are lockers necessary?

[JPR4LFE]

I find that lockers are quite useful in the rocks, but almost equally so in the snow. It is quite frustrating to drive an open diff and have one or two tires with decent traction, but the two that are spinning are the ones in the snow. Less so then snow, but they are also benifical in wet weather conditions. A rocky climb that you would not even have thought twice about when it was dry may be impassible when wet. All that said, swaybar disconnects and a winch will be more than enough to get you through most situations.

 

[Prubah]

And IMO, 4:1 is actually LESS useful if you're not rock crawling, especially with a manual trans.

I have to strongly disagree with this statement. I absolutely love having a JKR manual while on the trails of the NorthEast woods.(hills/mountains) of VT,NH,Maine. Dunes of Cape Cod not so much. It is very relaxing while I scout logging roads and firetrails for Deer,Bear,Moose tracks to be in 4:1 low/1st gear going up hill with my feet OFF the pedals and my head out the window looking at the ground or scenery with camera ready. Also while coming back down in 2nd or 3rd with my feet OFF the pedals. I was told many times by my 4wheelin buddies I'd grow to hate 4:1 low. But I'm SO glad I have it.

But if sand pits and dunes are your thing, definitely go with an Automatic. Should be in 4hi for this anyways, as speed is your best friend. And yah, Lockers help here too!

-Prubah

 

[Bobs boot camping]

You will never know how much you need them till you need them. Your obviously not new to wheeling so, you all ready know how to pick a line. Mud n snow they will be extremely helpful. To quote a friend of mine after years of keeping up with us open/open. When he first go lockers front in rear his comment was " you guys have been cheating for years!"

 

[eternus]

Don't overlook the fact that your JK has "BLD", which will work REALLY well with the rear LSD.

Wait, the BLD is on the Front as well? I figured i lost it with the rear with Traklok but didn't even consider there was some form of LSD up front.

 

[IdahoXJ]

I use my ARB air lockers a lot. I wouldn't be without them.

 

[camodog]

Lockers have saved me from winching out of a 3 feet of snow once.
I really wish my F350 had lockers sometimes, it would have saved me from a lot of embarrassment and headaches on a few occasions.

The older I get the more I appreciate the little things. Lockers will be on all of my offroad vehicles for the rest of my life. A winch is additional get out of trouble insurance policy that I am happy to have even if I rarely need it.

 

[96Delica]

I haven't needed a locker since high school.

 

[1stDeuce]

Wait, the BLD is on the Front as well? I figured i lost it with the rear with Traklok but didn't even consider there was some form of LSD up front.

BLD works on both axles, and is really just brake traction control, so it doesn't care what's in the diffs. The rear LSD you have just means that it takes less brake pressure to move torque to the non-spinning wheel. Hence BLD works even better with the rear LSD option.

I haven't needed a locker since high school.

Hahaha One of my friends who now works for AEV used to say "Lockers are for High School girls." Not sure why girls, but I still thought it was funny.

As for my comments on 4:1, I should elaborate... For going really slow, and not having to throttle at all, and picking your way over very treacherous terrain, the 4:1 works very well. Where I get very annoyed is when just driving around in the mountains, and backwoods trails. I like the nicely spaced gear choices that normal 2.7:1 offers, where you can cruise along at 35mph easily in 5th, but also slow right down to a crawl when necessary in 1st. With 4:1, 1st gear high range is equal to 4th gear low range on my TJ, and 5th doesn't get you much more speed. Sure, I can rev the crap out of it and still hit 35, but that's not how I drive. Unfortunately, I also find that when I want REALLY low gearing, I often wish I had 5:1 or 6:1 (or 10:1...)

So for really slow going, with lots of rock crawling, or sniffing the roses, 4:1 is good, but for varying terrain, it causes me to lug around in high range longer than I otherwise would, and to have to row the t-case a lot more than I would with 2.72:1. I also get annoyed that I can't get any decent wheelspeed in low when backing up, and yet high is often to high and just lugs down the engine and stalls it. (Mud/snow)

For years I had a 242 t-case in my Jeep, and I'm swapping back to it this winter. As an aside, what would be really sweet is a 2:1 reduction box in front of a 2.72 t-case. Then you get high, low, lower, and really low. I'm working on it... JK autos have the Rubi-Crawler that kind of does this, as does the Klune or whatever. But I really want 2:1-ish for general wheeling and plowing snow, etc, where I can leave the 242 in full time and not get bind turning but still have a fairly low range for nice gear selection.

 

[jscusmcvet]

In my opinion, lockers allow for less breakage, when you find yourself in an unexpectedly tough spot. Since you may not have to rely on momentum, you can crawl over things that may break your rig if you are using the throttle to get through. I have been locked front and rear. then open front and open and then went to a rear auto locker on the rear on my 01 XJ. Amazing difference on the trail just from locking the rear. I am now rocking that front and rear selectable that comes stock with the Rubi. At a minimum, put a rear locker in, forget about it and hopefully never realize you needed it

john

 

[HAFICON]

I had ARB lockers front and rear added to my 2012 JKU back about a year ago best thing I ever did..

 

[Idahoan]

I use the rear all the time. The front rarely.

 

[carbon60]

I use the rear all the time. The front rarely.

Same here.

Less breakage of the vehicle, as mentioned above, plus less breakage of the trail. I try and have my slow-to-engage e-lockers engaged before I need them.

A.

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: I've used my Rubi lockers for over 5 years and many times I woulda had to dig/winch/jockey to get outta trouble-thanks for the auto Chrysler-

They are really priceless when towing off-road, especially in rocks/shale/sand-

I've modified mine so I can lock the diffs in any gear-2wd or 4wd--

I have a mobile winch/lockers/HiLift jack--pretty hard for me to get stuck-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[Bobs boot camping]

knowing when to use your locker is as important and having them. This will limit the breakage and the time stuck or wrenching.

 

[kojackJKU]

I have not needed them yet, but I am seriously thinking about adding true tracs to my jeep. I am not sure about them in the winter on slippery snowy roads though.