need advice

i need some advice. I have a 95 Chevy s10 blazer. 4x4 and im wanting to make it an offroad vehichle. but also still have it as a daily driver. what should be the first mod i do?  

It mostly depends on the following factors:

(1) What kind of wheeling do you wanna do? Mud, snow, rocks, sand, or . . .?

(2) How much modifying are you willing/able to perform yourself, and how much will you need to rely on a shop?

(3) How big is your wallet?

Until we know a little more, we can't dole out much advice, but a good set of tires to replace the cheapie OE treads can make any vehicle a lot more trailable, even a 2WD. On the other hand, if you're lookng to lift your rig, you're better off waiting until you know how big a tire you wanna run with your lift.  

Doug is correct, we need a lot more info before we can dish out advice... so help us help you!

I agree, a good set of off-road tires go a long way! The first real off-road mod I did to my truck when I got it was a set of 32" BFG AT's...  
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Long Travel 4 Wheel Drive - The Best of Both Worlds!

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ill pretty much only do mud. around here there arent a lot of rock type stuff..and no sand.. but right now im jsut wanting to get the basic stuff goin for me. so regardless of my limimtations on doin stuff im just wanting basic things at this moment..ive got enough money to get the things i need thats not a prob  

Well the absolute first thing I would do is trade in the S10 Blazer for a Full Size Blazer or K1500 pickup. Although there are some parts available for the your vehicle, I think your money would be better spent on a more capable rig. As you begin to take your rig off-road, you will find yourself wanting to push your truck to its limits and try new things and tackle new challenges. Your current truck will have a harder time keeping up than a full sizer would. Also, you will notice that you will need more power and most likely larger tires. Since there is only so much you can do with your current vehicle, I would move up to a larger truck/suv. There are so many options when it comes to the full sizers. Not sure what exact year it was but read somewhere in FourWheeler that the front suspensions on S10/blazers were prone to failure. I would avoid the headaches early and start with a more robust and capable platform.  
it pays to be a winner

If mud is his planned game and he trades up, a full sized is not a must have as higher weight is not a asset in mud. You kinda want to be as light as possible.  

yeah definitely dont NEED a full size, I've seen some Geo trackers out in the mud havin fun. All I'm saying is he might have more fun with a more capable platform because of the extra power of a full sizer and wont get stuck as much.  
it pays to be a winner

12ozcurls:
yeah definitely dont NEED a full size, I've seen some Geo trackers out in the mud havin fun. All I'm saying is he might have more fun with a more capable platform because of the extra power of a full sizer and wont get stuck as much.

The problem with a full size though is that when you do get stuck and bury it it is a LOT harder to get it out.  It is a lot easier to extract a 2500 to 3500 lb vehicle from the mud than a 5000 to 6000 lbs one. Sometimes that extra HP just gets you stuck worse too because you have to know when to get out of it when it is not going to make it before you bury it even worse. When I get stuck, I stop and get out right away rather than digging it in further.  

I have to agree. Smaller lighter vehicles tend to work 'better' in the mud, at least that I have seen. They just seem to scoot right along the top of it and not take three trucks to tug out when they get stuck.

So, for the first Mod, I would say a good set of Mud Tires. But then again, do you plan on lifting it soon? Or just staying stock hight? Or... because you don't want to waste money on tires that will be too small. If you are just going to do a mild lift then I would wait, save your money, and buy the lift tires and gears at the same time. That is just me though.  
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Long Travel 4 Wheel Drive - The Best of Both Worlds!

Questions? Comments? Concerns? PM Me!

I think it depends on the mud, really. If you're in a bottomless mire of swamp muck, you're better off with a really light rig that can float across the top. You'll still need enough power to spin the tires fast enough to clear the lugs, but light is better.
If there's a bottom, then the high power full sizes on enormously tall skinny tractor tires seems to be the way to go.  

