Question on rear locker usage

I'm having a house built here in PA, and with all the snow melt and rain, it's nothing but a gigantic mud pit (playing around the other week, I managed to get it stuck...you can search for my other thread for pics of that...it was my own fault, not the trucks!). Anway, I'm in the habbit of stopping before the deep nasty mud, putting it in 4L and turning the locker on (I don't have gray wire yet...so that's the only real reason I put it in 4L). I figure, this makes it all the easier to keep moving and not get stuck.

I've also heard that this is not the way it should be used. It's only for when you GET stuck and need extra help getting out that the locker should be used. I've heard that using it any other time than when you're stuck is putting wear and tear and shouldn't be done.

My thought is that strategy might work well on rocks/boulders where all of the sudden one wheel is up in the air and you need to press the locker and get traction to the one on the ground, but, with mud, why not get more traction from the start and keep momentum more? It seems like gettings stuck in bad mud and then pressing the locker wouldn't give you GREAT chances of getting unstuck, vs going in with everything you've got from the get go.

Thoughts?

 

Engaging the locker before entering an area (mud/rocks) that you think you'll need help and/or to prevent getting stuck - is THINKING SMART.

People do this all the time and its actually better to keep you moving, preserve momentum, and not get stuck.

Using 4lo is also a good idea...... 4Lo keeps your overall speed down thus preventing bouncing & breakage.

Wear & tear? These 4WD systems & lockers are built to handle it. If they aren't - then you'd read about it here. Go ahead and USE IT for what its made for!!

OH, welcome to the forum from another PA peep! Have you seen RAusch Creek yet?

 

I am eying up Rausch Creek for a spring trip! Honestly right now, my friggin lot is enough of a challenge! Lol

Anyway, I want to try to get in on one of those beginner trips out there, for stock trucks, that I see get organized every once in a while.

 

You're fine. I've ran around in 2Hi with the rear locked. Nothing has blown up yet.

 

The only time it is bad to use the locker is on dry pavement. It puts the axles in a bind and with the rear end being stock, it can eventually break somthing.

 

Good answers all... I also say to engage the rear locker before you get stuck, not after! It doesn't always engage easily, afterall... Sometimes it takes a half dozen attempts to lock the rear and other times it goes right in!?

Use it when you know there will be a traction challenge like steep, rocky grades, deep mud, uneven road surface (deep ruts where one tire may leave the ground).

Remember, the flashing rear locker light will stop flashing when the rear is locked...

STEP ONE: Read the warning (mainly to know that once you are through the difficult place to turn off the locker):



STEP TWO: Engage Low Range:



STEP THREE: Push the Rear Locker Switch:



STEP FOUR: Check and see if light is flashing or solid, if flashing repeat steps, try rolling truck, etc.:

 

Lock it up if you think there is a chance of getting stuck, once your stuck and you lock it up and are still stuck you are Fu*ked!

 

YOu gotta hit up one of the beginner trips!! YOu'll love it!!
My husband and I used to host & guide beginner trips there many years ago. So, if you've never been to an offroad park - let me just say, it IS NOT just a dirt road. You will be seeing different terrain that might scare you at first. Hopefully they'll have a lecture at the beginning of the trip to give you the do's & don'ts. 4Lo all day long. Get on Rausch Creeks forum and chat with those guys for a bit - you'll meet some great people!

 

Ah I thought I recognized your name from the old Rausch trip organization threads I was reading. I was bummed when all the dates seemed kind of far in the past. Ill have to poke around this spring and see if anyone is still organizing them.
Thanks!

 

Yeah, unfortunately...the club that I was in kinda collapsed.

Hey!!!...March 26th - Beginners run!
http://www.rc4x4.org/rcforum/index.php/topic,13105.0.html

 

Thanks Janster, I'll check it out. Looks like all jeeps right now.

 

Is it true that if you don't use it, you lose it?


I wish I had one the other day trying to pull a trailer full of construction debris up a muddy hill. 4LO and 1st gear with a running start weren't working too well

Like others said, engage it BEFORE you get stuck.

It always puzzles me while when offroading many guys will drive in 2wd until they get stuck, then engage 4wd. I always switch to 4wd once we hit the trail just so I know it's engaged when I need it.

 

From the standpoint of it seizing up and not being lubricated to engage easily when you need it? Yeah. I believe it's in the owner's manual too, but, it's always a good idea to at least engage 4WD for a few miles a month (tough for people like me, in any months but winter), at least pop it into 4L to get it engaged (not a huge deal since it's mechanical), and then press the locker button to get the solenoid to operate (and then obviously deactivate it unless you are actually going to need it). Should help things stay free-moving for when you do actually need them.

 

lol I know

 

Where's the *SLAP YOU SILLY* emoticon?

Who cares about the Jeeps!! REAL Jeepers will respect everyone as will the REAL Toyota peeps.

You might learn a lot from eachother!! (I used to be a jeeper )

 

Hey I AM a Jeeper lol. I'm looking to get into the Taco's though. Jeep is my wife's lol. Question about the locker. what models and which years did the taco come with a locker? is it only rear or do they have front lockers as well? sorry for the thread jack but it's kinda on topic...lol

 

Rear only. In 2nd gen's (05+) The locker comes in the TRD Off-road models.

Not sure about 1st gen's, someone else can chime in.

 

I'm pretty sure they are only in 1st gen trd's also.

 

thanks!!

 

I believe the TRD back to 1998 had the rear locker. In 2005 they came out with another TRD, the Sport, and no locker on it. Tacomas never had a factory front locker, as it would be a bigger liability than the rear if left locked after getting unstuck. Look at the fuss and warning lable Toyota uses for the rear locker!

Perhaps they knew A-TRAC (which they were developing back that far) would eventually be in the Tacoma which provides the traction of front lockers without any steering issues?