Baystate Jeepers

Hello all

my Name is eric and I live in Tewksbury Ma.

not sure how to post picture but will at some point

Presently no Major mods to my 2014 JKUS in anvil with 3.73 and auto, had about a year.
some what new to jeep, use my daughters JK for a year before I got mine.

joined yesterday on this forum to find local recommendations for modifications. I can twist a wrench but looking to do item 1 asap.

upgrade plans are as follows in this order.
1) upgrade both ends with Eaton truetrac differentials
2) Looking at 2.5 lift with all bells and whistles.
3) front and rear bumper with winch at some point

The plan is to keep it a pavement pounder at this time since it is daily driver and I do 20K miles a year.
so probably only stick with stock tire size or up to a full 33", plan sticking with stock rims

Welcome, Eric.

You'll get more advice than you bargained for here. To post a picture, it has to be hosted on the web somewhere, like Photobucket. Then just post a link.

For your upgrades - I always suggest starting with armor. Skid plates, rocker protection, bumpers. Protect what you have first.

Then I would look at a lift. I rode around on a 2" lift with 32" tires until I wore them out. At about 60 K miles, I upgraded the axles (OX lockers, 4.88 gears and alloy shafts) then went to '35" tires. With the 2" lift, all I had to do was change out the fender flares to flats, all good.

See you on the trails - at some point.

I'd recommend looking into locking differentials. Once you've decided to spend the time and $ to upgrade differentials a selectable is worth spending a little more $ for. Once you wheel it you'll wish you had a full locker. I know you said it's a pavement pounder for now, so if that's the case no need to upgrade at all. But if you're gonna upgrade, go all the way. Just one man's opinion!

Welcome Eric Im really hoping some of our newer members speak up here , as they have similar rides. You have a really long chassis and even though armor is important . Your going to need to get it off the ground to get over what your tryin to protect with armor. From what Ive seen they start out way better than mine. Options,comfort,AC. and such. Most important is to have fun ! Hope to see ya on a trail. FjR68

Elias 4wd Center in Townsend, MA. 978 597 8432 ask for Mr Freakin White or Mike.

Frank wrote:Welcome Eric Im really hoping some of our newer members speak up here , as they have similar rides. You have a really long chassis and even though armor is important . Your going to need to get it off the ground to get over what your tryin to protect with armor. From what Ive seen they start out way better than mine. Options,comfort,AC. and such. Most important is to have fun ! Hope to see ya on a trail. FjR68

I'm not saying Frank is wrong, but as one of the newer members to the club and to off-roading (one year), I decided to go with skids first. I believe protecting what you have is first priority because if you go with a lift first, once you get comfortable with it, you're only going to want to try larger and more challenging obstacles, which means your undercarriage is just as much at risk as when you first started off-roading with no lift. Just one person's opinion.

Sorry Frank! I know you know your stuff, but having just gone through this, I believe this was the way to go FOR ME.

"I'll second Frank's thought on "Most important is to have fun!"

The first thing I did... was lift (4.5) and tires (35). My Jeep WAS my daily driver from 2004 to 2010 and I still wheeled it.

I am still not 100% skidded, not even 10%. But, then again, I still have my factory side steps too.

I guess it's how extreme you want to go.

asauer17 wrote:The first thing I did... was lift (4.5) and tires (35). My Jeep WAS my daily driver from 2004 to 2010 and I still wheeled it.

I am still not 100% skidded, not even 10%. But, then again, I still have my factory side steps too.

I guess it's how extreme you want to go.

The other thing to remember there is that you have a JK, Amanda's Jeep is a TJ. Having owned, built, and offroaded both, JKs have more exposed, and require more protection than the TJs, at least in my opinion

100% agree with Don about JKs. the fact you have a JKU makes the breakover angle and overall ride height more critical to get armor and good off road tires to help navigate thur the woods.... Mike will do well by you for sure!

I've got a TJ and I've replaced the oil pan once already. All it takes is one hit. Next step for me is skids.like Ralph said, protect what you've already got.

Ill go one step further and say, just get out and use it. it's not only the jeep that needs upgrading, the driver also needs to know what they are doing. Learn to wheel it stock, and you'll drive it better when it's modified.

I am a fan of skid plates , the more there are the better.

David Yes you are ! FjR68