Hey guys, I've been blowing my paychecks on getting my tracker ready for some serious stuff..  well, so far, not really, but i have already started buying stuff for it... i've got a cd player, a Larin 48" jack (same as a hi-lift), a 20 foot chain to help me get unstuck (that's also why i got the jack, because you can use it sort of like a come-along)... and that's it so far... what should i focus on next, besides a lift kit or tires...  i don't want to get new tires, because the ones i have now are in great shape still, even though they are just street tires... and i don't think i can get good offroad tires in a 205-75R15...  so i'd have to get bigger tires, new wheels, and a lift, all at the same time...

Here's what i'm thinking in the next month or so...  a sub and amp, a 2nd chain or a tow strap, mini-spool, new soft top (current is in pretty rough shape), or diamond plate (which is in another post that i started)... what do you guys think?  oh yeah, i'm also thinking about pulling a complete AC unit from a wrecked tracker or something.... basically, i'm wanting to know where should i start focusing my money?  should i stop buying stuff and save for a suspension and tires?  oh yeah, better yet, i just remembered a set of tires i might be able to get... they're on an older sidekick that looks like its on a stock suspension, but they fit real nicely.. i think they're the super swamper TSL radials... the vehicle's for sale, but i wonder if the person selling it would let me change out the tires for a couple hundred dollars or something...

I would suggest getting frame points to pull from when you are stuck. Get protective gear like skid plates and such. Get someone to come with you in another vehicle. Use the chain just as a puller and not as a snatch strap. Swamper come in little sizes so that would be cool.
I'd forget about the amp unless music is your thing.
Use the hi-lift in the driveway so that you understand it's function. Beware, that under load and you are letting it down, it will snap back so control it with your arms and keep your face away from the handle.

depends on the kinda wheelin you're planning on ...

do a locker (I like my mini-spool despite the chirp and tire wear when on road).

if you hunt, you may find a hard top for close to the price of a replacement soft top.

if I was spending your money, I'd skip the radio stuff, and save for tires and do a body lift (around $100) plus a spring spacer lift (another $50 to $100). should clear 31's and make it very capable.

Beware, that under load and you are letting it down, it will snap back so control it with your arms and keep your face away from the handle.

What do you mean?  the handle will snap back or what?  I know that if the load is under 50 pounds, then the bottom part (the part connected to the handle) will just drop... i learned that from messing around with it when i first got it.. scared me, i thought i had broken it already, and crushed the concrete under it... 

I'd rather get a suspension lift than a body lift... i know its cheaper, but i don't trust body lifts for some reason... Another thing i don't want to do, is fender trimming... --Hey, who is it that makes the full 1.5" spacers?  is it Sky Manufacturing?  how are they as compared to a body lift?  i know i won't get much lift, but enough, i think... I'd be satisfied with just enough lift to clear 235/75's...  oh wait, that brings up another question... if i get that size of tires, can i use the original wheels, or will i have to get wider ones?(according to calmini, 235/75 can fit a 15x7 wheel, but what about backspacing)  I figure if i keep things small for now, i can get by, until i start getting paid better...  6" lift, $1000, 32" tires and 15x10 wheels, $1000, new diff. gears, 1000... temptation to get into deeper stuff to break more things....  more money........   2 inch lift; $100... 235's; $300... mini-spool; $100...  knowing that you can still get through more stuff than a full-size truck would want to even try; priceless!

A stock Track/Kick can take 235 tires
and use the stock rims, did that for
years before I got lifted

Wild

Being safe with a hi-lift is hard to explain, but I'll try.
When you are letting the hi-lift loose it's weight (lowering the weight), the hi-lift has 2 pins on a cam. By raising the hi-lift handle, the top pin is in a channel hole, whereas the bottom pops out and down to the next down channel hole. When you lower the handle, the top pin pops out of the hole, and lowers down to the next hole. And that's how it moves. The handle is controlled by you. You control the action. You have to resist the action of the raising handle due to the weight. It's a leverage design and that's how you can control the lowering of the weight (up to 7000#s). Raising the weight, you have to pull down on the handle. Lowering the weight, you have to control the handle from raising. Go to fast, and the handle becomes a 'slapper' and it does hurt and can break fingers, hands, and jaws. The handle will wip back to the channel so watch your hands wrapping around that. The handle wipping can hit your face as you are more than likely bending over for more leverage of the handle.

Clear as mud???

body lift/coil spacers and 31's

i ahev got about 150 bucks put into mine, minus tires etc. no locker, but i got 3" body lift and 1.5" coil spacers, ill post some pics tommrow

wildgoody, if i use 235's with everything else original (wheels, no lift, no timming of the fenderwells), will they rub anywhere?  what about turning it lock to lock?  I don't know why, but i'm particular about things like that..

jagular; clear as a standing puddle of mud in the bottom of a ditch after 3 straight days of a hard rain, on a real foggy morning...  hehe... nah, i think i understand

snofalls, is it a constant chirp, or just when you turn or something?  and will a lockrite do the same?  if its not going to affect the tire wear and that noise, then i'd rather spend the few extra dollars for an actual locker...

so here's my current thingy-doo-hickey-ma-jig.... plan...  these will come in no particular order... mini-spool or locker, 235's, and 1.5" coil spacers..

after that, i will focus on the underside (all skidplates, etc. minus the anvil housing from calmini)

Finally, i think i will be done when i get front and rear tube bumpers and a snorkel... i don't know for sure what order i will go with (snorkel, bumpers, underside), and i may go with a winch bumper, if i have enough saved up by then... but all of this is future plans...

At full lock, left and right I got a little
rubbing on the frame, but only the frame,
and I don't ever remember hearing it
inside, that's how minor it rubbed.

You could also adjust the lock stops
under the front on the pitman arm,
(arm on the steering box) and stop
it from touching the frame.

BTW when I switched to 235 tires, it
corrected mym speedo to read 100%
right, before that it read 2-3 MPH fast

Good Luck
Wild