Build Thread The Lobster, DaneJa's overlanding build

[Tenac]

They determined that they couldn't develop a solution to bolt on the OEM axels that would meet their standards. They collaborated with Currie Enterprises to make a Dana 44/60 hybrid axle for Jeeps and some version of that is likely what will go into the Grenadier package with braketry to match OEM mounting so it'll be bolt-on. Quinn posted a video about a year ago when gauging interest in a Grenadier package, but nothing has come out since.

Wow thank for the details I missed that one completely. Saying he needs some commitment, does anyone have a actual $$$ in mind here?

 

[DaneJa]

Wow thank for the details I missed that one completely. Saying he needs some commitment, does anyone have a actual $$$ in mind here?

About $35k in parts

 

[LRNAD90]

About $35k in parts

And my wife thinks I spend too much money on 'the cars'..

 

[TCMColorado]

I will argue that if the technical capability of portal axles is needed then the Grenadier is not the correct tool for the job. A JL Wrangler on 37" - 40" tires is much more appropriate for rocky technical terrain with no need for a portal conversion only a moderate lift. At some point you are building a rock buggy. Not to disparage rock buggies, they are awesome, but it is not within the envelope of the Grenadier's design brief. Nor is the gearing of the Grenadier appropriate for the most technical terrain. The Greandier crawl ratio is 53.81:1. A JL Wrangler's crawl ratio is 77.24:1 with the OEM auto transmission and 4.10 axle gearing and can easily be increased to over 90:1 with a change to 4.88 gears. With the OEM manual transmission and 4.88 gears the crawl ratio is 100.14:1. The issue is that the Grenadier has only 2.5:1 reduction in the transfercase while the Wrangler is 4:1. Yes you could gear portals to acheive a lower crawl ratio in the Grenadier but that would impact on road driving as this lower gearing would apply when in both high range and low range.

 

[Tenac]

I will argue that if the technical capability of portal axles is needed then the Grenadier is not the correct tool for the job. A JL Wrangler on 37" - 40" tires is much more appropriate for rocky technical terrain with no need for a portal conversion only a moderate lift. At some point you are building a rock buggy. Not to disparage rock buggies, they are awesome, but it is not within the envelope of the Grenadier's design brief. Nor is the gearing of the Grenadier appropriate for the most technical terrain. The Greandier crawl ratio is 53.81:1. A JL Wrangler's crawl ratio is 77.24:1 with the OEM auto transmission and 4.10 axle gearing and can easily be increased to over 90:1 with a change to 4.88 gears. With the OEM manual transmission and 4.88 gears the crawl ratio is 100.14:1. The issue is that the Grenadier has only 2.5:1 reduction in the transfercase while the Wrangler is 4:1. Yes you could gear portals to acheive a lower crawl ratio in the Grenadier but that would impact on road driving as this lower gearing would apply when in both high range and low range.

But they also make the truck look cool as hell....

 

[TCMColorado]

But they also make the truck look cool as hell....

Cannot argue with that. The LeTech Grenadier with portals looks fantastic.

 

[ryanjl]

I will argue that if the technical capability of portal axles is needed then the Grenadier is not the correct tool for the job. A JL Wrangler on 37" - 40" tires is much more appropriate for rocky technical terrain with no need for a portal conversion only a moderate lift. At some point you are building a rock buggy. Not to disparage rock buggies, they are awesome, but it is not within the envelope of the Grenadier's design brief. Nor is the gearing of the Grenadier appropriate for the most technical terrain. The Greandier crawl ratio is 53.81:1. A JL Wrangler's crawl ratio is 77.24:1 with the OEM auto transmission and 4.10 axle gearing and can easily be increased to over 90:1 with a change to 4.88 gears. With the OEM manual transmission and 4.88 gears the crawl ratio is 100.14:1. The issue is that the Grenadier has only 2.5:1 reduction in the transfercase while the Wrangler is 4:1. Yes you could gear portals to acheive a lower crawl ratio in the Grenadier but that would impact on road driving as this lower gearing would apply when in both high range and low range.

