IF you are going to run that big a tire and wheel it you should expect to run tons and hydraulic assist on the steering. Like others have said you will just be wasting money on upgrading the factory stuff and a Prorock 44 is a poor choice buying new.
38" tires on a 2007-2011 automatic is going to suck as well as there just is not enough HP if you are going to be driving in the mountains. Big tires cost money, not just in the rubber themselves but everything you need to do underneath to accommodate them. If money is an issue I would rethink the goal of running 38's. I am not trying to be a downer, just a realist, but people come on the forums all the time trying to justify how they can run with the big rubber for little or no money. I also see many of those that have done the upgraded 30, moved to rubi 44, moved to PR44 eventually go with tons in the end.

 

If you can bend a sleeved and trussed D44, you have well exceeded the strength of the PR44 and D44s in general. The housing of a sleeved and trussed D44 will be stronger in bend resistance than a PR44. Setting that aside - if you wheel that hard, everything else will fail as well: the mini ball joints, R&P, axle shafts. I had no trouble blowing a D44 on 37s this year, along with Synergy ball joints, front hub, rear wheel bearings, drag link, etc. A PR44 would have done nothing for me other than cost a ton of money for nothing. If you wheel like I do, no 44 is going to work. If you don't wheel that hard, save yourself the money.

I can think of a couple examples of a sleeved or trussed stock axle bending or breaking and the ones I do know of, didn't happen accidentally on the trail and likely would have broke a PR44 as well.

 

Point taken...... Now you have me second guessing myself. I really don't have nor want to spend the 4600-5300 bucks that it would cost to get any one of the aftermarket 44s out there. At the same time I don't want to put any money I to the 30. I don't wheel hard enough to warrant a d60.

 

Several local guys around me have bought new crate Rubi 44s. There is a guy in OH selling them (complete) for around $1700. They brought them by my place, I welded on Artec armor, installed the axles, and then sleeved them. So, they have beefed up 44s for under $2k. At that point, the housing is the last think I worry about. One of those guys was running a different gear ration than 4.10. so he had a local place do a regear. Since it was new, it was only around $350 all in. That said, I thought I heard the guy selling could offer different ratios with some amount of lead time.

 

Do you have any more info on the Ohio seller? I'd be interested

 

I am definitely on board with the suggestion for those cheap crate rubi 44's. That leaves plenty of room to pay for a regear and strength mods and still come in way under the pr/tera.

That said, there have been a few posts/pics of built stock housings bending gusseted c's, or bending sleeved tubes, or shattering the housings. (the sleeves just moved the break-point from the normal ca mount area in to the center diff). But I have yet to see any posts about bending, much less shattering, a PR-U housing. Not trying to turn this into a justification for the PR, since that is a personal/budgetary decision, just saying that I haven't seen any indications that built stock housings are anywhere near equal in strength.

 

Dirtman brings up a good point. After I went with 38's, I had to rethink my power plant. I went with a SC for now. Over the new couple of years, I plan on buying and rebuilding a hemi.

 

I think there is a valid argument for hard wheelers to sleeve and truss. From my research, they each offer some amount of unique structural reinforcement. In terms of gussets, there a some that are much better than others. The other issue with gussets is that for every set I see welded in well, I see two that are very poorly done.

I have a video somewhere of someone snapping the tube of a PR60. Anything will break when taking a hard hit.

 

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...544318&alt=web I believe this is the seller you are referring to.

 

That's the guy. Apparently a really nice guy. I know three people who bought one from him and I worked on two of them. He will come down on price, especially the closer you live to OH. I am not positive, but I believe if you are willing to wait, you can select the gear ratio. Best bet is to go to him directly.