Where do I start?
So you have a new 4×4 and want to become involved in the off pavement community. What’s the first thing you should do to your vehicle? Add bigger tires? A lift? Replacement fenders? light bars? I know, you are thinking about getting a winch and that will start your build, right? You might be surprised as what your first step is.
In my opinion there is one upgrade that needs to be done from the onset of your adventures. These upgrades should take the form of your knowledge. Why do I say that? It is an easy question to answer. Your vehicle is very capable right out of the gate and does not require upgrades to go off pavement. You, as a new participant in the 4×4 community, are not fully versed as to what your vehicle is already capable of doing. This means that you need to get out and wheel your rig to understand what it is capable of. You need to understand what type of wheeling you are interested in. Once you know this, you can build your rig to your specifications and enjoy it you want it to be. Now, what types of rigs are there? There are a few basic ones that I can think of with different variations shown below.
Which rig should you build? Build the one that everyone else tells you that you need to build?….NOPE!!! Unless they are making the payments on your vehicle, it is 100% up to you so configure it the way YOU want. This will be an investment in time, parts and money so make sure what type of off pavement you want to go before you start the build. I have see so many times where people have bought an upgrade item only to figure out months later that the upgrade will not perform as they now want it to. This means that they have to try and sell/trade the items for the new items.
So then, how do you tell what type of rig that you want to build? I circle back to my original statement and that is to go wheel it before you make any modifications. Since your rig is so capable right out off the lot and your experience level is low, take a class or get with some experienced people (and this is whole other conversation) to start your exploratory trip. Once you have gone a few times and have your confidence up, you will start down a path (no pun intended) that you enjoy. At this point you can start to figure out what modifications need to be made to accomplish your goal. After you make the modification, the vehicle is now more capable than you are, and you have to go back and build your skill set until the vehicle is no longer more capable than you. As you can tell this is a repeating process and will only stop when you decide to stop. I refer to this as the left/right ladder effect. The rig is more capable than you……you learn and become more capable than the jeep and need to upgrade it……now the rig is more capable than you……..and so on.
Show Rig
Some would refer to these rigs as “Mall Crawlers”. These 4×4’s are capable of going, but are not taken, off pavement because their owners don’t want to cause any damage to them. They look great and can turn heads when driving them on the road but are not as much fun when you take them off pavement.
Trail Rig
I would refer to these as stock rigs with little or no modifications. Little or no experience is required to run trails. Most of the time they can be done in 2 wheel drive.
Mud Rig
These rigs are not built to be used as daily drivers but more just run thru the mud. They have bigger lifts, larger tires, fast winches and usually more horsepower than stock rigs. While this is fun it also requires more maintenance to clean this up and keep them running well.
Medium Build rig
These are the most commonly seen rigs on the road. They are used as daily drivers, yet are rugged enough to run the trails, climb rocks, ford thru water, winch out of situations and then drive home. Even these builds can vary based on all the accessory options that are available.
Rock Crawler Rig
These rigs are built for one purpose only and that is to climb over anything that is put in from of them. Highly modified and extremely capable, these rigs are usually put on a trailer and hauled to the location where they are used, run hard and then hauled back home.
