Does anyone have a locker in their tow rig?

[Maverick]

I'm considering a rear locker for my eXcursion, which sees mostly cabin duty or towing duty.

Does anyone have a tow rig that is running a Detroit Grizzly or Powertrax? How is it to tow with? Any weird handling while towing?

I'm not really asking about e-lockers or air-lockers because there wouldn't be any difference in towing with one of those while not engaged.

Thanks!

 

[DAA]

I had a Detroit in a 3/4 ton Chevy. I never towed anything more than my boat, or my boat with a slide-in camper in back. But with the long wheelbase it was totally tame, no drama at all.

- DAA

 

[jeeper]

I have had this same question.. But always fear that I will end up with broken gears or axles. I can get pretty heavy when loaded. It would take a lot of pressure to spin a wheel.. Making a snap or bang realistic

 

[Maverick]

I had a Detroit in a 3/4 ton Chevy. I never towed anything more than my boat, or my boat with a slide-in camper in back. But with the long wheelbase it was totally tame, no drama at all.

- DAA

Good to hear. The Detroit is also pretty invisible in my scrambler unless I'm screwing around.

I have had this same question.. But always fear that I will end up with broken gears or axles. I can get pretty heavy when loaded. It would take a lot of pressure to spin a wheel.. Making a snap or bang realistic

I've spun on dry pavement towing a mini-ex up to the cabin. The hill was pretty steep and I pulled over to cool the tranny. (I fixed that issue with a different tune that now locks up the converter in 1st). With a Detroit maybe I wouldn't have spun?

I worry more about cruising down the road on a long turn where the locker is driving the inside tire, with the resulting "vector" on the vehicle while that's happening, and then the change when you straighten out and/or turn the other way. My trailer is a 14,000lb bumper pull, loaded to 12,000, so yaw can be pretty significant and anything that makes it worse or unpredictable wouldn't be good. It is already pretty sensitive to how it's loaded. Last fall I stuck a dirt bike on the back but didn't adjust by pulling both jeeps forward and about lost it on I-15 down by Yuba. I adjusted it as soon as I could (after I cleaned out my shorts) and didn't have any issues after that.

With a push-button locker, I doubt I'd ever have it engaged while towing unless one of the rear tires was spinning, in which case it would probably already be in 4wd.

This winter churning through the mud and the crud and snow and slosh getting up to the cabin, I was wishing I had a little more than the stock limited slip.

 

[johngottfredson]

I have a detroit locker in the rear of my 2002 F350. I only get minor issues when it's slick, but nothing that bothers me. I know big rigs like dump trucks run the detroit locker, and the research I did before getting mine convinced me I wouldn't have problems. That said, I don't tow much with it, so I can't speak from personal experience about towing heavy with it.

 

[Maverick]

I have a detroit locker in the rear of my 2002 F350. I only get minor issues when it's slick, but nothing that bothers me. I know big rigs like dump trucks run the detroit locker, and the research I did before getting mine convinced me I wouldn't have problems. That said, I don't tow much with it, so I can't speak from personal experience about towing heavy with it.

Your forsale post on that truck is what got me thinking about it again. That's a bad--- truck, I wish I could buy it, but I just can justify it, or selling my eXcursion to get it. It's pretty much what I'd like to end up with when the X days are over. If I didn't have a work truck that satisfies my crew cab truck needs for free, then I'd be really knotted up. I'd slap my DPTuner in it and have Action Transmission beef the trans and be done.

 

[flexyfool]

A limited slip would be cheaper, put less stress on the drive train, and give guaranteed road manners.

 

[Maverick]

A limited slip would be cheaper, put less stress on the drive train, and give guaranteed road manners.

True.
I failed to mention that it already has a limited slip. A different limited slip would likely be as ineffective as the limited slip that is in there.

 

[flexyfool]

Are the clutches worn out?

