What would you do "first"...?

[maddscot]

Owner of a "new" (bought last year in August) JLU Rubicon and have some some minor mods such as tailgate lighting, grab handles (not sure these count as "mods"), Sunrider etc.

Been doing a listing of things I would like to do for moving my Jeep to an overland vehicle. I do a bit of fly fishing, camping and hiking but wish to do a bit more in the Jeep (that is why I bought it). No need to get into built in kitchens and pop up RTT yet (though watching TrailrRecon and related vids get my credit card warm), but I want to be able to rock crawl a bit (not too extreme) and still have a daily driver. So what would you all do first? Lift (2.5"), Winch (10k/syn), Lighting (driver and fog - I have LED option, so primary fog/driver pattern on front bumper)? Others?

Note - I have a fairly loaded Rubicon with LED, Steel bumpers, etc. and yes I have perused the forums and other info quite a bit in my search of next steps.

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My thought process is it depends on what you are doing. I would think the winch should be at or near the top of the list if you are actually going off road on trails, especially if you are going by yourself (only vehicle). Allows you to perform recovery of yourself or someone you are with. But then don't forget about the other recovery gear that goes with it. The lift "looks" the best, and does help off road performance also. Do you need the extra clearance on the trails? Don't forget about adding bigger tires, and take care of the spare and its carrier also. Might need to regear too, opinions seem all over the place on that, I would want to for where I live. Lighting would seem to be last to me, unless you are actually going off road when its dark out (or it winds up dark when you get back). You can't use most of that fancy lighting on regular roads. Onboard air or communications should be considerations also.

I've been wanting to do some stuff to my JLR also, and that has been my thought process so far. I've also been saving to do most/all at once, rather than over time.

Keep in mind as I write this, this my first Jeep and I have no "real" mods yet either.

 

[maddscot]

My thought process is it depends on what you are doing. I would think the winch should be at or near the top of the list if you are actually going off road on trails, especially if you are going by yourself (only vehicle). Allows you to perform recovery of yourself or someone you are with. But then don't forget about the other recovery gear that goes with it. The lift "looks" the best, and does help off road performance also. Do you need the extra clearance on the trails? Don't forget about adding bigger tires, and take care of the spare and its carrier also. Might need to regear too, opinions seem all over the place on that, I would want to for where I live. Lighting would seem to be last to me, unless you are actually going off road when its dark out (or it winds up dark when you get back). You can't use most of that fancy lighting on regular roads. Onboard air or communications should be considerations also.

I've been wanting to do some stuff to my JLR also, and that has been my thought process so far. I've also been saving to do most/all at once, rather than over time.

Keep in mind as I write this, this my first Jeep and I have no "real" mods yet either.

Thanks and I noticed the similar front 3/4 shots of our rides... I am looking at a winch first as well as the related recovery items. My old LEO in me, and past "life" is my safety to be able to support others... so first aid and recovery items (other than winch) have been procured as well as fire and tools, repair items, personal lighting etc.

I have quite a list going on winch selection which is boiling down to Warn and Smittybuilt as local Jeep Peeps have suggested. As with you once my listing if finalized, I may pull the trigger and do lift, tires (on 33 now, move to 35/37) perhaps wheels (sell the stock ones or store)

 

[AnnDee4444]

If you're stuck a lift/tires won't help, but the winch will.

 

[Mikester86]

I would say winch and associated recovery gear. I recently installed one on our JLUR and couldn’t be happier. It’s a great feeling knowing it’s there should you need it.

 

[NoahVD]

On my JLUR all I have done so far is a 2.5" rough country spacer lift for little extra ground clearance, a smittybilt X2O 12k winch, and a stubby bumper to mount the winch. Down the line I want 37s and a more complete lift but I gotta wear out the stock tires first. The 12k winch was a great deal on sale, otherwise I would have been happy with an 8-10k

 

[Notorious]

Why not save up for all of the above and then do it all at once?

 

[limeade]

I agree on a winch and recovery gear as one of the first, if not first, items to do.

