So slightly different approach based on your prior responses, but pretty much in line with the prior posts.
- Armor up (Sliders, skid plates, etc) as this is something that you can keep with you as you continue to move forward with the build. I wouldn't race out to buy bumpers right out of the gate, but do make sure you have some good recovery points on the front and the rear of the vehicle.
- Small suspension lift (around the 2" mark). And honestly, I would try to run with little to no lift and just trim to fit whatever size tires you want to run. Since this is your daily, you'll need to keep in mind that any extra height you gain will negatively effect your handling and fuel economy. While SMALL (1.5" or less) body lifts can have their place, I would not go down that road. The slight caveat there is that if you can fit a larger tire size with a combination of a fender trim and small body lift, then I would consider it just to keep all the stock drive-line stuff at roughly the same operating parameters.
- Tires - I'd stick around the 32-33" range on stock sized rims. A larger than stock tire aired down a bit will ride much nicer off road than a smaller one. By keeping the tire size more reasonable, you will help keep drive-line components alive longer (like CV's). Do make sure to leave a little room in the budget for some sort of air compressors (or nitrogen bottle) so that you can air up at the end of a trail!
- Trail Tools/Spares - While I don't advocate carrying around an entire parts store or Snap On truck with you everywhere, figure out what the common failure points of your rig are and what tools you need to fix things on the side of the road. I am perpetually amazed at how many people I've come across that have zero tools or spares on the side of the trail broken down.
Doing the above will net you a very good base to work off of and sounds like it will be able to get you out further than you have been currently. Depending on your use after the above modifications are done, you can plan your course from there (Locker, Winch, bumpers, Lights, etc).
As mentioned by others, just a "Stock" vehicle with good tires will get you much further than you ever imagined with intelligent driving. So resist the urge to run out and spend lots of money (and down time) on stuff that you likely don't need right out of the gate, and instead spend it on fuel/food for trips. There's been many a trips where we have been out in the middle of nowhere CO/UT/ETC and come across a stock 4x4 running down some fairly extreme trails. The gear can make the trip nicer, but be careful of falling into the trap that everything you see on the internet is necessary to get out and enjoy the outdoors.
Hope that helps some.