Makes sense to me.

But then again, someone pushing the envelope of what's possible and shooting for the moon is what gets the rest of us plebes tang, velcro, and Speedmasters with cool casebacks.

So, I say go for it!

 

[TCMColorado]

Makes sense to me.

But then again, someone pushing the envelope of what's possible is what gets the rest of us plebes tang, velcro, and Speedmasters with cool casebacks.

So, I say go for it!

Amen for the Speedmasters!!

 

[ADVAW8S]

I will argue that if the technical capability of portal axles is needed then the Grenadier is not the correct tool for the job. A JL Wrangler on 37" - 40" tires is much more appropriate for rocky technical terrain with no need for a portal conversion only a moderate lift. At some point you are building a rock buggy. Not to disparage rock buggies, they are awesome, but it is not within the envelope of the Grenadier's design brief. Nor is the gearing of the Grenadier appropriate for the most technical terrain. The Greandier crawl ratio is 53.81:1. A JL Wrangler's crawl ratio is 77.24:1 with the OEM auto transmission and 4.10 axle gearing and can easily be increased to over 90:1 with a change to 4.88 gears. With the OEM manual transmission and 4.88 gears the crawl ratio is 100.14:1. The issue is that the Grenadier has only 2.5:1 reduction in the transfercase while the Wrangler is 4:1. Yes you could gear portals to acheive a lower crawl ratio in the Grenadier but that would impact on road driving as this lower gearing would apply when in both high range and low range.

I don't know if you saw but Agile has new gearing. Grenadier Gearing:
Ratios: Available in 4.56:1 (for oversized tires, restoring factory feel) or 4.88:1 (maximum torque for larger tires).
Required Components: A Gear Ratio Correction Module Kit is required to maintain proper engine/transmission operation.
Components: Manufactured by HTV Gears for high-stress durability.
Purpose: Addresses the sluggish acceleration and lost torque associated with upgrading tire size on the stock 4.10 geared drivetrain.
Protection: Complements the gears with upgraded front or rear differential covers to protect from damage.
Agile Offroad
Agile Offroad
+4
These gear sets are part of a broader range of Agile Offroad performance products for the Grenadier, including suspension and armor.

 

[TCMColorado]

I don't know if you saw but Agile has new gearing. Grenadier Gearing:
Ratios: Available in 4.56:1 (for oversized tires, restoring factory feel) or 4.88:1 (maximum torque for larger tires).
Required Components: A Gear Ratio Correction Module Kit is required to maintain proper engine/transmission operation.
Components: Manufactured by HTV Gears for high-stress durability.
Purpose: Addresses the sluggish acceleration and lost torque associated with upgrading tire size on the stock 4.10 geared drivetrain.
Protection: Complements the gears with upgraded front or rear differential covers to protect from damage.
Agile Offroad
Agile Offroad
+4
These gear sets are part of a broader range of Agile Offroad performance products for the Grenadier, including suspension and armor.

Yep Agile sells the only regear kits I am aware of for the Grenadier. The 4.56 gears increase the crawl ratio to 59.85:1 and the 4.88 gears increase it to 64.05:1. Personally I would like to have the 4.56 gears installed simply because I am running the larger Mickey Thompson Baja Boss tires in 255/85R17.

 

[MileHigh]

What is the top speed then? 80mph?

Not my path, but I’m glad that there are people like Dane that will do this. I might just hang out by his garage and build a spare Grenny from all the parts he throws out…

Ok, OK. I’m stuck with a low garage. There. I admitted it.

 

[ryanjl]

Not to hijack this thread, but Couch Offroad (aka Dirtbox Overland) looks like they just announced portals that use the Ineos axles.


View: https://youtu.be/cqvhHYmg1ks?si=bV2BumUwTqL9dyFn

 

[TCMColorado]

Not to hijack this thread, but Couch Offroad (aka Dirtbox Overland) looks like they just announced portals that use the Ineos axles.


