AT4 axle swap and off road build

[Mason Bazinet]

So I have a 2021 GMC sierra 1500.

Back in July I put a 6in lift with 35x12.5, bumpers, lights, winch, sliders.

After a few trips to Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada.... I've realized that I want a lot more from this truck.

There's almost no aftermarket support for my truck other than what I've already done. No e/air lockers(except what is now offered in the AT4X models) , no real trac bars (other than the shiny ones you see on mall crawlers)

 

Im looking to take my truck to the next level, full length skid plates, beefy trac/anti wrap bars, high clearance shock mounts. But looking forward I'm trying to determine which will be the most suitable option for my long term goals. Im not sure if I want to do all this work to an axle that might not be under this truck for the long haul.

 

I want to build a serious trail rig/ overland rig. Part rock crawler, part overlander. So here's what I have in my head. I have the factory 1/2 ton axle its an AAM SU7. I dont know anything about it, what spline axles, how strong or weak it it, ect. So I was considering swapping to a FF 1 ton for the rear...

Because I want to run 40s with portals, and e/air lockers.

 

But here comes the hard/ expensive part. What do I do with the front?

I would prefer to stay IFS but I dont know who makes 1 ton IFS carriers. But it would have to be one that has some aftermarket support.  I want e/air lockers for both front/ rear.

 

Beyond that the next phase would be trying to figure out how to make all of this work with my ecu/tcu/bcu.  These trucks (2019+) have a lot of checks and balances to maintain or they just chit the bed and go into limp mode.  I realize this covers a lot of topics in one post, but im trying to draw a plan on how to accomplish what I want. 

Thanks for anyone who is able to steer me in the right direction.