That's understandable - everyone would do the same if they could. Just remember that at a minimum you're looking at about 700 bucks for a proper coil lift with shocks - about 500 if you just get extensions and recycle your stockers. That a big markup over the 50 or so dollars that will remedy your front sag as you look to improve elsewhere. The biggest thing you can do for your vehicle is shoe it as quickly as possible. The right tires can perform miracles. To be frank, more clearance won't do shit if all four corners are spinning up mole hills.

My advice (and as a novice wheeler, take that for what it's worth, ha!): Mount your winch cheaply and effectively. It will take you everywhere, even to places you shouldn't be. Start wheeling immediately. Get the tires you want as soon as possible and analyse the wheeling you're engaged in - do you NEED anything else? Or is it a want? Find yourself hung up on the chassis? Lift. Wheelspin and no traction? Traction aids. Yadda yadda.

I've been wheeling my once brand spankin-new 23-KM-on-the-odo 08 2 dr X since the first day I got it and it has the scars, dents, and smashed out bits to prove it. It was almost two and half years before I did ANYTHING to it. Just enjoy it for what it is in the fashion you see fit.

There's a lot of amazing Jeeps on these forums and if you enter the arms race, you'll lose. And not just the race. Know what you need, keep wants in check, and wheel safe!

 

That is some stellar advice. I guess I'm just kind of itching to get the most bad-ass jeep around where I'm from and there isn't much around here my jeep will get stuck in as is. But as I said I'm not a big fan of my jeep staying stock. I guess I want to start my build right and see where it takes me!

 

*Nods*

I hear ya brother. If it wasn't for the proverbial windfall I'd recently come upon I wouldn't have been able to accrue the inbound parts I'm about to toss on my baby! Granted if I was a single man and it was just me and the dog - that whole wad would have also netted me a Ripp Gen 2, but alas there's a house that needs to be bought in 3 years or so, ergo the savings account shall fatten.

There's a beauty of a monster Jeep that seem to crop up every few months in Edmonton never to be seen again until the listing ventures to Kijiji or a local dealer. Funny that. Some guys just can't handle the addiction. The trick to loving and keeping your Jeep is to become the Weekend Drinker of modifiers. After a hard week, you unwind, spend a fraction of your earnings on some ribs and a case and get back to the grind. It's the Methhead upgraders that end up wanting a bumper, which needs a winch, then gets a suspension to compensate for droop (+4 inches) that needs driveshafts that needs arms that need trackbars...ya see what happens. Suddenly Micky is breaking your legs and you're in the poorhouse.

At any rate - good luck with your dilemma, and I wish you the best in your future addiction! Cheers to weekend drinkers!

 

Yup I understand what your getting at. Is there lots of good wheeling spots around Edmonton, or any good jeep stores there? me and a few buddies are planning on making a trip there in the next few months from Saskatchewan.

 

Alberta Safari Company. Check their site - just add the "dot ca". There's a Top Truck Challenge-like event held there annually that requires MONSTER rigs to complete...if they're lucky. It's got everything you need and more. Just book in advance as it's all private land. Other than that you have TORE in the West end and some decent mudholes in the Bruderheim/Redwater area. Great overlanding around there too. Lots of tough quadding trails - which is responsible for a few dents on my rig. Calgary has - in my opinion - better areas in MacLean Creek and the "Ghost" sites near Waiparous.

 

Where do you go for your parts around there?

 

Northridge Canada, of course! It's in Ponoka, about an hour south of Edmonton. Unbeatable pricing, and an offroad shop (realtively new) that is used by Northridge in the same town. Perfect combo, and very good shop rates. They can do simple installations or toss in a damn Hemi for ya.

 

That's awesome there's a few places around here that sell jeep stuff but I have gotten 0 service everytime I've gone there. Its to the point where ive almost gone to the shop to grab my own winch after waiting for 45 minutes for someone to go to the back and get it after I paid for it. So since then I've been relying on the forum to help me out with my questions!

 

Well, as a Saskatchewanite in good 'ol Canuckistan you'll be pleased to hear that there's free shipping for orders over a hundred bucks - which is pretty much everything worthwhile. And while the Canadian site doesn't have the same flash or parts inventory as the US site...just call Stan. He'll get you anything you need from the US side at a great price. Dealt with him on Tuesday and he kept me under my 8k budget and with better parts than I originally wanted, virtually none of which except an axle housing were actually listed on the site.

 

Look around the Northridge website and find yourself an LoD bumper. Don't go with Smittybuilt, you'll have a headache on the install and the LoD bumpers go on with zero hassle and look GREAT. I went with a mid-width and a stinger on the bumper because I also didn't like the look of the shorties.

And as an added bonus, the LoD bumpers are reasonably priced! I've got a leveling kit installed to offset the 200 extra pounds up front and I noticed only the slightest difference in driving after the install.

Don't go with Smittybuilt. There's a reason why everyone calls them Sh*ttybuilt.