Newbie where to start?

[JeepySterLou]

Hello all,

Have some newbie questions.
I have a 97 TJ 2.5
everything is factory No mods yet :(

Trying to figure out where to start for mods.

I plan to do offroading as much as possible through out the year.

So I am trying to get an idea where I should begin.

I have been reading lots of posts and boards for sometime.

Was wondering if a 3" lift is to big a lift to start with, and 33x12.5x15
with 15x8 rims.

This is my second jeep, first one got stolen, so the only mods I ever got done were interior type stuff.

Any help suggestions criticisms are welcome :lol:

Look forward to trailing real soon I hope.

[ROCKREADYXJ]

I would suggest a 4.0 longarm kit for that truck and you will be suprised what that TJ can do. I wouldn't waste any money on your interior because it will not help you wheel any better. By the way welcome abord and call me when you are ready for a lift kit.

[rsegriggy]

So how much experience do you have off-roading? Before you step up to a long arm kit, maybe you should get a feel for the basics. (I apologize if you already have a feel. :D )

I'd start with tow hooks front and back. Tow strap, at least 2x20, preferrably 3x30. No hooks on the tow strap. Sway bar disconnects after that. Get a CB. If you shop right, you're under $150 and will have a ton of fun. Then come to the next trail ride. :D

[JeepySterLou]

I have only really used my jeep in the snow for plowing. No offroad actually.

[njedgexj]

i agree with rsegriggy, depending on what you want to spend...get some more agressive tires, skid plates..you will be surprised a pretty stock jeep can go...

[JeepySterLou]

I have 4k to start off with.

Got a nice chunk of change :chin: from a settlement from my other jeep that was cracked up.

[rsegriggy]

I wouldn't buy any lift until you've had it out on a trail ride at least once.

I'm not sure how much ground clearance your plow setup will cost you.

I hear that the lower control arms on a TJ are vulnerable, you may want to get a skid plate for them. (I have a CJ, so things like track bars, control arms, and comfort are foreign to me. :lol: )

[speedracer983]

Be real careful with the size of the lift you are going with .... without custom mods to the plow , lifted rigs don't plow snow real well. The goal is to have the plow frame parallel to the ground so the frame takes the load of the plow straight on .... I know when I had a 4" lift in my YJ and I used to plow with it, it didn't feel right due to the angle of the blade. It used to dig in a lot then the springs would release and fold over the snow pile.

I would start small ... see if you like it first .... Don't get me wrong, a long arm kit is bad ass but the money could be better spent on ( in my eyes )other equipment ( better tires, smaller lift, gears, lockers, winch ) Make what you have work for what you are going to do with it .... stock rigs wheel real nice with a few bolt on's. Learn what your rig can do ... add parts to adjust what you don't like ...

Just my .02$

[MYGOODNESS]

I think a bone stock jeep is the way to start. Basic recovery equipment is all you NEED to get started.


You will be hooked after the first time out.

Gene

[ROCKREADYXJ]

I still say get a 4inch kit with 33's dump the plow and you will have the time of your life. Staying stock will limit you to the trails you can take. If you own the jeep and have already driven it you got a good feel for it. No need to spend money twice. Get a lift get tires and enjoy one of the most capable vehicles on the market. I can't tell you how many customers have said they wish they did it right away and saved some money. Rather than buying two or three sets of tires and several parts that you never really need in the end. It has been my experience that this is the best starting point

[rsegriggy]

I still say get a 4inch kit with 33's dump the plow and you will have the time of your life. Staying stock will limit you to the trails you can take. If you own the jeep and have already driven it you got a good feel for it. No need to spend money twice. Get a lift get tires and enjoy one of the most capable vehicles on the market. I can't tell you how many customers have said they wish they did it right away and saved some money. Rather than buying two or three sets of tires and several parts that you never really need in the end. It has been my experience that this is the best starting point

So if he buys a lift from you, there is no limit to what trails he can take?

Staying stock at first will also let him know what he can do, without relying on aftermarket parts. He's not competing in NEUROC. If he's going to still use it for plowing, the height of a lift would require some custom fabrication for the plow parts to work right. And when were tow hooks, a recovery strap, and a CB a waste of money, that you never need after you get a lift?

[JeepySterLou]

Hmm :wall: lots of opinions here.

I think I will get the tires first and I know I will be hooked first time out. Though to just say ditch the plow, well it is a GOOD source of income for me.

I want to be able to mod the jeep enough to trail but in the same time plow when need be.

So anything more than what? Would cause problems for me as far as lift size?

As far as having the time of my life well that is my intention, but I also dont want to just toss a ton of money and not know what I am doing.

I will still listen and consider opinions and keep reading the boards. Thank you so far for all your input. :D

[mybigredjeep]

sell it and buy a ricer..............money better spent..lol

[XEON]

sell it and buy a ricer..............money better spent..lol

That was uncalled for... haha Get a pickup truck for the plowing and Jeep for fun! :)

[badzook]

How much does your plow rigging kill your ground clearance??
If it's a lot then.....
Just how much work would it be to remove the Plow Rigging for the warm months? Take a good look at it and see if there are some simple mods that you can make to take it off easier...

