I’m getting ready to armor up my rubi axles and I’m stuck between which truss brand to go with, Artec or evo. Both of them use a bend over design which eliminates that long weld on the top piece and saves a lot of time and makes them stronger. And I can’t weld worth shit so I’ll be paying a shop to do it, so saving time saves me money. So the main difference between the two is that the ego one has this brindle that connects the two sides of the pumpkin, and make it so the trusses don’t need to be welded to the cast steel, which again saves time and therefore money. So my main concern is “is that reliable?” Or am I just better off spending the extra and getting Artec welded to the diff? Both kits would include gussets and LCA skids and raised track bar bracket

I plan on running 37s eventually and while my Jeep is mostly a DD, I do like to push the limits of the suspension

 

Don't waste your money, if you are really concernded get an aftermarket housing and swap everything over. Make sure to get a 68"+ WMS housing and it will require you to get new longer inner shafts.

 

I appreciate the input, but that’s not the route I wanna take since my jeep is mostly a daily driver, weekend warrior. I know the rubi axles have some week points but they get the job done as much as I need them to. I just want to have some extra piece of mind that I want break anything out on the trails, but it’s not like I’m going through Moab or KOH every weekend

 

I was in a similar situation at one point with a built rubi axle. I was replacing LCA and shock brackets with 1/4" so I had to pull the axle, at which time I decided to throw a truss on ONLY because it was small additional money for parts and I was not paying someone any significant amount of money for install. If labor for install was going to cost much I would not have done it at all as I never felt I needed one for slow technical crawlin with a similar setup as you mention. If you're not in for the route TheDirtman suggests, I'd just throw on gussets and a 1/4" TB bracket and then re-purpose the additional funds you were going to spend on other upgrades like good ball joints, good TR or hydro steering which will be a lot more useful to you than a truss. Lot of folks with trusses have a false sense of security and have cracked welds at the diff even when they think it was done properly.

 

I figured you would reject my advise like most people that don't know what they are doing. The question is if it is a daily driver and weekend warrior, why are you running 37's. A jeep with 35's, lockers, proper gearing and someone behind the wheel that knows how to drive will run most trails out there without issue. Slapping one of these so called "trusses" on your axle is not going to keep you from breaking on the trail with 37's. Running 37's on a dana 44 has the weak link in the axle shafts, then the ring and pinion. They are fine until they are not. Scrub radius is somethong to look at along with steering clearance. Life of ball joints and unit bearings are greatly shortend by running 37's on the factory width axels as well. Not sure what you mean by "pushing the limits" of the suspension? Most bolt on suspensions do almost nothing for the jeep in terms of off road. BTW you can run around Moab all week long on 35's with little to no issue. Rubicon too.
Good luck with your build.

 

so right now I have a MC 4.5 long arm kit, which comes with a drag link flip kit and of course raised track bar brackets, although they’re bolt on. And as part of this axle build I’m putting in a PSC big bore steering box. I considered hydro assist but couldn’t justify the cost for the ratio I off-road, and the PSC claims to handle 37s great with many reviews backing that up. I also replace the ball joints with teraflex heavy duty ones a few months ago, we’ll see how those last. And I’ll be upgrading the axle shafts as well, RCV in the front and revolution in the rear. Which I realize now makes the ring and pinion the weak link

 

I drive roughly 11 miles round trip to work everyday, which is why I don’t mind having 37s on a daily. I’ll also likely buy a second vehicle in the next couple years as well, once this used car price gauging BS is over. I’m upgrading the shafts at the same time, and realize that makes the weak link the ring and pinion. So other than replacing the axle housing, what would you recommend, oh wise one?

 

Have you regeared that rubi axle already? If not, you really should consider the money you're planning to put into it + the funds you'd receive by selling it and compare that to the cost of an aftermarket axle. A lot of times it makes more sense than originally thought. In a thread somewhere long ago I added up what it cost me to build a rubi axle without having to pay someone to do it for me and it really wouldn't have been that much more (relative to the monumental improvement) to buy aftermarket. I moved on from that axle couple years ago and can say that having gussets and a truss is no substitute for having 1/2" tubes and C's you're not worried about bending.

 

I have not regeared it yet as I’m pretty happy with the 4.10s for now because of the better mileage when DD. Like I said I know it’ll be the weak link in everything so it has been being considered to go to 4.56 or 4.88. I know a lot of people also say the rubi locker is weak too, did you end up changing yours or did you swap it into your better housing?

 

I would advise dropping down to 2.5" coils and staying on 35's, keep the plan for the PSC big bore box but make sure you get the ported one so you can add the rest later. Or the Fusion 4x4 hybrid 44/60 that comes with a dana 60 center section, RCV shafts, and uses the JK outers so you don't have to buy new wheels plus you get the extra width needed for 37's. You can always get a rear semi float 60, which you will likely want at some point because the 37's are going to be harder on the rear 44 than the front. Snapped shafts, bent flanges, broken R&P are all common on 37's if you push things at all.

Other than adding C gussets (your axle is likely already out of camber spec), I would not sink any money into building a factory front axle. Save the money and put it towards bigger strong parts if that is the way your build and trails is taking you.

If bigger than 37's in tires size I would recommend at least a full float dana 60 front and add your choice of a 60,70,80 10.5 or 14 bolt in the rear with an ARB.

I run a 60 front 80 rear on 3" of lift and 40's ARB front and rear. I ran rubicon axles for a bit with 37's, 5" of lift, and 5.13 gears. Never broke more stuff on that set up. I went right to 60's from there and added the 80 later.

It all depends on the build and how you are going to use it. Most jeepers cant drive and overbuild and put on big tires for show and go cheap, they end up learning in the long run that it cost you more to build cheap.