"What should I mod first?" — let's discuss

[tbisaacs]

I was thinking about this post over the weekend. I'm no wheeler by any stretch but took some some lines I wouldn't have taken in the past. It got me thinking just how good these trucks are with +1 tires, sliders, and A-Trac (my truck doesn't even have MTS):



The excellent out of the box travel these trucks have (even the 570!) + traction control made it easy to walk out.

Another example:


The truck spun a couple of times and then A-trac figured it out. Really great confidence building experience for a beginner like myself.

 

[psnyman]

I’ve taken rental minivans more places than the average Cruiser sees.

Yep, the best Offroad vehicle is a rental car

 

[Itsky]

I’d say since you bought a LC most mods are not necessary.

I like your list, here is my take:

1. Gaia gps
1 garmin in reach
1 compressor
1 ~285 tires Quality tires & remove running boards
2 Max traxx & shovel
2 fridge & battery
2 suspension

at this point i Can get to about all the camp sites and trail heads I’m interested in with good comfort, reliability and economy.

 

[MCtree]

Reviving an old but good thread here.

Why does everybody put a suspension upgrade up so high on the priority list?
(Honest question here, not trying to be an askhole (to borrow a term from @AnyMal))

I ask this because my home CFO allows me one large expenditure a year for my camping/overlanding.
This thread convinced me that I need a fridge.
Opinions on fridges - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/opinions-on-fridges.1313113/

But now I’m contemplating which I should do this year. Suspension or fridge. I’ll do the other next year.
And fridges are hardly mentioned in this thread here discussing the order for mods.

Am I wrong in looking at both as nice-to-have’s that make trips a little more comfortable?

And yes, 2” more ground clearance would offer a safety benifit along with comfort. I don’t discount that.
But my usage is more in line with @Itsky. I’m not interested in rock-crawling. It’s more camping and getting to trail heads. So wouldn’t the main gain for me just be in comfort on the dirt roads?



Or is it that this thread is more about “modifications” and a fridge doesn’t count as that?
I’m contemplating it from a money spending/ wife allowing perspective.

 

[1world1love]

Reviving an old but good thread here.

Why does everybody put a suspension upgrade up so high on the priority list?
(Honest question here, not trying to be an askhole (to borrow a term from @AnyMal))

I ask this because my home CFO allows me one large expenditure a year for my camping/overlanding.
This thread convinced me that I need a fridge.
Opinions on fridges - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/opinions-on-fridges.1313113/

But now I’m contemplating which I should do this year. Suspension or fridge. I’ll do the other next year.
And fridges are hardly mentioned in this thread here discussing the order for mods.

Am I wrong in looking at both as nice-to-have’s that make trips a little more comfortable?

And yes, 2” more ground clearance would offer a safety benifit along with comfort. I don’t discount that.
But my usage is more in line with @Itsky. I’m not interested in rock-crawling. It’s more camping and getting to trail heads. So wouldn’t the main gain for me just be in comfort on the dirt roads?



Or is it that this thread is more about “modifications” and a fridge doesn’t count as that?
I’m contemplating it from a money spending/ wife allowing perspective.

First, I would just say that all anybody is doing here is posting opinions, and everybody is different in how they prioritize. in the US, there is a fixation on lifting that doesn’t exist in most places where these vehicles actually get used for things other than recreation. As you say, extra clearance can definitely help out in some situations. But most people don’t actually ever find themselves in those situations.

What is common throughout the world though, is the need for good tires. That is one mod that should be first on anybody’s list if you plan on going anywhere further than you are willing to walk out if needed. I think the lift question is tied to this and why people tend to do a lift early on. Your tire size is affected by the amount of clearance, and because tires are pretty damn expensive, you probably want to buy the ones you plan on driving for a while, so people that eventually plan on a lift will prioritize that in order to go ahead and fit the tires they want to roll with. Just a theory.

Most people don’t need extra lift though. There are hundreds of thousands of 200s in the world that are stock and driving daily over crazy terrain just fine.

I do think that most people don’t categorize a fridge as a “mod”, per se. It is more in the category of “gear”, but there are no hard definitions.

For me, this list seems about right:

1 - good tires
2 - cold beer
3 - everything else

 

[grinchy]

i originally got my rig as an approach vehicle, somehow ended up with bumpers, gears, 35s, and eventually a winch.

None of this stuff has been strictly required to get to trailheads, though the 35s in particular have made it pretty easy and comfortable to do so.

