When Do You “Locker” Up?

Still not the same. Chains help you get more traction, but if you're open and one wheel is slipping, you stop moving. If you're locked, and one wheel has traction still, you keep moving.

 

I got the sport, I wait for one of you guys to show up when I'm stuck, in the meantime, I'm using the trax, flooring it, digging, using f@#%* language, and spending the night if I'm alone, luckily that has not happened yet!!!!

 

Also chains are not great at speed. Huge PIA to take them on and off vs pushing a button

 

Yeah I get that. I've never found myself in such a situation though where I need to be in 4H and locked. I've spent plenty of time in 4l and ATRAC or locked. 4H seems like a good way for things to end up broken.

You guys must play in way more snow than I ever have

 

First time using my truck off road in the snow this past Thursday going out to my friend's cabin. Trail listed on the maps as "Jeep Trail." In dry conditions it's about 5.5 miles and takes 30 mins (give or take a few) to get from trailhead to cabin. Got stuck twice, dug out once and got winched out once. Made the trip back out without getting stuck, mainly because we broke the trail two days prior and only got a couple inches of snow while we were out.
In a nut shell, I learned 4Lo with ATRAC (MT) and 3rd gear worked best for me. When I got stuck, the rear locker didn't make enough difference to get me out. I will be adding a small center section bumper with winch to my truck very soon. Overall I'm impressed with the ATRAC system, it functions as designed and makes the truck more capable in the snow than I would have imagined. And this was on 245/75/16 Blizzak DMV2 tires. When I need new Winter tires, I'll go with a wider size for greater floatation in the snow. I have to find a balance between off road and still not kill my mileage for my DD commute to work.
Just thought I'd share my recent experience here.

 

I lock the differential based on the obstacle and the condition of the surface. Attempting with an open diff first is not a criteria for me...based on experience if the rear (or front) locked will help, then locked it is. On open trails, I run open to maintain the best turn radius. A locked rear can lead to pushing in a turn and a much wider turn.

I had one trail that was slick with mud that sloped toward the inside of the turn and a nice tree. Two vehicles in front of me lost rear windows when they used lockers, and I ran 100% open and motored right thru. Lockers on a slick side slope like that can lead to bad results.

Evaluate the terrain and conditions to make your decision. Anything else is just guessing.

 

Looks like you have a pretty solid plan.

 

Yeah once you're stuck in the snow adding the locker probably isnt going to help. If its deep snow I always put it on before. Also, depending on the snow dropping your tire pressure a ton can help you float

 

Thank you for the tips.

 

i want to be able to lock it in 2HI - for drifting

 

Shoulda got a 2nd gen #2ndGenBestGen

 

I miss the LSD from my 2005... those were the days

 

Well that and the low-rpm torque! hard to get the 3.5l to play ball

 

the tune helps significantly. My truck has much more power down low and I dont really miss the 4.0 these days.

 

I've used mine when driving on the beach. Sometimes it's always engaged when it's not, I engage it prior to "obstacles" such as when the path is funneled toward the water and I really don't want to get stuck there.

 

100% situational. Sometime before no cranking turns involved. Sometimes as mentioned, don't even need 4WD when RWD Lo works fine and have full steering ability. NICE to have all the options.

 

I wonder how the auto LSD compares to the locker in similar situations. I've had a locker and limited slip clutch-pack differentials in other vehicles before.

I didn't expect much of the auto LSD when I got my truck thinking it would cycle one tire spinning over the other--back and forth. Flooring it on my dirt road leaves 2 uninterrupted trenches.

 

Never offroaded an LSD, but I cant imagine it would be very good when you really need it aka one tire in the air. At the end of the day an LSD still needs to handle and corner well on the pavement

 

Thanks for the reply. The auto LSD is electronically controlled by using the brakes to modulate the torque. It's an open rear diff. Makes me want to jack one side up and see if it would pull off of it.

 

Ahh I thought you were talking about the mechanical LSD that was available on some of the early 2nd gens