Hi- first-time poster, long-time lurker here......and I have to say, a lot of you have some pretty cool vehicles & an impressive array of knowledge & experience. Hope you don't mind if I tap into that.

I've got a little place way down in Baja and I've wanted something small and light to get around in (and I didn't want to drop 10K plus on a Polaris Ranger like some folks there)- but I had been seeing a few older samurai & sidekicks around, so when a buddy of mine here in Cali needed to get rid of his 93 tracker 4x4 cheap I jumped on it. (pic attached). Great shape mechanically, but the shocks are on their last legs-probably original. Whole thing appears to be stock, actually.

The roads there are just about all dirt - graded once or twice a year (some of them never!) and usually washboarded/rutted pretty badly with a scattering of rocks and random holes. We've got plenty of places to go involving deep(ish) soft sand (beaches and using arroyos as roads/trails), so something light with low tire pressure is great. The roads there really do beat a lot of people's cars/suspensions apart, so while it's not real rockcrawling per se, it  probably is a lot like some of the simpler trail running a lot of you do. Anyway, that's "daily driving" there!

I'm hoping I can can get some opinions on what I should do with my truck to get it ready to reliably confront that kind of driving on a regular basis (without spending a fortune-I do that on surfboards!). I'd like a tougher/more durable suspension and be able to run a little bit bigger/wider tires (I have 205s on there now - maybe 235s?)- but I'd like to avoid getting into a lift etc that leads to lots of other modifications becoming critical. I've read a lot of posts here before posting-seems like some of ya like Calmini's suspension lifts, some like the OME coil based lifts, so i'm looking at both:

2" Calmini kit
http://www.puresuzuki.com/2_lift_kit.htm

2.5" kit here
http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/index.php/suzuki/sidekick-tracker-x90/suspension-lift-kits/lrtk-combo-2-5-3-5-and-4-5-lift-kits.html

Or maybe a small body lift and some upgraded shocks would do the trick? Or maybe there are other options I haven't considered (heck- I know there's that!).

So-what do y'all think?

How much fab work are you comfortable with? 

You might want to look at some of the rigs running in the Zukiworld Challenge.  On Project Trouble we extended our rear links to 30", it made a huge difference in being able to open up on the dirt roads.

Some good shocks are a must.  I run the Bilstein shocks and struts, they keep on working without fail compared to stock or Autozone replacements.  Fun running around I use 235/75 R15 All Terrains on my DD tracker, it seems to do fine in the sand.  If you don't plan on going taller some 4-door springs might be all you need.

Spacer lifts are a great way to get more height, but they give you a bit rougher ride.  So I would caution against that approach if you plan on running a lot of washboard roads.

Hope you feel better!!!

Some good shocks are a must.  I run the Bilstein shocks and struts, they keep on working without fail compared to stock or Autozone replacements. 

But the autozone shocks come with a lifetime replacement warranty.    Too bad you have replace them after each trail ride. 

235 tires are just about perfect for what you are going to do, but make sure to get
some mud terrain so you don't have trouble getting off the beach, I about got stuck
in San Felipe because of stock A/T tires, and swore I would never let that happen again

Also a rear locker will help greatly to keep you from getting stuck while you are out
exploring the desert, and as far as lift, a 1" spacer in the back and a 1/2" in the front will
give you an extra 1 inch.

The biggest problem we had was the gasoline, must of been like 80 octane or less, ping
like crazy so don't plan any power adders like turbos n such in the future.

Invest in some good headlight bulbs too, damn traffic signs down there were crap for reflection

And post some contact info, some of the So Cal members might want to come wheeling down
there, I for 1 would, but not knowing who or where makes it a little intimidating with all the
crap going on down in the drug/border towns

Wild

Drone - fab work? hope to avoid cutting & welding if I can! though once it gets down to mexico, maybe I'll get excited and do a more involved 2.0 version. got some buddies in town there that do rorty r16 buggie building/racing i can probably talk into helping out. checked out the Project Trouble thread- looks like you guys are having a blast with that!

The question this raises for me is do I even need any sort of lift kit? I don't plan on going taller unless I need to to fit tires and 235s would be the biggest I think - those should fit, shouldn't they? My main point is get my tracker ready for lots of washboard/uneven roads and dealing with some soft sand. So improved shocks/struts should do it, right? I did notice on the trouble thread, someone commented about using OME shocks that had a longer travel than the Bilsteins you are using - seems like that that would be a good thing on washboard, but does it open you up to other problems?

