Jeep Wrangler, Needs or Necessities.

[bobylax]

Not sure where to post this up, so thought I'd try here 1st. The wife finally beat me down and talked me into selling the RZR and getting a Jeep. I love my RZR, but the Missus is tired of eating dust, being cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and wants to be able roll the windows up and turn on the heater or A/C. So my dilemma is, sell the RZR, and since a Jeep won't fit in the toyhauler, sell it. Since I don't have the toyhauler, don't need the Dodge Cummins, sell it and get a motorhome to haul the Jeep. Now the Jeep becomes my daily driver.

My question is, what suspension/tire & wheel/gearing mods will I need to make it a vehicle that is capable of doing course worker duties at the races (retrieval, course clean-up, etc.), and handle some moderate off-roading in Moab? (not big on major rock crawling, just Jeepin') Thinking Wrangler 4 door. Will 33's be enough, or if I go 35's, will I need a lift and gear changes? Lockers? Keep in mind this will become my DD, but will need to replace the RZR at the races and on the trails. Any input anyone can provide would greatly appreciated, as I've been in a RZR or on my quad for the last 20 years. Thanks!

 

[jon coleman]

bfg 33 s plenty.leave it alone, maybe a n air locker set up for sand& retrieval, not quite as nimble as a rzrr, but close on capabilitys, nice set of shocks,limmiter strap it, & seats, harnesses, and all the other off roader necessity s, , boy its nice spending someone elses $$, but a jeep is the best way to keep the race team owner happy..

 

[Bert is my name]

What kind of jeep are you buying. Tj, jk, jl, they all have strengths and weaknesses. But there is plenty of support and info for almost all of them. I would look at some of the jeep forums and read the reviews. An older model like the early four door jk, or tj, can be bought already built for a reasonable price. Cant remember the year but there was a four door tj Rubicon that already had some trick stuff from the factory. The four litre engine is reliable and will push a jeep on 35s pretty well. The 3.8 is a turd of an engine.

 

[fastcash]

Not sure where to post this up, so thought I'd try here 1st. The wife finally beat me down and talked me into selling the RZR and getting a Jeep. I love my RZR, but the Missus is tired of eating dust, being cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and wants to be able roll the windows up and turn on the heater or A/C. So my dilemma is, sell the RZR, and since a Jeep won't fit in the toyhauler, sell it. Since I don't have the toyhauler, don't need the Dodge Cummins, sell it and get a motorhome to haul the Jeep. Now the Jeep becomes my daily driver.

My question is, what suspension/tire & wheel/gearing mods will I need to make it a vehicle that is capable of doing course worker duties at the races (retrieval, course clean-up, etc.), and handle some moderate off-roading in Moab? (not big on major rock crawling, just Jeepin') Thinking Wrangler 4 door. Will 33's be enough, or if I go 35's, will I need a lift and gear changes? Lockers? Keep in mind this will become my DD, but will need to replace the RZR at the races and on the trails. Any input anyone can provide would greatly appreciated, as I've been in a RZR or on my quad for the last 20 years. Thanks!

Bobylax,
You have a lot of selling to do pal(lol). I have owned Jeeps for 30+ years, in every kind of configuration
you can imagine, any Rubicon model would work great as a DD, Moab rig and course worker helper.
33''s are fine as are 35"s, I wouldn't go bigger unless you have a need for it. I have a new JL Rubicon
4 door and its an incredible vehicle, it can do everything you need to do completely stock.
Having said that, have you thought about a Samurai or Tracker, you might be able to keep everything
you have and just use the Sammy when needed. I know of two guys hauling them in toy haulers.
Just a thought, good luck with your choices, Chris.

 

[Bert is my name]

Check out "retarded trophy truck" build on DR. He has a tracker that he's done some low buck mods to and he wheels the piss out of that thing. Might be a good compromise.

 

[Bert is my name]

The tracker and vitara have decent aftermarket support. A lot of those guys put lower gears in the transfer case and leave the axles alone.

 

[43mod]

my 1990 Sahara has poor braking power . If I ever decide to pay attention to it I am going to look into that before going from 31s to 33s . I do like driving this rig but maybe only half a year not full time.

 

[Bert is my name]

Look into the w.j. brake swap. Also the Durango steering box is an upgrade from the jeep box. Bigger parts and more assist.

 

[PaulW]

Wrangler TJs all came with marginal brakes. LJ even more marginal due to higher stock weight. Jk and JL not as bad. For any Wrangler add big tires and add weight and the result is very poor brakes. There are several vendors that sell upgrade setups that include new calipers and rotors and they accept the best pads from Blackmagic.

 

[Bert is my name]

If it has Dana 44s. The brake options are about limitless. If you are willing to do some machining and fabrication. Adapting larger brakes from another vehicle is not too difficult if you have axles other than 44s. G.m. stuff is fairly inexpensive and can be bought almost anywhere. A lot of people use the g.m. stuff as an upgrade. Brakes are only an issue if you choose to ignore them and don't consider them as part of the cost of installing a lift or bigger tires. Yes the factory brakes are inadequate for the added weight and leverage of bigger tires. But most trucks suffer from this malady. It's part of the deal when you choose to step outside the realm of stock.

 

[Bert is my name]

Dodge half ton 4wd front brakes are basically a bolt on for jeep Dana 44. Get outer knuckle and all brake parts from wrecking yard. Bigger brakes on the cheap.