[stan the man]

I went for my first trail run this past week with the new gears and lockers. I honestly ran em both open most of the weekend and I turned the rear on for 2 of the trails. Towards the end of one of the trails I flipped the switch to the front locker since it was getting pretty gnarly and had lots of rocks to climb. I did this for control and ease; being locked front and rear I barely had to hit the gas to go anywhere.

My question or purpose for this thread however is how do I know when to turn on the front locker, and when should I turn it off. Its damn near impossible to turn with that thing engaged, but for some reason it feels like it takes a while for it to disengage.

Feedback please.

 

[jopes]

I have never had selectable lockers, but with the rear detroit and the front welded it just takes a tad more room to make your turns. As for being hard to turn, I can turn with one finger after I put hydro assist in the rig.

 

[Redwagon]

Same here with the aussie in front, wider turns but no hard to turn issues, but I am also running a saginaw pump.

 

[Hopper]

Stan, I leave my front unlocked until I get to the point that I lose traction with one of the front tires. At which point, I back up, arm the locker, and go again. I do this in order to save my front U-joints/shafts some stress...I honestly almost never need the thing in the Rubi...

With an l/s in the front of the Bronco, I notice when it's in front-wheel-assist, but it's not overwhelming...

When the Rubi's front locker is on, steering effort is certainly more, but again it's not something that just blows your mind...

In the welded trucks I've driven in the past it was the same as the Rubi, harder, but not anything that would make you go "damn!".

Return to center is awesome with a locked front end

Don't turn sharp with the locker locked :toothless

 

[stan the man]

Okay well its not impossible to turn with the front locked, but it sure is a lot harder than being open! I probably didnt need to lock the front on the trail I was running, but like I said, it was my first run with it installed and I kind of wanted to test it out. When I unlocked it, it seemed like it took a good amount of time to disengage, this is normal right? I believe it would just be because the truck was still in drive and there was a load on the locker. Would slipping the truck in Neutral or backing up a tad make the locker disengage sooner so I can make a harder turn?

I had to make basically a u-turn and it took close to 5 3-point turns to maneuver around the tree (when it really should have only taken 1).

 

[Hopper]

yeah, neutral should make the locker easier to unlock. Maybe rock very, very slowly. My Rubi lockers can be a pain to undo sometimes. Don't ever toggle them while moving at more than a crawl; ideally never, but sometimes they need a little help coming undone.

 

[stan the man]

yeah, neutral should make the locker easier to unlock. Maybe rock very, very slowly. My Rubi lockers can be a pain to undo sometimes. Don't ever toggle them while moving at more than a crawl; ideally never, but sometimes they need a little help coming undone.

I was fully stopped when I flipped the switch but I was still in first gear, which leads me to believe popping it in neutral should help take the "load" (as the instruction manual says) off the locker and unlock.


One thing I learned from the trip and that is LOCKERS MAKE A HUGE (and by huge I mean sperm whale huge) difference!!!

 

[1clean5.8]

Same here with the aussie in front, wider turns but no hard to turn issues, but I am also running a saginaw pump.

SAME

 

[Bronco4Life]

I was fully stopped when I flipped the switch but I was still in first gear, which leads me to believe popping it in neutral should help take the "load" (as the instruction manual says) off the locker and unlock.


One thing I learned from the trip and that is LOCKERS MAKE A HUGE (and by huge I mean sperm whale huge) difference!!!

Which locker is it?

I know with the way the engagement works on say an Eaton E-Locker, it's very possible that with load still applied to the locking pins, it would not unlock at all until you removed the load.

Which can be dangerous for it if anything, because driving around with it 'unlocked' but the pins still engaged leaves the possibility for some of the pins to start coming out, and putting ALL of the load on less pins... at some point, they'd probably shear.

 

[jackhart]

if i'm running a trail for the first time, i'll try to run it without any lockers if i think i can do it. then if i'm having traction issues, i'll flip the rear on. again, if i'm still having traction issues after that, then in goes the front locker until i'm satisfied i don't need it any more.

on more familiar trails, i know where i need the locker(s) and where i don't, so it's a little easier to anticipate. also, as you use your lockers, and become more familiar with how your rig handles with and without them, you will get alot better at anticipating when to use them. in some cases, deciding too late that you needed your locker(s) can be a problem, whereas anticipating their use can get you through without any problems.

i frequently have to shut off the front locker when making turns, and yeah, sometimes it still is loaded up when trying to make said turn. sometimes if you turn it off a little sooner you will have an easier time with it.

i ran an aussie locker on the front of my bronco, which i loved, but it obviously was not selectable. now, like hopper, i have the factory front and rear lockers on a rubi. i wired them so i can turn them on or off individually, and in high or low. the way it comes from the factory you cannot do this.

 

[stan the man]

My front locker is an Auburn ECTED.



Good info Jackhart!

