Well, I finally pulled the trigger and bought a 2 speed axle from Axle Inc (formally Imaginative Manufacturing). These axles are switchable from a low range gear of 20:1 to a high range gear of 10:1. Cost was a little over $1500 with shipping. Shipping was 2 days and I had to pick it up at the local FedEx Freight office, this can also be delivered to a business address.
Since Axle Inc manufactures axles for all kinds of electric vehicle manufacturers like mining equipment and airport tugs they do not need or have a web site so for more information about this axle look at
Renegade 4WD Plus who are the retailers for this axle and they also make a 4 wheel drive conversion that uses an output shaft on the Axle Inc axle to turn a driveshaft to the front axle. I'm going to run the rear axle for a while and see if I want to go all the way to 4wd later which is about a $2500 upgrade.
More to come
Rob