View: https://youtu.be/cqvhHYmg1ks?si=bV2BumUwTqL9dyFn

Bravo Dirt Box. These portals appear to be very well thought out. The first thing that comes to mind is a need for high offset wheels to keep the tires in the wheel arches. But that will get you only part way so ideally there would be new high coverage fender flares to finish the job. Scrub radius is also a real variable but hopefully that was considered as part of the design. And caster too, these are likely designed to increase caster to 4 degrees or more. I still argue that portals are a bridge too far for the Grenadier but if you want to run 37” tires it is the only way to do so without compromising the suspension and drive shafts.

 

[TCMColorado]

And let’s let DaJane get back to the regularly scheduled programming for his great build. Any additional discussion of the Dirt Box portals can be done in a new thread.

 

[DaneJa]

I will argue that if the technical capability of portal axles is needed then the Grenadier is not the correct tool for the job. A JL Wrangler on 37" - 40" tires is much more appropriate for rocky technical terrain with no need for a portal conversion only a moderate lift. At some point you are building a rock buggy. Not to disparage rock buggies, they are awesome, but it is not within the envelope of the Grenadier's design brief. Nor is the gearing of the Grenadier appropriate for the most technical terrain. The Greandier crawl ratio is 53.81:1. A JL Wrangler's crawl ratio is 77.24:1 with the OEM auto transmission and 4.10 axle gearing and can easily be increased to over 90:1 with a change to 4.88 gears. With the OEM manual transmission and 4.88 gears the crawl ratio is 100.14:1. The issue is that the Grenadier has only 2.5:1 reduction in the transfercase while the Wrangler is 4:1. Yes you could gear portals to acheive a lower crawl ratio in the Grenadier but that would impact on road driving as this lower gearing would apply when in both high range and low range.

If gearing is an issue, then it's changeable with readily available parts for the Dana 44. The portals will add a 22% reduction. One can always argue there's a better tool for the job until you get to either an RV or a rock bouncer. Yeah I could get a Jeep, but then I'd have to drive a Jeep. I like my truck and can expand its capabilities to include the profile of things I want to do with it, so that's what I'm going to do.

 

[TCMColorado]

If gearing is an issue, then it's changeable with readily available parts for the Dana 44. The portals will add a 22% reduction. One can always argue there's a better tool for the job until you get to either an RV or a rock bouncer. Yeah I could get a Jeep, but then I'd have to drive a Jeep. I like my truck and can expand its capabilities to include the profile of things I want to do with it, so that's what I'm going to do.

Totally understand. With a 22% reduction I assume you will be using 37” tires or larger.

 

[DaneJa]

Bravo Dirt Box. These portals appear to be very well thought out. The first thing that comes to mind is a need for high offset wheels to keep the tires in the wheel arches. But that will get you only part way so ideally there would be new high coverage fender flares to finish the job. Scrub radius is also a real variable but hopefully that was considered as part of the design. And caster too, these are likely designed to increase caster to 4 degrees or more. I still argue that portals are a bridge too far for the Grenadier but if you want to run 37” tires it is the only way to do so without compromising the suspension and drive shafts.

I talked to Jay a bit about his portals at the Colorado Grenadier Owner Club first meeting. That option is certainly on the table (along with a different front drive shaft), but I like the idea of swapping the axles to a more common platform.

 

[DaneJa]

Totally understand. With a 22% reduction I assume you will be using 37” tires or larger.

If they fit without much cutting, else maybe later and I'll stick with 35s.

 

[TCMColorado]

If gearing is an issue, then it's changeable with readily available parts for the Dana 44. The portals will add a 22% reduction. One can always argue there's a better tool for the job until you get to either an RV or a rock bouncer. Yeah I could get a Jeep, but then I'd have to drive a Jeep. I like my truck and can expand its capabilities to include the profile of things I want to do with it, so that's what I'm going to do.

Regarding Jeeps, I have had a number of them and still own one now, but there is a reason I bought a Grenadier. There comes a point you no longer want to be a Jeep Bro ....