Who gets tired of hearing that the TRD Sport 4x4 isn't off road capable? It's a Toyota truck!!

Again, i get that. & in the scenario you proposed you are correct. But the point which was originally made was “99% of the time, I'd bet driver mod can easily make up for lack of lockers“ which is also correct. I’ve seen it a million times & it’s made me laugh a million times more. In any situation, just because you have the tools, it doesn’t do any good if you don’t know how to use them.

 

So a locker is used 1% of the time... show me 1% of the time where the scoop is used. All these jealous sport owners...

 

I agree with some of that. It really depends where you live, what situations you put yourself in etc. For some people 99% may be true, for others a locker is needed more often, but at the end of the day you cannot say a open diff 4wd anything is as capable than the same with a rear locker and I think that's the real essence of this thread.

 

Correct again about location & situation... My comment was more about the driver being a big part of overall capability.

 

Agree about the driver and you're right. My perspective on this thread is "all else equal locker vs no locker, what is more capable."

 

I have not used my front locker yet. Should I tear it out for weight savings?

 

It's used 100% of the time when I drive it

 

If it takes you 5-10 minutes to clear an obstacle that folks with a locker just drive through in under a minute, are we still considering it easy?

If it was just a slower process I'd be more likely to agree with you. But really it's a process that involves multiple resets and attempts. If you have more failed attempts to navigate something before success, I'm not going to call it easy.


Let me put it like this. You have a large group of people on a trail. Say, 15 rigs. 2-3' ledges everywhere.

One case has 10 trucks and they're all experienced wheelers with locks.

The other is a group where only 3 rigs have lockers and the rest can sort of fake it til they make it.

What's going to be the difference in the trip?

Probably a couple of hrs and a lot less ground covered. The Double pedal trick is a good technique to get you out of trouble, but it is hardly a good replacement for a locker.

 

I use mine so hard I hood swapped 3 weeks after I bought it

 

I probably use mine about 3/4ths of the time I go out on trails. More control = less chance of parts breaking.

Random issues are going to pop up regardless, why not minimize the risk where possible.


We still challenge ourselves in some lines for fun, but we also have trails that'll slide your truck off a 3' ledge onto a hillside. I go into those locked 100% of the time.

 

I understand all of that. Honestly, i do. But you’re adding in all of these extra variables. The point of the comment that you replied to was about the driver. Simply put, an experienced driver, even without a locker, is better than an inexperienced driver with a locker. That’s all we were getting at.

 

Lockers suck.

 

This thread is the equivalent of worrying about what other dudes think of your penis.

 

Honestly it comes down to any other vehicle purchasing process.

What do you need the truck for. What features does the truck provide.

If you don't need lockers and would like some extra cosmetic features and a more on road tailored truck, there's a clear winner.


I don't think many guys that take their trucks on the trails are saying "man I really could use a locker, but I like that paint matched fender, hood scoop, and 17"rims that I'm going to swap out anyways.


What the driver personally uses it for is ultimately irrelevant.

At the end of the day one truck is better at providing traction than the other, natively.

 

.

 

What's the double pedal trick? Brake and throttle to try and send power to the other wheel? Won't the ECU just cut all throttle if you do both?

+1 for this. When I see a really flexy point I usually just hit the locker button before I even approach it for the same reason. I'm 100% stock other than tires and armor, I crawled up a real rutted out section at at snails pace making sure I didn't hit anything, while the big lifted 35's wrangler sport guys backed out and tried a few times with momentum because of the open diffs.

 

Agreed, and also a point I was trying to get across earlier when this thread started. I tried to stay out, but kept getting the notifications and decide to chime in again lol...probably a mistake on my end.

 

I'm really not disagreeing to be a jerk, I swear. My case is that I have about 10hrs worth of trails right down the road from me. This is just based on going over terrain that is handled substantially better with lockers.

I've been pretty consistent acknowledging you can double pedal and use that to your advantage. Not denying that.

I'm not adding anything. You said can easily get to the end. I said it wasn't easy. Again. Never commenting that they couldn't get to the end. Again, we do it weekly.

Just my personal observations after leading or being on these trails with probably about 50+ rigs now this year alone.

 

It applies braking to both wheels, so instead of slipping the lifted one it essentially retransfers the force back to the connected wheel.


It's a good thing to practice but it has its limitations. Can be a real pain when you're climbing a long ledge and part way up it a feature that you have to bump up. Hard to gain momentum with that kind of brake pressure applied.

 

@CoTacos this is what it looks like. See the front wheels spinning at the same rate. Denis hadn't locked it yet because he does it all the time without lockers, but that's what you're shooting for. He does make it up eventually. He's got about two decades of wheeling skill under his belt.

https://youtu.be/WjQWCAqcLhU