There are a variety of Rockwell Axle Jeeps in the world. The advantages of Jeeps and other short-wheeled platforms that use 2.5-ton Rockwell differentials are the short wheelbase and restricted turning radius of the large axles on military platforms. Outperformed effectively on larger four-wheel steer rigs, smaller rides can use a steer axle. By outfitting your rig, this makes things a lot more reasonable.
The biggest hurdle with top-loading military axles and short wheelbases is similar to problems on other trucks. You need an additional 7 inches of clearance over conventional front loader axles. Of course, the best answer to this is to relocate the front axle to the front and the rear axle to the rear, which is easily done with the body lines of most Jeeps.
My next Jeep Rockwell build would be a YJ based rig. I would use YJ Springs up front, with a long bent spring (from the rear pack) and build a custom front stinger that incorporated pushing the front axle forward 6 to 8 inches, allowing the motor to sit behind the top of the axis. end. I would run XJ springs at the rear, to push the axle back with additional axle wrap control, or connect 4 links at the rear, depending on finances. I would run 39 to 42 inch Iroks with dual centered Hummer locks for the rock wells.
Additional additions you would think of to keep costs low would certainly take advantage of the toughness of these shafts. I’d weld the spiders (for budget) and then run a split manual brake system with pinion brakes, with a dual-lever transfer case to independently brake the front or rear axles for front or rear digging. To run 39-inch tires and rock pits, I would shave off the bottom end and add a custom slide tray available from various vendors, or custom made on us.
I have come across many jeep rides with Rockwells and for good reason. They frequent the Top Truck Challenge and other situations where money is taken into account and you can live on a few hundred pounds more. This is generally fine on most genres of wheels, except for specialized areas of rock crawling or desert racing.
In general, military trucks are an excellent setup to base custom wheeled rigs, especially short wheelbase rigs. Given some of the challenges associated with the top loader style, you’ll need to go for a custom suspension that would require some fabrication beyond a standard lift kit.