Is it possible to have a true dual purpose Jeep?

lots of good stuff, this is basically what I'm trying to do with my 31' build. I might go up to 33's eventually but for now my limiting factor isn't tire size and they 31's cruise much better with the 3.07's. It's all a game of balance, and finding the $$$ for the gas budget :)
 
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lots of good stuff, this is basically what I'm trying to do with my 31' build. I might go up to 33's eventually but for now my limiting factor isn't tire size and they 31's cruise much better with the 3.07's. It's all a game of balance, and finding the $$$ for the gas budget :)

5.13 and 31" or go home !
 
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I'd think if you end up with 5.38's on 33's you might struggle on the highways with your RPM's band being so high, but it'd be fine with the 35's. apart from that, your braking/acceleration/mpg would be better on 33's, and you could likely get some nature of AT that would help more on the hwy instead of the heavy offroad tires in a 35

I’m at 2900 rpm at 80 mph with 35s and my odometer is dead-on accurate with my Speedo healer.

That would put me at like 3100 at 80 mph with 33s

Based on my experience, I’d absolutely run 33s with 5.38s and a 42RLE.
 
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The body lift has a cost. I had and am going with a 4" lift (a lot of parts on the old lift were worn out). 4" should give me full articulation with 33" tires. While I might get a 1" body lift if I must - I really don't want to raise my leg 1" more to get in (I have 35" tires sitting by the barn right now). LIkewise, my main use for this jeep is using a roof platform (both as a roof rack for kayaking, and a fishing platform). While 1" more for the fishing platform is not a deal killer - I don't want to lift my kayaks any higher than I have to. On my truck, I have to climb in the bed to get the boats on the rack. My old 4x4 truck, I could do it from the ground without a problem, but trucks have gotten taller.

In a perfect world, maybe I would have been happiest with a shorter lift and 31" tires. My offroading tends to involve more mud than rocks.
 
The body lift has a cost. I had and am going with a 4" lift (a lot of parts on the old lift were worn out). 4" should give me full articulation with 33" tires. While I might get a 1" body lift if I must - I really don't want to raise my leg 1" more to get in (I have 35" tires sitting by the barn right now). LIkewise, my main use for this jeep is using a roof platform (both as a roof rack for kayaking, and a fishing platform). While 1" more for the fishing platform is not a deal killer - I don't want to lift my kayaks any higher than I have to. On my truck, I have to climb in the bed to get the boats on the rack. My old 4x4 truck, I could do it from the ground without a problem, but trucks have gotten taller.

In a perfect world, maybe I would have been happiest with a shorter lift and 31" tires. My offroading tends to involve more mud than rocks.

Sounds like 33s are a nice compromise. Personally, I'm a big fan of 33s with a 4" lift. I'm committed to my BL due to the tummy tuck. You don't have the same ground clearance needs. Sounds like you are all set.
 
I may very well cave on the body lift and tummy tuck - All depends on if I decide to outboard and if the body lift is needed to do that. Ride quality is important to me, and from what I read it is hard to beat outboarding for that.
 
I may very well cave on the body lift and tummy tuck - All depends on if I decide to outboard and if the body lift is needed to do that. Ride quality is important to me, and from what I read it is hard to beat outboarding for that.

I'm also a huge fan of ride quality. Blaine's expertise is in high demand, but I'm hoping to have the outboarding done soon. I went for a ride last year in Chris's rig and it ruined me (ride quality blew me away).

I can't speak with confidence to whether or not the BL is necessary for the outboarding but I'm having trouble imagining why it would be necessary. Wish I could help with that but my little brain doesn't have the knowledge.
 
I'm also a huge fan of ride quality. Blaine's expertise is in high demand, but I'm hoping to have the outboarding done soon. I went for a ride last year in Chris's rig and it ruined me (ride quality blew me away).

I can't speak with confidence to whether or not the BL is necessary for the outboarding but I'm having trouble imagining why it would be necessary. Wish I could help with that but my little brain doesn't have the knowledge.

The body lift isn't necessary, though it does help to have the body up and away from the frame to create more room for the upper mounts.

More importantly is the final pinion angle. Which is affected by the lift height and presence of a raised center skid. Outboarding shouldn't be done with anything less than a 4" spring lift due to the available spring travel and raising the skid afterwards will screw up the placement of the shock mounts.
 
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