Trail Jeep Suspension Options
 

So I'm putting together a 2012 Rubi (4 door) as a family trail jeep. Intent is to make this thing capable in all types of terrain, from mud to rocks, in order to get to some of the best campsites we can find.

I'm thinking minimum of 4" lift but probably not more than 6". I want the suspension to be able to hold the weight of the family and our gear (minimalist gear) and some extra fuel and full size 36/37" spare.

My question is, what TYPE of suspension is most effective for a setup that will see around 60% street and 40% hard trail use? It needs to be able to hold the weight of the trail gear, provide the clearance and flex for any conditions we come upon, and in the long term provide compatibility with a diesel conversion (in the future).

Choices are:

Drop bracket type (AEV type)
Longarm (Rock Krawler, Teraflex, type)
Coilover (Rock Kralwer, EVO type)

EVO all the way!

I'd second EVO. I've never run it because of the cost, but since you are setting up this as a play rig, I don't think money is too much of an issue. Off-Road Evolution will be your best bet. :beer:

I'd run it before making any mods. I waited almost a year. What I ended up doing was very different than what I first thought I needed. In the meantime, the stock JK took us places I didn't think even a modded Jeep could go.

Try considering King OEMs , Ive read a bunch of reviews on them and looks like they're worth the price. I mean u could go with a cheaper option but damn they manufacture really good shocks.
Try this : King's New Easy-Tune Jeep Wrangler JK Shocks - Jp Magazine

i'll be able to chime in on this subject a little better in about 2 weeks. I'm currently running an aev w/brackets 2.5 lift. The road manners are absolutely fantastic...offroad manners are good. if you overland and stick to medium trails...no problem. aev triple progessive springs and the stock arms on brackets dont offer anymore flex than stock and it shows on any kind of rock trails.:naw:
I am switching to an evo 4" since I am really enjoying the rocks and would like a little more clearance and flex. After leasons learned, for me anyway, a 4" lift, good adjustable lca's and good shocks just cant be beat for an all round rig that does alot of different terrain well.

I have seen some other forum members rigs on evo kits and firmly believe they are the ticket.:thumbsup: I should have gone this direction from the beginning,:doh:... but thats the way it goes sometimes.

what is the most economical choice for lifting my 2010 jk about 2 inches. just need a little more clearance for my 33's.

teraflex is advertising a new leveling kit that will clear up to 34's for 133.99. check out the vendor forum.

if you can afford it, an evo double throwdown with long arm kit is about as good as you can get it. that's what we run on our white jk and carry our family in and dog, recovery gear, tools, welder, fridge freeze, all our camping gear and a super heavy 40x15.50 spare. unlike some people, we don't trailer our jeep anywhere but rather, drive it to all our destinations near or far, go wheeling and drive back home and it performs outstandingly on and off pavement.

can't afford quite that much, i would recommend the evo bolt on coil over system as it's almost as good but costs a fraction of the price. i would still recommend that you run this with their long arms as you will still get way more flex than what most aftermarket control arms can take without blowing out bushings. we run this on our dozer jk now and just got back from 5 weeks up in tahoe where we put on just shy of 6,000 miles exploring the sierra nevada mountains and northern nevada desert and running trails like the rubicon.

What he^ said. We're 6 months in on the stock sus and I've done a number of trails I didn't think the stocker could do. Sure it's not the beast and I'm finessing the trail not raging it but I still get to the camping spot and drive to work on monday.