Ok, guys, time for me to serious. GOt stuck in the mud today just trying to manuever a snowmobile trailer. Long story. Anyway, I had the normal bad traction of non lockers or LS. My experience from years ago sayr that after tires ( I run the stock Steeltex) comes some sort of differential mod. I use my truck mostly for commuting with some towing and some snowplowing. Also, some limited off-road around the farm.
What is the best solution: Limited slip or locker? Front or back or both? What company? OEM or aftermarket? I tend to be too aggressive in the mud or snow and I guess I better upgrade.

 

For a fairly comprehensive answer (more than can really be answered here objectively), Four-Wheeler magazine (May edition) has an article that strives to answer that age old question. It is a pretty good article.

I'm sure many opinions will follow. Me? I say upgrade your tires first. Then get an aftermarket LS unit in the rear.

<on edit> axle, rear axle!

 

I read that article along with a couple on the Web. I think I understand the differences but I am looking for real world experience. Tires are a conundrum for me as most of my driving is on-road. The steeltexes seem to be a compromise to begin with. If I were giving someone off-road advice, I would start with tires, also. Maybe there are more aggressive tires that would be ok for road use as well??

 

I haven't gone offroad yet with the new truck, but in a parking lot today I found that the stock limited slip will lay two pretty good patches!

 

As far as tires go, I would swear by BF Goodrich AT/ko tires. I run them on my Jeep Grand Cherokee and they are great both on and off the road. They have a pretty good lifespan as well as being fairly quiet on the road. My second choice would be the Michelin LTX AT. I have driven a few trucks with these and they last a bit longer than the BFG's as well as being a bit quieter on the road. They aren't as agressive off road though but are very comparible in all other respects. I chose the BFG's on my Grand because of the added traction off road and in the deep snow (offloading my sled) and because they look a little more agressive than the Michelins do. My F250 arrives next week and I'm switching the tires to BFG before I even take it off the dealer's lot. JM2C

 

I have run BFG AT/ko's for over 35,000 miles on my 1999 Super Duty and love them. Traction is tricky question but I have found when in 2 wheel drive if I use both the accelerator and the brake pedal my LS will do a better job. When I am in 4X4, the trucks just goes and has some fun.

 

Also, some limited off-road around the farm.
>What is the best solution: Limited slip or locker? Front or
>back or both? What company? OEM or aftermarket? I tend to be
>too aggressive in the mud or snow and I guess I better
>upgrade.

Powertrax http://www.powertrax.com is making a pretty attractive combo that's getting good feedback in print. I was checking about getting one for my ford 10.25 rear end, but they don't make one for the application. :-(
I'm still considering getting one for the front end for those times in slippery sufaces. Sometimes the front end has more ability to get traction than the rear because of the weight already over the axles. Plus you can have it idle with lockout hubs and the manual shift transfer case. For snowplowing, you'd be able to plow some serious snow with LS or lockers on both axles. I don't have any personal experience with L.S, but with a 4X4 vehicle, it might be more advantageous to have it on the front axle than the rear? The only problem or question would be if the front end would handle the entire load of the vehicle if you would have full traction up front and no traction in the rear.

Tony

 

deffinately a rear limited slip but i would think twice about puting one in the front. if you are after it throwing the roost, it is still nice to be able to steer?

 

I've done quite a bit of 4 wheelin' with heavily modified as well as slightly modified. There is a growing contingent out there for the ARB air locker for people who use their 4X4 as daily drivers. Personally, I like the Detroit locker. I have never had one fail. Detroit makes a locker called an EZ Locker that will allow a little slip. If you aren't doing serious mud bogs or rock crawling, I would suggest you get an EZ locker and put in the front diff only. This will retain your daily driver ride, as it won't be engaged unless the hubs are, yet give you traction to both front tires when 4X is engaged. You don't have to buy an air compressor or mess with running the air lines into the diff or worry about them failing. Another plus with Detroit, is they are very strong. Due to the weight and torque, a bargain locker can end up costing you a bunch of money in the long run due to breakage. If you do SERIOUS off roading, then I would put a locker in the rear (EZ Locker is fine there too). However, the characteristics of a locked rear end on pavement take some getting used to and are not real fun in wet weather.

TXTRAILERDADDY

 

A fulltime locker in the front can be tough to deal with in the snow and can shorten your turning radius when in 4x4. Also you get more benefit from having a locker in the rear. New tires are of limited assistance when one tire is on a very low traction surface or in the air. If you already have a LSD, try engaging the e-brake slightly, this will help send power to the tire with traction. In my opinion, a selectable locker, such as ARB or Oxtrax (if and when they make one for your application) in the rear axle would be your best bet. Second to that I think would be a winch.