I have a basically stock 82 longbed. I am in a bit of a waffle pattern and cannot decide if I should lift it or put lockers and gears first. The suspension stinks as bad as the open diffs. Just wanted some feedback. It has 33's on it currently. This is the current set up.

 

what do you use it for ??? and what is the final out come ?


I have always found a winch to be the best first mod , .. as it will always get you home .. but that is just me .

 

Hunting and playing. Winch isn't a bad idea either.

 

i would do a suspension lift personally, it will get you more places even if you don't have the right gearing rather than having lockers and not lifted. I do the same with my rig and suspension lift is the first thing i would do

 

thing is .. you can always get in ... but a winch will get you out .

and believe you me , when I was younger, I slept in my truck a many of night cuz I couldnt get out of the hole I was stuck in ..

but I wized up , and got a winch ..



.

 

locker in the rear and winch and your done.. dont need a suspension lift

 

yea i don't know how experienced you are but slackers got a point wench will get you out and get you home, if you don't know what you are doing when you wheel you will get stuck but if you know what you are doing get a lift just don't go wheelin by yourself

 

Past 4x4's always had a winch and at least positive traction. But it rides like a tank. Not sure if that is the worn out shocks or the worn out springs...

 

they are all good upgrades, whatever happens to you the most on the trail like getting stuck or not having enough clearance would be the best way to determine what you need

 

you have any lift suggestions?

 

well not quite sure what u mean by that, just shop around and ask around what the best lift kits are, i still haven't gotten my lift yet but a 3"or 4" is good, you don't really need anything bigger than that

 

sorry 3" is what I'm thinking. hopefully no driveline issues. Brand. I was looking at WABFAB and roughcountry. Not even a comparison but that is where I am currently.

 

Try an Aussie locker for the rear, 4.88 gears if you are going to stick with 33's and an Old Man Emu lift (OME). From what I have read, the OME gives you about 3" of lift and is supposed to right great. New bushings/shocks could also help the ride quality

 

yea ive heard good things about rough country my buddy installed one on his yoda

 

Personally I think Lifts are overated. If you want to do suspension because your suspension is worn out and you "need" to do it, then by all means I would probably do that first. If you are trying to gain off road performance I would do a locker first. I can go more places with my locker and 31's than any of my open rigs ever took me with large lifts and tires. On the flip side, that locker will get you into worse situations quicker, therefore making a winch very essential. Its a never ending cycle, once you do one mod it usually always leads to needing another mod. I would also recommend armor i.e. skids/sliders as one of your very first mods. I regret not making sliders one of my first mods.

 

X2

 

Hmmm Lockers/gears vs Lift?

No winch, no lift. Just 33's, dual ARBs and more gearing than I know what to do with:













I disagree. A winch will get you home. A wench is something that usually gets you into trouble, especially if you use the term in front of your wife/gf.

 

On my 84 pickup I did the following:

FRONT locker (lockrite).
open rear.
budbuilt trans crossmember.
rocksliders.

That's it.

The to-do list is long though. Tires, gears, winch, etc.

A locker on the front seems to work fine on my pickup. Completely transparent on the street (duh) and good traction when 4-wheeling.

 

it seems the gears, lockers & winches have it. I will replace my knocking worn out shocks and bushing for good measure.

thanks for the tips everyone. I will let you know when I'm done.

Walt

 

Am I the only one that got that?