I'm torn. Not sure which of the above I want to do first?

 

OBA and sliders won't save you a $500 tow bill and get you or a buddy off a trail....or an F-550 that is stuck under the highway changing road lights.









Rock rails definately did not help me here. Winch sure did!!

 

Depends on what you like, I rock crawl a lot so rock sliders all the way........ Never needed on board air though.......... I have a small pump I picked up at Costco for $60 that fills the bill if I ever blow a bead....... But if your gonna spend any time in the mud, winch is the way to go........ Just me .02

 

+1 on it depends on what you plan for your Jeep

In m case, I want my Jeep for overlanding, not rock crawling. So...

I started with the bumper because I wanted a solid platform for the winch. Even though it's possible to adapt the OEM bumper and use a universal winch plate.

Then I bought the winch.

Lastly I got the OBA, which I did not have time to install yet. But I have a small compressor already so the tank and bigger compressor are not vital.

Have not planned for the under armor yet. ;-)

 

The same initial question always needs to be asked...What do you plan to do with your rig?

I would say bumpers with strong recovery points. if you have bumpers on your radar already, you will want that to mount the winch to anyways. I do not have a winch, (someday I will) but I have been recovered and recovered others with my bumper's d-rings. I did sliders after I cracked a side step on the trail and I have a portable pump for emergency situations. There is never a "right" answer to this question, just check your budget and see how long you will have to wait for the mod that is next on the list and determine if you can live without it for that long.

 

your pictures show you don't have any rocker protection at all. i'd go with the sliders first - will protect your jeep from parking lot dings and from crunching into something even if you don't rock crawl while you wait to do the rest. next a portable on board air. your stock bumpers probably already have recovery points. winch depends on what kind of wheeling you do and whether you wheel alone. i had one on my LJ for 6 years and never used it once. bumpers look great but if you only do moderate four wheeling you'll probably never hit yours on anything and bumpers are heavy. if you have or planning to get big tires a rear bumper with a tire carrier will help save your tailgate. so a lot depends on the type of wheeling you'll do, but i'd still do sliders first.

 

I wish they would add to the FAQs, that if you are going to ask what equipment to get, that you have to tell us what you plan on doing with your jeep! there is never a one size fits all answer to these!

 

There have been a few inquiries as to what my long term plans are so the following may shed some light...

Ultimately not a rock crawler, more overland than anything, but this coming summer at the end of July I will be going on a trip with the opportunity to do some mild rock crawling if I want. Any major wheelin' trips I have planned in the immediate future there will be at least one other rig present with a winch so thats part of the reason why I'm waffling back and forth a bit at the moment. I already have the Or-Fab rocker guards installed and my evap and muffler relocated. So part of my thinking is that finishing off side protection with the sliders and doing the OBA would serve my purposes better for the next 6 months or so with what I have coming as far as "planned" trips. I do get out with my brother and his WK on occasion and having the winch would make me a little bolder in what I attempt when those weekend trips happen as I know I'd be able to get myself out of a pickle then for sure.

Long story short, all of the above will happen eventually, but trying to figure out which is more prudent is giving me brain cramps. I'm also open to donations if any of you kind, generous folks would like to help out with the issue so I could just do it all at once