All of the following questions have probably been answered in other threads, but my search skills are lacking and I couldn't find anywhere my specific situation was addressed. Also let me know if this is better suited for the "How To" or "Resources" forums.
We are ready to do some upgrades to our trail rig to increase crawling capabilities. My original plan was to run what I have until I broke an axle or something else that forced me to dive into the gears and axles, but try as I might they have held together and I figure my luck is running out. Problem is I don’t have unlimited $$ so looking for a little advice on the options I am looking at and order of importance for our use.
Our Jeep is a dedicated trail rig that we trailer to destinations - only road use is short stints between trails etc. We mainly do rock crawling/obstacles (not a fan of mud/water/sand) and as we have gained experience we have really started pushing the Jeep (and our abilities) on harder trails/obstacles. Have worked up to Jeep Jamboree trail Ratings of 7 and up, going as hard as the trail guides will let me or tell me I have a chance to make it. We do 5-7 Jeep Jamborees a year plus other off-road parks and are headed to Moab spring break next year.
Rig - 2004 LJ (Not Rubicon), 42RLE Auto Trans, 4" suspension lift, stock axles D30F D44R with 3.73 ratio, Truetrac's front and rear, currently running 33" tires but will go to 35"s when current tires wear out.
Upgrades we are considering:
Axles & Re-Gear - The goal is purely trail capabilities - don’t care about RPM's/power for 65 MPH on the highway. We love the Auto Trans for crawling (we started in a JK 6 spd manual) but I really miss the control of 4WLo crawl speed (up & down slopes) we had with the stick. The most recommended upgrade is chromoly shafts and re-gear to 4.88 or 5.13. Another option is a Rubicrawler but have seen mixed info on how well it works on a non-Rubicon setup? Based on the above could I get away with the Rubicrawler as opposed to re-gear, and would it save me any $?
Lockers - Currently have Truetrac's F&R and they have served us well with only a few times/obstacles where I felt true lockers would have made things easier or allowed us to make an obstacle. But I do know that the harder we push it the more true lockers will be required. Several Questions:
If I can only afford true lockers on 1 axle do I go Front or Rear?
Since it is a pure trail rig can I get away with Automatic lockers (lunchbox, Aussie, etc.) - if so in both axles or just F or R?
Do selectable lockers provide a performance/capability upgrade, over automatics, that are worth the extra $$?
Does it make any sense to mix an Auto in 1 axle selectable in the other and if so, would it save me enough $$ to make a difference?
Are there any other "affordable" alternatives that could achieve both upgrades - like swapping out the stock axles with used Rubicon axles? Any other options?
I know that is a lot of words to wade through, but any info/advice would be greatly appreciated!
We are ready to do some upgrades to our trail rig to increase crawling capabilities. My original plan was to run what I have until I broke an axle or something else that forced me to dive into the gears and axles, but try as I might they have held together and I figure my luck is running out. Problem is I don’t have unlimited $$ so looking for a little advice on the options I am looking at and order of importance for our use.
Our Jeep is a dedicated trail rig that we trailer to destinations - only road use is short stints between trails etc. We mainly do rock crawling/obstacles (not a fan of mud/water/sand) and as we have gained experience we have really started pushing the Jeep (and our abilities) on harder trails/obstacles. Have worked up to Jeep Jamboree trail Ratings of 7 and up, going as hard as the trail guides will let me or tell me I have a chance to make it. We do 5-7 Jeep Jamborees a year plus other off-road parks and are headed to Moab spring break next year.
Rig - 2004 LJ (Not Rubicon), 42RLE Auto Trans, 4" suspension lift, stock axles D30F D44R with 3.73 ratio, Truetrac's front and rear, currently running 33" tires but will go to 35"s when current tires wear out.
Upgrades we are considering:
Axles & Re-Gear - The goal is purely trail capabilities - don’t care about RPM's/power for 65 MPH on the highway. We love the Auto Trans for crawling (we started in a JK 6 spd manual) but I really miss the control of 4WLo crawl speed (up & down slopes) we had with the stick. The most recommended upgrade is chromoly shafts and re-gear to 4.88 or 5.13. Another option is a Rubicrawler but have seen mixed info on how well it works on a non-Rubicon setup? Based on the above could I get away with the Rubicrawler as opposed to re-gear, and would it save me any $?
Lockers - Currently have Truetrac's F&R and they have served us well with only a few times/obstacles where I felt true lockers would have made things easier or allowed us to make an obstacle. But I do know that the harder we push it the more true lockers will be required. Several Questions:
If I can only afford true lockers on 1 axle do I go Front or Rear?
Since it is a pure trail rig can I get away with Automatic lockers (lunchbox, Aussie, etc.) - if so in both axles or just F or R?
Do selectable lockers provide a performance/capability upgrade, over automatics, that are worth the extra $$?
Does it make any sense to mix an Auto in 1 axle selectable in the other and if so, would it save me enough $$ to make a difference?
Are there any other "affordable" alternatives that could achieve both upgrades - like swapping out the stock axles with used Rubicon axles? Any other options?
I know that is a lot of words to wade through, but any info/advice would be greatly appreciated!