I really don't want to end up somewhere with busted rear end.
Don't blame you (although a lot I know of have lasted an extremely long time). When I welded my rear it was on a trail only rig. Also, even though a cop can't tell, I think a welded rear is not street legal (in Texas).
I would say save up for a locker and see how you like it. Then you can move onto solid axle (which I would save up for the kit like infernal and others said). If you go step by step (locker in the rear, gears in t-case, solid axle) your wheeling skills will be great by the time you are done. Just my
![My Two Cents :twocents:](https://board.marlincrawler.com/Smileys/marlin/twocents.gif)