after reading your last post defiently go ARB. then you can get stock street manners, full locked when you need it and you can run a air hose from the pump for filling your tires and such

 

ARB or nothing

 

I had my DD fully locked, front and rear, with ARB's and you can't go wrong. Back when I wheeled a lot I knew lots of folks running LS or detriot, but when it comes down to driving around town or just having a choice I love my ARB's. I will say I have torn the lines before, I had the air compressor go, but in 10 years of running ARB's I can say they work and are great for a daily driver rig that sees the back country often. Get a good compressor and carry spare line parts when you wheel.

 

GREAT TOPIC!! and posts!

My Factory LSD flat out is a waste, may as well have a 2WD

Here I am stuck, again.. call my wife have her pull me out with Durango, park in the drive way angled so she can get hooked onto me and pull me out of the driveway in the morning...and so on and on and on..



Will any locker get me through the snow on the sides of the road?

No. I don't expect it to!




But I'd like to be able to get out of the driveway without a tow chain.

my main problem right now is finding someone to install an ARB....

Carbone Ford dealership in Vermont says removing Ford diff fluid and replacing with Royal Purple voids warranty, so may as well put in a locker!

last snowfall my buddy in Vermont cleared off his rear wheel drive Lincoln and drove right out of the driveway, I was in 4x4 and had to have him push me and rock it to get out.

That's sad....sad sad sad.

 

Don't know that a locker is the first thing to look at with your situation.

I have a very similar truck, just older, and in 7 years of driving in the back country, lots of snow, ice, mud, etc, this truck has been impressive...and the truck is open front and rear.

I would first take a look at the tires you have. If you're getting stuck that easy I'm thinking your tires don't have a ton of tread...or it's not the right kind of tread for your areas.

Second, I would add some weight to the rear and see how that works...I have a canopy and it seems to help add a bit of traction, then I just throw sand or wood in the bed if needed - cheap experiment.

Third, when it comes to deep snow and ice, in my personal experience, chains are safer and more effective than lockers...but that's just me. When fully locked I MIGHT get traction on ice if it isn't just a massive sheet of it, but more often than not I just get more stuck by getting knocked off the side of the trail! I have a set of RUD chains for the front and rear of my truck and wouldn't try anything else up here for the snow and ice.

Take a look at these three options - all three combined are cheaper, won't void your warranty and my guess is they'd be more effective in your area than adding a ARB to the rear pumpkin.

 

Add one more thing about lockers - I love em...but when you get them installed it is probably time to install a nice fat WINCH as well.

Lockers will get you a lot of places - and sometimes they will get you into some nasty places where all four corners spinning means nothin (ask me how I know!!).

So if you lock up and plan to USE them invest in some self recovery equipment!!

 

brand new Goodyear MT/R tires, this aint my first winter, this IS the first truck I've ever owned that was **** poor in 4x4, when 2wd S-10s pull you out in a Super Duty, there is something wrong with the truck.

dealership says it is what it is. The Durango eats this things lunch and its LS with street tires.

Chains? that's for kids to crawl around and hook up and I gave up playing in the slop on my knees when I retired from plowing for Vermont AOT, winches are fine in the East, but useless and less than useless in the west, unless you have a buddy to hook your winch to and if I'm not alone I'll have them tug me out with a chain.

There isn't a thing a come along and a hi lift cant do that a winch can and for pennies. Doesn't do any good if there is nothing to hook to.

Deep sand and washes the LS was working but this winter we are back in Vermont and its THANK GOD for the GMCs and Chevys that keep stopping to pull me out.

Trying to trade it tomorrow for a Power Wagon, if not I'll put in ARB

 

If 2wd s-10's are pulling you out I say your 4X4 ain't working... have you checked to see if your fronts are pulling????

GMC, Dodge, Chevy...whatever it is I'll wave as I keep going with chains - tires, lockers...won't do a thing!

As for the truck, same one here and it takes steep BC mountain roads, trails, logging roads no problem. Just pulled out my neighbors new Ram 2500...just sayin.

As for a winch...whatever floats your boat. I do just fine in the West and did just fine in the east. As for a highlift or a come along, sure, cheap and work in some situations...but I've been in plenty of situations where a come along will NEVER do the job and a high lift just won't cut it - winch does. My comment was geared more towards someone who might wheel their truck...not just a DD lookin to get out of the drive.

