Vehicle wheel end assembly

A wheel end assembly (60) includes an output shaft (70) mounted to a wheel hub (80) for driving a vehicle wheel. The output shaft is driven by a gear assembly (62) mounted within a gear housing (86) and operably coupled to an input shaft (66). The gear assembly includes an input gear driven by the input shaft, intermediate gears in meshing engagement with the input gear (64), and an output gear (68) in meshing engagement with the intermediate gears. A tube (88) has one end press-fit into the gear housing with an opposite end extending into a wheel hub cavity (100). Bearings (90) are mounted directly between the tube and the wheel hub to support the wheel hub (80) for rotation relative to the tube. The output shaft is received within the tube with an inboard end (78) in direct driving engagement with the output gear (68) and with an outboard (74) end directly mounted to the wheel hub.