CommaComanche Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Has anyone seen this done? I really want to do it to mine. I am trying to research how people achieve 4 wheel steering but have yet to find a build write up on one. Right now my comanche is basically a frame with a cab. I can turn it into whatever I want at this point. Just wondering if this has been done before to help along in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Why? Even if you can that doesn't mean that you should. Rockwells are very heavy. So heavy, in fact, that the added unsprung weight would probably rip the unibody and maybe even the folded sheet metal rear frame to pieces especially by the time that you hung tires/wheels on it big enough to warrant Rockwells. 4-wheel steering has largely been dismissed as a yee-haw gimmick. Few use it and fewer still use it correctly. With the low weight of an MJ you can get by with even a good 44/60combo for most anything that you would want to do with one unless what you want is to be the king of the trailer park with a bunch "gee whiz Earl" gimmicks on a truck that you can't do anything with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave92cherokee Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 4 wheel steering has it's place which is on top end purpose built buggys. Cherokee's and comanche's have no need for 4 wheel steering as most places that people wheel can be done without it. Just put 60/60 or 60/14B in it with an exo cage and you will be able to pivot around anything better than 4 wheel steering would get you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Even "top end" buggies are going away from it. But to each his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timeless Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 If you're asking questions like these, a 4 wheel steer truggy on rockwells is way beyond what you should be building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommaComanche Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 If you're asking questions like these, a 4 wheel steer truggy on rockwells is way beyond what you should be building. I disagree entirely. Asking questions is how I get information about every project I am about to do. Every project is a learning project. Honestly the reason I want to do it is not because I can. It is because I want to see IF I can. That is my main draw to working on vehicles. When it is all done if it performs awesome on the trail, thats cool. If it performs like complete crap and gives me nothing but problems that is fine too. I am not out to build the best anything. I am out to challenge myself for the fun of it. I wouldn't mind finding a way to put rockwells on a Mazda Miata. Just to see if I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 How much money doo you want to spend? You need hydraulics, a controller that will auto center and switch from manual control to column control, rams, custom built front axle converted to centered differential, new ball joints, steering joints, gears and associated parts,, custom rear suspension, and some sort of mechanical lockout to hold the knuckles centered in the event of breakage. And then to remember that 4 wheel steer vehicles that are not produced that way are NOT street legal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellaheep Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I played with Rockwells briefly...... never got it on the trail. Costs were stupid expensive to get the thing put together with all the 4-wheel steer hydraulics, heavy parts, etc. And to be perfectly honest..... I took a step back and quickly realized it was simply too big for Colorado trails. The thing about going to an axle and tire/wheel combo that large is that everything attached to it needs to be sturdy enough to handle the mass and centrifugal forces they produce. This Blazer had doubled 205/203 T-cases, monster drive shafts and the largest heim joints available for the links. This Blazer has a boxed steel frame to build off of. A Comanche is going to need the entire unibody rail system plated, boxed and reinforced to be able to handle these axles. Hell, the axles and tires/wheels would likely out-weigh the entire Comanche...... Could you put Rockwells under a Comanche? Sure. But there would be very little Comanche left in order to build the structure needed to support them...... I had this MJ "Truggy" for a couple years. The new owner currently has a 14 bolt / 60 combo under it now. Those are almost too big......... But as you can see, lots of reinforcement is needed to sustain this kind of build and abuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommaComanche Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 That is all the type of info I was looking for. Really appreciate the response. And, I think that manche just became my favorite so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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