Great thread! Some day I will need this advice for my jk. Having a YJ with no horsepower on 39.5’s and wheeling whith guys on 37’s and lots of horsepower, I can say I get more places than they do. They also damage their rig more getting those places. In my YJ, I usually wheel places like the hammers. Some day my JKU will graduate to tons, 40’s and the hammers. For now, my JKU on 35’s does well on trails like Big Bear stuff, anything harder, I want big tires to avoid damage. Wider axles and bigger tires will keep your body off the rocks, generally speaking. If you want to protect your rig from body damage, go bigger. Just don’t get too brave. In my opinion, fixing axles and drive shafts is cheaper than body damage most of the time.
Thank you!