HI Folks - Thought I would update this thread. Well, we went a bit of a different direction since I posted this thread. We bought a 4x Sprinter Low Roof 144 and put on a 2" lift with 35s, a poptop, and some other goodies...and this has been our primary overlanding vehicle. The Jeep will be used as a solo trip & fun trails vehicles.
We opted to slow/stop any further after market purchases on the jeep and it has been somewhat ignored. The jeep has been somewhat ignored since we purchased the van...but not as much anymore.
The bottoming out has continued but the passenger rear seems to hit harder than the driver rear. The passenger rear has also an increased rear sag... I checked the spring part numbers and they are correct. I measured the height from stock (using the rear bump stop and front shock length). My front resulted
I have since installed an AEV full width bumper, a 9k Warn Synth winch, a group 31 100aH battery under the hood (using a JSS battery tray), a 2nd 100ah battery in the back (under a platform that replaced the 40 portion of the rear seat, driver side). ACE rock rails were also installed. The rear remains stock (save a custom Harbor Freight interior cargo rack). Based on the above spring values, I can only conclude that I am under sprung - the front of the jeep has less than a 2" lift over stock. Other Jeepers on other forums have indicated they've seen >2" (most 2.5 - 3") at the front axle with a full width steel bumper and winch.
Looking at old pics (right after the lift was installed) to just before I installed the bumper & rails, it appears that my Jeep's springs had sagged quite a bit before the above parts were installed. However, I didn't measure any of it.
Overall, I have about 40k miles since the lift was installed and less than 7k since the bumper, winch, and rails were installed. Most of my trips have been with the Jeep above GVWR by a few hundred pounds... (say 50-60% of the miles).
My measurements as of 5 min ago with (less than 1/2 tank)
~20.25" in the front (1.75" above stock)
~7.25" in the rear. (~roughly 2" above stock)
I'd like to run towards 37" tires, flat fenders, and a 3.5" lift. Knowing that is a ways off, I'm going to try some scratch & dent Metalcloak 2.5" springs. Metalcloak's philosophy is 'stiff spring/soft shock' - since the Fox Mopar shocks are known to be soft, I am going to give this combo a try for a bit. The Mopar Fox shocks are short and I have plenty of uptravel with current spring/bumpstop setup - if Iike the spring shock combo, I'll throw on a set of shock extension brackets and run this setup for a while.
My next heavy weight mod for the jeep is a full steel width bumper and full aluminum skid plates. I'll install the Teraflex tire carrier and Titan Fuel Aux Tank.
What do folks think?