Front Locker: Is it worth it?

very true, but you blitz every hill we climbed.

 

I guess I need to make the long haul to California and see if I can hang.

 

Sub'd

 

oh you will be able to hang if you have done moab.

 

So rear locker + ATRAC doesnt compare?

 

Not on a tacoma....

ARB Front & Rear lockers on a Jeep that's built specifically for the trails - YES. Needed it and used it many many times. Got me into trouble, a couple times (rolled it twice).

If there's any one locker you put in the front - it should be a selectable and ARB's are the best!!!

 

OP idk if you know or not, but I was watching your first video and just thought I would mention that if you air down your tires it will make the rocks a lot easier, and more comfortable in the cab

 

Yeah you are right. Everyone was ready to go and waiting on me. I just dropped them to 27 and carried on. When I go out to Moab or somewhere I am less familiar with I would dropped it a bit more. I know that area pretty well so I wasn't worried about it.

 

Yes, do it. You wont use it much but will be glad you have it when you "need it" or decide to put yourself in a position that you otherwise wouldnt have without it. The more and more you do of course the better chances of breaking, like with any modified vehicle. Carry an extra cv axle or two. Get the selectable locker and engage only when needed once you have picked your line then turn it off. Turning is not easy and is a strain on the components so its for short spurts only.
Safest used in low traction situations where you need another tire biting. If you are doing u-turns in Moab like slick rock terrain you will get really good at fixing front end components.

 

Yeah I hear you. I never run my locker in the rear until I approach something that I feel will need it. Once I am through the obstacle turn it off. That is even more important for the front.

When I was in Moab last year everyone told me "Only use it when you need it" I have kept that philosophy anytime I wheel.

 

Not only turning it off after getting through the obstacles, I usually find myself turing it on and off multiple times getting through something to get my steering back, it pretty much locks the wheel in place.

 

i thought about a front locker real hard......

but i have been through some pretty gnarly shit and i havent "really" needed one yet.
i just dont want to blow through cvs.... but it would be so nice to have...
hmm.

 

if it were me, I would take a winch and a front locker. I dont off road in my truck, but have an atv for that. I have used the front locker and winch a few times on that, and could see your kind of trails where you could use both.

 

A-Trac only works at under 5mph, and all it does on my truck is make the front end drivetrain and suspension bounce all around till your sure you broke a c/v. I had to turn A-trac off in some situations to avoid this. Front locker for me!

 

Although blowing CVs with a front locker is more likely, you don't have to hit obstacles nearly as hard. You can slowly work your way through them (sometimes). That alone ups the level of safety when wheeling on serious terrain. Bumping an obstacle next to a cliff is a little more risky.

As for ATRAC I have used it quite a bit without having it start bouncing around. In that winter video I posted I used ATRAC through that whole thing and it did it's job. I know quite a few people who use it, but have never heard of an issue with it like the one you are describing.

 

Front locker is worth its weight in gold.

 

I find for a lot of more squirrely situations I just have to shut everything off. Both my 09 sport and 09 offroad do the same thing. It will just grind you to a hault some times.

I had a few situations this past winter where the whole truck would just buck like a wild horse with a-trac on. One time I recall was on a trail with about 12" of fresh snow, on top of a few feet of hardened snow going up an off camber hill climb with a 3' diagonal hump from a pipeline underneath. Once I came over that hump it just bucked like crazy. The front brakes acting under atrac made the front wheels fight each other nearly to death. I backed up off of it, shut off atrac and just crawled up over it with the rear locker engaged. I can't get into anything rough in hi range with trac enabled either, it just slams the brakes on and stops you. Feels the same as the brakes holding you back while doing a burnout on pavement, if anyone remembers those days. It thinks the truck is spinning out and shuts you down.

Most of this is during snow runs where momentum is the only thing keeping you going. On normal dirt roads atrac works great for me if I get a wheel off the ground or something on solid ground.

 

I dont believe your A-Trak is functioning properly. It pretty much just taps the brake of a spinning tire so the other one will bite a bit more. It should only do it under a few MPH and in 4LO only. There is some noise associated it with the pulsing but no bucking or craziness like you are experiencing

 

Very true.

 

Poll is showing 50% NO, that means half the people are missing out out on all the fun, sad really.