You sound like an engineer....
Since you want to keep your rear axle, toss a truss on the 35 and call it good, the housing is real weak and even heavy loads will bend it. Between a truss and the upgraded axles and ARB it should be pretty reliable.
...Unloaded i'm right around 4800lbs. And the lift and bigger tires does not make it more tippy, this thing sticks to where ever you point it.
.... If I were to do it again, I would keep it low and build more of a traditional expo rig but i'm working with what I have.
HI coco,
I'm only going to comment on a couple of your points. First, I am an engineer. I didn't think it was so obvious. It must be my bad spelling!! Engineers are famous for their bad spelling.
Your statement about the vehicle not getting tippy in a crawer build if it is used in an expedition application is wrong. It most definitely does get tippy if you have a loaded top rack, high lift, and big tires. This is very unstable in off camber situations unless you keep the rig low. That is one reason why rock crawlers and expedition builds have such different needs. Crawlers don't make good expedition vehicles and expedition vehicles do not make good crawlers. Very different animals. Very different needs. It's all about trade-offs.
You will be glad to hear that I decided to install a truss. I did some research and called a few manufacturers and this is what I learned.
I have the best of the D35 versions. I have a non-C clip differential. I knew that but I did not realize why it was the preferred D35. That's good. The axle bearing each have a load rating of 2200 lbs. for a total load capability of 4400 lbs. My max total rear axle load is 2820 lbs. That gives me a total head room of 1580 lbs. That's significant and sufficient for reliable performance. Spyder issues are taken care of with my ARB. The ring and pinion are plenty strong for my application. My upgraded axles removes the axles as a concern. The one remaining issue is the case and tubes.
Superior suggested (are you listening, coco) that I get an axle truss which will solve the case and tube flex problem. The engineer at Superior calculated that my existing D35 with a good truss will be fine for my use.
I bought Superiors axle truss. It should be here by Friday.
Since anybody can say anything, I need a reason to trust any given individuals view. In this case, I called Superior checking into their Super 35 axle. As you know, that's a pretty expensive option with its included ARB locker. So, Superior would have made much more money if they had said "Your D35 is trash and you must replace it with our super good Super 35". I would have listened. But that's not the direction the conversation went. Instead, he led me away from the reason I called and justified the truss as a good, reliable choice. I was impressed with his technical knowledge and his overall appreciation of my vehicle needs.
He made his point, made a sale, and captured a possible future customer.
So, coco, your suggstion has been taken but I did this before I read your post. You simply confirmed my decision. Thanks.
Don't forget that Warhead moved my pictures into this thread. Check them out.
If this decision closes this thread, I want to thank everyone for their concerned comments and knowledge. This is why forums can be great.
Sparky