When you say 4-door springs, do you mean stock springs for a same-era 4 door Tracker? Would those, being rated a for heavier load, act as a bit of a lift and if so, how much? Would it be enough that I'd need to get longer shocks & struts?

Wildgoody- what was it like where you got stuck? I've always understood that more aggressive tires can actually act against you in soft sand, digging you right in-kind of the opposite of mud. I grew up in the Carolinas and some people I knew that did a lot of beach driving would get wide, used (just about bald) tires and air them way down so they had a big area to stay on top of the sand with.

I hear you on the rear locker- no idea if that's really costly/complicated to install though.

Have you ever gone through San Felipe south and out via Laguna Chapala? I did that once years ago- brutal! but it could be a lot of fun if you had the right vehicle (s). Nowadays though I'm pretty much within a couple hundred miles of Cabo- a 2 hour flight is much nicer than a 2 day drive. Gas-wise, I pretty much just use the Rojo, not the Verde - higher octane and I've never had any problems with it. In fact, if you're going pretty far off the beaten path carrying extra gas that you know is good quality is not a bad idea. The alternative might come out of a rusty 55-gallon drum in a fish camp.Even on the highway there is a stretch of more than 200 miles between Pemex stations....

You really don't need much in the way of lift, but if you have the coin to spend sounds like the OME ( Old Man Emu) lift would be good for you. OME longer travel  struts and shocks with OME 1.5" lift coils. This will give you a somewhat better ride, but in my experience not much will soften up hardpacked washboarded roads, except A, going fast, and B, airing down your tires. These things aren't like dirt bike suspensions, not very supple in other words.  If you just freshen up what you have suspension wise, and add the bigger rubber and air it down it should be good too.
I've been using the OME stuff for a few years now and find it very good, BUT, now that I'm aware of the Bilstein's they will be my next replacement strut.

bent- so you would go bilstein struts & shocks with OME coils? or...?

and airing down/hauling ass on washboard is a given! Miles of this there:

I was churning the sand and hardly moving, I agree a wider tire is best,
but an aggressive tread helps throw the sand too, like a paddle tire on
a sand buggy

Wild

bent- so you would go bilstein struts & shocks with OME coils? or...?

and airing down/hauling ass on washboard is a given! Miles of this there:

Bilsteins for my next replacements, since mine is heavily modded. For your situation, an OME lift kit would be perfect, IMO. Stay away from the Rocky Road lift kit that utilizes OME parts and RR's crappy coil spacers to give you another inch. With the OME lift kit you get the good longer travel struts and shocks, and 4 replacement coils for a lift of 1.5" and a better all around ride. I think you'll like it, especially with a bit bigger tire. The OME kit works well with a 225 or 235 tire. Of course, there are other ways to get what your looking for, and this is just my opinion. You could piece together some front coils from a 4 door, rear shocks from a mustang,  coil spacers and strut spacers from several different makers, several different struts and end up with something similar, but there's nothing like the quality of an engineered and tested system that bolts right on, and is all there from the get go. BTW, I don't work for OME or ARB!

If you want to stay close to stock, the 4 door springs from the same era of Tracker.  They are a bit heavier and a bit longer, but not enough to change your ride much.  Depending on the condition they give you 1" of lift in the front and a 1/2" or so in the rear.  Just a bit taller and a bit stiffer. 

But for 235/75 R15's on stock rims you shouldn't need a lift at all.  Maybe a little bit of trimming on the bottom of your front bumper.

OME is supposed to be the best springs available, but I haven't run them yet.  It's a future upgrade for my DD.  Currently I run Grand Vitara springs in the front and a 1" spacer and anti-sway bar in the rear.  It handles well but it's a bit stiff. 

I think I'm just going to go with an OME kit 9springs,shocks, struts) - seems like the 1.5" or so of lift I should get from that will be enough to fit some bigger tires. I can always get some plain steel 15x7 rims if my current rims turn out a bit narrow. Height-wise, I could always do 235/70s instead of 235/75s if it's too tight.

I'll post some pics once I make some progress - and any more thoughts are certainly welcome. gracias!

Just keep us updated.   I want to see how it ends up.