mudmobeeler
Caught the Bug
Forget the Overlanding vs. rock crawling bs.
Both COULD require a winch, good bumpers/recovery points, skid plates, recovery gear, lift, tires, etc.
There are alot of "overlander" rigs that I wouldn't take very far off road. There are a lot of "rock crawler" rigs that don't do much more than "over landing" also.
Get some good skid plates like the EVO ones. Its advisable to get an oil pan skid plate, a tranny pan skid plate to protect the tranny pan and the transmission line that crosses under the pan, and the exhaust/cross member skid plate would be helpful to keep from damaging those as bad. The factory gas tank skid plate can take a lot of abuse, I would not replace it until absolutely needed and then I would probably find a factory one. The EVAP skid plate is not needed but could be beneficial per say. At most I would move it one bolt hole over to the driver side to save your driveshaft boot from ripping. If the EVAP canister gets ripped off, it wont leave you stranded.
Good recovery points are a must. Along with good recovery gear such as a snatch strap, a couple of d-rings, and a tree strap and snatch block for when your winching. Get a good winch also, dont go cheap. Cheap almost always bites you in the butt. Warn makes great winches. While it isn't needed, I say get the biggest one you can. I run a 12k pound warn power plant but I often wheel with some full size rigs so I wanted to do it overkill. You absolutely want to make sure it is at least twice the weight of the vehicle. So a 9500 pound one would be suitable. Specially with a snatch block.
Depending on what tire size your going with a lift can be relatively inexpensive up to a decent chunk of change. You can clear 35s on stock suspension, proper bump stops, and trimmed or flat fenders. You will probably still have to trim some sheet metal and my still rub. So I would get a leveling kit at minimum. If I were going to stay with 35s and stay on coil springs with shocks I would go for the EVO Enforcer lift, aftermarket front driveshaft, and EVO drag link flip kit and be done with that part of the jeep. Your looking at a good chunk of your $5k but if you were to stay with that set up for ever, it would be a good one.
The rubis are fairly capable stock, so I would really evaluate what direction your wanting to go and spend accordingly. A lift and tires would change the looks now, but there are alot of things you can buy that you need depending on what you do. You can still get out and wheel and have fun.
Go check out the build thread section, you will see everything from mild to wild in there. It will help to give you some ideas and/or directions on where to go.
Also, if you want to throw 35s on it asap, make sure the rubi your getting has the 4.10s. They went to 3.73s as an option in 2012 or 2013 (i think) and depending on your terrain and wheeling you do, the 35s and 3.73s may be a dog so you may want to re gear almost immediately. That is a good chunk of money if you cant do them yourself and have to pay a shop to do them. The 4.10s would be better, maybe not ideal still but might get you further along for a bit.
Both COULD require a winch, good bumpers/recovery points, skid plates, recovery gear, lift, tires, etc.
There are alot of "overlander" rigs that I wouldn't take very far off road. There are a lot of "rock crawler" rigs that don't do much more than "over landing" also.
Get some good skid plates like the EVO ones. Its advisable to get an oil pan skid plate, a tranny pan skid plate to protect the tranny pan and the transmission line that crosses under the pan, and the exhaust/cross member skid plate would be helpful to keep from damaging those as bad. The factory gas tank skid plate can take a lot of abuse, I would not replace it until absolutely needed and then I would probably find a factory one. The EVAP skid plate is not needed but could be beneficial per say. At most I would move it one bolt hole over to the driver side to save your driveshaft boot from ripping. If the EVAP canister gets ripped off, it wont leave you stranded.
Good recovery points are a must. Along with good recovery gear such as a snatch strap, a couple of d-rings, and a tree strap and snatch block for when your winching. Get a good winch also, dont go cheap. Cheap almost always bites you in the butt. Warn makes great winches. While it isn't needed, I say get the biggest one you can. I run a 12k pound warn power plant but I often wheel with some full size rigs so I wanted to do it overkill. You absolutely want to make sure it is at least twice the weight of the vehicle. So a 9500 pound one would be suitable. Specially with a snatch block.
Depending on what tire size your going with a lift can be relatively inexpensive up to a decent chunk of change. You can clear 35s on stock suspension, proper bump stops, and trimmed or flat fenders. You will probably still have to trim some sheet metal and my still rub. So I would get a leveling kit at minimum. If I were going to stay with 35s and stay on coil springs with shocks I would go for the EVO Enforcer lift, aftermarket front driveshaft, and EVO drag link flip kit and be done with that part of the jeep. Your looking at a good chunk of your $5k but if you were to stay with that set up for ever, it would be a good one.
The rubis are fairly capable stock, so I would really evaluate what direction your wanting to go and spend accordingly. A lift and tires would change the looks now, but there are alot of things you can buy that you need depending on what you do. You can still get out and wheel and have fun.
Go check out the build thread section, you will see everything from mild to wild in there. It will help to give you some ideas and/or directions on where to go.
Also, if you want to throw 35s on it asap, make sure the rubi your getting has the 4.10s. They went to 3.73s as an option in 2012 or 2013 (i think) and depending on your terrain and wheeling you do, the 35s and 3.73s may be a dog so you may want to re gear almost immediately. That is a good chunk of money if you cant do them yourself and have to pay a shop to do them. The 4.10s would be better, maybe not ideal still but might get you further along for a bit.
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[emoji106]
