[nitbaj]

The pod does look heavy, but I really like the simplicity of it. It looks like it's only 4 or 5 parts with minimal machining involved, which is nice. If you wanted to keep the pre-made gearbox idea but save weight, I would recommend going with the Toughbox Nano

As far as the side loading goes, I would say for prototyping you're fine because the gearbox does dually support the shaft and the shaft isn't too long. However, I do like the idea of putting on the long shaft and moving one of the Toughbox bearings, if possible, just to be safe.