Lift kit, soft top, or spare tire carrier?

Depends on what you need most.

If it's a stock tj, and everything is mechanically sound, first thing to do is lift and tires.
 
You are listing 3 items that you are considering....
You need to determine exactly what your budget is and what you will get the most use out of.
IF you can do the work installing yourself; then the lift kit would get a lot of use; otherwise the cost of the lift and labor to install would amount to more than $1000 depending upon how much lift (2",3",4") you get and who the manufacturer is.
Since it appears you live in Missouri; you might enjoy the soft top from Bestop, but you will need to buy the full kit with metal framing. I believe that kit is more than $1000 also.
 
If I were you, the best advice an old guy could give a young guy that has a fiancee is to let her decide. She will be making the decisions. What ever you pick will be wrong. Maybe not today, maeby not this year even. But at some point it will be thrown in your face. And you WILL be wrong. I know you don't believe that beautiful flower of a lady would do anything like that, but, trust me. Trust me. Once you are married there will be far more important things like diapers so just get used to her making the decisions now. And always be sure your Jeep is safe and reliable. That comes first when you have someone else in the Jeep with you.
 
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Personally I would get the soft top but it also depends on where you live if you can enjoy the soft top! I’m trying to get a soft top now
 
If I were you, the best advice an old guy could give a young guy that has a fiancee is to let her decide. She will be making the decisions. What ever you pick will be wrong. Maybe not today, maeby not this year even. But at some point it will be thrown in your face. And you WILL be wrong. I know you don't believe that beautiful flower of a lady would do anything like that, but, trust me. Trust me. Once you are married there will be far more important things like diapers so just get used to her making the decisions now. And always be sure your Jeep is safe and reliable. That comes first when you have someone else in the Jeep with you.

Wow, honestly, I cant even.
You should be banned from the internet along with jerry for this tripe.

At least jerry never told told a guy to be a slave to a woman's goo hole.

W/e, op, listen to me. Be a man, do what you want, no regrets. Dont let females get in the way. If a woman ever tries to boss you around kick her to the curb at once. No matter if you've been married for 20 years and have a bunch of kids together.
 
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lift kit , soft top , or spare tire carrier with spare wheel/tire ? If you could buy one which would it be? Currently have a hard top

Would you be able to get much utility out of a soft top? I personally love mine, I took the hard top off a couple years ago and am now selling it because it's just been hanging, but I live in a place where we get like 3 raindrops over several months so I can run with the side windows removed all the time, and I also don't use it as a daily driver. If I had to drive it every day I might elect to keep the hard top.
 
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Wow, honestly, I cant even.
You should be banned from the internet along with jerry for this tripe.

At least jerry never told told a guy to be a slave to a woman's goo hole.

W/e, op, listen to me. Be a man, do what you want, no regrets. Dont let females get in the way. If a woman ever tries to boss you around kick her to the curb at once. No matter if you've been married for 20 years and have a bunch of kids together.
First off. Never did I use any term even remotely close to "goo hole"
Second off. I love the way that people who don't agree think everyone else should be banned.
Third off. Lumping me in with Jerry. I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you.
Fourth off. I find it amusing how entitled children think they have any idea of how the world actually works.
Fifth off. You must get invited to a lot of social gatherings.
And finally sixth off. I do hope that at some point in your life you learn what humor is. I can only imagine how enraged you get reading the Sunday comics. Good luck in your life. You'll need it.
 
Ok, consider this -

You are in college , so that's the main thing . Keep it going .

A 2" spring spacer kit would help you with the the 33" tires short term.

A good Craigslist soft top will do the summer work. A used Bestop beats a new off brand most every time .

To carry a 33" spare , get a steel rim , black it , and get a rugged ridge or similar tire carrier , just make sure the reviews say "it doesn't bounce " or similar , so you at least always have a spare . Don't forget it can be thinner , and a Mastertop cover is $25.

You are at a point in life you have the energy to do the work , need to stretch the budget and would enjoy the entire package ...then watch for a lift on sale ..we (@Hog and I) paid $113 for a complete 3" zone lift, with shocks , this past Christmas .

Just don't go too cheap on the carrier.

Tops can be had at a deal, so start watching Craigslist and Facebook market place and local Jeep websites.

Good luck ahead , don't let the above posts rattle you, we slap each other around here constantly .

Finish school if that's your chosen path , and go out, do something extremely well, and make enough money to always have a Jeep. Life's better when you do. ..of course you know that.

Welcome to the forum, the best TJ knowledge available is right here.
 
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The best part of being a youngster is that people expect you to be irresponsible. Take advantage of that. A good camping trip, even to Mexico, can be had in a 3 day weekend. And costs about the same as going to a bar and wasting your cash. If you don't show up on Monday your co-workers will dismiss it as a stupid irresponsible kid. And then drop it. An older person does it and gets fired first thing Tuesday morning. This only lasts for a short time. By 25 or 26 you are expected to be another cog in the machine. So be sure to enjoy what little time you have left to be young and free. Really. I mean this. Wish someone told me this when I was a kid. And sleep in your parents basement for as long as you can. Mow the lawn, do your laundry. Save some money. Real life is expensive.
 
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That's some sound advice there goatman. I was just yanking your crank before. But, I was serious about jerry, studies need to be done.

Choices are hard when you're trying to pick between several great options, but can choose only one. If you had more money the choice would be easy, wouldn't it. Get both.

You need to make more money so shit like this is small stuff.🤑
 
Which lift kit?
How high do you want to go and how much bread do you have? Regardless of high high you go you'll want to go higher and no matter how much money you have in your budget you'll blow it and spend a sh_tload more! JEEP...
J.....Just
E....Empty
E....Every
P....Pocket
Hope I could help!
 
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