I would wheel open for a while. As many said, there are many (not me) that wheel open and are a force to be reckoned with.
If money is an issue, save it. Wheel, learn about all the stuff talked about here. Then when you have the scratch, do your build. There are better places in my opinion to spend money like bumpers, winch, armor, lift, tires, etc....
Lesson Learned: I really whish I had installed a pan skid before doing other stuff first...