Lift or Bumper First

JC19

New member
Hello everyone! I'm new to Jeeping and off-roading and wanted to get some opinions and tips on what I should do next on my Jeep. I currently own a 2019 JLU Sport S and my plans are to get into overlanding and general off-roading. These are the current modifications I have installed;

-LOD Signature Series Rock Sliders (Thank you Wayalife for those)
-Rugged Ridge reinforced tailgate and tire carrier

And this is what I currently have planned on for future modifications;

-AEV 2.5 inch lift
-35" KO2s w/ wheels
-ARB Front Bumper w/ winch
-AEV rear bumper

But I am conflicted on what should be my next mod; the lift w/ tires or the bumper. I know that recovery is probably more crucial than a lift but I live out in the desert and have no points to recover from (wheeling alone). I just wanted to hear some valid opinions on whether one is better than the other.
 

JC19

New member
1. Dont wheel alone, especially in a desert
2. they make sand anchors for winching
3. Bigger tires just get you more stuck.
4. I run steel bumpers so i can bounce off of prius's and laugh not just for recovery.
I'm guessing you are telling me to get the bumper first before lift and tires?
 
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Jsouder53

Hooked
it’s all about what you want to order first lol especially if your planning on running both in the near future.

I would also suggest looking into a sand anchor or you could always bury your spare tire and winch off of it (I don’t know how well that would work).
 
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Agree with TrailHunter. First actual thing I did to my Jeep was store tools and recovery gear wherever I could. Even when I wheeled it stock it was still a good piece of mind to have them on hand.

But yeah honestly out of those two options, order whatever the hell you want both are gonna happen sooner or later lol
 
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When was the last time you ran into something? Even with a strong bumper, there would likely be damage. You don't even need a real bumper to mount a winch.

So focus on things which assure your safe return first. Sometimes you do things alone because there is no one else available or you prefer to be alone.

They may not be "cool" but there are bolt-on recovery points available if your Jeep does not come with them.
 
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Sinister16

New member
Dont ever go alone. If you have to tell someone exactly where your going and when youll be back so they can send help if you don't come back on time and stick to those plans. Making sure you can go home when your done playing is most important. So my vote is for recovery, tools, and a tote of spare liquids for you and your jeep. Check out your stock bumpers one more time though you should have a set of horns sticking up out of your front and a hook hanging down out of your rear? Those are your stock recovery points. If you are on a tight budget check out your local classifieds how ever people sell there stuff in your area. Usually some sort of a local forum. look for Rubicon or mojave take offs that have the recovery points I just bought stock bumper for my last jeep for less that $175 for both somebody is always upgrading and the old parts have to go
 
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TRBOKEV

New member
I say go for the lift first And build around that. Know that as you add weight the jeep height will go lower.

When I first got my jeep I was big into camping, but the jeep didn’t seem to have enough ground clearance and I was constantly dragging the underside on rocks. I soon after put a 2.5 lift with 35” tires.

One thing is get a true plan on where you want you jeep to be. I went 35” tires with 2.5” lift, then went 37’s with 3.5” lift and now I want to go 40” plus. Its a lot more expensive changing things out constantly.
 
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