dieselmonkey

Cherokees are always solid axle Dana 30. No SAS required. They are in fact very different underneath. Definitely don't need to go Jeep to get solid axles. Not sure on the thumbs down though. One of the most capable rigs in our club is an 80's 4 runner with lots of Chevy parts on 35 Interco Boggers. The driver is excellent and an excellent mechanic and that helps.

The last sentence is completely true. A locker does not divide load though. Not at all. It allows the wheel with grip to do all the work for as long as it can. Even if it's just one wheel. Open diffs juggle load amongst both wheels and share whatever amount of torque each wheel has traction for until one loses too much traction or free spins. Flooring it is never really a good idea. I can't even think of a time that I had to do that outside of a mud bog. When I've wheeled a stock wrangler on 31's it was all about carefully selecting a line and pedal control. With a manual you can easily rock back and forth to adjust your traction and gain momentum. If you're stuck to the point that doesn't work it's time to call in for recovery. There's no point in breaking your driveline. I never have.

I don't know what kind of rock crawling you're into, but 40's are huge. The axle those will require will negate a substantial portion of the ground clearance you just gained (unless you're really good at shaving pumpkins). I see you're in western PA. If the wheeling you do is anything like Paragon or Rausch Creek then you really don't need anything bigger than 35's to do reds with a properly built rig. I run blacks on 33's with only a front locker. On 40's most of the wheeling around here would get pretty boring pretty fast. Plus, unless you managed to hack away a ton of the body and built an LCG rig you'll get pretty tippy off-camber. Honestly, I wouldn't bother with an SAS unless your goal is specifically to have a rock crawling Pathfinder. Save your money and go with something already equipped with solid axles. Edit: Just thought I'd add that lockers will allow you to drive in one wheel traction scenarios. These induce much more stress than wheeling with an open diff. Lockers will allow you to break axles shafts much more easily if you're not controlling your throttle properly. I upgraded my axle shafts and u-joints when I installed my locker. If you're breaking shafts without a locker you need to lay off the gas.