Thats funny, its the exact opposite in the group I wheel with, with one of only two, 2 doors in the group, I usually get up and through rough obstacles much easier than most 4 doors. In fact often times my rig is a winch point...

 

let's see your rig!

Northridge 4x4

 

I would rather have a 2 door for off road, the 4 doors are just too long and get hung up. Much wider turing radius too. I do however like the extra room they have which is great for camping and over night stays on the trail. My 2 door has almost no room with the 40 in the bed for extra gear.

 

My builds not much different than yours, but my point is a properly geared 2 door on 37s will go alot further alot easier than a comparably equipped 4 door. Especially in the desert southwest and central Cal. We have no mud or anything like that; we climb dry waterfalls and navigate tight rocky canyons as well as up mountains through tight trees. I am +1" in front and +1" in rear. After seeing Dirtmans steering box relocation I think I may try to get atleast +2" up front while i have the box in the mail to WTO. I will likely stretch and comp cut the rear in the next year, but that means coilovers at the same time, so lots more $$$ for the rear.

 

Nice
Yea I've wheeled big bear on a friends jeep although 40's 4dr and 60's. pretty much point and shoot.

My desire for a stretch came from running Moab this year. We did Pritchett, BFE, poison spider/golden spike, cliff hanger behind the rocks, and Moab rim. I spent more time on 3 wheels than 4! So I'm looking for stability.

I considered just extending the front arms to get an inch in front also. Did you just dial out the joints or get longer arms? Then I'd get the longer RK arms for the rear. And be done with it.

Northridge 4x4

 

Nice Rig, I was able to gain an inch through adjusting the RK Xfactor arms, keep an eye on how much threaded portion is showing and ask RK how much you are allowed to have out. Same in the rear, but any more than 1" back there and you'll need to move the upper track bar bracket back as well. You can just cut off the bracket and weld on a new one or make a new one.

 

No offense but there's no way a 2 door would do better then a 4 door in a place like Moab. We just came back and both 2 doors struggled a bit. And one of them was on evo lever, double throw down.

 

The 3" stretch in the rear is worth it in my opinion. You can push the front about 1" without going to coil overs. Not perfect, but you can do it.

I am of the opinion that coil overs and stretching the front is very similar in overall undertaking as the rear long arm with body trimming and corner installation. Both are going to require cutting and welding for the suspension and track bar mounts, you just don't have to trim the body in the front. Trimming the body isn't bad.

Local laws were mentioned along with me trailering my Jeep. We don't have fender laws here in TX and the Jeep is 100% street legal. Tagged, registered, inspected, and insured for daily driver duties if I want to take it out. I don't drive it on the street much because of my tire choice and the harnesses being a pain for running errands or daily duties. My wife and I take it out cruising on the weekends when the weather is nice, it does just fine on the road if you take into account I'm on bias tires.

If you want to talk to me directly I'd be happy to talk to you about the process and what you can expect to run into either way. My number is 832-526-2415.

Marcus

 

Once you have some tougher wheeling under your belt you'll understand the 2 door advantages alot better; full Evo kit or not the drivers sound like the weak links.

Marcus, thanks for the info I definitely plan on giving you a call in the next few days.

 

Both of these guys here know what they're talking about. However you can see both of them lean different ways on this, one front and one rear. Take the total cost of what it will be to do a front and rear stretch on your rig. The ONLY reason why I say start with a 3 inch front like both mentioned is because you don't have to cut into the body, just the frame mounts of your brackets both taking off and installing. You're not going to go much further than 3 inch stretch up front regardless, so once its done, its done. The rear however, a 3 inch stretch is not much for a 2 door. Will it be better than none? Absolutely. There are rigs running up to 8-9 from what I've seen. RCO has a HUGE benefit of local laws allowing him to get away with what his current setup is. Not everyone has that luxury, so take that into consideration as well when doing the rear and the additional cost if it requires fenders and what not. It adds up quick when you add custom made fenders onto custom rear customs, then powder coating. Just something to think about. Thats why I said do front first, because if you do the rear 3 inches and realize you want to push it back even further, that previous work is now being re done.

Good luck if whatever route you choose bud and want to see pictures for sure.