 

[RET2]

Just drive the darn thing and unless you like warm beverages get a fridge. You might find out you don't need 90%of the mods on the typical Mall Monster.

 

[MCtree]

i originally got my rig as an approach vehicle, somehow ended up with bumpers, gears, 35s, and eventually a winch.

None of this stuff has been strictly required to get to trailheads, though the 35s in particular have made it pretty easy and comfortable to do so.

I haven’t heard the term “approach vehicle” before. It’s very apt! Exactly how I look at my LC.
But as you also say, there is a comfort factor as well. I’ve had several camping trips slightly diminished by a niggling fear, in the back of my head during the entire trip, that I might not be able to get back out. So I do value some of these mods if they help me lower that tiny stressor.

And @1world1love,
Yes, this is all opinion. But this seems to be one of the more reasonable forums I’ve seen - unlike my sports forums - so I do like to hear and do put stock in people’s opinions here.

Though that’s also kind of the point of my question; is a suspension upgrade a comfort purchase like a fridge (opinion)or is it something more that I’m missing?

And to be clear, right now I camp with a yeti cooler. It works fine - though I have occasionally ruined food my allowing it to water-log.
But my stock suspension also works fine really - though, like I said, fear of getting stuck can detract from a trip.
So I’m curious as to which people do first and what their reasoning is.

 

[1world1love]

I haven’t heard the term “approach vehicle” before. It’s very apt! Exactly how I look at my LC.
But as you also say, there is a comfort factor as well. I’ve had several camping trips slightly diminished by a niggling fear, in the back of my head during the entire trip, that I might not be able to get back out. So I do value some of these mods if they help me lower that tiny stressor.

And @1world1love,
Yes, this is all opinion. But this seems to be one of the more reasonable forums I’ve seen - unlike my sports forums - so I do like to hear and do put stock in people’s opinions here.

Though that’s also kind of the point of my question; is a suspension upgrade a comfort purchase like a fridge (opinion)or is it something more that I’m missing?

And to be clear, right now I camp with a yeti cooler. It works fine - though I have occasionally ruined food my allowing it to water-log.
But my stock suspension also works fine really - though, like I said, fear of getting stuck can detract from a trip.
So I’m curious as to which people do first and what their reasoning is.

You are correct that this forum is an outlier in the genre of hobby/interest forums. This place has saved me almost as much money and headache as it has cost me

I think what makes this place great is the diversity of uses people have for their trucks. I'm a lot like @grinchy and got my truck to take me to cool campsites and trailheads that were otherwise inaccessible or too hard on my aging knees to walk to with a backpack. Some people do nothing but tow their travel trailers and mainly stay on maintained roads. Some people simply drive to work and back everyday.

My situation is different than yours because I have an LX and have the option of gaining an inch or two on demand with the AHC system so I did not really have to ponder a lift install, but I will say that I do a ton of trails where I never go into H mode. It is actually the exception when I do go into H and that is usually because I am actually doing a track for the purpose of doing it rather than to get from point A to B. We go camping a lot and we almost never find ourselves needing to use H mode.

For what it's worth, we never camp with our fridge empty.

All of the mods I've done have their utility. It is hard to say if they are worth it or if I would have found an alternative. My bumpers are great and there is little doubt that I would have ripped off a fair amount of plastic by now without them. My roof rack is indispensable. On-board air, drawer system, awning, etc. I use all of these every time we use the truck.

Having said all of that, I think the one, most impactful mod for utility, comfort, and safety has been the 17" Icon Vector wheels and the 34" KO2s. That was a real game changer because it improved the ride significantly and the extra sidewall allows me to air down to 12-15 PSI which really increases the capability of an already capable vehicle. Most importantly though, is that having good tires improves the odds that I will make it back to civilization at a time of my choosing.

Your stock suspension is unlikely to strand you anywhere. It was actually designed to ensure that the LC, of all the vehicles on the planet, will be more likely to get you there and back. That stock suspension is used in extreme conditions all over the world.

I can't tell you how to spend your money, but ask yourself which annoyance is more common in your life - soggy steaks or fear of being stranded far from cell phone coverage.

Sorry for the "War and Peace" length post. It was mostly written by ChatGPT using a locally optimized model trained by all my other posts.

 

[Artie]

It was mostly written by ChatGPT using a locally optimized model trained by all my other posts.

seriously?

 

[Artie]

Reviving an old but good thread here.