A simple 2" lift kit and some taller tires like 30X9.5 or so would be easy to do and cost effective. You wouldn't upset your plowing abilities and still gain some height..

A set of Aussie Lockers not only would increase your off road abilities but help with the plowing too.. .

Try wheeling first then take it from there...

badzook 8)

[MYGOODNESS]

I still say get a 4inch kit with 33's dump the plow and you will have the time of your life. Staying stock will limit you to the trails you can take. If you own the jeep and have already driven it you got a good feel for it. No need to spend money twice. Get a lift get tires and enjoy one of the most capable vehicles on the market. I can't tell you how many customers have said they wish they did it right away and saved some money. Rather than buying two or three sets of tires and several parts that you never really need in the end. It has been my experience that this is the best starting point



For me half of the fun of wheeling is working on the jeep(One mod at a time). In the end ROCKREADYXJ makes a good point about spending money twice... If we start with a plan it ends up being much cheaper in the end..

That being said wheel your jeep stock and have a ball... The lift will continue to grow and so will the tires.

Gene

[matt6669]

from my experience with guys that i know that own plows, the plow rigging is close to impossible to take on and off. One of the guys i work with got rear ended and his truck totalled, he tried to take the rigging off himself he ended up having to have the bolts torched off because they were so hard to take on and off from all the salt.

now if you have 4 grand to spend i can see a couple things to do
ps this might get long

A. I would take the plow off of the wrangler and buy another vechicle to plow with, either a truck OR another jeep maybe a cherokee or something. With the money left over buy a set of tires and tow hooks etc and you will be able to wheel with the stocker group MAYBE the mild group depending on the trails we go on at paragon that day. Then when you get more money do some more things to the wrangler.

B. Leave the plow on the wrangler and plow with the wrangler. Go out and buy a cherokee for like 2-3 thousand dollars. Theres TONS of them out there that you can pick up. Take the grand and buy a set of tires, a skid plate or two and a set of straps and tow hooks Then after making some money mod the cherokee accordingly.

C. Like badzook said see if theres a way that you can make the plow rigging come on and off easily and lift the jeep accordingly.

Those are the only real options i could see maybe substituting certain things in between. I really see it kind of hard to wheel with plow rigging on for the fact that it comes down so far and that it is going to just grab everything and anything that comes in its way.

Don't let anyone trick you into tell you that you can't wheel a stock jeep. Also with a set of tow hooks and a set of tires both a wrangler and a cherokee are going to be extrmely capable vehicles

decide what you want to do then we can guide you in an even better direction

Matt

[NYWheeler]

Knowing your budget would also help in this discusion. I say get out on the trails a couple of times with it stock than build it right the first time and save yourself money in the long run.

[rockdawg]

Good thing you asked this question on a board with only a couple-a-hundred members. you might only get 50 or so answers. Most of them correct.....for that member. Your situation differs from most here.
I would come on one of our runs first and see how your rig does in stock form first. You will get to see other rigs perform and check out everybody else's set-ups. Talking to other drivers and watching their rigs in action should avoid a lot of speculation about what works and what does'nt.

[JeepySterLou]

Ok, well I took a look at the frame for the plow and there are 4- 3/4" bolts to the whole assembly, they seem easy enough to come off and not rusted.

As far as buying another vehicle right now, that is really not an option.

I notice alot of you say come out trailing stock, but one thing my tires are pretty shot, not even a matching set and 2 of them have less than 40% life on them. Is that suggestable I am thinking not.

As far as budget goes I have a a couple of thousand to start right off.

[matt6669]

well if you think the rigging is easy enough to take off. Take that rigging off for the summer (im sure you won't be using it) go to tirerack.com and buy a set of 31's ( i believe they will fit on a stock wrangler without a lift) (this is me being jealous i wish my xj could do that) and come on out to our ride this month. We will be at paragon both june 25th and 26th you can have tires on by that time

then if you like it, do a lift no need to spend so much money at once right lol

Matt

[JeepySterLou]

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 9:45 pm Post subject:



then if you like it, do a lift no need to spend so much money at once right lol

Matt



I hear that. Thanks for that info.

[MYGOODNESS]

Take a look in the For Sale section....I think bondo303 was looking to sell some 31" Mud tires.

31" tires will fit on a stock Wrangler TJ

[bondo303]

Take a look in the For Sale section....I think bondo303 was looking to sell some 31" Mud tires.

31" tires will fit on a stock Wrangler TJ

Thanks for looking out Gene, but someone picked up the tires from me on Sunday. They have been sold. Got my 33s on there now. Are you going on the 25th?

[MYGOODNESS]

Yup.. I'll be there. What tires did you get?

[bondo303]

I got Kumho Venture MTs, 33x12.50x15.

