A question that needs to be answered first, is what do you plan to do with your wagon? Are you wanting it to be a trail rig, or an all out off road over lander unit? I personally want my wagon to be capable of going off the beaten path, to explore the local national forests. I want it to be reliable enough to not be worried about putting my daughter in it to drive around, but capable enough to go anywhere. I plan on keeping the Dana 18, but will most likely do some internal upgrades. The axles will see some internal upgrades also, but the housings will remain the same.

The Dana 44 rear is a good axle in it's own right, with the only real weak spot is the two piece key way rear axle. There are conversion kits that eliminate the two piece to a one piece design.