what is the most important aspect of wheeling? is it drivers skill, is it powerful engines, is it big tires, is it 4wd, is it lockers, or anything else u can think of. and heres my view. i wheel with my 2wd, 94' pu with nothing new except the air filter. and personaly, i think i do just fine. yea, im workin on a couple of upgrades, such as exhaust and more intake stuff, but as of lifts and such, i wont lift it until i have the money to make sure its perfect, and im not goin higher than 3 inches. maybe some slightly bigger tires, some lockers far far in the future, headers even farther, and maybe by the time im out of college i'll have a truck that looks as good as it wheels. so ur turn, whats ur view?

 

Boils down to knowing the perfect ratio of the ingredients you've laid out there. Perfection measured on what you need, to do what. Very application specific. There are a few things you failed to mentioned there, some of those are very subtle, and of lesser importance ,and some not so. Vehicle weight, wheelbase, center of gravity, etc. Mother nature dictates all. Skills are learned from her, ultimately. Coming with time put in behind the wheel, on her terms, in her classroom.
I personally think the most important aspect, has nothing to do with any of that, really. I crave shifting my transfer case into 4h/l for the simple thrill of knowing what follows, it almost always involves taking risks of one form or other. FUN STUFF, any way you slice it!

 

I guess it depends on where you're going. Around here you're not going to get far w/ out 4-lo.

 

Thats easy, RELIABILITY!!! Thats why I drive a toyota. But thats par for the course. Every vehicle has limitations.

 

driving what you got and getting through it with enough truck to get home

 

I believe it is mostly Driver skill.

Granted having all the extra perks as you listed would help the driver even more.
It is all in the limitation of know what your Rig can do.

For example,
When I went to Paragon.
I went with two modified Jeeps, I am stock with no e-locker, accept for some BFG A/Ts and the cheap mods that YT has to offer
I did just as well as they did.

And I was the only one to drive my Rig,
but when the jeep drivers switched off, you could see who knew how to drive and who did not.

I even took step dads 4Runner to a place that I take Mine to test how it felt off-road, he has the Goodyear silent armor and thats about it, and his was just as good as mine.

But I believe more, it's the driver than the rig,
What ever is on the rig is there to assist the driver IMHO

 

this is posted in the wrong section....

 

That by far is on point, I dont think I could have laughed any harder because I have the same feeling in my palms when ever I thro the transfer into 4h/l.... HAHAHA It is just like ok lets take some deep breaths and see what tis sOB can do...

 

Just keep that idea in mind, even after you've "totalled" your rig a few times. Then your a TRUE 4 wheel drive enthusiast in my book.

 

Driver skill is most important, but even that can be overcome with lockers, etc. I'd say the second most important is aggressive TIRES.