I have a 1988 f-150 short bed reg cab 4x4 wiyh a 9" of lift all together its on 39" m/t baja belted tires. which would be better to get now a locker or a winch?

 

no question, locker.....or even better, lockerS. good setup with lockers and there is no reason for a winch

besides, even the best of winches wont get you out of some things.

 

Winch and charge the shevy guys then get the lockers.

 

winch! open diffs suck. ive gotten stuck on top of a pile of snow while one of my rear tires was still on pavement! plus...you look at a guy like pro...he doesnt have a winch and he really has no need for it. go with the lockers

adam

 

before either of those you need to ditch the sh1tty MT's and get some real tires. then you may not need either.

then i would suggest a winch b/c not only can you get yourself out (with the help of a buddy or tree) you can pull other folks out. with a locker you are more apt to try the bigger holes b/c you feel big and bad. and if i'm not mistaken you prolly have a limited slip in the rear anyways so both of your tires should spin somewhat already. if you throw a locker in you will toast a 1/2 tonxle or 2 at one point or another.... esp with those MT's

the reason Pro doesn't need a winch is b/c he runs such high HP and the truck can keep the tires clean (which is key). if you put a locker in you automatically divide the horsepower by the 2 rear wheels instantly. then if you kick in 4x4 you have to divide it again by 3 (unless it has a front locker, then it'll be 4). the more times you divide power the more horsepwer or lower geares you will need to keep the tires spinning! also Pro does a good bit of mud bogging so the point is to get as far as possible through the pit and if not more than likely he can back out. if you do any kind of trail riding then a winch can be handy for more than just getting over obstacles.

-cutts-

 

My votes for locker....especially if you roll with other guys who have a winch. You can always bring a come along and some cable in a pinch.

 

My nod is for the locker also...you can always break out the welder too if you want and spend the money on the winch. My thought is you are going to break axles whether you have a locker or a welded spiders. The only downside(other than the wheels not disengaging) of running a lincoln locker compared to say a detroit is you use the weaker stock diff housing. If your welds are good then something else will break before the welds do.

 

I vote for a locker as well. Lockers are a good place to start building a wheeling rig, and offer immediate stand alone results. Add other items, such as a winch, as your needs and budget allow.

Ernie

 

System, in your user CP you should change your "location" to a city and state and not your street address, for your own safety and stuff.

Normally, I would say locker. But, I agree with everything fisherman pointed out (not a good combo 8.8 axle/39s/locker). I would get a winch and a few ****** blocks. I have found even a 2k winch or come-along can pull you from a stuck where the locker or limited slip is doing no good because there is no traction. Especially high centered.

 

Locker and wench in short skirt with tow strap.

 

O_O

 

What i would do is pick apart ebay for a good used warn 8274 winch (or something as good), if you watch you can pick one up for a max of 500 bucks for a good one, then i would spend another 500 bucks (at max, you sould be able to get the stuff for cheaper) on getting a 3/4-ton (if you don't want to upgrade/can't afford- to a one ton, that is if you are still running the TTB 1/2 ton stuff) HD drive train, swap the rear under the swap the dana 50 centersection in for the 44, then i would look in to see how much it would cost to get the inner knuckles out welded onto the dana 44 beam, ad still use your coils.

Once this is done i would weld the rear (10.25's are a dime a dozen and cheap to buy) and start saving for a solid 60 front, or you could up a dana 50 TTB into a SA, if you're a good welder. This way you've got the heavy stuff underneath to take the abuse the bigger tires will dish out, and its all done for fairly cheap too.

 

Lockers will prevent a lot of the stucks that you'll need a winch to fix. I say get the lockers so you don't get stuck in the first place. When it comes to offroading winches are a luxury, lockers are a necessity. Once you have the necessities covered you can start playing with the luxury items.

 

Lockers (other than aggressive tires) are the number 1 upgrade that you can do to your rig to help it offroad. That's my opinion anyways. You can have the biggest, baddest ride around with 44s and a built motor with open diffs wont likely get around as good as a guy with 35's that is locked front and rear. Just my .02 cents

 

Well with a 39" tall tire and a detriot, that 8.8 ain't going to live very long under hard use, granted there are people that still do it, but in general an axle the size of an 8.8" (i'm assuming this is what he has, along with a 6" suspension and 3" body, please correct if i'm wrong here) ain't going to last when locked under a fullsize (jeeps and ranger if could surive because of the lower weight) with 39's is asking for trouble, so i would upgrade to a 10.25 rear (still can keep the rear abs doing this), weld it get a winch, and then save for a detroit, and in about a year or so you should be able to throw a detroit in there and be good to go, and won't have to worry about breaking anything in the near future either.