I say put your truck on a lift and have two guys try and hold each front tire as you give it a bit of gas...see if they still pull with resistance.

If it is more of a anti ford post then best of luck with a dodge

 

Guy's after having lockers in the rear for years I wouldn't put anything else in there but a detroit..No air hoses switches nothing.. Its like having a LS that works. I drive around in the winter with 6k of sand in the back no issues with worn tires or noise or anything else. The newer soft locker is really nice. Heck if they made one for the front I'd throw the Lock right in the garbage as its not as nice. If you don't have a detroit in your truck please don't comment on it as you have no real world experience. I have years of experience and am really picky about what goes in my truck. No switches to flip when you pull out into traffic and one tire is on sand or ice plus they release when you get off the gas so binding is way less...JMHO


Dick

 

I spent hours on days on weeks researching this during my last deployment. Everyone has an opinion, and obviously they differ for various reasons. My reasons for doing what I did changed a couple of times, and I learned some stuff along the way. I'M NOT TRYING TO START ANY ARGUMENTS, or say that my way is better than anyone else's! This is just MY reasoning for doing what I did, and why it works well for me.

I went for the tru-trac and I love it. It's pretty seamless in its operation, and having that mechanical engagement is damn near like having a full on detroit locker, just with better street-ability (yes, I've driven both). It doesn't snap the truck around. Plus, you're not gonna overpower clutches, or eventually wear them down to the point they're useless (see: factory LS).


In the end, I went with the E-locker. Originally I was concerned with the reports about its durability. Only after a lot of reading, and some calling around, did I learn that most of those issues are confined to the smaller axles, usually over tasked with big tires and rock crawling or competition events. The Dana 60 unit has a good track record. The factory diff cover is retained. This is nice because if you get to swapping steering components (like my dual stabilizer) you could have clearance issues. The OX definitely has a different diff cover. The E-locker can be wired up via the upfitter switches, but being an 04, I didn't have these. So, I have a nice, lighted rocker switch that doesn't look out of place. So far, I haven't HAD to use it, which was kind of the idea behind upgrading the rear end traction. It definitely has a HUGE effect on the steering. I expected this, and it didn't concern me.

In the end, I am happy with all my decisions, and I wouldn't change anything if I could. I can't really recall the breakdown of prices, but the shop that installed the lockers sourced them and installed them for right around $2K.

-Disclaimer- The above text was copied and pasted from the following thread where I break this down a whole lot more. I didn't want to hijack this thread, so I shortened it for use here.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-and-rear.html

 

im assuming ur truck is 2wd if your just wanting to regear the rear end. it cost's about $200- $250 depending on where you get the R&P from and the name brand

 

I have had excellent experience with my ARB Air lockers for years. I took some time and routed the hoses in safe locations. My truck is not an extreme off roader, so maybe that is something to consider. I would not put anything else (well, maybe an e-locker) in the front. Tire wear, handling, ease of lock and unlock.

I've never had an e-locker, so I can't say anything there. Seems like a simplier set up. But I like having onboard air. I have had my ARB's for 11 years with no problems.

In addition, you can use the air compressor to keep a tank pumped up and if your compressor did fail, you can use that volume to get you back on the road.

Will

 

Hmm. What about having onboard air for other reasons but still using the e-locker instead of the ARB? Is the ARB just stronger? I was thinking onboard air (warn power plant) and the e-locker with 35's on a stock truck. Not to hijack

Fyi I have a rear truetrac and it's pretty awesome. But it's still new and binds up pretty tight on the rear axle. I don't think I'd want it on my front axle, honestly. Maybe it works itself out over time, I dunno.

 

When I purchased my first set of ARB's the e-lockers weren't known to me as an option. The ARBs have a very nice (and expensive) air compressor with a regulator that makes it suitable for the air tank too. I have nothing against the e-locker. In fact, I might like to try them one day.

I got to where I did not like how the limited slips and various lockers chewed up large tires. I would never have one in the front.

The other reason I went with air lockers is that I have rear steering on my street truck. When I play, I can turn it so sharp that regular lockers really make the tires squawk.

 

for the front: YouTube - DETROIT TRUETRAC DIFFERENTIALS

for the rear: YouTube - Detroit Locker

All the lockers talked about are great if you can live with fixing your air line, compressor to the ARB, the wire to the E-locker, the cable to the OX in the field. Mud, snow, ice, rain the two above have no wires, cables, air lines to fix. Pick your own poison. The duel goes on.