Well both now that you mention it, but I was specifically referring to high-centering my vehicle (that's a new term for me). I high-centered a few times, striking the skid plate that runs across the center of my jeep. Also going through one deep puddle I bottomed out my front suspension due to a fast approach coming out of the puddle, which had a steep incline at the end. Bottoming out the suspension due to excessive speed is something that I plan on avoiding as much as possible as it seems unneccessary. My concern with that puddle was that the Jeep I was following had trouble crawling out with 33" mud terrains and my stock 30" GY Wranglers probably would not have been able to climb out slowly, so instead of turning back at that point, or making ramps, or hooking up the tow hooks to his Jeep, I went for it. Barely bottomed out the suspension but either way will now be more cautious.

I understand your concern about getting over the incline on the other side of the puddle, but, next time I suggest taking it slow and giving the Jeep a chance to demonstrate its prowess. Your Jeep came with a limited slip differential in the rear axle, you need to experience the LSD's ability to climb over stuff at low gear/low range 4WD. Another suggestion would be to air down the tires to 15 pounds for added traction; at 15 lb. the ground clearance loss will be minimal. If you're using a tow strap with hooks at both ends, throw it away immediately before someone or your Jeep gets hit by one of these hooks; the only acceptable tow strap is the type with loops on the ends of the strap.

I was looking at the Teraflex lifts when I was going to get 33" tires, but lately I have been thinking about going 35", in which case I have to start my search over - maybe long arm.

Why 35" tires? You can run 31" tires on the Unlimited; 33" tires will only provide 1 1/2" of lift, but should be sufficient for almost all trails if you install a winch and purchase some recovery gear. Hold off on any purchases until you hookup with some other four wheelers is my standing recommendation. You need to pick the brains of the more savvy four wheelers. I suspect 35" tires will be way over built for Western Mass.

I know that when I say "my main concern" in regards to something - that I don't have the knowledge background to really know what I need to be concerned about, but with the 35's I am concerned about my gear ratio. I have 3.73 which I think will be fine but is as low as I would want to go. I know that now I shift out of 1st gear very quickly and am looking forward to getting a little more use out of it. When the time comes if the gears are really bothering me, or if I feel that I need the locking differentials, I will do both at the same time.

If you go to 33" or 35" tires, the gear ratio (ring and pinion gears) will need to be upgraded. The taller the tires the greater the dollars you'll have to spend escalates to properly modify your Jeep to fit the taller tires under the Jeep. Again, slow the vehicle down per your comments above and enjoy what you have; learn to finesse the Jeep over or through obstacles. Most importantly, keep the rubberside down. Getting a little air under the front tires is a great way to snap an axle.

I am going to buy a winch and bumper before or at the same time as I get lifted. Any recommendations on either or combo's? I bet I can find that info in the forum archives- I'll check there after this post, which is now...

Why do you want to replace the bumper? A winch can be mounted without installing an aftermarket bumper.

but I was specifically referring to high-centering my vehicle

I was looking at the Teraflex lifts when I was going to get 33" tires, but lately I have been thinking about going 35", in which case I have to start my search over - maybe long arm.

but with the 35's I am concerned about my gear ratio. I have 3.73 which I think will be fine but is as low as I would want to go.

I am going to buy a winch and bumper before or at the same time as I get lifted. Any recommendations on either or combo's?

Hi Fred, thanks again for the reply.

I have noticed how much of a difference lowering the tire pressure helps, and I am sticking to the slow approach now also. I am going to go out tonight hopefully for a little bit and get a little driving in on an undeveloped road and trails.

I will purchase the tow straps with the loops and not the hooks - they are the ones that I use on construction sites for hoisting so I am familiar with good straps.

Regarding the 35's: if I run my Unlimited with other TJ's having the same size tires and same lifts my breakover angle will be significantly less favorable due to the extended wheelbase. In order to be able to traverse the same terrain I need the additional height. I know that I am only gaining 1" on the differentials, but that's not my concern so much as breakover angle.

