Makrinos001

Just attended the Bantam Jeep Fest for the first time and did the playground and trail rides. Started out with the beginner trail and was bored. After the intermediate trail reopened (bunch of guys got stuck) I gave it a go in my 2011 JK Sport. I have 33's and steel bumpers and fenders. I was very impressed with the capabilities on a very muddy and rutted trail and did not get stuck at all. Few issues arrised from the ride and I want to know people's opinion.

A few spots where the trail was rutted and tree stumps were much higher than earlier in the day, I hit bottom. Luckily the stock skid plates protected me but I did put a small flat spot on my exhaust where it runs perpendicular to the chassis.

So...what is my next step? A lift seems to make sense but many of the trails required lockers to try them out. Depending on what option you prefer, whaat brand/kit/line to do recommend?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

matprovo

My opinion is lift. I've seen lots of guys go through places where they didn't need lockers but the lift was crucial to give you the proper ground clearance. You may want to explore getting more/better skids too.

I'm running EVO Protek skid and know several who run this and are very thankful they had them while running stock.

As far as lift goes, there are a lot of variables. Cost being the main one. Try to figure out a budget, tire size you want, type of off roading, how often and so forth.

I've run Teraflex 2.5" cool lift with Bilsteins and its a great beginner lift. Now I'm running the Metalcloak 3.5" game changer lite.

All depends on what you are looking for.

nthinuf

Is a lift going to get you on the trails that 'require' lockers?

An inexpensive BB will give you the added height you want. So start there and then research lockers a bit more to see what you feel you want/need, or will grow into. It could be that a pair of truetracs will be all you will ever need. If you want an auto-locker, Detroit is the probably thebest brand. (do you get a lot of snow/ice where you are?) And for selectables, ARB is arguably the best. Just depends on your budget, how stout you feel your axles are, and what 'you' feel you need.

If you choose to research lockers more, I would suggest you do a search for " Dynatrac presents lockers 101". It used to be hosted here, but has been moved and may or may not get deleted if I link it...

Makrinos001

Yea the said they required lockers on the intermediate but they let me go regardless. That wasn't where the trouble lied. As for the BB's that are out there, they seem to all be fairly similar. If I had around $400-$500 to spend would you get a BB with shocks and springs or would you just get the basics and use the rest on skid plates. With that, which area do you guys see being the most vulnerable?

BRUT4CE

Lockers!!!
If you plan on running a bit bigger tires regear at the same time as lockers...so down the road your good...

Lockers will get you further than a lift and a lift is SIMPLE AND CHEAP to piece together here and there lockers aren't...
Do the lockers first then go wheel and see what you need... lockers are a beast on trails....lcg builds scrape and drag the lockers are what get em going and of course tire size but the lockers are a serious upgrade...

nthinuf

Nothing wrong with starting out with a spacer lift and running shock extensions. It will just be a personal preference on which way you want to go with it. Start with a dirt cheap lift, and then spend some time figuring out your actual needs before spending some serious coin for a lift with all the bells and whistles. Or start with a good lift that has all the components that you aren't exactly sure what they do or why you need them for your particular style of wheeling.

I tend to go out alone (or with just one or two other rigs), so decent traction devices and/or winches are more important to me than having the nicest, most expensive lift on the market.

The stock skids aren't bad. Consider relocating the evap up higher. Maybe ca skids. Maybe a trans skid?