My '05 has open differentials front and rear. After a recent (and time-consuming & embarrassing!) experience getting stuck in some soft sand, I now realize that I need to be able to lock 'em if I am going to continue my frequent adventures off of the beaten path.

A well regarded driveline specialist recommended that I go with a Truetrac in the rear, but the local shop who will be doing the install said that they don't like the Truetrac because it doesn't lock quickly in typical driving conditions (e.g. empty truck on wet pavement).

I am looking for some more opinions; What do y'all suggest for a locking rear differential?

98% of my driving is on the street in NoCal where it doesn't rain much and I want the same kind of dry street performance I currently get from the open diff', but I want it to be LOCKED when I need it to be. Also, I regularly haul a camper and tow heavy if that makes any difference in which diff' I should choose. I'll add that I am currently running 33.5" tall tires with 3.83 gearing and I don't plan to re-gear.

For the front I think I have settled on using an e-locker... it's either that or and ARB Air-Locker, but the e-locker will be easier on both my wallet and installation effort. Given the extremely limited amount of time I will have the front diff' locked, I suspect that the e-locker should be fine. Thoughts?

Thanx,
-Mark

 

A TruTrac is a limited slip worm gear. It's not a locker.

No reason not to use a e-locker in the rear, too.

 

Thanks .boB! Understood, the TrueTrac is limited slip, not a "locker".

I guess I should have been more specific about what I'm hoping to find;
I want a rear diff' that can be used on the street (empty or loaded, dry or wet) and still give good 'round-town drivability and will get power to both rear wheels when I need it to..without needing me to choose to engage it.

Is limited slip all I need? Do TruTrac's work as advertised? Any other options I should be considering?
-Mark

 

Tru-trac is your only option, will work ok in most situations. The grizzly locker will be ugly on the street and you don't want selectable so... Don't know why they say its not quick, one or two revolutions and it should start to engage, don't expect locker style performance from it though

 

I personally wouldn't waste the money installing a limited slip or a locker unless you were already regearing or otherwise taking apart the diffs...

But if you are adamant, get a selectable locker or none at all IMO. And ideally you will only use the locker after you start to slip and use it to get out of trouble...

Otherwise all a locker does is make your recovery more difficult LOL But anything you're taking your 8000lb fullsize truck into that requires a locker, I'd rethink driving into.... Anywhere near me like that would involve lots of body damage and I have a feeling that if you were ok with that sort of stuff, you wouldn't have been asking about lockers because you'd already know LOL

 

Thanks Brennan! That's valuable info!
Correct, this truck my camper-hauler and is definitely not a "wheeler". Want to talk about difficult recoveries? Try gettin' unstuck with 4000lbs of camper in the bed!! Besides being heavy, my rig is way too pretty for rock bashing .

One of the issues is that I'm running 19.5" wheels & tires. They don't air-down well due to the stiff sidewalls and lack of a bead-bump. As a result, they're terrible in soft terrain & sand. Fortunately most of my driving is on the road, that is, until I get to wherever I'm planning to camp... then I frequently NEED the additional traction to make it the last few miles to my destination.

Cost isn't a deal-breaker, so it sounds like using selectable lockers front & rear is the complete solution. Any reason not to use the e-lockers? For occasional use is it worth the extra $$ to get the ARB's?

Thanks again!
-Mark

 

I've been considering going to 19.5's and you're comments(and a severe lack of cash) are the exact reasons I'm hesitant.

If you aren't worried about cost, ARB's are great. The on board air is a nice bonus, you can plumb in an air tank and air line port and have air to fill tires or airbags.

I honestly don't have much experience with other selectable lockers... I've known a few folks with OX lockers, but they all got so-so reviews. But ARB's are certainly the industry standard when it comes to selectable lockers.

Another thing to consider would be a winch, maybe even one on a multi-mount, so you could winch forwards or backwards... I don't know what kind of terrain you're in, but a winch could also certainly be helpful if you're in woods with big enough trees to hook up to, out in the desert, not as helpful (for quick hookups at least LOL)

 

I'm happy with my factory LSD, we do a lot of off-roading in both hardpack and sand. I also tow our toy hauler to very remote locations thru similar conditions, and getting stuck isn't something I'm familiar with. I do air down my tires, that's a huge help.