New to jeeps, the forum, and wheeling in general (an introduction w/ questions)

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[Abbott]

Hello everyone, my name is Cody and I live in Dedham,MA (I am pretty sure that someone else from here lives in Dedham too). I am new to pretty much everything, and I just wanted to introduce myself. I found your club by simply doing an online search for offroading groups in the Mass area and decided to make a forum account.

I am the lucky bastard that got a Jeep as his first car, and I am loving every bit of it. I think that off roading would be a blast, and I am interested in applying to your club. I read through your requirements and bylaws and meet about everything, except your age requirement of 17 I will be turning 17 in June and plan to apply then.

This then leads me to my first question: What constitutes a recovery point. I know that I have the tow hook in the back that I am pretty sure all jeeps come with, but I am not so sure about the front or what I would need to get for the front.

My next question concerns something I am pretty sure you all love, Jeep upgrades
I was planning of getting a new suspension first (Rough Country suspension giving 3.25 in of lift). I could use shocks anyways, so I figured why buy shocks when I could just buy a lift kit?
Next I was planning of buying tires, and was thinking BFG All Terrians. They seems like a good tire that I will still be able to drive on the highway with.

So my question is, is this a good plan so far? I read on here is some other posts that it may be best to just wheel her stock and see what limits me and then decide on what I need to get from there.

Also, if there are any posts anywhere or guides for newbie aspiring offroaders that anyone could point me to, that would be wonderful as well.

And I guess that an introduction post isn't complete without showing you a picture of my jeep....
(I have the soft top on now and have since gotten new foglights)
 


-Thanks, Cody

[Axle]

Hi Cody, those front tow hooks are fine. there are alot of tj guys here that can answer your lift questions. Unless you talk to Ian, who will want you to put military truck axles in.  look around on the forum, there are alot of good people here!
                                      Bob

[Twisty]

I think the 17 age requirement is mostly so you don't drive passengers on the street when you are not legally able to.

Welcome, and if you get hooked be prepared to kiss your spare money goodbye!

[05rckymtn]

whats up buddy.

link to the lift I used in my last TJ.   http://roughcountry.com/jeep_tj_combo_2.html

I added in the steering stab, the motor mount lift (to avoid the t-case drop), and some coil spacers up front to level it out.  The thing rode like a Sherman Tank but it didnt bother me that much.  More importantly, looked awesome, cleared the 33's no prob and was a lot of fun out with the club on the trails.

with rims, tires and a couple other odds and ends I was in to it like $1,500.

[Krome]

I'd suggest a Budget Boost and a 1" body lift. Its a good way to get into the game for cheap. Run some 33s and buy them used, you can find the tires and wheels on craigslist. I'd suggest buying the budget boost(which consists of 2" spring spacer and shocks) and a body lift new online.

Personally I wouldn't bother with a spring lift, unless you're going 3" or bigger.

Just my advice, and welcome!

[97ProjecTJ]

You seem to have a good head on your shoulders and a good starting plan. I started my jeep build (97' sahara, also my first vehicle) at 19 and researched every little thing before dropping any money into it. I would suggest looking around here, the tj section on jeep forum, and non-hardcore jeep section on Pirate 4x4. Any questions you could ever think of having can be answered by spending a little time searching.

Every possible idea you come up with has been done by someone else with a tj, so learn by there mistakes. I'll second krome on saying dont dump money into a lift that will almost surely be replaced to go bigger down the road. Buying the same things twice is never fun. My jeep came with a 4WD hardware two inch lift and 31 BFGoodrich AT/KO's(great tire), and youll be surprized how capable a jeep of that size can be. I dont remember the difference now but I know some saharas came with a Dana 44 rear axle, youll have to do a little searching to find if yours came with the D44 or the D35C. (Theres a slight shape difference, and something with the fill plug.)

Id vote for a getting a two inch spacer lift with extended shocks, and picking up a set of the BFG 31's. Both will hold value and still be sellable if(when) you want to go bigger in the future. If you have any questions dont be afraid to shoot me a pm, I know a good amount about your jeep as Ive done the majority of the work thats into my jeep.

[HEYzipupyourfly]

spacers, shocks, 33" tires, rear locker.....period, come wheeling, figure the rest from there...

not a fan of body lifts but if you want to go that route there's no problem running it. but you can easily swing 33s with just a 2" spacer kit as long as you extend your bumpstops, and dont care about a little fender rub which after wheeling a few times will be the least of your worries.

once you got much more than the 3" lift you wil get into a bit more expenses including brake lines, driveshafts, SYE,etc etc.
So do the minumom to be able to run a decent tire, get out there, see how you like it and what your wheeling style is then decide where you are going to go with it in the future.thats my advice

[Technohead]

Paraphrasing Gandalph, "RUN YOU FOOL, RUN!" Getting hooked on Jeeping is the biggest mistake you could ever make.

But seriously, welcome to the forum! Looks like we have already covered lifts, tires, and so forth. About the only thing I can add at the moment is that you should consider ditching those side step things because they will never survive if you go off road.

See ya on the trail.

[navman 5.0]

x2 on everything and like techno said lose the steps and look into some rocksliders. They will give you a step and also protect the body. Do it sooner rather than later, while the body on your jeep still looks nice.

[Ian]

there are alot of tj guys here that can answer your lift questions. Unless you talk to Ian, who will want you to put military truck axles in. 

haha

spacers, shocks, 33" tires, rear locker.....period, come wheeling, figure the rest from there...

x1000

other than some armor anything else right now for you will probably be a waste of money

[jeepgod]

i would like to apologize for any thing or comments that i make that will offend or hurt your feelings right now


i agree with krome

[BiGdAdDeE]

Welcome to the forum Cory!!

& I agree with jeepgod, because he makes me. 

[bobnoxious]

I'm a fan of the 2" suspension with 1" BL to fit 33's on a budget. Unless you have 3.73 gearing now, it will suck with 33's on the highway.

I like Rusty's 2" spring kit over spacers...replaces the worn-the-[censored]-out springs as well as the worn-the-[censored]-out shocks while still being affordable

[Posimoto]

Welcome to the forum Cody. Nice looking TJ I like the color.

Some sound advice has been posted, I would suggest some good reading material Bob (Axle) was selling some good off-road manuals he may still have one left.

http://www.treadlightly.org/page.php/responsible-four/Recreation-Tips.html

http://4wheeldrive.about.com/od/offroad4x4atv4wd/Beginner_Tips_For_Your_First_Time_OffRoad.htm
 

[Axle]

The off road bible, I think I did have one left, $16.50 if you want it. and the body armor is a great way to start.