Extreme Outers | Dynatrac’s Stub-Hub Conversion

It didn’t take many trips out in tougher terrain before the locking hub ends of my front Dana 60 axle started to look pretty beat up. Playing rough in rocks can start to chew up anything close to the ground. Smooth surfaces are best for foreign objects to brush by, and things that stick out can easily get nicked or grabbed by rocks or branches. Common scarring on shackle points, winch hooks, bumper ends, and locking hubs are sure indicators that a 4x4 gets used like a 4x4.

Tucking everything up high and inward is always a good plan on any off-road ride, yet I still had standard hubs on my front Dana 60 axle that stuck out of my wheels like sore thumbs waiting to be grabbed by rocks. The evidence on the Warn hubs clearly demonstrated the need for a shorter setup. On a recreational 4x4, there is really no reason for the hubs and spindles to be as long as they are. Dynatrac figured that out years ago, but I guess I needed to see the rock rashed evidence for myself before I was convinced to switch over to a stubby hub.

Dynatrac’s Stub-Hub conversion kit makes the swap really easy with all the necessary parts to lose 1.7 inches of protruding hub per side. If you have worn-out parts, then the Stub-Hub kit can be easily justified since the cost of the shorty parts are about the same as standard-length hubs, spindles, and axleshafs. And if you are trying to put a Dana 60 under a Jeep or half-ton truck, this kit is one of the most inexpensive ways to swap over to a 5- or 6-lug wheel pattern.

01. Dynatrac’s Stub-Hub “Mini” kit retails for about $1,200. This includes chromoly spindles, wheel hubs, new outer axles, and the necessary Timken bearings and seals—everything you need to convert your standard hub Dana 60 over to a stubby hub.

This kit costs you about the same as standard replacement ’shafts, hubs, and spindles if you were rebuilding your outers.

One of the coolest bonuses is that you can get the Stub-Hub kit in a 5- or 6-lug wheel pattern, making it a great way to swap a Dana 60 under your Jeep or half-ton truck. A Stub-Hub “Big” kit has additional cost to it, but comes with rotors, calipers, and caliper brackets to help you easily switch over to a 5- or 6-lug.

Get Shorter!

If you want to get even shorter with your hub package, you can add the ultra-tough Dynaloc manual hubs. They’re 0.688 inches shorter than a standard locking hub making a Stub Hub and Dynaloc combo 2.388 inches shorter per side. The Dynaloc hubs are also much stronger (three times stronger thans a standard hub!) and default into a locked position if you were to ever get one to fail.