Buying Jeep Soon - Need Help

[chipper]

Looks like you have a better idea for your parts list now. I live in Florida also. And I have the enforcer. I went with the rancho 9k shocks to save some $$. Very pleased with them. Also have toyo mt tires 17". You'll find out that there are good places to wheel here. Not like out west but still good.

 

[yax_c]

Looks like you have a better idea for your parts list now. I live in Florida also. And I have the enforcer. I went with the rancho 9k shocks to save some $$. Very pleased with them. Also have toyo mt tires 17". You'll find out that there are good places to wheel here. Not like out west but still good.

Ohh man I'm glad to hear that, once I get the jeep and is trail ready I'll be posting here and researching for places to go. Thanks for the heads up chip!!!

 

[Zstairlessone]

Take a serious look at the type of terrain you will be on before committing tons of money to build something that won't do what you need as well as you want. A mild lift, 33 - 35 inch tires (17" rims as you learned) if you will be hitting mud you probably want a good set of mud tires and there are a million (well ok, maybe only about 201,257) threads about which tire is best. Look for something that works in the type mud you mostly run into down there. You will probably find downed trees you will be crossing, a manual or electronic disconnecting sway bar will come in handy and either lockers or something like a Detroit TruTrac so you don't get stuck spinning one tire per axle may be worth the price. Now these won't give you Mall cred but will get you out of the woods. Put a CB in so you can talk to people out on the trail, some groups require one for runs. Trim your fenders if you want to minimize the lift you put on and learn where all your drain plugs are 'cause it sure is easier to get water out if you go in too deep and makes it quicker to rinse it out when you fill it with mud (you are going to take the doors and top off right?). In South Florida you might think about only getting a soft top and save a little money on the Jeep itself.

The manual vs automatic thing has been done to death, but if I was buying a new Jeep today and I was still in SoCal it would be an auto, if I was in Miami it would be a 6-speed but that is just my preference, between rock crawling and LA traffic I am convinced an auto would be more enjoyable but having never tried one I just don't know.

 

[Dubzy]

If you only want to run 35s and do some mild trails you could probably get away with a budget boost. It's real cheap, will do just about everything you're looking to do.

Once you find out what you will be wheeling on, you can build accordingly.

Just my $.02

 

[james2003w]

Hunting for a few months at the end of the year but it's not rough terrain and mostly if any is muddy terrain, besides this it will all be asphalt.

$$$$$$ I know what you mean lol, honestly I think I might be going over board since my jeep will barely see trails but in case it does sees a fair amount of mud and some mall krawling I might as well go all in from the get go.

Is there a specific trim level you were looking at for your Jeep? I have a Rubicon Unlimited sitting on 35 Toyo R/Ts and a budget boost. She's my DD and mostly a highway princess. Handles beautifully on/off the road for what I do (forest service roads, muddy trails, etc).

From what you've said, you'll be mostly on paved and muddy trails. Doing the Budget with the 35s should be more than sufficient while you're getting the hang of things. While doing this, you'll also learn where you want to go and in turn will tell you what you then need. Just my advice for someone learning the ropes.

 

[geberhard]

Take a serious look at the type of terrain you will be on before committing tons of money to build something that won't do what you need as well as you want. A mild lift, 33 - 35 inch tires (17" rims as you learned) if you will be hitting mud you probably want a good set of mud tires and there are a million (well ok, maybe only about 201,257) threads about which tire is best. Look for something that works in the type mud you mostly run into down there. You will probably find downed trees you will be crossing, a manual or electronic disconnecting sway bar will come in handy and either lockers or something like a Detroit TruTrac so you don't get stuck spinning one tire per axle may be worth the price. Now these won't give you Mall cred but will get you out of the woods. Put a CB in so you can talk to people out on the trail, some groups require one for runs. Trim your fenders if you want to minimize the lift you put on and learn where all your drain plugs are 'cause it sure is easier to get water out if you go in too deep and makes it quicker to rinse it out when you fill it with mud (you are going to take the doors and top off right?). In South Florida you might think about only getting a soft top and save a little money on the Jeep itself.

The manual vs automatic thing has been done to death, but if I was buying a new Jeep today and I was still in SoCal it would be an auto, if I was in Miami it would be a 6-speed but that is just my preference, between rock crawling and LA traffic I am convinced an auto would be more enjoyable but having never tried one I just don't know.

