goaterguy

What are you planning to do with the Jeep? What terrain? Is it your daily driver? I can't see your location on my tablet, do you drive in snow much? Do you want to maintain a comfortable suspension or off-roading will be a priority? Is your Jeep paid off?
I have a 2012 2 door and recently went through this too. I will end up with True Track front and rear, Artec trusses all around and I already have a removable hitch mounted 12k winch for the front or rear when I need it. I want the best balance of on / off road performance possible.
There are always compromises when modifying your Jeep, taller suspension and tires will make it harder for you and your wife to climb on and you will loose stability on-road, better armor will make it heavier which means worse acceleration, braking and fuel economy, etc.
Congratulations on the wife(my wife was the one who told me to get the Jeep on the first place) and the budget, but I would understand what you want first, make the wife happy or pay off the Jeep, and enjoy how capable your vehicle is as it is now.

Good luck.

Matthewd5

It is my primary vehicle and I probably drive it 3 or 4 times a week

Would like a balance between on road capabilities vs regular on road driving

I live in southern Maine so we get a good bit of snow

With it upgraded ill be able to tackle the tougher trails with the local 4x4 club and attend more jamborees...

Would love to be able to take on the jamborees in Penns woods, PA, Catskills in NY, killington in VT and of course the Maine one

But even in a best case real life thing I'd probably only be able to get it out on trails maybe 10 times a year, not counting jamborees

Matthew

goaterguy

This is great info. I basically want about the same but I travel over 50% of the time so my Jeep spends a lot of time at the airport parking lot. Have you ever gotten stuck on the trails? My first one was on deep mud / red Carolina clay and that's when I decided I needed a winch.

Do you wheel with a group or club? They can help you with what is best for your area and to fine tune your rig as it is already has several nice upgrades.

Based on what's best for the areas you will wheel on, decide on an LSD or a locker (there is a LOT! of good and bad info on this, sadly you will have to do research on what suits your needs here), some Artec trusses and drive till you get stuck.

I had a similar budget but life got on the way and tomorrow I'm taking the wife on a two week trip around Europe.

goaterguy

delete, double posting.

Matthewd5

I always go out with either my local group or on Jeep jamborees

I've avoided any real deep mud...probably never more than 1' to 1 1/2' deep

Only got stuck once that I can remember, it was one of my first trips and other than evo skid plates, the Jeep was totally stock and I got high centered

The terrain in Maine virtually always has medium to large rocks and mud is fairly common

How beneficial would just a front locker be if I had 35" tires on?

It just seems like a good idea to add locker while regearing the back differential

Funny timing, my wife and I are in the 2nd day of 14 day trip to the Mediterranean!

Matthew

TheDirtman

Tires, gears, and lockers are going to be the way to get the most capability out of your jeep.

Tires will give your whole rig more ground clearance and a bigger contact patch for traction.

Gears will make climbing easier and take a lot of stress of your drivelines, notably your driveshaft u-joints. They also allow you to go slower over obstacles which in turn makes it easier to control.

Lockers will give you that extra traction when you need it to so you can crawl instead of throwing your rig at an obstacle.

The other thing that is going to help you out is experience. The more you wheel the better your jeep will be. Try and wheel with guys with lots of experience and watch what they do and ask questions about different situations and how they get over them.

If you have the money a new front axle would be a nice route to go, while the pro rock 44 is a nice axle that will do you fine I would prefer to have one with a lock out on it if I were going to spend that much. Rubicon take offs would also be an option for you. If re-gearing do the lockers at the same time, you need a new carrier anyway and the locker replaces the carrier.

goaterguy

Check with your local group, ask what works, what they would change if they were to do it all over again, what they regret and learn from their mistakes and experiences.

I am sorry but I don't understand what you mean by "How beneficial would just a front locker be if I had 35" tires on?", if you decide to go with a selectable locker, the tire size shouldn't make a difference unless you are asking about how prone to breaking would it become. If that's the case, I wouldn't be able to help you with that, I installed the Artec truss as cheap warranty. Like it was said before, learning from someone more experienced and getting more experience yourself will be the ultimate upgrade.

To add a locker while regearing seems to be a great idea but asking your installer would be the best source for the answer.

I am sticking with my front D30 for now and eventually upgrade if or when I break it. Hopefully the Artec truss will prevent that from happening. I don't really see myself wheeling my Jeep so hard that I would ever break the D30 though.

Have fun.

Matthewd5

More good solid advice...

Plan A is...

35" tires
For the front axle the package deal of the pro rock 44 from Northridge4x4 with a locker and new gears

A new front drive shaft

For the rear end, regear to match front differential gearing, changeout the axles to new chrome moly ones and add a locker

Not sure what you meant when you said that you'd prefer one that a lock out on it? Doesn't the locker control that or is something extra/optional?

Matthew

TheDirtman

A front lock out hub will disconnect the front axles so they don't turn while you are driving in 2wd. It saves you fuel and if you should break something up front (shaft or ring and pinion) you can simply disengage it and run in 2wd. You find lock outs in the older cj jeeps and in several older pick ups. Unfortunately today you can only find lock out hubs in aftermarket 60's, 9", 14 bolt axles. Spyntec makes a lock out hub to replace the jk assembly but it is expensive and requires a 5x5.5 bolt pattern

nthinuf

Manual hubs. To go into 4wd, you get out of your jeep, walk to the front axle, bend down to both hubs, and twist the 'handle'. Then you get back in and shift the lever into 4wd.

A pic of some Warn hubs:


There are a few manual hub options for the pr44, you can find some info in the faq's on their site. Or look at the "44/60 hybrid" , or even the front pr60. Adding manual hubs will raise the price,but may be worth it. (I know I wouldn't mind having them).

Are you referring to a front locker only, with the rear left open? Or a rear locker only, and deciding whether to add a front also?
Front vs rear if you only do one gets asked every once in a while. Different people will have their own preferences, but I think the rear is the more useful of the two if you are only getting one.