Why does everybody put a suspension upgrade up so high on the priority list?
(Honest question here, not trying to be an askhole (to borrow a term from @AnyMal))

I ask this because my home CFO allows me one large expenditure a year for my camping/overlanding.
This thread convinced me that I need a fridge.
Opinions on fridges - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/opinions-on-fridges.1313113/

But now I’m contemplating which I should do this year. Suspension or fridge. I’ll do the other next year.
And fridges are hardly mentioned in this thread here discussing the order for mods.

Am I wrong in looking at both as nice-to-have’s that make trips a little more comfortable?

And yes, 2” more ground clearance would offer a safety benifit along with comfort. I don’t discount that.
But my usage is more in line with @Itsky. I’m not interested in rock-crawling. It’s more camping and getting to trail heads. So wouldn’t the main gain for me just be in comfort on the dirt roads?



Or is it that this thread is more about “modifications” and a fridge doesn’t count as that?
I’m contemplating it from a money spending/ wife allowing perspective.

You’re not wrong, both are nice to have.

To me, fridge is gear unless you are adding a slide and doing some wiring. If it’s strapped in the back running on a goal zero or cigarette adapter then I’m saying gear.

Once your cruiser starts gaining enough weight on these trips you’ll really want that suspension. Ride quality goes a long way if you’re putting down miles on your trips.

The reason we had suspension high on our list was due to weight. Once you start adding stuff it adds up quick. Our entire build snowballed incredibly all due to the 40 gallon LRA. Having that suspension is really deceptive, it rides pretty much the same when it’s completely void of fuel, gear, and camper as it does with all that stuff. Which is to say it rides really well.

Either way you go you won’t be sorry, you’ll benefit from either one you choose and you’ll be finding reasons as to why the one you didn’t go with would have been nice to have… at least that’s how my brain tends to work.

 

[bloc]

Reviving an old but good thread here.

Why does everybody put a suspension upgrade up so high on the priority list?
(Honest question here, not trying to be an askhole (to borrow a term from @AnyMal))

I ask this because my home CFO allows me one large expenditure a year for my camping/overlanding.
This thread convinced me that I need a fridge.
Opinions on fridges - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/opinions-on-fridges.1313113/

But now I’m contemplating which I should do this year. Suspension or fridge. I’ll do the other next year.
And fridges are hardly mentioned in this thread here discussing the order for mods.

Am I wrong in looking at both as nice-to-have’s that make trips a little more comfortable?

And yes, 2” more ground clearance would offer a safety benifit along with comfort. I don’t discount that.
But my usage is more in line with @Itsky. I’m not interested in rock-crawling. It’s more camping and getting to trail heads. So wouldn’t the main gain for me just be in comfort on the dirt roads?



Or is it that this thread is more about “modifications” and a fridge doesn’t count as that?
I’m contemplating it from a money spending/ wife allowing perspective.

If it helps give context, I'll most likely be removing my kings and going back to stock suspension before a colorado trip in July. Possibly even back to stock wheels and tire size.

I am in the minority here.. but this is a result of me being honest with myself about how I actually use the truck. The good stuff is 900 miles from where I live. I've done the colorado passes, and white rim road in utah. And it was fun.. but the trails did get old. The mountain biking does not. "Approach vehicle" is perfect. Again, if I'm honest with myself, a stock cruiser will do everything I *should* be on. and it'll do every one of those 900+ miles, or the 6000 I just did on a trip to PNW and back, significantly better. Less downshifting for hills or headwinds on the freeway, better mileage, less noise, less strange front end dynamics over bumps in turns due to increased LCA angle. Less cost.

Maybe it's ironic that a fridge won't fit well into the space I have, when a stupid-big 35-series pelican cooler will.. though the current REI sale has me looking at my options on that front.

 

[grinchy]

I think 2nd and 3rd builds look a lot different than first builds. I find it really neat to try out things and not get to stuck or worried about what would be better or different. Just go ahead and change it up!

Some things work wout conmpletely different than anticipated. An early mod (after 275/65r18 RTs and a compressor, and cutting off the side steps), was a rear bumper. I wanted the tire up and out, and a place to carry fuel and stuff. Funny thing is E rated RT (and later AT, then back to RT) tires aired down are pretty hard to flat. And then later I got a sub tank and didn't need to carry fuel. But then my family took up mountain biking and I was able to make a rack that uses the spare tire carrier swing out to carry bikes. So that bumper which was prep for spare and fuel ended up being a great place to stick bikes for approach work.