Very god info here. And form what the op mentioned, no need to go overkill on te build specially if the Jeep will not be seeing a lot of hard rock and trail time. I would go with better road manner tires than Grapplers, but I do like the Toyos though. I would not discard the MTR's, they perform well on the road and trail, and aside form the weaker sidewall (not a big deal since you are not dealing with rocks), I would lean towards that. For 35's, a simple 2" lift and\or trimming fenders should do the trick, so no need to go overboard and spend a couple grand if you do not need to. I have wheeled in Florida (I lived by South Florida and then Tampa), and a couple of good bumpers with attachment points, a winch and good tires will do the trick. My $0.2

 

[zimm]

What level of Jeep are you planning to buy? Either way go for the highest gear ratio you can get from the factory (4.10 if Rubicon, 3.73 if not) and then you can run 33/35" tires without a requirement to regear right away like if you had 3.21.

 

[yax_c]

Is there a specific trim level you were looking at for your Jeep? I have a Rubicon Unlimited sitting on 35 Toyo R/Ts and a budget boost. She's my DD and mostly a highway princess. Handles beautifully on/off the road for what I do (forest service roads, muddy trails, etc).

From what you've said, you'll be mostly on paved and muddy trails. Doing the Budget with the 35s should be more than sufficient while you're getting the hang of things. While doing this, you'll also learn where you want to go and in turn will tell you what you then need. Just my advice for someone learning the ropes.

You nailed it on the head! Pretty much what I'll be doing at the beginning until I get the hang of things and perhaps time. As a budget boost what do you recommend!? EVO!?

 

[yax_c]

Very god info here. And form what the op mentioned, no need to go overkill on te build specially if the Jeep will not be seeing a lot of hard rock and trail time. I would go with better road manner tires than Grapplers, but I do like the Toyos though. I would not discard the MTR's, they perform well on the road and trail, and aside form the weaker sidewall (not a big deal since you are not dealing with rocks), I would lean towards that. For 35's, a simple 2" lift and\or trimming fenders should do the trick, so no need to go overboard and spend a couple grand if you do not need to. I have wheeled in Florida (I lived by South Florida and then Tampa), and a couple of good bumpers with attachment points, a winch and good tires will do the trick. My $0.2

Thanks gender, appreciate the advice, tires I have to look into the mtr's but I'm leaning towards bf Goodrich all terrain KO2 I think.

 

[yax_c]

What level of Jeep are you planning to buy? Either way go for the highest gear ratio you can get from the factory (4.10 if Rubicon, 3.73 if not) and then you can run 33/35" tires without a requirement to regear right away like if you had 3.21.

I am between a rubi and Sahara, depends on what happens when I get to the dealer, leaning towards rubi, go all the way in but who knows, gotta be realistic and spend the money on functionality vs desire. We'll see.

 

[yax_c]

By the way I am no longer going with King shocks, way to much money just for shocks. I looked into Ranchos 9000 I think based on a lot of recommendation from reading a bunch of threads and they seem pretty good and definitely a better price.

Don't mind suggestions as well lol

 

[zimm]

I am between a rubi and Sahara, depends on what happens when I get to the dealer, leaning towards rubi, go all the way in but who knows, gotta be realistic and spend the money on functionality vs desire. We'll see.

Not to beat you up, but the Sahara makes no sense "functionality". You're paying for leather, 18" wheels that you don't want, painted fenders and top, etc.

Rubicon if you want/need lockers, 4:1 low range, etc. I don't think you need that in Miami.

Willy's W is nice because you get Rubi wheels/tires/suspension and 3.73's with a limited slip. But if you're doing your own wheels/tires/lift it's a waste

If you're on a budget, I'd go with a Sport S for power windows/locks, max tow will get you the 3.73's. The rest of the options are up to you. The Alpine audio is good. Mine is the first vehicle I won't upgrade the sound on. Connectivity is nice to have.

 

[yax_c]

Not to beat you up, but the Sahara makes no sense "functionality". You're paying for leather, 18" wheels that you don't want, painted fenders and top, etc.

Rubicon if you want/need lockers, 4:1 low range, etc. I don't think you need that in Miami.

Willy's W is nice because you get Rubi wheels/tires/suspension and 3.73's with a limited slip. But if you're doing your own wheels/tires/lift it's a waste

If you're on a budget, I'd go with a Sport S for power windows/locks, max tow will get you the 3.73's. The rest of the options are up to you. The Alpine audio is good. Mine is the first vehicle I won't upgrade the sound on. Connectivity is nice to have.

