ARB Front locker

Who has a front locker and how’s your experience with it off road?

I’m debating whether to go front and rear, or rear only. I’ve heard that the front locker can bust the cv axle on the trails. Has anybody had this happen? Is it worth having the front or is the rear good enough for most situations? I don’t do a lot of rock steps. Or extreme wheeling. But I understand it’s nice to have it when a situation presents itself.

I’m going ahead with 4.88 gears and need to decide on lockers as well to consolidate the job.

 

I'm still waiting on my diff guy, but I'm in the process of having front and rear ARB's installed at the same time as re-gearing.

I've had more than a handful of vehicles with rear lockers only, and one with front and rear lockers (80 series land cruiser).

Yes, a front locker adds more stress to front end components, there's no getting around that, it's like any other tool; you need to use it appropriately. I will say that the addition of a front locker has saved me front getting stuck, or having to winch, several times. I treat it as a near last resort kind of thing, and use it sparingly. I enjoy having more than one solution to a problem, and for me a front locker is just that.

It's exactly what you said, really nice to have when the situation presents itself. I found myself using mine on slippery dirt/gravel/snow climbs where I needed that last little bit of available traction. I generally tried to avoid it on any surface that had tons of traction, and if I did use it on those types of surfaces (Moab red rock for example) I did my best to not turn. Some of the really steep optional climbs in Moab were made possible by me being locked front and rear in my 80 series.

What size tires are you planning on running? That plays a role too....

 

32.5 now with plans to go up to 34

 

im going ahead with front and rear. I have 2 questions. Where are you gonna have your switches for the air and lockers? I don’t have anymore blanks and I’d like to avoid going with a switch pro if possible.

Also where are you mounting the air compressor? I’m going with the arb twin compressor and it will be hidden inside the fender on the rear driver side. The quick connect will be inside the cubby storage area inside the bed on the driver side.

who has gone this route? And regrets? Better ideas?

 

Just as a piece of advice from someone locked front and rear with 34’s. The front locker has a time and a place. Low traction scenarios involving snow and sand are awesome for it. Even hill climbs where your issue is a tire spinning from flexing out can be a great use for it. I’ve never broken an axle locked or unlocked. I also don’t just lock my front and try to climb my truck thru binding, my front locker is literally last plan right before pulling winch line, sometimes pulling winch line is a better plan than locking the front. and I always get out and look at what has my truck stuck before deciding the front locker is the solution to my problem. Call me lazy but I’ve been a part of trail side CV swaps and it just isn’t my idea of a good time, lots of other things I’d rather be doing on a trip, lol

 

Noted. Any advice on switch and compressor unit placements?

 

Rear locker first, then decide if you still need a front one. The majority of offroading people do in these trucks can be conquered with 4wd and a rear locker, a front one is really only needed for more extreme rock crawling type terrain. And a front locker does come with more risk than a rear one. The solid rear axle is much more stout than the independent front suspension/CV axles. I would be willing to bet that anyone with IFS and a front locker has blown a few CVs with it. Comes with the territory, not that it's a huge deal...people that wheel the kinds of trails where a front locker is needed carry spare CVs with them and change them out as needed. Not a hard job

Anyway my point being, a rear locker is a good investment for any avid off-roader IMO, but a front one is something you do when you realize the trails you frequent call for it. And you're confident in your CV axle changing ability lol.

 

I have an 06 with less OEM switches than you and was able to install all 3 next to each other in the stock blanks to the left of the steering wheel. Also have my compressor mounted where you have the air injection pump or whatever it’s called for the newer trucks.

 

the truck is getting re geared so it’s now or never. I’ve already decided to go ahead with both. It makes more sense for me since I live in Canada, snow and mud are way more common for than dry situations. I don’t really need the front locker but “better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it”

 

yeah that is true, if you're going to have it all opened up anyway it'll save you a lot of money down the road from having to do it again

 

I have light switches installed in the 2 blank spots to the left of the steering wheel. No more real estate there. I have 1 blank left under the climate controls but that doesn’t help. I’m thinking to the left of the cup holder behind the shifter.

 

I too have the switches on my 07 in the three blanks to the left of the steering wheel. My compressor is mounted on the passenger side near the washer reservoir, I built a bracket to hold it because I wasn't impressed with the aftermarket options.

 

Who has a twin arb compressor installed in the newer models that have a smog pump? I mean besides the engine bay where else can it go?

 

It can really go anywhere, there’s bed cubby mounts, some people mount them inside the cab. It’s up to you and how much work you want to do

 

Bed cubby? As in making them larger to fit a twin compressor?

 

https://expeditionessentials.com/products/toyota-tacoma-bedside-compressor-mount

 

just what I need. Thanks!

 

I don't have ARB products, but I hear there are issues with the lines leaking if not installed by a reputable or knowledgeable installer of their products.

I always wanted to add a front locker, but honestly my rear locker and A-Trac has gotten me out of everything so far. Rear locker has helped tons of times.

 

I'd go with the Slee mount rather than the rear cubby mount. The compressor will be subject to much more dust, mud and water in the bedside than in the engine compartment. The Slee mount uses otherwise worthless space and saves you from having to buy an expensive harness to power it.

My rear cubbies during a recent maintenance job


The mud was also on top of the cubbies which means it would be on the compressor if I used that style mount

 

ARB's are like like anything else; if you take the time to install it correctly, and pay attention it eliminates 90% of the issues. If you've ever messed with air or hydraulic lines plumbing and fitting ARB air lines isn't any more difficult.