hey guys
I have this 85 f250 4x4 4.9 4 speed w granny low (t-18) d61 rear with 3.50 ratio.

its been sitting in a field for 12 years...

anyways I had an 85 f150 4x4 that would get stuck in wet grass
pretty embarrassing for a 4x4.

I don't want to do that again, so im looking for advice tips etc.
1.I want a rear locker lunch box ? ive never worked on a differential but im pretty mechanical.
2. a simple but beefy front bumper and winch setup( not really interested in
receiver hitch setup )
3.tow hooks for the front.

basically looking to be able to do basic stuff w/o spending a ton of money...
got more time than money.

looking at a mig welder that will weld up to 1/8 "

like to do a sas someday

mud and snow here in nw pa.
ty!

 

For a mig welder if it's not 220+ it's junk.....

If you want a mud truck you want to lock the rear, if you want a snow truck you don't. If you want both the price goes way up or your going to suffer in one area or the other so pick your poison.

If your just keeping it extremely basic which it seems you are from your very brief post then the tires you choose are going to make or break what you're trying to accomplish. For snow there is no substitute for snow tires (ONLY IF it's extremely deep mud tires work great in snow). Snow tires in mud are not good and wear fast. Two sets of tires sounds like the way you should go. There's other options as others will add to this I will watch and hopefully learn something new too. I've found cooper STTs are great all around but wear fast on the street.

 

thanks john2001

no the mig is 110.
im a total newbie to welding, just planned to do basic body work rockers, cab corners, etc.

ill need the truck mostly for snow.
what do you mean I don't want to lock for snow ?
I don't want to stay fully locked...

2 sets of tires and rims is more than I want to spend unless I get lucky...
I just got stock steelies now. the wagon wheels are scrap!
tires on there now are extremely dry rotted.

 

As long as you're not trying to do anything that you need to hold together you'll be fine. Body work is about the extent of 110 mig.
Locked rear end in snow means your going to get sideways ALL the time. It is a nightmare to drive, you'll want that one wheel peel to keep you straight. Like I said, pick your poison. In the mud the last thing you want is a tire that doesn't spin, in the snow it's ok.
Yep from that picture tires are junk and belong hanging off the side of a boat and the rims in a scrap pile.

 

I've done a little bit of snow 'wheeling and quite a bit of Minnesota winter driving with a locker. Yes it presents issues, but they aren't necessarily terrible in a long wheelbase truck. I had a Jeep CJ5 that was a bear to drive on snowy streets with a rear locker, but my '95 F-150 SCSB wasn't bad. Off road in snow a rear locker is a mixed bag. It helps you move forward but it makes it easy to move sideways when you don't want to too.

If I was building a pickup into a snow off-roader I think my first choice would be a selectable locker in the front. I'd leave it unlocked in all street driving and would only lock it off road when needed. But when I did lock it I'd have the weight of the engine on the locked axle which would help it pull better.

If the truck was going to be used for summer off-roading as well my first choice would be to put the selectable locker in the rear. Front axles aren't as strong and I wouldn't want to risk breaking one with a front locker.

If cost was a bigger issue I'd put a lunchbox locker in the rear. I will NEVER (again) put an automatic locker in the front axle of a truck that will be driven on snow at higher speeds (that gives HUGE handling problems, like suddenly changing lanes before you can stop it!).

 

ty nothing special

sounds like I should forget the locker idea unless I want to drop a 1000.00 bucks in the rear end...
what about limited slip did they make that for a d61 ?

I had SNOW CLAWS on my old truck, good as long as you where on the road.
there must be some tire that's good or ok in both mud and snow...

winch ideas anyone
at least if I get stuck I might be able to get out with it...

 

maybe they were ice claws?

 

I had Yokohama geolander I/Ts on my SD 315/75-16s they were great snow tires but not so great once the weather warmed up, the compound is just too soft.

 

the badlands winches from harbor freight have been getting very good reviews. a 12,000 lb winch can be bought for $399, and every 2-3 months it goes on sale for $299

 

A lunchbox locker in the rear (Lock-Right or something similar) ought to be a lot less expensive than $1000 and you can install it yourself (at least in many axles, I can't say for sure about a Dana 61). Again, that will give some quirks with the back end wanting to come around front more easily. But I drive my F-150 with a Lock-Right in the rear for about 9 Minnesota winters. It's not that bad.

I wouldn't bother with a limited slip if I were you. Almost as much cost as a locker, almost as much driveability issues in snow, but no where near as much help when you really need it. The only reason I see to put a limited slip in a trail rig is if you're really trying to go on the cheap and you already have an axle with the limited slip in it.

I had the old BFG Mud-Terrains on a couple of trucks (can't speak for the newer KM2s). They weren't great on packed snow or ice, but in deep snow they were good. I'd think most any real mud tire would be similar, good in deep snow, much less so on roads where it's packed. I've been happiest with BFG All-Terrains for my all-around use. They probably aren't quite as good as true snow tires (think Blizzak) on ice, but they don't wear out instantly if you leave them on year 'round. They certainly aren't great in mud though, and aren't as good in deep snow as the Mud-Terrains were.

 

I'm reading some conflicting info here.

But here's what I'd say.
You want a locker in the rear axle no matter what you plan to run in, mud,snow, whatever doesn't matter how good of tires or how much power you have if you can't get it to the ground.

Get mud tires, and a set of tire chains that fit them for the snow.

A lunch box locker in the rear and a good LS in the front like a Powr-Lok.

 

I have to say my cooper discoverer stt's do great in the snow and mud. All around are a good tire I havent noticed any noticeable tread wear yet and they have about 10,000 miles on them. The keys is to rotate thrm often. Even with them being 12.5 inches wide they did great this winter. Better than my 9 inch wide big horn maxxis mud tires

 

that's ok I ll be riding my bike in the summer

 

hey thank you !
ideas for a bumper and mount ?
im thinking above the bumper to avoid being submerged...

 

Now it makes sense why the budget is so low for the truck..... The truck fund got cobbled up in the bike fund lol. That's a nice looking bike