You will get into the fenders if your tires poke outside the fenders.

OK

 

[Kreepin1]

My thoughts for a lift where that I wouldn’t destroy the underside of the Jeeps components. How did it do on black bear bone stock? All the videos I see have modded jeeps on 37’s. I’m thinking more along the lines of just doing the 35’s and a winch and calling it good for now.

I would rather have rocker guards and skid plates than a lift. Reason being you will always find a rock that is 2" taller than you thought it would be...

This thread has been well and truly derailed. For what you describe, I stand by my original post. You will be happy with 35x11.5 tires on stock wheels with no lift and a set of rock sliders and full skid plates. A winch is a really great idea, especially if you will be out alone.

 

[ChadTx]

I would rather have rocker guards and skid plates than a lift. Reason being you will always find a rock that is 2" taller than you thought it would be...

This thread has been well and truly derailed. For what you describe, I stand by my original post. You will be happy with 35x11.5 tires on stock wheels with no lift and a set of rock sliders and full skid plates. A winch is a really great idea, especially if you will be out alone.

Can u recommend any skid plate companies?

 

[AZtorque]

I have a 21 Rubicon Diesel with 2" Mopar lift, stock rims and 35x11.5 Nitto Trail Grapplers, which are "C" rated. No problem at all on multiple trails in AZ and even on the sand dunes at Sand Hollow in southern Utah. I didn't want to go too wide and have to buy new rims or put extra stress on steering components that aren't very strong to begin with. Love the tires tires.

 

[Sparty]

Can u recommend any skid plate companies?

MetalCloak
JCR offroad
Rough Country
Rock Hard
Artec
Rancho

Even Quadratec sells some

My advice would be to spend about 2 weeks and search through this forum on different skids and find what fits your needs the best. There's a lot of good companies and good options out there

 

[Kreepin1]

Can u recommend any skid plate companies?

Us 2-doors don't get much love from the vendors. I really wanted Artec's but got tired of waiting and ended up going with Mountain Off Road Enterprises. I ordered the engine/transmission, transfer case, and fuel tank skids in steel. I think aluminum is a better choice for your use.

https://mountainoffroad.com/collections/wrangler-jl/skid-plates

 

[Whaler27]

I agree with going the simple route, especially with the 2-door where lift is less critical.

Decent rock rails, good skids, and 35s will be huge fun with low risk. The other stuff can wait, depending on your level of addiction! Depending on where you're going, it's also nice to have a way to depressurize and re-pressurize your tires. If your wheeling is infrequent, a simple CO2 tank set up is a great solution.

 

[Iggy]

My 2021 JLR came with 33" BFG KO2s. They are great tires - quiet, good ride, and great grip off-road.When it comes time to change tires I'll go to 35" BFGs.

Raise the Jeep? Maybe 3/4" spacers in the front after swapping the steel OE bumper with a Smittybilt XRC and adding a 9.5k winch. I'll put Fox shocks on after 20,000 miles, but no spring swaps for me. Add an engine/trans skid plate and that's it.

I'm keeping the center of gravity as low as I can and let the short wheelbase take care of breakover clearance.

 

[Iggy]

No real issues on harder trails. It just did the entire Rubicon and came back home doing 85mph most the way.

What sliders are you running and are they working for you? Thanks ~

 

[Deleted member 59098]

What sliders are you running and are they working for you? Thanks ~

These are Fishbone. The passenger slider is bent so it rubs the door when opening. I’m 210 lbs and can’t bend it back down. I think I’m going to see if some spacers will help. They were fine before the rubicon trips. I like how they protect up to the door sill and not cause reduced clearance like steps. The price was good too.

 

[RockAltered]

Your choice and goals are solid. Stick to the plan. No lift , Toyo AT3 in 315 on stock Rubi wheels.

 

[Ridgway Jeeper]

My thoughts for a lift where that I wouldn’t destroy the underside of the Jeeps components. How did it do on black bear bone stock? All the videos I see have modded jeeps on 37’s. I’m thinking more along the lines of just doing the 35’s and a winch and calling it good for now.

Did fine on Black Bear. It has done most of the Ouray area trails already, not all of them because it is my wife's car and still very new, no damage allowed... There was a stock 4 runner that went by and he hit bottom four times in 100 yards, had rental plates so I am sure it was fine...

35s and a winch on a Rubicon will take you places you do not want to go.

 

[Deleted member 59098]

Us 2-doors don't get much love from the vendors. I really wanted Artec's but got tired of waiting and ended up going with Mountain Off Road Enterprises. I ordered the engine/transmission, transfer case, and fuel tank skids in steel. I think aluminum is a better choice for your use.

https://mountainoffroad.com/collections/wrangler-jl/skid-plates

I can’t blame MORE, but it took like 4 months for my skids to arrive. By an act of god, they arrived a day before a Rubicon trip. They are great skids, just order early.

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