stickshifter said:
Curious: how does it make it easier to avoid rocks? Seems like you gotta avoid the rock with your diff whether it’s in the center or off to one side.
Let's say you're approaching a rock that could hit your diff but not the axle housing. It's 2 feet wide and the long half of the axle is 2.5 feet wide. If front and rear are offset to the same side, you have more room to fully go over the rock with no contact at all, where are if it was in the center, you might have 1.5 feet or so on either side for the rear and 2.5 feet in the front.. if it's like a rover with both diffs toward the passenger side(in a LHD vehicle), then you just semi-hug the left side of the rock as you approach it with your driver side. as long as your tire doesn't go over it, you'll clear the obstacle.
Otherwise, if a solid axle vehicle has a center rear diff and an offset front diff (center not being possible, then you have to always account for the shortness of the rear axle halves. for an independent front and solid rear axle vehicle, you really only have to worry about the rear diff. or if it's independent front and rear, you can just drive with the center of the vehicle over the vehicle, as the center has the most ground clearance.
I'm not sure if I explained that clearly enough, but it just give you extra room on one side to keep the diff out of harms reach a little easier.