The Dakota on 44’s pre snow season prep
Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2026 5:16 am
This will be my first post on this page. Haven’t contributed at all and I have no idea how active this forum is but was excited to see a page dedicated to my love of snow wheeling.
This dodge Dakota AKA THE MUT has been an ongoing project of mine.
Frame of restoration stipped to bare frame and built from ground back up equipped with a sbc 383 stroker, sm465, and np205. All torn apart and resealed/ assembled by yours truly. Axles front to back are a kingpin Dana 60 out of a dodge and a gm 14 bolt. Gears are 5:13 and both axles are equipped with Torq lockers. Tires are 44/18.5/15 tsl swampers. That’s the short and sweet of the build.
Got this done last winter of 26 and unfortunately because of the weather didn’t get a great opportunity to take it out much to enjoy it. However it was brought to my attention that because of my engine/trans/transfer case combo my weight distribution to the rear is less than satisfactory.
I am seeking ideas/opinions from fellow members here on what direction to go with my build to attain a better weight dispersion ratio while not throwing much more money at it at this point this year. My main go here is to keep it light as possible. So naturally I’m somewhat skeptical of just throwing a bunch of weight on the rear but that may be my best option at this point.
I have no idea what this thing weighs but I figure I owe it to myself and the group to take it down to the scale and get a weight on it. Will report back on that in a few days.
This dodge Dakota AKA THE MUT has been an ongoing project of mine.
Frame of restoration stipped to bare frame and built from ground back up equipped with a sbc 383 stroker, sm465, and np205. All torn apart and resealed/ assembled by yours truly. Axles front to back are a kingpin Dana 60 out of a dodge and a gm 14 bolt. Gears are 5:13 and both axles are equipped with Torq lockers. Tires are 44/18.5/15 tsl swampers. That’s the short and sweet of the build.
Got this done last winter of 26 and unfortunately because of the weather didn’t get a great opportunity to take it out much to enjoy it. However it was brought to my attention that because of my engine/trans/transfer case combo my weight distribution to the rear is less than satisfactory.
I am seeking ideas/opinions from fellow members here on what direction to go with my build to attain a better weight dispersion ratio while not throwing much more money at it at this point this year. My main go here is to keep it light as possible. So naturally I’m somewhat skeptical of just throwing a bunch of weight on the rear but that may be my best option at this point.
I have no idea what this thing weighs but I figure I owe it to myself and the group to take it down to the scale and get a weight on it. Will report back on that in a few days.