Go with a lift of some sort, as you know no doubt, a small one will make a big diff off road, and although I don't have any experience with the r51's, I have seen em and they seem nice and stout, nothing a 2" lift would hinder...
I say go with the calmini 5" suspension lift.....but thats just me!
I practically DD my 91 (i know, they are different) on 3" BL 3" SL and 33's, and with your experience with vehicles, I think you can handle it
That lift looks like a pretty simple option if your not looking for anything extreme, and it would def be an improvement over stock (says you can fit 32.8x11.5) for i'm assuming not a huge price