If you're going with a lift to fit bigger tires, I would highly suggest also upgrading the steering system at the same time. I'd add a tie rod, drag link, and track bar/sector shaft brace. These will greatly strengthen your front end and remove some of the worry of the stock parts failing once you do venture off road. Plus the stock parts are barely adequate for stock tires, much less for 35" and larger.

 

[Stormin’ Moorman]

The general order of mods should almost always be: suspension, wheels/tires, then everything else. Since you already have the steel bumper adding a winch is pretty easy and is almost a side note, you can throw that in anytime.

Don't skimp on the suspension. Get a good brand that allows full travel and the ride you want to achieve.

 

[fat_head]

Recovery gear first. After that, take it out and see what you need. Bolting stuff on simply to look cool is a bad idea. Figure out what you NEED.

 

[Sheepjeep]

first things first always recommended to go with 2 vehicles especially on trails that there is a decent risk of you breaking down or getting stuck, equipment like a winch (hard to pull from the rear when on your front bumper) or radios (if someone in range is willing to help) can help but they are not a perfect replacement because they are not as versatile as a person in another capable vehicle.

After that get good recovery equipment, tow straps, shackles, hi lift (can doubles as a a hand winch), maybe a electric winch and its accessories (tree saver, snatch block), also winches can be dangerous if you do not know what you are doing around them, but if you are comfy with how they work go for it.

Next tools, get a good set of tools that will help you fix repairs on the trail or at least get you to a safe spot to call a tow truck. Also a good air pump and tire pressure gauge

Follow up with radios, allow you to talk with others in your group and in the case of emergency maybe call out if you have bad cell reception.

Then first aid and fire extinguisher.

for off road related mods where are replacing parts the only recommendation i would say do before taking on to the trail would be diff covers front and rear and a fad skid, they are easy to do and cheap and even with lift and tires will be you lowest high risk point for getting hit by rocks and ruining your day

with those things in hand you can taking out more and build confidence your handling of the jeep and learn what kind of trails you will be hitting up where your limitations are. For hard trails a lift and taller more aggressive tires may more important, for camping maybe a tail gate table or rtt would be better for your needs, for fishing maybe a pole rack is more important. But if you are abusing it make sure you take time to check over the jeep now and then and crawl under it and find problem points and make the required changes to make those problems go away. It is your jeep and you do what you think is right for it to meet your needs and your asks from it.

 

[dajaga]

My thoughts are it's just a wave and hard to find a spot to start it seems like you start off with something and gotta do something else to compensate for what you've done.

Formyself i got a steel bumper and a winch on my jlu sport, immediately noticed that my front end sagged almost 1/2 inch, so i couldn't afford a proper suspension lift and installed a rc spacer lift, front end was acting up noticing more bumps and a bit of a wobble on some uneven surfaces but what i do for offroading works great for what it is. Anyways got a track bar installed it, it helped a little but now figuring its my axel angle so i ordered a set of adjustable lower control arms. I'm waiting for those you come in before i take it to a shop that specializes in this type of stuff.

All in all it seems like when you change one thing something else may come up.

Just be prepared to spend a little more money than you are expecting.

I had fun installing everything and still really glad i got the wrangler

 

[72Blazer]

I picked up my JLUR in February. Figured I’m going to keep it stock for a couple of years. Added a stubby antenna a week later. A few weeks later I had lift, tires, bumpers on order. Now I’m sitting on a JLUR with a 2” lift, 37s, full bumpers and tailgate tire carrier (bought with steel bumpers), and steering parts sitting in a box. I swear I’m going to stop after the delete pipe and winch next month.

 

[dajaga]

I picked up my JLUR in February. Figured I’m going to keep it stock for a couple of years. Added a stubby antenna a week later. A few weeks later I had lift, tires, bumpers on order. Now I’m sitting on a JLUR with a 2” lift, 37s, full bumpers and tailgate tire carrier (bought with steel bumpers), and steering parts sitting in a box. I swear I’m going to stop after the delete pipe and winch next month.

You forgot to do that hemi engine swap

 

[72Blazer]

You forgot to do that hemi engine swap

Hemis are for sissy’s. I’m going 6.2 LS!

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