ARB air locker, front vs. rear?

ExploringNH

Explorer
I'm pretty set on keeping the front diff open and putting the selectable ARB in the rear. Like I said before, I am pleased with the way the truck handles on snow packed roads. I just get into that situation in deep snow where one wheel is buried and one has traction, but the power goes to the wheel without traction. A selectable locker would make it a lot easier. Now I just to decide if I want to spend money on a winch first... which will probably be what happens.

A locker gets you further into the deep stuff. A winch can get you out. :)
 

jim65wagon

TundraBird1
Eaglefreek said:
A Tundra TRD doesn't come with LSD from the factory? That's seems odd.


Tundras came with a factory LSD from 02 and on. I'm just a year short of that.

....and the LSD was still a stand alone option, not a standard part of the TRD Off Road package. Get a winch (or at least the Hi-Lift, but using it as a winch one time will convince you to splurge on an electric winch) then lock the rear....​
 

Buliwyf

Viking with a Hammer
ARB rear and open front will be fine with the Tundra. Allways lock the rear first. The Tundras front axle can't do all the work by itsself without exploding into confetti.

As for recovery. A Hilift, wheel grabbber, and a hitch on the back of the truck (to jack and flop the rear), mud rated tire chains, and some maxtrax would have got you out. A winch might be too hardcore, and add a ton of weight and wear to your front end.
 

seanpistol

Explorer
ARB rear and open front will be fine with the Tundra. Allways lock the rear first. The Tundras front axle can't do all the work by itsself without exploding into confetti.

As for recovery. A Hilift, wheel grabbber, and a hitch on the back of the truck (to jack and flop the rear), mud rated tire chains, and some maxtrax would have got you out. A winch might be too hardcore, and add a ton of weight and wear to your front end.

This is all exactly what I'm thinking. Thanks for the info boys!
 

NothingClever

Explorer
For me the best way to answer the question about the rear locker was identifying the intended use of it....to probe further into difficult terrain or to get past / out of difficult terrain? For me and the big, honkin' camper I bought, the ARB locker in the rear will be about making it past a really muddy section, through a particularly high snow drift or getting out of a place it's no longer prudent to go. It won't be about a man, his machine and their terrain-conquering capabilities. I'm holding out on buying a winch in favor of finding a nice camping spot and then simply taking a walk where it looks like a winch would be required.
 

Stumpalump

Expedition Leader
This is all exactly what I'm thinking. Thanks for the info boys!
I'm glad you found your answer. Locking just the front is a bad plan on any vehicle and it should never be done even if you already have posi in the rear. With lockers you you can potentially transfer all of the torque to a single wheel. With the rear open or posi this will happen on one of the front wheels even faster. The front drive is not nearly as strong as the rear and the chance of breakage climbs dramatically. It's so tempting to lock the front because you may have a posi in the rear and the adverse affects of a locker will not apply when the front drive is not engaged. Seems perfect but for the obove reason you just can't do it. Well...You can but don't.
 

nosnerd

wanna be tourist
IMHO, your best option would be a front selectable, and a rear LSD. A front locker will pull you over obstacles, instead of using your rear end to push you over. The LSD will give you better traction in snow ALL the time, is less harsh than a lunchbox locker, and should be much cheaper than a full selectable locker.


agreed ^^^^ i am saving for a front selectable on my Burb...ever since i drove my dads Mog..i am sold..world of difference with a front selectable,,,
 

Buliwyf

Viking with a Hammer
agreed ^^^^ i am saving for a front selectable on my Burb...ever since i drove my dads Mog..i am sold..world of difference with a front selectable,,,

Burb is not a Mog.

Without some GOOD rear drive, dragging a Burb uphill with just the front axle doing alll the work is a KABOOM waiting to happen. I got nothing against locking the front with a selectable, just lock the rear first. (Unless you have nothing to climb but flat mud)
 

tacr2man

Adventurer
Fit a selectable locker in the rear , bring it into play when you have got stuck to get you out backwards ! With a front locker it allows you to use that after the locked rear has got you further in and still got stuck., and get out backwards . With a front locked you basically can only go in a straight line . If you are going to try and drive thru deep snow get a plow as eventually all the difflocks and chains etc will be for nowt as it will pack in underneath and lift your drive from anything it can grip on HTSH
 

brianjwilson

Some sort of lost...
Sounds like you already made up your mind, but since people are still commenting...

I agree with locking the rear first as well. The rear axle is stronger. With the uneven front/rear weight of a pickup, the rear is normally the first to have traction issues. Flex the truck out in a ditch and you'll see that the front tires stay planted on the ground and one of the rear tires will be in the air.
The other major consideration is steering. You can drive around snow with the rear locked with minimal steering difficulty. Locking the front with an open rear will make the truck want to drive straight.
Good luck and report back when you do it!
 

redthies

Renaissance Redneck
My '03 Tundra had 6" RCD lift, 35" MTZs and ARBs front and rear. I used the rear locker many many times, the front seldom, and only for short periods of time. The on board air got used the most. Once you have the rear and compressor, adding the front ARB at a later date is always an option, but one you probably won't need to do.
 

stioc

Expedition Leader
If you put the locker in the front the weight (downward force needed to generate traction) is just not there to pull the whole truck up. In most cases you would need a locker for going uphill and in that scenario the weight is almost always on the rear axle thus giving the locker an advantage in generating more traction and eventually forward motion.

Most experts suggest buying things in this order: winch first, rear locker second, front locker last. For my mild to moderate adventures I've used lower tire pressure + ebrake (poor man's rear locker) with acceptable results- but I still want a locker ;) only if they didn't cost $1500! like the winch bumpers :smilies27
 

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