It seems you're fixed on becoming a BigDog! I know too well the exhilaration of running a built Jeep over extreme difficult trails. To effectively and economically build such a Jeep, you need to plan every step and develop a logical overall complete plan to achieve this goal. It's a great deal of dollars when you're reliant on mechanics to install the necessary modifications to your Jeep. I suggest being cautious; take your time and gather the best technology. Another reason I suggest taking the time to develop an overall plan is to encourage four wheelers to consider the cost of the project against what they really want to do with their time after work. Yes, four wheeling is fun, but is that the lifestyle you want ten years from now? Too many four wheelers new-to-the-sport are impulsive in the beginning, spending large dollar amounts to have an extreme trail ready Jeep, only to have their enthusiasm quenched over time. Keep in mind that almost always the money invested in building a trail ready Jeep isn't likely to be retrievalable if the Jeep is sold.
Yes, the breakover angle with the Unlimited is an issue; but this hinderance is lessened by developing offroad driving skills. There are many Chrokees with the same wheelbase and do well with 31" tires offroad. 35" tires will give you about 2 1/2" of ground clearance for the differentials and an improved breakover angle. If 35" tires is what you have decided, take the time now to develop some offroad driving skills with other more experienced four wheelers as you put together your build-plan. Once you've completed your project, the Jeep will be nearly unstoppable! On most trails it will be almost like the camera commercial: point-and-shoot!

I plan on taking my Jeep all over New England and maybe more, not just in Mass. I might be assigned out in California in the near future for work which would be awesome!! Maybe not so great on the Jeep driving across country on 35's (if I have that done before I am dispatched).



reply: If your Jeep is built well, the 3000 plus mile trip will not be an issue, I suspect boredom traveling through the hinder-regions to the Rockies and then on to the Sierra Mountains will be the main obstacle. It might be smart to have the Jeep built in CA instead of MA, if it works out for you,where the sport is more prominent and the technology more practiced.




Bumper: I want to get a new bumper to provide better protection to the front of my Jeep, which I assume is the reason most people install new bumpers. To be completely honest it is also for looks (mainly protection though)- I really like certain winch/bumper combos and I think that they make the Jeep look awesome! Functionality as we as personality!

I checked the archives for winches and found a few good threads on them, but also found something very interesting that I plan on using in the future: "buy the same parts as your buddies!" Not just because if someone else has it it must be good, but for the interchangeability. If we were to go out on the trail for a few days, with spare parts in case we break something, better off having the same parts if possible so it's more likely that someone will have the part needed. Maybe it sounds more useful than it actually will be but either way I feel like that's good advice.



Reply: Some bumper-winch combinations are extremely heavy; this may be an important consideration. The 05 Unlimited has a good enough bumper, but, granted, it isn't the best protection against collisions with other vehicles or large game animals. Offroad, the original bumper is sufficient; there are very very few locations you can legally go off trail through the puckerbrush! Overall, for the winch, I suggest purchasing a winch with a series wound electric motor, integrated solenoid, and designed for FREQUENT use. I've read the same post/article about buying a winch that is the same as everyone else you commonly four wheel; I don't really buy into this theory. From experience, most four wheelers don't cannabalize their winch to allow you to have a working winch out on the trail; they simply winch you over an obstacle with their winch. Four wheelers rarely carry extra winch parts in their boonie box; most four wheelers carry little or only what they believe is necessary where cargo space is obviously limited. The winch marketplace has grown in the past five years; there are many suitable winches for offroad trail rigs these days.



So I was driving to work the other day and noticed parked one block away from our office a TJ Unlimited - same khaki color as mine, but this one had the hard top (matching khaki), chromed out tubular bumpers, winch, 31"s, and most importantly - RUBICON! It's basically the Jeep I was looking for for a month before settling on my TJ Unlimited. It isn't so much the chrome that I liked, but RUBICON w/ matching hard top!! The TJ Unlimited Rubicon's seem to be hard to find for sale - I guess that's a good sign for that model that people are holding on to them!

I've got the same color 05 Unlimited, only I have the automatic (It's what I call my town car). Yes, the Rubicon model is great. I suspect that even with it's limitations it's the way to go for a majority of four wheelers. Obviously, it's a lot less expensive to purchase a new Rubicon than build your own Jeep.

3.73 gears will NOT be fine with 35" tires. Fer cryin; out loud, I have 3.73 gears in my stock 2007 trailblazer, with stock tires. I would say that 4.10 gears would be minimum, and 4.56 would be even better, as long as your top gear is an overdrive.