Can anyone tell me what the point of making the rear axle shorter than the front was?

Traction?

Forgetfulness?

Looks to be in inch shorter than the front, now i gotta get some spacers for the rear to make the wheels look even.

 

Just about all 4wd trucks are setup like this dating back a long ways. #1 reason is for a tighter turning radius. There are other theories floating around as well like the added traction benefit of not having the front & rear wheels following exactly the same path. The thought with that one is that if one rear tire was down in the rut produced by the front tire, the opposite rear tire would be riding in a mostly fresh surface, out of the rut left by the tire in front of it.

 

This is what i suspected, thanks

I just cant stand when things dont line up right, haha.

Bothers the heck out of me!

 

Swap out the axles with one out of a cherokee xj and get some bolt adapters. it is the same width as the front of our trucks.