TOY: His is Bigger than Mine... (Rockstomper Tie Rod)

["Randy Burleson"<randii@xxxxxxx>]

Check out the pictures on Scott Ellinger's Rockstomper Rock Rod tie rod press
release...
http://www.outdoorwire.com/4x4/news/rockstomper/rockrod/

With a base tube of 1.25" 0.219-wall DOM tubing sleeves with 1.5" 0.120-wall
DOM tubing, that baby is MASSIVE. 

I wonder where you reach a point of diminishing returns. I bet Scott could find
a third layer of tubing to press over the secondary sleeve, but I do have to
wonder when the failure point moves off the tie rod itself and onto the tie
rod ends or steering arms.

I've never seen a steering arm broken at the tie-rod junction (though I have
seen two double-arms broken where the top arm was welded on to the bottom arm).
Has anyone else seen the failure SOMEWHERE OTHER than where the steering force
inputs?

I'd like a rotating sleeve on a tie rod so that I can hit a boulder and roll
up it. ;) My tongue is mostly in my cheek, here, since the radius of the part
is so small (the force would be more directly toward the center, instead of
deflecting more on a tangent, which would make the sleeve want to roll).

My biggest reason for not upgrading my tie rod so far is that I want it to be
the 'fuse' for my steering system... since the tie rod is much easier to swap
in than the alternative: repairing a cracked frame, breaking a steering arm,
or demolishing the drag link. I'll be adding a welder to my trail kit shortly,
so I can fix any of the above-detailed breaks, but keeping a 'fuse' still makes
a bit of sense.... I'm waffling.

Randii