We've all made our mistakes before buying things we shouldn't have and regretting it. With the JK I will not make the same mistakes, mind you I was only 18 fresh out of high school when I bought my brand new TJ. What lessons have you learned in your Jeep experiences??
Here's mine:
-Do the lift right the first time - I went from a BB with 32's, to a used 3.5RE with multiple sets of 33's with no SYE, then an SYE, then blew an D35 axle TWICE and ended up driving all the way to Ohio to buy a new D44. Was it fun? Looking back - NO, at the time....still wasn't fun. My theory is, if I want a Clayton premium kit and that's my end goal then just save my money, have some patience and do the end goal.
-Small accessories like grab handles are to be bought in person, not from a catalog.
-Don't be like a kid at Christmas and rip open the box as soon as it gets delivered, because then you loose pieces. Open it later and inventory your items.
-When re-gearing, make sure you open the box of gears and make sure you have the SAME gears. Nothings worse than giving it to someone to re-gear and get a phone call saying they aren't the same.
-Don't hack it or rig it if you don't have the right tools - do it right the first time.
-Shop your deals - reach out to other forums and get in touch directly vendors. Nothing was more painful than to see a significantly cheaper price a day after I ordered something.