Off road places
- Thread starter caballo
- Start date
you must still have stock suspension. However tempting, try keeping the supra off the four wheeling trails.
Get a selectable rear locker, sign up on www.pirate4x4.com , and have a blast. You'll wish you had 4wd quick, though.
shaeff;1664910 said:
This is the truth. Also, silverado canyon is a good place though it may be a bit far for you. my stock TRD Prerunner Taco does fine on it.
For what it's worth, many consider a rear locker to be a full 50% increase in traction. That's a LOT of extra grab for any vehicle. And most 4wd trucks are really only two wheel drive anyway, unless they come with dual LSDs. True four wheel drive would be if the vehicle is locked at both ends.
I would never get a non-selectable locker for the front axle on a 4wd vehicle though, especially one that's driven in the snow. I've got a Detroit/Eaton True-Trac in the rear of my Pickup, which will eventually make it's way to the front axle so a locker can go out back (likely an ARB air locker)
I would never get a non-selectable locker for the front axle on a 4wd vehicle though, especially one that's driven in the snow. I've got a Detroit/Eaton True-Trac in the rear of my Pickup, which will eventually make it's way to the front axle so a locker can go out back (likely an ARB air locker)
Lockers seem iffy in the snow in the rear. I had a lock rite in my old 2wd truck and it was great off road. When I would take it around town on a snowy day it was a little wild though. I wonder if having that in a 4wd with 1 or both front tires also being driven would change the way it drives.
likely not. the back end would still be pretty squirrelly but the front getting power might keep it in line a little better. just my .02
FullNelson;1667896 said:
That's why I said selectable locker, as in one that you can lock/unlock. I'd never run a full time locker in the rear of a truck that's used in the snow on-road. And having a locker in the front makes the truck understeer like crazy in snow. I'd never run lockers front/rear without them being selectable.
Lunch-box lockers (on-off lockers) can send you back to the bottom of an icy hill in a hurry. With an open diff, the wheel that's not spinning when you spin going up the hill, holds you in place... add in a ratchet locker of some sort, and that wheel will start to spin too once traction is lost, leaving nothing holding you up... and voila, you're going back down on your ass. Any autolocker will have its quirks, so realistically, selectable is the best way to go if the money is there.
Lockers will also cause you to slide down the camber of the road when it's slippery... be it a muddle slope or a slippery highway with a steep super-elevation. I'm not a big fan of auto-lockers, as you can see, but I do know they're very effective at what they do. Most older full size trucks like the '90-98' silverados have them out back.
Anyway, an ARB air locker or bust. If your 2WD truck is a Toyota, you can probably convert it to 4WD for around $1500. There's only a few differences between the chassis, and there's alot of writeups on how to do it.
However, alot of people claim that dual lockers will just get you stuck further up the trail (lol)... which I'm sure is true. But alot of cruisers with triple (center diff lock because they're all-wheel drive) lockers are far more capable than their girth implies, due to the traction provided by the lockers.
It is hands down the best upgrade for off-road traction out there, next to good tires. No lift kit will do as much as a locker will.
Lockers will also cause you to slide down the camber of the road when it's slippery... be it a muddle slope or a slippery highway with a steep super-elevation. I'm not a big fan of auto-lockers, as you can see, but I do know they're very effective at what they do. Most older full size trucks like the '90-98' silverados have them out back.
Anyway, an ARB air locker or bust. If your 2WD truck is a Toyota, you can probably convert it to 4WD for around $1500. There's only a few differences between the chassis, and there's alot of writeups on how to do it.
However, alot of people claim that dual lockers will just get you stuck further up the trail (lol)... which I'm sure is true. But alot of cruisers with triple (center diff lock because they're all-wheel drive) lockers are far more capable than their girth implies, due to the traction provided by the lockers.
It is hands down the best upgrade for off-road traction out there, next to good tires. No lift kit will do as much as a locker will.
I'm building my truck to be as low of COG as possible, with no bigger than 35" tires. I want ground clearance for the axles, but a low COG to prevent hairy off-camber situations. I'll never run anything other than a Detroit LSD (which I have now) or a selectable locker. Anything else and I'd rather be open diffs.
yeah, Id love to implement the locker GM uses stock if I weren't afraid of it breaking. I know the internet rumors are probably over exaggerated about how easy they are to break, just like the 10-bolt axles are. I think where as I could spend the money on lockers and hope they help me not get stuck, I could just get a winch for the cost and know I wont get stuck.
caballo;1663707 said:
Speaking fundamentally of the OP's request, all this discussion of paraphernalia like 4WD, lockers, winches and the like are simply for safety. But, the best safety is a friend in another vehicle... if one breaks down, gets irrevocably stuck, ect, you have another set of wheels to take you home where it's warm, dry, and where there's water. Those that think they best mother nature tend to pay a high price for that arrogance.
If you're going out you need lots of food, crap tons of water, survival gear, rain gear, blankets... ect, ect... a shovel. Bring a dang shovel. There's guys who bring a spare axle and enough parts to rebuild a motor in the field (that's over preparation... but you see my point). Everything you bring is a tool to make sure you get home... and when push comes to shove, nothing is sacred. Body panels, interior parts, floor mats, jumper cables, clothes... whatever it takes to get home. Fried a fuse and can't go anywhere with no help in sight? Cut up those new jumper cables and make it work.
My point is: bring a friend, bring a backup plan, bring a second truck. Know where you're going, how long you'll be gone, where you're going to be and when you'll be back.
Lots of people die for dumb reasons, don't be an idiot out there. Use your head, do some research, find people who know what they're doing and learn from them. Going off-highway is a potentially dangerous (but fun and rewarding) experience.
And of course, TREAD lightly.
I hope you already know all this stuff and I'm just rehashing it.
---------- Post added at 10:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 PM ----------
shaeff;1672347 said:
There's a diff made by Eaton that functions as both an LSD and a locking diff... it's in the front and back of most of the grand cherokees with the quadradrive thingerjigger. It's a crazy type of torsen derivative that will allow a certain amount of wheel spin, then provides torque in a ratio anywhere from 1:1 to 90:1, and full lock up. It's really cool stuff.
Anyway, they don't make them for Toyota, but IIRC, you have DANA axles, right? You may find luck there.
Keros;1672908 said:
I didn't know that, I'll have to check some junkyards. Unfortunately I'm still on stock axles, however if/when I upgrade I might go with some DANAs. I haven't really decided yet. I guess I'll see if I break anything with the 7MGTE under the hood first, then go from there.
I've currently got a Eaton/Detroit True-Trac LSD which is a helical LSD that transfers more power to the tire that's slipping. It works pretty well, but I've been giving thought to making a custom IFS front diff out of an '85 solid axle I have sitting home, and dropping the true-trac in that, and put a selectable locker out back. A solid axle swap isn't something I'm looking to do, as this pickup is my wintertime DD, and let's face it, the IFS is just nicer for DD.