I can't go down in tire size due to the gears, but I like the clear eyes @bloc is using re: evaluating use case and continuing to iterate.

Don't let sunk mod fallacy keep you from improving on your use case.

The corallary here is drive it unmodded (well, I would argure tires and compressor are mandatory, and sliders highly recommended), and see what you hanker for, and do it that way.

 

[rlynch356]

My personal build order for the 200
1) rear storage (goose gear), fridge, drawer, electrical setup, etc
2) rock warriors and 285/70-17 E rated A/T
3) full rack, awning, shower tent.
4) sliders
5) front bar, winch, underbody
6) rear bar
7) aux tank
8) suspension
9) rear seat delete (goose gear)

I have a goal for the truck to achieve off road, which is pretty modest. It will not be built as a wheeling rig. I have a d90 for that.
This one is being made for things like the TAT,
Now that I am getting out of the east coast with those tracks.

 

[AnyMal]

Reviving an old but good thread here.

Why does everybody put a suspension upgrade up so high on the priority list?
(Honest question here, not trying to be an askhole (to borrow a term from @AnyMal))

I ask this because my home CFO allows me one large expenditure a year for my camping/overlanding.
This thread convinced me that I need a fridge.
Opinions on fridges - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/opinions-on-fridges.1313113/

But now I’m contemplating which I should do this year. Suspension or fridge. I’ll do the other next year.
And fridges are hardly mentioned in this thread here discussing the order for mods.

Am I wrong in looking at both as nice-to-have’s that make trips a little more comfortable?

And yes, 2” more ground clearance would offer a safety benifit along with comfort. I don’t discount that.
But my usage is more in line with @Itsky. I’m not interested in rock-crawling. It’s more camping and getting to trail heads. So wouldn’t the main gain for me just be in comfort on the dirt roads?



Or is it that this thread is more about “modifications” and a fridge doesn’t count as that?
I’m contemplating it from a money spending/ wife allowing perspective.

Thats a good question and as mentioned, we have a lot of different uses going for mild to wild in this place so ill throw in my 2 cents.
Also, the credit for that term goes to the one and only @Boston Mangler! A true scholar and linguist...
Either way these are the type of discussions I like the best and offer a lot of learning potential, instead of the who is more technically correct stuff.
I would rather read about real opinions and experiences than theory personally.

For me the unfortunate first must do mod is a two-for and honestly, as I have learned through a lot of doing and a lot of learning, is actually a waste of time and money LOL. Ill get to that in a second. But the first mods would be A) Wheels / Tires, and B) Suspension.

The reason I say this is the most important to me is because the truck is just shy of what it should be.
I reeaally like the LX/LC, but it sits too low, is fitted with bad tires/wheels, and has much too narrow stance for its proportions.
As one of the best two trucks on the road (LC and G Class), it is so inferior to its competition in aesthetic, stance, and aggression that it breaks my heart to leave it that way. On top of that, the later 570 owners and current 600 owners are offered 21" and 22" wheels only (luxury).
I feel like the LX and LC to some extent is the most marginalized product in the entire T family if not the entire auto industry. Whereas a lot of vehicles are pushed beyond their design envelope to hit numbers in performance for example, this vehicle is shoehorned into some kind of people hauling abomination.
That is an extremely strange circumstance to me. Even 1-2" of lift completely transforms the entire truck. And as far as tires go, I totally agree the LC STOCK can do everything Ill ever throw at it along with 80% of MUD. BUT, even on the legendary HE edition Toyota fits all season tires... Not even a passenger all terrain. They do put a dumb roof basket on too that everyone takes OFF. You can be the biggest fan man in the world and that still doesn't make a lick of sense.

Now i know i rant and rave a lot but one thing you'll learn about me is that I'm not wrong . I dont think im better or smarter than the entire T engineering team, no, despite what you may think LOL. But by god if this is not the most mismanaged and poorly marketed product on planet earth, ill eat my fing tires.
For example, after a gazillion years in production, we have a 300 LC with a GR sport trim, Toyotas highest performance badge, on the most rugged civilian use truck known to man, and they put street tires on it. When i look at the product OBJECTIVELY, I don't know wether to smile or cry.
They are not even going to put an all terrain on a vehicle purpose built for it? Who the F is running the show? I would love to tear their ass apart.
They are making a product which at this point doesn't even make sense, and is kind of a joke of a mall crawler off of the factory floor.
If you cant engineer a good ride on P all terrains, you need to be fired. We are not even in LT arena yet, which aftermarket suspensions can easily handle.
The truth of buying a T product (up until the USA lead Tundra/Seq/Taco) was that you had to spend thousands out the gate to make it right, and ironically, end up with a harsher riding, less optimized product. Meanwhile T could easily have a tire made for them to OEM ship, and matching tuning, while the competition is providing these things out the gate.

