Electronic Locking Axle, Necessary?
Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 8,653
Likes: 4,740
From: Itinerant
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 205
Likes: 56
It's like insurance. If you have it and don't need it you lose a little. If you don't have it and need it you lose a lot. I mean you're spending a min $60,000 (probably a lot more) for the truck, how much more is a locking rear??
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 4,009
Likes: 2,330
People will spend thousands upon thousands for convenience and creature comforts but skip some of the most useful features on a truck. Kinda like how many 70k+ SDs I see have no rear wheel well liners.
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,058
Likes: 424
From: Too close to Houston
Huh? I don’t have rear wheel liners and don’t have a clue what would make them so necessary. I guess each of us has different needs and having options is a good thing.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 899
Likes: 328
Potentially a whopping $430 if not included in your build. Agree, quite an insignificant amount, considering.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 19,698
Likes: 12,824
From: Wyoming
The liners come in handy for when the tire tread picks up rocks and flings it into the wheel well. Less noise, no dents. If you get into mud, the liners are easier to clean.
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 4,009
Likes: 2,330
they also really help with snow and associated debris that build over time. I see so many trucks with everything under the frame covered with road spray in the winter when I head into the hills. Can you spray them out with a hose? Sure, with some effort, but with so many electrical wires and connectors under the bed these days, you have to straddle a fine line between wash away caked on dirt/mud mixed with sand or salt, but not so strong that you get water into places you don't want water.
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Tuned
Joined: Nov 2023
Posts: 431
Likes: 247
It is ridiculous all the junk they put on a truck.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 1,735
Likes: 1,116
My vote is skip it. My primary business for 20+ years was land clearing. Spent plenty of time in loose soil, loose debris, mud, snow, and ice and there were maybe a handful of times having that extra wheel powered would have got me any further. Even those few times if I did get further it would have just ended with three spinning wheels instead of two. The right set of tires will get you the best results.
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 4,009
Likes: 2,330
-locking rear diff
-wheel well liners
-upfitter switches
-trailer brake controller
I think the liners are standard on limited and platinum. For 90k-100k they better be included, lol.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 1,735
Likes: 1,116
Up here in the Northern parts the wheel well liners on the steel bodied trucks are a guarantee your bed sides will rot away many years prior to ones without. Its nice being able to actually clean the sand out from under the bed and it not get stuck in the top of the liners holding moisture. Not too worried about the aluminum bodies now but still have no desire to fit a liner.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 205
Likes: 56
I agree! I didn't know they weren't!!
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 4,009
Likes: 2,330
Up here in the Northern parts the wheel well liners on the steel bodied trucks are a guarantee your bed sides will rot away many years prior to ones without. Its nice being able to actually clean the sand out from under the bed and it not get stuck in the top of the liners holding moisture. Not too worried about the aluminum bodies now but still have no desire to fit a liner.