Well I'm not saying he needs to get a GIGANTOR 3500 with a 454 in it. All im trying to say is that for his rig, options are limited. There are only one or two things he can do to it, and thats it. The only lift available for it is a meager 2 inch lift that will barely fit 32's. Where as if he were to get a K1500 regular cab short bed, the sky's almost the limit in terms of engine mods, suspension mods, not to mention that it has a wider more stable track and for those of you who say lighter is better, the regular cab K1500 actually weighs about 200lbs less than a comparable year 4dr S10 blazer and weighs almost exactly the same as a 2dr S10 blazer give or take 20lbs. I'm simply talking about platforms on which he can add and modify for years to come. I think his money would be better spent on a different platform. Plus the thing is just god awful ugly....  
it pays to be a winner

I have seen people do some real wild things with Jeep Cherokees (84 to 01). They are pretty tough little critters.  

The wrangler is a better choice from the Jeep lineup. The Cherokee is a unibody. It's known to have a huge problem with body flex. Those used for hard wheeling (we know your idea of hard wheeling is a gravel driveway, so this might be news to you...) have problems even opening the doors. Hard core use pretty much requires an exo cage to stiffen them. They're heavier than the wrangler. There's not enough room in them to swap in a bigger engine without major cutting, and if you do manage to shoehorn in a bigger motor, you've just made the body flex problem worse.  

Garret, besides a quality mud tire, the one thing you really, really want for any serious mudding is plenty of horsepower---there's really no substitute for it in mud, in my opinion---and that's why fullsize rigs are such popular mud machines. And yes, their heavier weight is a drawback, but you can't beat fullsize V-8 power for mudding, plus the fullsize rigs come with stouter gearboxes and axles to boot.

So, for your intended use I'm not sure either a Wrangler or a Cherokee XJ are viable alternatives to the S-Blazer unless you want to enter into the realm of engine swaps. A fullsize Blazer with a V-8 would probably be a better bet, but if you want to keep your current truck, you could swap in a '95-or-newer Vortec (code L35) 4.3L V-6 (assuming your Blazer has the lower-powered LB4 engine, or heaven forbid, the 2.2L four-cylinder) or 350 TBI V-8. Both are direct bolt-ups to the 4L60 automatic (assuming, again, you have the juicebox---see how much information we really need before we can help?) though there are differences in exhaust manifold design between the two Sixes, and a V-8 swap will require relocating (at least) the radiator, fan, and transmission/transfer case due to the slightly longer length of the V-8. I believe the 4.3 and 350 engines of that vintage both used the same ECU, so you shouldn't have to plumb in all new electronics, though some mods or replacements may need to be made to some of your existing smog equipment.

Under normal use, your tranny, t-case and axles should hold up fine to the increased power . . . but if you want to install heavier, more aggressive tires, and you like to lean on the throttle to "git 'er done" in the mud, well, then, all sorts of your stock driveline components become potential candidates for breakage, including but not limited to the ring gear, hubs and bearings, CV-joints, axle shafts, etc., all of which may eventually need to be replaced. You may also have overheating problems if you don't upgrade your cooling system, especially if you swap in a V-8. Remember when I asked "How big is your wallet?"

Okay, if I haven't scared you off by now, a source for information about this swap(s) is a company in Livermore, CA called JTR Conversions, which specalizes in Jaguars but which also has a wealth of info about S-Blazer engine swaps (go figure), as well as parts such as motor mounts you'd need to attempt the swap.

On the other hand, if you don't want to spend a lot of time and money on an engine and driveline swap, and you're not ready or able to trade up to a fullsize at this time, maybe just get yourself a good set of mud-terrains (BFGoodrich, Goodyear and Toyo all make decent treads that also have acceptable road manners if your rig's a daily driver), some kind of rear locker or limited-slip, a winch/bumper and plenty of recovery gear, and enjoy muddin' in your current truck.

*** For what it's worth, there are a couple of suspension alternatives for your truck besides a 2-inch body lift. Superlift has a 6-inch lift kit, and Trailmaster has a 4-inch kit. Or at least they used to have 'em , last time I looked in their catalogs.