Now all that being said, I think its dumb as hell to spend thousands on wheels and tires, and thousands on 1-2" of lift on a brand new truck, to make it look and feel like what it is under its skin and not be completely hobbled by its tire choice as its weakest link, and its ground clearance (LX) as the biggest limitation. But that is the reality we are offered when we buy in. You have to unleash what this is supposed to be as a product.
Back to what I have learned though, and the unfortunate truth.
This is an IFS truck. You cannot "lift" an IFS. All that you can do, is set the neutral ride height to a lower portion of the stroke range. From there, you can also increase travel with the right equipment but you are then compromising everything in the rest of the system like CVs, geometry, and clearances. None of it is smart. And its a crying shame that we cant just have a big tire / slight lift variant of the truck that is class leading in the space. It is actually mind blowing if you think about it.

I have to agree with @bloc, and if you take all the above, you can see why I chose the mods I chose to do. Everything I have done to my truck has been for one objective, to ENHANCE it. I am however not happy to street use C load LTs 99% of my time. I don't even wheel! I have no idea how some folks run Es all day on stock suspension at 45+ PSI. However through actual trial and error, IE first hand experience, I understand that you cannot keep scaling P tires up in aspect without huge consequences to ride and handling and have to compensate with large pressure augmentations. That is why I am going back to 20s, on 275/65R20 Passenger. I have to reduce sidewall to get back the more cushy ride and normal pressure range. I also want to get scrub back as much as possible for my OCD. In addition, you get the more grippy compounds of the Ps for our constant rain here. It is what I have to do unless I want to ditch AHC, which is the last thing I want to do. I love variable height, and I think 3"+ of lift is not the best choice full time at these highway speeds everyone drives today.

On top of all that, my biggest thing is that modifying things in general sucks. So yeah, I would prefer to just buy a truck that works off the bat, instead of having to come up with actually inferior, headache inducing "solutions" that cost a s***load of money. So if they made the truck into what it should be, I wouldn't even be here. Why cant we have at least 33"s? Why cant we have non plastic belly pans? Why cant we have something that is not soccer mom as trim option? Its like the hulk in a mini skirt. Completely pointless to buy this overbuilt vehicle that has to be pedestrianized to this extent. Thats why I'm telling everyone to buy the Sequoia, and leave it stock with a warranty. If you see me daily wondering about buying a different truck, this is why in a nutshell. Its the least exciting thing on the road in the segment, and its completely Toyotas fault, they are too Toyota. They need to spin off their truck division. It stopped making sense a long time ago, I raised this point many times here over the years and the USA team has proven my point for me...

So to answer your Q @MCtree, spending a few thousand on a suspension IMO gives you infinitely more return than the fridge, just because you have to make all these corrections to the truck for it to be a truck and not a glorified minivan that it is being sold as.

And this post was written by a bonafide internet troll & forum loser. No punctuation, spell checking, or data here! Genuine Intelligence only.

EDIT: I forgot to give an extremely honorable mention to the OEM subtank.

 

[RET2]

Just drive the darn thing and unless you like warm beverages get a fridge. You might find out you don't need 90%of the mods on the typical Mall Monster.

I'd like to correct this post by advising purchase of decent AT type tires as a first mod.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

As has been stated it depends on what you want to do.
We have absolutely no interest in rock crawling. I think the statement by bencallaway “My thought when I see people building 200’s, or really upgrading anything beyond tires, is that they have the wrong vehicle” is really worth thinking about.
REF: ("What should I mod first?" — let's discuss - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/what-should-i-mod-first-lets-discuss.1218234/#post-13223135)

I empathize with the Toyota engineers who tried to make the perfect vehicle for mall crawling and serious off roaders. What they did was actually better: they came up with a platform that was "this close" to excelling at almost everything. In other words with just a nudge you can turn a LC into virtually anything. We'd all like a fuel efficient super powerful tank; also impossible. However, the 200 series is just about perfect for us out of the box. But of course do what’s fun for you!!!