IMHO, I'd never want a locker on a tow rig or anything else that sees a lot of snowy and icy roads. Had too many close calls and white knuckle trips. Where I grew up, it was very common for guys to pull their lockers and spools in their pickups and put back in the open diffs for the winter months.

 

[mbryson]

it's all about the selectable locker folks

 

[flexyfool]

it's all about the selectable locker folks

X2 -- if you have a rig that sees pavement, have the money, and are truly going to lift tires.

But at 1/3 the cost, limited slips have their place -- especially the geared types that never wear out.

 

[Maverick]

X2 -- if you have a rig that sees pavement, have the money, and are truly going to lift tires.

But at 1/3 the cost, limited slips have their place -- especially the geared types that never wear out.

I'm intrigued with the idea of rebuilding the limited slip, perhaps to be a LOT tighter. I don't think it's ever been all that effective. I didn't consider the fact that it could be worn out. I bought the rig with 75,000 miles on it. I wasn't happy that it only had a ls, but figured that I'd drive it and if it needed a locker, then I'd put one in.

When I need both tires to help out, I NEED it. I'm not lifting a tire, but there have been far too many situations where I'm spinning one tire, mainly in the ice and snow. I've tried power-braking and using the e-brake too. By way of comparison, the locked up Jeep and the locked up blazer don't have the same problem.

A selectable locker is definitely an option, but like I said above, it's not really an unknown for towing.

 

[Tacoma]

I had a Lock-Right in the back of a truck once, towed a few things across the country with it. No noticeable effects in heavy rain, light snow, and dry conditions, on 85psi road-tread tires. YMMV

 

[notajeep]

I have a Detroit in the back of my dodge. I can feel it, but I'm used to it.

 

[Maverick]

I have a Detroit in the back of my dodge. I can feel it, but I'm used to it.

How heavy do you tow?

 

[notajeep]

About 7 is about the heaviest that I tow regularly.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[flexyfool]

I had a Lock-Right in the back of a truck once, towed a few things across the country with it. No noticeable effects in heavy rain, light snow, and dry conditions, on 85psi road-tread tires. YMMV

X2 -- I have the OEM geared limited slip in the back of my Dodge. It is not at all noticeable like you say. It does hook up good enough when the road is slippery. The gravel road up to my house has a steep grade. When I haul 2 cords of wood in my trailer, the truck will spin both rear tires simultaneously in 2WD.

 

[Maverick]

We had a snow adventure getting to the cabin on Weds. My son noted that both rear were spinning, nearly without exception (chained up all 4). He said that sometimes one would spin more than the other.

It's been stuck before when only one would spin, but maybe that was after the damage was done? (and I was in a ditch left by a chained up tractor?)

So I guess it is still working. I'll do a little more "testing" this weekend.

 

[flexyfool]

Wow! If you got stuck after chaining up all 4, maybe you do need lockers.

I can say that lockers, chains, and big tires make short work of snow and ice. Unless you do a belly flop into deep snow, the combo will get you through.

Several of us used to go to a friend's cabin in northern New York that had a nice trail system. We had Jeeps and lockers and would drive the trails on his property and elsewhere. It was a struggle some days to reach the cabin in snow. After one particularly bad trip that had our bad-ass Jeeps stranded in the snowbank down by the road, 3 of us vowed to show up next time with chains.

We chained up at the snowbank and promptly amazed ourselves by driving to the cabin and then all over the mountainside. We were able to do things with chains that were difficult in the summer. Our Jeeps were bad-asses again.

 

[Maverick]

I could still back up, but I wasn't moving forward.

Here's a couple of pics from the afternoon.

Big tires is a relative term. 35's aren't that big on the excursion. The blazer seems to do better with 35's than the eXcursion does, but the blazer has 1500 lbs hanging off the front when I lift the blower. The blazer weighs about 5000, plus another 1500 of blower and 1200 of sand. The blazer is locked in the rear.

The jeep with chained up 39's does ok.

The ski-doo does better :-D