Swapping 8.4" axle for 8" pros and cons

A good, well known winch brand and recovery gears will cost more than adding an arb or an elocker. I rather have a locker vs winch and recovery gear. Why? My warn winch, multiple drings, tree saver, snatch block, bla bla bla totaled near $1300.

I have an elocker, I'm on 35" with an arb in the front. Guess how many time I use my recovery gear or winch to recover my self, 0. 99.9% of the time, I only need to engage my rear elock to get unstuck and re-approach or maneuver around the "oh cr@p" on the trail/road. Do I ever use my recovery gear? Yes, only to pull stuck vehicle without minimal rear locker on the trail or down trees blocking the trail. Never once had I use it to recover my self.

 

I loved my elocker, it worked 100% of the time even rockcrawling with dual cases. Saying that the OP sounds like the perfect candidate to just run an open rear axle and just get a winch for the type of wheeling he does. You will eventually get out of any situation with a winch, lockers just get you into harder situations that are harder to get out of.

 

ultimately the op's goal seems to be self reliance while hunting/fishing. A rear locker is just not going to help you be as self reliant and self recover when youre stuck on some hill side or ditch in the snow and mud, which is usually where hunting happens. For normal wheeling, on trails, with some friends i agree, a rear locker is way more fun. But if i had to chose what i would bring with if i was going it alone, through questionable miles of off road trail with little chance of someone being readily available to help out? id rather have the winch

 

Wow, I guess your anecdote proves that no one with lockers ever uses a winch for self recovery.

I guess it depends on what you're after. Do you want something that allows you to drive harder trails, or do you want something that will get you out of a jam when shit hits the fan.

Lockers are cool. I like mine. But they are NOT safety equipment.

If I had to choose only one, it's be a winch.

 

plus, if you have F/R lockers and 35s and you never need to use your winch or get recovered...you're not using your lockers and 35s hard enough lol

i guess the exception is that its an IFS 1st gen toyota, and at the intersection of breaking shit and needing to be winched out using 35s and lockers...breaking shit usually wins, at least in my experience