Nay on the rooftop for following reasons

1) if you flop your Jeep, you lose your shelter
2) More weight=higher probability of axle/u-joint breakage
3) If you break down and have to hike out, you'll need a pack able tent anyways
4) with 33's you are looking at the equivalent of 3:1 gear ratio provided you're at 3:55 right now. You'll need the money for deeper gears and four series front carrier.

I live in Florida and tent camp with foam sleeping pads. We have snakes, spiders, gators that just add to the excitement of offroad travel


Also, with 31's, 3.55 gears, and a few hundred pounds of gear, my rig is a dog at sea level. You might want to rethink 33's depending on the load you will be carrying. The suggestions Serious Offroad gave you on page one were for 31's. 33's won't be any easier on your steering, axles, axle mounts, etc. Good luck with your build and looking forward to seeing future posts about your excursions.

I am looking at doing something similar i already have a 3"RE lift, 31x10.5s and decided on electronic lockers, I am looking for armor, i can build bumpers and i found some nice rock sliders/unibody stiffeners so its mostly stuff to cut down on trees and rocks destroying the body if i slide but i also need skid plates any suggestions?

offroad ordanance, yeah i decided against the rtt, its much easier just to use a tent, and saves alot of storage space

96_PeeJ, what electronic lockers did you go with because i could only find an eaton for the front d30, i have an 8.25 in the back, is this the same as yours?

You should either buy arb air lockers..or buy the new kit from rwk. They give you 2 gear sets in a ratio you pick, 2 master install kits, 2 air lockers (one for front and one for rear) and an arb compressor. It's like 2k for the package...that's a damn steal

I should have mentioned i am planning on using a 44 rear from a friends wrecked xj (its cheap and already has upgraded axles)... but that rwk air locker kit sounds good i'll have to do some research on it

Thanks alot for that, i just sent an email off to RWK about shipping to Australia because it was going to be $3800 for dual lockers fitted by ARB Australia which i wasnt too keen on spending.

Axle work is expensive, no way around it. I just paid $2500 to have my d30 and d44 regeared and have Detroit truetracs installed. $500/each for the TTs, 800 labor, the rest in new parts. Air lockers are 2x the cost of the TTs and have a longer installation, so that price isn't too surprising. But unless you can do the install it's going to cost a lot.

If you are in the wild, I suggest some kind of traction improving differentials. Look into LSDs or lunchbox lockers if you want a lower price tag.