My first gen 2WD with rear diff lock questions

I'm still a bit new to the diff lock, haven't had to use it yet. I tested it for a few seconds on a gravel road to make sure it works, but that's it.

I use the truck for gravel forest service roads to find new fishing, hiking, etc. spots in the mountains. Not rock crawling or anything, but there are some muddy stretches and some steep grades at times.

Should I be turning the diff lock on before I go through the muddy spots or up the steep grades? Or wait til I get stuck before turning it on? Should I ride the whole gravel road with it on?

I try to avoid that kind of thing whenever possible, but sometimes I can't. 4WD was out of my price range so this is what I have to work with. Diff lock and a pair of Max Trax.

Thanks for any info!

Pic from last trip.

 

I don't have much experience with mud, but I would especially since you're relying on 2wd versus 4wd. For steep offroad inclines, most definitely keep it on. If you cross a rut in the climb without the locker on, and one wheel leaves the ground, you'll lose all your momentum because all the power will go to the wheel with the least amount of traction. Best to keep it locked in that scenario.

A locked 2wd is a night/day difference in capabilities over an open diff 2wd. My former Tacoma was a Prerunner and putting a locker in it was the single best mod I ever did to that thing, it made it possible to actually keep up with my 4x4 friends on some of the more difficult trails. Unlocked, I would get stuck on wet grass lol.

 

Gotcha, thanks!

Am I doing any harm leaving it locked the whole time on the gravel road, even if it's a few hours long?

 

Not really, only thing is if you're taking turns having a locked diff puts more stress on your tires. You can feel and hear the tires skip when turning with a locked diff, especially a tight turn. But under gravel/dirt the tires can skip if they need to, it would be even harder on them if you were on a hard packed surface like rock or asphalt.

 

If you come to a mud hole, I'd throw the locker on and hammer through it. Then release the locker when you're out. As @eon_blue said, it won't really harm anything as long as you are on loose gravel, it makes your turning radius larger so if you come up to a tight corner you either make a 3 point turn or stop and turn the locker off.

IMO, the locker, just like 4wd is an "as needed" device. I don't turn it on until I need to, but if you wait until you're already stuck before turning it on, you're already up sh!t creek.

But you ask "how do I know when I'll need it?" Well, that just comes from driving it more, and learning the limits of the truck. If you come across an obstacle you are unsure of, throw the switch. Then gauge how easy/hard it was to get through it. Maybe you didn't need it... But since you have it, might as well use it.

But I'd have a backup plan handy, too. Either a winch, or at least a come-a-long or a hi-lift jack and some tow line, Or go with another truck.

 

I used to leave my diff lock on 90% of the time I was in 4wd, which made getting through most things pretty easy including obstacles I definitely didn't need to use it on. But then I started noticing that my tires were getting chunked up quite a bit, especially on the edges...having the diff locked all the time was beating them up, especially on turns even though it was all dirt/rock. I've taught myself to be more selective with it now, but if I was limited to 2wd I'd use it a lot more.

 

These trucks have large enough turning radiuses without the locker, so when my locker is on, an F-18 can turn around in less distance than my truck.