 

[va92bronco]

i also notice that the type of terrain dictates when I have the front locker on or off. If it is a tight trail with lots of curves but good traction, then the front locker makes it harder on then off. If I am going in mud on the trails that don't have as many turns, then the locker on makes a big difference.

I tend to leave the front locker off as much as possible for the same reasons you have of saving wear and tear on parts.

Like it has been said above. The more you use the rig; the more you begin to know ahead of time when you will need the front locker.

 

[WasACop3436]

I don't have a Locker up front, but I do have a Detroit Tru-Trac. When the situation dictates that I need more traction up front (only been a couple of times) I lightly use the brakes with my right foot while on the gas with my left. That tightens up the Tru-Trac ALMOST as good as a Locker. Sort of like a poor mans Posi with the parking brake.

 

[Bronco4Life]

My front locker is an Auburn ECTED.

That's a ls/spool right, not open/spool?

I'd almost rather have one of those, because of the limited slip advantage, but I'm not too convinced of their durability because of the clutches yet. Let us know how it works out in the long run. :thumbup

I'd almost consider one of them over my d60's ARB, but I just don't know about the power handling of one of them. I know my ARB will hold up to a 393... one of these days. :histerica

 

[reptillikus]

I love my ARB. Ive blown hubs, shafts, ujoints, even r&p and the ARB could care less.
That said......
I think it just comes down to experience. Ive had mine in there for a couple years now, so i have a feel for what will be a challenge with/out the ARB engaged. generally if im on a hillclimb i keep it locked so the front end wont need a bump to get up and over stuff. When downhill if its real steep or a long drop ill keep it on the for the same reasons, dont want a tire to hit a bigass rock and stop instead of rolling over it, which could cause the truck to turn. On open trails, not really, unless there are big rocks. Out here in the NE, the trails arent huge boulders on the side of the mountain like they are out west, they are mostly all small rocks piled precariously atop each other thanks to the glaciers that tore through this area all those years ago. Basically, i tend to flip it on & off all day long, whenever i get to a real rocky area, and then off again to make it easier to steer. I also lock it in whenever doing a front burn, as it turns alot easier if both wheels are digging in.

So yeah, it just seems to be an experience thing...the more i wheel it, the more i learn its capabilities with/out it engaged.

 

[Shadofax]

I love my ARB. Ive blown hubs, shafts, ujoints, even r&p and the ARB could care less.
That said......
I think it just comes down to experience. Ive had mine in there for a couple years now, so i have a feel for what will be a challenge with/out the ARB engaged. generally if im on a hillclimb i keep it locked so the front end wont need a bump to get up and over stuff. When downhill if its real steep or a long drop ill keep it on the for the same reasons, dont want a tire to hit a bigass rock and stop instead of rolling over it, which could cause the truck to turn. On open trails, not really, unless there are big rocks. Out here in the NE, the trails arent huge boulders on the side of the mountain like they are out west, they are mostly all small rocks piled precariously atop each other thanks to the glaciers that tore through this area all those years ago. Basically, i tend to flip it on & off all day long, whenever i get to a real rocky area, and then off again to make it easier to steer. I also lock it in whenever doing a front burn, as it turns alot easier if both wheels are digging in.

So yeah, it just seems to be an experience thing...the more i wheel it, the more i learn its capabilities with/out it engaged.

ARB as well.
engaged it's a spool, so it won't turn well. and when you disengage, unless you get good tire slippage, it will still tend to feel bound.

Attempt to use ARB on straight shots. less chance of U joint breakage.

other selectables I have no idea on durability. After 10 yrs now with my same ARB, I am convinced there is NO other. Oh, that is 10 yrs with the same crappy blue poly line and with the ARB compressor that has aired up my tires. All this time, no failures.:chili:

 

[bronco boy]

My question or purpose for this thread however is how do I know when to turn on the front locker, and when should I turn it off.

Turn it on and off as YOU need/don't need it.

Its damn near impossible to turn with that thing engaged.....

That would be a good time to turn it off. :histerica

.....but for some reason it feels like it takes a while for it to disengage.

I assume you have ARB's? They can stay locked for a bit sometimes; you just need to bump the throttle lightly to disengage the locker.

I have the Saginaw and ARB's, and sometimes she'll turn easily when locked, and sometimes she fights me. That's just the way she is.

 

[stan the man]

Turn it on and off as YOU need/don't need it.




That would be a good time to turn it off. :histerica




I assume you have ARB's? They can stay locked for a bit sometimes; you just need to bump the throttle lightly to disengage the locker.

I have the Saginaw and ARB's, and sometimes she'll turn easily when locked, and sometimes she fights me. That's just the way she is.

:toothless Yeah I figured it was time to turn it off. I'll learn how to use it. Its just going to take some time on the trail. Great input so far, thanks guys.

And Bronco Boy, I have a front Auburn ECTED (which is LS/Spool) and a rear Eaton E-locker (Open/Spool).