I tried this once before, pulling the fuse, but that was a pain in the butt.

There are times that I will use 4WD low, on pavement
Backing into my driveway is one example. Fairly steep and then I have to jack the trailer around a bit once at the top.
4WD low makes pushing an 18K trailer up the driveway less work for the truck, but the hubs locked add their own issue.

The other example is pulling on the "roller coaster" hills.

The auto portion of the locking hubs is vacuum controlled. There is a supply hose connected to a small manifold that is electrically operated.

No power, the port is blocked.
Power applied, the port is opened and the vacuum circuit to the hubs is completed
Power then removed, the vacuum port is blocked, and a dump port allows the vacuum hose to repressurize and disconnect the hubs.

I cut the grey wire at the connector, 2" away. Soldered in a wire that went trough the firewall grommet to a simple on - off switch

The pictures: One is the electrically operated valve and vac hose.
The other is what is now my mini 5 switch panel.

I can now switch into 4WD low, flip the switch and have low gear and no steering issues

 

Another switch added to the mini panel

 

Wow, what are all those other switches for?

 

That's a neat little trick.

Did you not get the upfitter switches?

Or do you just have a ton of stuff hooked up?

 

I'll be the first to admit I might on occasion, have a bit too much free time on my hands.

Yes to the up fitters, but they only turn things on and only when the key is on.

Clockwise from top left:
1. Turbo cool down on - off
2. Compressor on
3. Stobes
4. 4wd
5. Air horn on/off

#1 Turbo cool timer is just an on off switch, since it has to be wired to a hot circuit. Don't need it all the time.

#2 The main compressor feed is coming off #4 up fitter. I had several leaks that were a chore to find, so in the interim I added the switch to feed the compressor relay with the key off.

#3 Strobes, have them in the grill and on the toolbox, need an always hot feed

#4 is just a make/break switch for the hub circuit

#5 Air horn relay is wired into the truck's horn circuit. This is just another make break circuit switch.

Mainly to keep my wife from setting off the alarm in a Lake George CVS parking lot at 10 pm when I am not around and blasting everyone with air horns that are connected to an 8 gallon supply.

Not that she has ever done that

 

Those add on switches were all done separately, with no consideration of future additions.
The next truck will be done in a more systematic manner.

Something else I did not consider. It was probably 2 years into ownership before I realized most major repairs were done with the cab off.

I have several things that are wired between the chassis and cab and chassis and bed that would be an issue if either had to be removed.

So the next truck will have a much neater switch block and all chassis-cab/bed stuff will be capable of disconnects.

 

Yep, if my cab has to come off they'll be cutting my wiring that I've run.
Had I considered cab off repair at the time, I would have added in a way to disconnect.

 

 

Hey Porthole, what brand/type of horns do you have?
Also I was wondering where you mounted them?

 

I have a collection of "free" horns.

One is off a Mack dump, one from a Volvo HDT pair, and a double trumpet that came off I don't know what.

The mack and Volvo trumpets are about 28"

The Mack and the double trumpet are mounted in the space behind the front bumper, crossways.
The Volvo is mounted under the passenger door

 

Duane,

That is a very good idea. I use 4 low at my place all the time when backing trailers and such up the driveway. For me the front being locked in has not been an issue because everything around here is dirt. But I can certainly see the advantage of just having the rear axle in 4 low.

 

BTW, doing this or pulling he fuse gets you a dash warning that lets you know 4WD is not engaged. I just ignore it.

 

Interesting overall setup and being able to lock low and go without turning issues is nice. Never realized why that would be needed until I moved to land of mountains and snow...

Shouldn't be too hard for Ford to program in a 2WD LO setting in the future. Even in the snow/ice I hate having to turn sharp in 4WD.

 

Ford won't make a 2wd low available. The rear drivetrain is not designed to withstand the torque that could be put on it in low range without the front drivetrain to share it.

 

If I wanted to go with 2 wd Low, could I just unplug the electrical connector next to the coolant overflow cap? I don't think I would use it enough to justify a switch.