So, what we really want is a travel trailer without actually having one (been there done that). We like to camp and maybe one day tow a modest trailer. So all of our mods/enhancements were in order as follows:

• 3M plastic wrap all but rear liftgate and roof
• Remove 3rd row seats
• Exchange OEM plastic oil filter canister with metal Venza canister (not related to recreation)
• REDARC trailer brake controller – just in case we ever do “get off the pot” and buy a travel trailer
• Wiring from primary battery to driver’s side passenger compartment to charge Goal Zero Yeti 1500X
• REDARC BCDC 1225D and 2nd battery
• Roof Rack to host cargo, 2 Wavian gas cans and ARB awning/room
• Bud Built catalytic converter theft prevention skids
• Wiring from 2nd battery to passenger’s side compartment to run Dometic fridge & campground stuff
• New tires - Michelin Defender LTX M/S 285/60R18
• Firestone 4164 rear air bags for the ton of stuff we take camping and for a possible future trailer

The only other thing I’d consider doing at this point is adding an auxiliary tank but it would have to be the 12.5 gal OEM tank and installed by someone that really knew what they were doing.

 

[CharlieS]

I haven’t heard the term “approach vehicle” before. It’s very apt! Exactly how I look at my LC.
But as you also say, there is a comfort factor as well. I’ve had several camping trips slightly diminished by a niggling fear, in the back of my head during the entire trip, that I might not be able to get back out. So I do value some of these mods if they help me lower that tiny stressor.

And @1world1love,
Yes, this is all opinion. But this seems to be one of the more reasonable forums I’ve seen - unlike my sports forums - so I do like to hear and do put stock in people’s opinions here.

Though that’s also kind of the point of my question; is a suspension upgrade a comfort purchase like a fridge (opinion)or is it something more that I’m missing?

And to be clear, right now I camp with a yeti cooler. It works fine - though I have occasionally ruined food my allowing it to water-log.
But my stock suspension also works fine really - though, like I said, fear of getting stuck can detract from a trip.
So I’m curious as to which people do first and what their reasoning is.

A suspension changes the handling dynamics and capability of the vehicle. If you add any height, it allows you to take on more challenging terrain. The fridge is an amenity that adds weight. No comparison. I would never spend on a fridge before a suspension for how I use my vehicle.

A thing that always strikes me is that we all think of ourselves as using our rig like the next guy, but we have such a wide range of uses. Even for those of us that do trails, there is a wide range. Like me, I'll do Poison Spider, but not Metal Masher in my 200. Not that the 200 couldn't do it, but I don't love panel damage. The guy posing before or after me. might never want to go on a trail ever, or if it is a trail it is a fire road. The next poster may do Metal Masher and Rose Garden in their sleep. So in my opinion, there is no one size fits all answer. Every purpose will have a better build and build order.

I like the chart that is posted, I think it is directionally right. It is at least one great way to think about it.

 

[AnyMal]

A suspension changes the handling dynamics and capability of the vehicle. If you add any height, it allows you to take on more challenging terrain. The fridge is an amenity that adds weight. No comparison. I would never spend on a fridge before a suspension for how I use my vehicle.

A thing that always strikes me is that we all think of ourselves as using our rig like the next guy, but we have such a wide range of uses. Even for those of us that do trails, there is a wide range. Like me, I'll do Poison Spider, but not Metal Masher in my 200. Not that the 200 couldn't do it, but I don't love panel damage. The guy posing before or after me. might never want to go on a trail ever, or if it is a trail it is a fire road. The next poster may do Metal Masher and Rose Garden in their sleep. So in my opinion, there is no one size fits all answer. Every purpose will have a better build and build order.

I like the chart that is posted, I think it is directionally right. It is at least one great way to think about it.

The chart is good it just needs some modifications (pun intended);

 

[TeCKis300]

And yes, 2” more ground clearance would offer a safety benifit along with comfort. I don’t discount that.
But my usage is more in line with @Itsky. I’m not interested in rock-crawling. It’s more camping and getting to trail heads. So wouldn’t the main gain for me just be in comfort on the dirt roads?

Worth saying but very few aftermarket suspensions will improve on overall comfort over the stock suspension. Increase capability? Yes! But usually at some trade to comfort as they tend to use firmer spring rates to accommodate the typical build trajectory of more weight.

I strongly believe in mild AT tires as a first mod. They are as much a part of the overall suspension in your vehicle and perhaps another strategy towards your goal. If done properly, can increase comfort. Larger tires flatten bumps and improve the ability to air down and absorb irregularities. Larger tires also increase clearance in ways no lift will.