[sentinal02]

I notice alot of you say come out trailing stock, but one thing my tires are pretty shot, not even a matching set and 2 of them have less than 40% life on them. Is that suggestable I am thinking not.

are they street tires as in radials, or AT's? either way you could wheel with them. just going to be a matter of how many times you need a yank on the trails and that depends on which group you're with. wrangler and xeon are both running stock tires and are wheeling the lower blues. My first off road trip was to paragon with a bone stock YJ with sagging springs and 235 AT's with about half the tread left. I only needed a pull once that day, but I was also taking some of the go arounds. it was the monthly ride and we were on a few blues that day. the pull was on a real loose hill that i just couldn't get up. kept breaking loose about halfway up where there was a bit of a drop off. the suspension wasn't flexing at all so i was losing the front end when i needed it most. of course, at the time i knew nothing of sway bar discos and track bars either. 3" of lift, new tires, no bars at all, and one locker later I'm rolling over stuff that I was apprehensive about walking over that first time. all told my off road performance mods (lift, tires, locker) only cost me ~1K.

the point is you can't really appriciate the biger lift and better tires until you've wheeled it stock. having done it stock though, I was more confident about what i was building the rig to handle, and what i was compromising on to fit my budget. having a plan like Gene said is the best way to save money in the long run, and a good first step is know what you have to start with. I kept my originial lift small because I plan on going spring over axle at some point and couldn't really afford the SYE/CV combo that would likely be required if i went with a 4" lift. keeping my suspension at 3" I can still clear 33's if i wanted with a 1" BL, TJ flares and some fender cutting. the reason i don't is because I plan on swapping axles to avoid the D35 problems and would have to regear twice if i went bigger before swapping (4 cyl jeeps don't like 33's with stock gears, lol). just remember, the higher and bigger you go, the more stress you put on stock components and the more likely it is something is going to break. I'm not as familiar with the TJ's shortcomings as i am the YJ's, but I'm sure it has its share. building a tough, reliable rig is more than just throwing on a tall lift and big tires. drive line angles become more of an issue as you get taller so things like skid plate drops, shims, SYE kits, and MML's become important. add anywhere from $20-500 to your costs. 33"s to fit your new lift? hmmm 33's + rear locker on a D35 = dry twigs for axle shafts. so if you want a locker, you can either lock the front, upgrade the axle, or just say a little prayer and make a small sacrifice to the wheeling gods before every run :lol: you've got a 4 cyl so it might work for a while. then again it might not. carry spares. rocks not your thing? like the look of a mud brown jeep? gonna need more ponies then. lockers front and rear would be good too. say goodbye to your tranny, and definitely upgrade that rear. see what I'm getting at? without a little experience it's harder to get a good feeling for what you want your rig to do. I know you're only talking a lift and tires here, but if you decide you only want to run low blues for now, maybe your finances would be better spent on a budget boost kit, BL and a locker instead of a long arm kit. hell, ideally you would just cut your fenders and stuff 33's in there without a lift. you keep your COG lowest going that route. that leaves plenty for your choice of tires (tires by themselves can run you any where from 400-1K plus new, depending on size and type), some body/undercarriage armor like rocker guards and skids, maybe a custom roll cage for peace of mind (safety first after all), some kind of liner for the interior so you can just wash it out with a hose after a run, a winch, recovery gear like straps and hooks, new bumpers, maybe with a tire carrier to handle the new spare, and maybe an extra grand set aside for whatever might break or need rebuilding after a few runs. things like axle seals, bearings, fluid flushes, trail spares, etc. nothing worse than breaking the bank with a new lift and tires, only to have your differential grenade on you the first time out.

nothing wrong with getting the bigger lift first is you can afford it, since it certainly does save you the trouble of changing later on, but i have to agreed that you should at least try it out stock first. at least once. anyone here would gladly toss you a strap to haul you up that loose hill, or out of the mud pit that was a bit deeper than you thought. wheeling it stock with small tires will keep you off the really tough trails that can do some major damage in a hurry if you don't know what you're doing. it keeps you from getting overconfident. also, it's a lot easier to fix something if you're on a trail that you can get towed off of than if you're waist deep into a rock field. get used to driving off camber at stock height where there's less chance of you rolling it than if you were 6" higher. learn to control your rig on the rocks with small tires where your low range gearing is more effective than if you just threw 33's on without regearing. you'll spend less time feathering the clutch and more time picking your lines and have better control in the end. watch some of the hardcore guys run the blacks. watch how their spotters get them over harder obstacles. ride shotgun with one of them and have them give you some pointers as they navigate the trail. I'm a firm believer that wheeling is 95% experience and 5% rig. ok, i'm done now :wink:

[JeepySterLou]

Wow! Will have to re-read that a few times :)

Hmm for the lift I think it was rockready that was hot on the 4" longarm.

I was just looking at a basic setup of a 3" kit with tires.

Either way I will try to make it to this months ride.

It does seem there are alot of variables to consider here.
So I am gonna go stick my head in an oven for a few minutes.

Thanks for the abundant amt of info.