I use my JKU 2014 Sport for going far away to do fun things outdoors. No rock crawling or serious off roading. Lots of highway, dirt roads, and unmaintained roads.I've often had to navigate though seasonal floods, mud, washouts, etc. Lots of snow in the winter. By driving slow and being cautious my Jeep has never let me down. For reference, it has the black shocks and the rear springs are #58. Not sure about the front. Can't make out the sticker anymore. 3.73 Auto.

But my situation has changed. My family has grown to two kids and two dogs. With kids in the back, and dogs behind the back seat, I no longer have room for much else. A roof rack has went from a cool addon to a necessary investment! I am researching them now (and they are bloody expensive).

I also now feel the need to add a lift because:
1) The Jeep was already sagging when I packed it with 1 wife, 1 kid, 1 dog, and our gear.
2) I often bang my head at the back
3) It would give me a bit more confidence in deep snow (which can be 8 months out of the year)
4) and I am worried the roof rack itself may drop the Jeep a bit on its own.

I will be keeping the stock 32" tires and 17" rims. Ideally I would like the Jeep not to sag when all loaded up, plus maybe an extra inch or two so I bang my head less! I would also like it not be lifted so high that (loaded or unloaded) I need to worry about drivetrain wear or tire wear or any other thing that is beyond my knowledge or understanding. Reliability is high on my list.

The wealth of information on lift kits is staggering- especially to someone with no mechanical knowledge. So I place myself in the hands of those who know better through experience. I've tried to include as much information as I typically see requested in these types of threads. If I missed anything, please ask. I just want to find a simple and practical solution, nothing fancy.

 

Have you browsed through Dirtmans lift thread? Stuck right to the top of this modified area.

One of the 'Performance' leveling kits should work fine for you. That will be new coils that give roughly 2" up front and 1" in back, along with a few extra components. (possibly a tad more lift if your current coils are indeed sagging). Just remember that the higher you go, you will likely want to add more and more components to fix all the issues you just caused, so spend a little time figuring out what everything does!!

And note that the "I don't rock crawl or serious offroad" statement can be kinda meaningless at times when choosing between lifts. Many of the components you see in these kits are used to fix the onroad handling that you messed up by lifting, not to make it perform better in the rocks...

 

If I was you I would look at Old Man Emu. They have a 2 inch HD lift for heavier than stock Jeeps. At 2 inches at most you may need adjustable front lower control arms to correct caster/pinion angle. I can't speak for the springs, but I have their long travel Nitro Charger shocks, and with Metalcloak's springs and arms it rides like a cloud. I have a heavyish 2 door, 2.5 inch lift (actual) with 35s.

 

I would not do a leveling kit. You carry a full load and will end up with a reverse rake (low in the rear) when loaded.

Look at the OME kit as mentioned and also the low height (2") AEV lifts. They are made for loaded rigs and the type of wheeling you do.

 

I use my jeep much like you do.

My setup is as follows. I have 18/59 springs, teraflex leveling kit, Monroe reflex monotube shocks, and airlift airbags in the rear. when unloaded I have about 1" or so higher in the rear. I can load my jeep, put my pop up camper (10ft version), on the hitch and add air to the bags and I sit 1" higher in the rear. when not loaded, remove the air, and your jeep rides better than stock. Cheap and easy setup you can do yourself in the driveway in one day. You don't need new springs etc to be able to do what you want.

If you want more information let me know!

 

This is exactly what I would recommend as well.
If you wanted a less expensive alternative to lower arms in the front you can get the drop brackets from AEV, RANCHO, JKS etc. For much cheaper and considering clearance isn't much of an issue for how you use the Jeep they would be more than adequate for caster at your height.
I have them on my 4" Evo lift that netted almost 5" with stock arms and 37's

http://m.quadratec.com/products/prod...=16031+1000+07

Sent from my SM-N920T using JK-Forum

 

IF you are going to keep the 32" tires a lift is going to do almost nothing for you. The OME HD coils will give you way more then 2" of lift unless you are really really heavy.

 

Yep. With a winch and full width steel bumper, I was over 3.25" with ome hd's. Lots of people talk about how great their coils are, but i thought it was a very stiff ride. Maybe with an overland setup and lots more weight? If you decide on OME, find some reviews of their medium/standard/light coils, don't go heavy...

 

OP, I'm running the light load OME's (2616 front, 2617 rear per 2015 ARB guide) thanks to those with more experience around here , and I couldn't be happier with the choice. in fact this springs replaced my original choice of 2.5" RE lift, my Jeep went way higher with the RE springs, i'm talking about 4" higher, when all i wanted was 2.5" tops, even with 150lbs in the nose, i was looking at 3.5", still too high, and since i have 33's (32's more realistically), the tires looked goofy.

The OME lights can take some weight, I have Stubby front bumper, and winch with steel cable, (150lbs), Rockhard oil/trans skids (58lbs), ACE Sliders/Rubicon Rails (160lbs), rear bumper/Hi lift jack/Spare mount (130lbs), and in the front i'm looking at 22 1/4" measured from the center of wheel to the edge of the stock flare, rear is 23 1/4" from the center of the wheel to the edge of the flare.
If i remember correctly, stock measurements are 20 1/4" front, 21 1/4" rear, so basically after weight, i'm looking at 2" higher in the front, 2" higher in the rear, and that's because i'm have correction wedges in the rear, without them, i guess the measurement will about 1/4" to 1/2" lower in the back, the OME lights can take some weight, it's perfectly level with my 3 little kids in the back seat, (240lbs), and extra 160lbs of gear, asides from everything i have already, so the extra 400lbs will make the rear go down 1" aprox

IF you're stock, the OME lights will put you at 2.5 lift, probably close to 3", and they ride great, i figure the HD's will go higher than that easy.

 

I second the OME setup. The thing is that you have to know what you're going to do in the future. I have a 2 door but hopefully this will help you out. I knew that I wanted a winch and bumper soon so I got the heavy springs for the 2 door (2616). But I figured I only needed medium for the rear (2617). Now that I have a hart top with terflex HD hinged carrier and full size spare and soon a roof rack, the back end sags a bit in comparison to the front. Not to mention added gear and passengers. So I will need to upgrade soon. However, like you I want a modest lift, under 3 inches or so. To do this, I left out the spacers which are only about a half inch but it does make a difference. So when I add the heavy rears (2618) and the aftermarket stuff I will have a slight rake that levels out when loaded up. Sorry for the long post, but thought my insight my help.

-tilly

-p.s. All description words for spring (medium, heavy) are in retrospect to 2 door Jks