GA Tacoma Owners BS Thread

I'd like to go on the before / after ride. I keep feeling like gears are in my future...I just don't have the money set aside to do that. because if I do it, I'm locking at the same time....

 

I agree, I would also want to lock the front, but that means I would need a compressor and a tank.

 

Do you have ATRAC/Crawl? If so you won’t need a front for what your throwing at it

 

That little teardrop is sweet, can you sleep in those?

 

Explain please


Edit: not arguing/disagreeing, legit knowledge seeker here

 

I have A-TRAC, no Crawl, but I was referring to locking the front.

 

Driving now, o will explain in a sec why a front would not be needed

 

Safety 1st

 

Oh, you're one of them. Our edification is not worth you getting into an accident or a ticket.

 

Yes you can sleep in those

 

Lol, nope I am not one of them. As I was run over by a texter on my motorcycle. Hence the statement, Inwill get right back with you. No one should even operate their phone while driving txt, phone, gps...none of it.

In my experience across the board is that the ATRAC/Crawl in conjunction with a Rear ELocker will get you out/over almost everything.
Now if you run bigger than a 35”, and wheel some hard shit then I would say get a front electric locker and upgrade axles shafts

 

I don't have Crawl because I have a manual.

 

Batman meets trailer park. A lift kit and a bolt-on m249 or two and your mad max camper is set!

 

240B on the corners, M2 on the roof on a Crow system.

 

At least on 3rd gens, the built-in traction control on the OR / Limited / PRO trims independently monitors and modulates brakes on each wheel if there's wheel slip. The SR / SR5 traction control does the same thing, but the SR and SR5 has a much smaller brake booster and isn't as effective.

Lockers are mainly for offset situations where a wheel is in the air. The traction control notices and basically acts as a brake-modulated limited slip differential up front, braking a lifted wheel on an offset situation. This makes a front locker really not that important for the trails you can do in GA. If you're out at Moab rock crawling, the extra stability from a front locker instead of the traction control is super-useful, but it's really not needed at all in the Southeast unless you're doing crazy shit you should be doing in a buggy.

A rear locker is still useful, because it can put power down more reliably to get you over obstacles in general. I still don't feel like it's needed for any trails I'm willing to go on, but I'd do a Harrop E locker on my SR5 if I ever felt the need - the ARB air lockers have had quite a few issues with air leaks inside the clamshell requiring complete disassembly and recall work from a shop.


Edit: One more thing worth mentioning is the durability loss you'll encounter with a front locker. IFS + locker + throttle often = boom. You can limp along without a front CV shaft, but too much can also blow the front diff or tcase, especially if you replace your shafts with upgraded ones. It's like doing a LT setup... By the time you've spent the time/money on a good long travel setup, you might as well have bought a side by side or old jeep or buggy to beat the shit out of.

 

I have never heard of durability loss by installing a locker up front. The biggest argument against it, at least for me, is the reduction in steering. You aren't likely to do any switchbacks with a front locker engaged. This is why ATRAC is so useful...it can act as a front locker by stopping wheel spin and putting power to the wheel with traction while still leaving the diff open and allowing for a full turn.

 

After experiencing how well ATRAC works, I don’t think I’ll ever have a want to lock the front. @synaps3 explained it very well, my super short explanation when I explain it to people is that it is essentially a “soft” locker. You can see/hear it in this video I took when I first got my truck. 4LO, rear locker OFF, ATRAC ON.

https://youtu.be/miCgY5wgiEA

 

Not a bad find!

https://nwga.craigslist.org/pts/d/rome-viair-450-air-bag-compressorect/6914235478.html

 

My front locker experience is limited to Solid toyota front axles but I can say when both wheels are getting power and spinning and then one comes back to the ground and catches hard, something gives. Mostly a hub or shaft. With the IFS, I assume the same would happen. Depending on where you wheel, and with more street friendly rigs, the gas pedal usually gets the nod when it comes to over coming some obstacles. So heavy gas, locked front, sudden traction=boom.

When I lived in CO and wheel a good amount in my 4runner, I broke a fair amount of front shafts when this happened. I had so much travel in my front end I just removed the front locker and did fine on some pretty hairy stuff with just a rear locker and open front.

after spending xxx amount on front and rear lockers and gears for these trucks, the cost of buying a locked fzj80, 2 inch OME kit and some off brand 35 muds is not far off.

 

If you hit some stuff at AOP I could totally see a front locker being useful, but I'd rather save that money and dump it into a crawl box (being manual). I've seen a first gen follow complete crawlers and navigate the same shit and be fine. I think instead of a re-gear I'd get a crawl box since it's not my DD. I'd eventually re-gear but not first