Good stuff, @StaleAle . Let me add this: I watched the previous owner of my 3x locked green 80 take it places on 33's with no sliders that I am only now starting to successfully go with 35's and sliders (and sometimes still wonder HTF it happened), and the limiting factor wasn't fear of damage...honestly, it was lack of driver skill. There's no magic bullet unless maybe you're driving Bigfoot. Having the best spotter in the world doesn't guarantee success and won't save you from damage until you have the experience to combine your ability with their information.
Get a winch because (in no particular order):
1. You want to go places you're not capable of driving through
2. You don't want to hold up the group if you can't find a good line
3. Your junk is likely to break something at the worst possible time
4. You go places where everyone is likely to need the ability to help the person in front or behind them
5. You bought a 'heavy' lift when you only needed 'medium'
6. You have stumps to pull out of your yard
Unless you're willing to accept body damage (sheet metal and glass, not scratched armor) then you're really only overlanding (which can still be challenging), and that's not usually done on blacks. That makes sense to me having not gone to bed yet at 5:00am; others might disagree.
Back to tooting the 80 bandwagon horn - my opinion is that it will be far better on trails with 33's than a GX on 35's as well as a better daily given the same. Far less expensive, too.
That might just be the Holiday Inn patron in me speaking. Not sure at this point.
Get a winch because (in no particular order):
1. You want to go places you're not capable of driving through
2. You don't want to hold up the group if you can't find a good line
3. Your junk is likely to break something at the worst possible time
4. You go places where everyone is likely to need the ability to help the person in front or behind them
5. You bought a 'heavy' lift when you only needed 'medium'
6. You have stumps to pull out of your yard
Unless you're willing to accept body damage (sheet metal and glass, not scratched armor) then you're really only overlanding (which can still be challenging), and that's not usually done on blacks. That makes sense to me having not gone to bed yet at 5:00am; others might disagree.
Back to tooting the 80 bandwagon horn - my opinion is that it will be far better on trails with 33's than a GX on 35's as well as a better daily given the same. Far less expensive, too.
That might just be the Holiday Inn patron in me speaking. Not sure at this point.
If you're talking leaving gearing stock then maybe but if you regear for 35s like the vast majority of GX owners do then I think that outweighs any downsides. Vastly newer tech and a far more modern interior layout not to mention the GX being quieter, more comfortable riding, and having far more power. No question offroad 80 is better but on road, the GX is king between those 2.
Maybe 
. I sold the front bumper/winch and sliders, took the bumper swing outs off so I can haul plywood. The rear pan hard mount on the 80’s axle is Ugly
but secure and if time permits, I will weld a new one on.
