LOL, apparently I should have, you are not the first to suggest that:ylsmoke:
My train of thought:
1)I have had much better luck in the past keeping u bolts tight and torqued with round u bolts rather than square, especially with long travel thick leaf packs. I have had even worse luck trying to keep high clearance folded plate style lower spring plates, and neither style would have worked effectively on the front end.
2)Springs are pretty far outboard, allowing the tire to help carry it over obstacles
3)This isn't a "hardcore" rockcrawler, ease of maintenance and simplicity were placed high on the priority list.
4)Hardcore rockcrawlers don't need them either...they don't use leaf springs.
Honestly, if i was building more of a rockcrawler or high performance bias, I would have insisted on linking up the rear.
Long travel leafs are just the ultimate K.I.S.S. set up for a rig like this. Leafs like this rarely outright fail, will do a good job of handling varying loads, can be repaired in an open roadside stall in the middle of Baja, etc, while still providing a decent amount of travel and axle control on a reasonable budget. The downside, of course, is clearance...
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