Definitely Miami doesn't have any krawling but I do eventually would like to do some off roading either central or north for a weekend or whatnot so I rather be prepared. Thanks for the advice zimm, all advice is appreciated here bud!!

 

[james2003w]

You nailed it on the head! Pretty much what I'll be doing at the beginning until I get the hang of things and perhaps time. As a budget boost what do you recommend!? EVO!?

I am between a rubi and Sahara, depends on what happens when I get to the dealer, leaning towards rubi, go all the way in but who knows, gotta be realistic and spend the money on functionality vs desire. We'll see.

Looking at a lot of the posts on here, the most recommended one I found was the TerraFlex budget boost as it comes with everything you need. I would suggest you search the JK forums for Budget Boost to see what has been recommended to others.

If you haven't yet, I would look here: http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?...s-Every-Newbie-has-about-the-Jeep-JK-Wrangler

As for the trim level, I started with a Sahara. Did some wheeling and learned that where I wanted to go I'll need lockers. As the Sahara was giving me issues (I was the 4th owner, and the previous 3 trashed it), I traded it in for a brand spanking new Rubicon. Take a look at the differences between the Sahara, Rubicon, and Hard Rock. See what features come with what as well as what you want. I would suggest the Rubicon or the Hard Rock. The main difference is the appearance the Hard Rock comes with a power dome hood and steel bumpers where as the Rubicon looks similar to all the other Trim Levels. It's the features between the Rubicon and Sahara that you want to look at (E-Disco Swaybar, Lockers, 4:1 Rocktrac 4x, 4.10 Gear Ratio)

 

[james2003w]

Not to beat you up, but the Sahara makes no sense "functionality". You're paying for leather, 18" wheels that you don't want, painted fenders and top, etc.

Rubicon if you want/need lockers, 4:1 low range, etc. I don't think you need that in Miami.

Willy's W is nice because you get Rubi wheels/tires/suspension and 3.73's with a limited slip. But if you're doing your own wheels/tires/lift it's a waste

If you're on a budget, I'd go with a Sport S for power windows/locks, max tow will get you the 3.73's. The rest of the options are up to you. The Alpine audio is good. Mine is the first vehicle I won't upgrade the sound on. Connectivity is nice to have.

Agree with Zimm here, the Sahara is pretty much pointless. Rubicon is going to be the most functional down the road, the Sport S would save you the most money and then you can build it up to where you want it.

 

[Dubzy]

I've said it on a different thread, but I will say it again here.

I made this decision last year. Went rubicon. If you aren't planning to rip the axles off, regear, go huge right away it is a great choice (if you can afford it). I'm running a 1" coil lift with a front spacer and 35s. Stock gears (4.10, definitely make sure they're 4.10) and stock lockers. I brought it out to the uwharrie end of summer run, planning to run medium group. First time out in it with a few WALers and decided to run advanced. It got me though everything the big boys ran without a problem. To this day, it's still more rig than I can drive.

Do I want bigger? Yes, 37s will be going on once I wear these tires out (only 10k on them now), but it is more than enough on the trail, in the woods and on the beach.

 

[yax_c]

Thanks for the suggestion fellas!! Much appreciated. Will definitely go rubicon as I can afford it I was just keeping my options open but now I know which way to go thanks to you guys!

I'll look into the budget boost first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks again for the input gents!!!

 

[OverlanderJK]

By the way I am no longer going with King shocks, way to much money just for shocks. I looked into Ranchos 9000 I think based on a lot of recommendation from reading a bunch of threads and they seem pretty good and definitely a better price.

Don't mind suggestions as well lol

I would get the 7000's instead of the 9000's especially where you live. Chances of you changing the settings on the 9000's more than once is slim. The 7000's are the same shock without adjusters and cheaper.

 

[yax_c]

I would get the 7000's instead of the 9000's especially where you live. Chances of you changing the settings on the 9000's more than once is slim. The 7000's are the same shock without adjusters and cheaper.

Ahhhh well thank you sir!!! That sounds very promising!!

 

[RMC2]

Just my two cents.

Save money by skipping on some of the nice to have have stuff too. Don't waste money on the nav radio, although connectivity is a nice option as more states require hands free.

Don't do the dual top option even if you want both. If you want both tops, go hard top and then shop for someone selling a new unused soft top. Save a bunch of money.

Don't need auto temp control or remote start or heated seats.

Just some stuff to save you money for mods.