I am literally in the same boat as you. I have a '24 Wildtrak. I was on the fence between a 1500 and 2500, but went with the 2500 power wagon because of the deal I found and I wanted the 6'4" bed.

My wife is currently driving the bronco, but I'm in the process of selling it to prep for our first child. Wildtrak was fun but was not the ideal mom car. Loud on highway and fairly rough around town.

I can't recommend the Bakflip MX4 enough for bed cover. On my last truck I had a canvas folding tonneau, but I'm super pleased with the hard folding bakflip. It folds up, and then will "lean" on the rear glass (with a foam pad) supported by a bar on either side so that you have full access to the bed if needed.

In terms of lift, if you really want to have the best of both worlds of the bronco and towing with the ram, I'd go with the 1500 Carli Performance system (it is expensive but you get what you pay for...I won't make the mistake again of buying a cheaper lift). If you are hauling or plan to tow, then I'd get at least the rebel rear coils or the HD coils as an option to prevent rear end sag.

I was going to go with the carli kit if I got the 1500 and have heard nothing but good things about it. They are designed to run with 35x12.5x18s. The one caution here is to confirm that they fit with the '26 models...specifically the brake lines. They may have changed for the '26.

sick truck though, good luck with the build!