Laughed at and mistreated!!! My turn now!!!

[Bashman]

Install a locker first then invest in tires. Since it sounds like you are going to use this as an offroad truck, you want good tires. If your neighbours can't here you arriving 5 minutes before you get there, the lugs are not spread apart for thick, gooey mud.

 

[Hotweels]

Hey bashman how's the weather up there?
swampers are good but if you want cheap get wild country m/t's or general grabber m/t's

 

[Bashman]

Originally posted by Hotweels
Hey bashman how's the weather up there?

Hot!

 

[Muskrat]

yep, don't worry so much about the gears as of now, you need more agressive MT's, 35's are a nice size, that's what I want to go with. Dithc the electric case, swap in the Man. 1354, Namitey and I did this to his 97, much more reliable, and that was a key purchase point when I bough my truck, although mine needs a rebuild. Get a locker of some sort, can get a cheap Powertrax or something, but I don't like them, kind of hairy sometimes. I'd get a cable activated locker, like a detriot or maybe an electric locker, front and rear, be a world of difference. Or if you want to keep the cost down, go to a scrap yard, and look for an Explorer 8.8, with 4.10s, and a Limited slip, they work prteey good, but when the weight is taken off the axle, it becomes and open diff. so fo rthe most part, they provide decent traction.
I'm running Cooper Discovery stt's on my truck, and they seem to work really well.

 

[Ray Lobato]

I know someone is going to disagree but...

I know not everyone can afford the best, but this is not a cheap sport. There are cheaper ways to do things, but is it the right thing to do when it comes to your safety. Yes you can lincoln lock the gear, or put a spool in, but if your in a tight spot and need that turning radius small, a spool or LL is not going to help you. Yes you can get out and unlock one of the hubs, but what if you couldn't, because your are on a cliff edge and a wall. and needed to turn ( I know this is an extreme example, but things like this do happen) Ever try turning a truck that has the lockers on. NOT FUN.
You need to be locked front and back. An ARB, OX Locker, or Detriot Electric in the front, and a Detriot or ARB in the back. There is no substitute for having all 4 tires working when you need them to work. And not working when you don't need them to be working.
Now granted, you don't need to be locked for most of your trip, but when you do need it, well you really need it. I run an ARB in the back and am open in the front. I also get out on my truck alot to make sure of the terrain that I am going to be riding on, just to make sure that I can make it, since I wheel alot by myself and don't have another truck to help get me unstuck. Now you know why I have a winch. I will be the first to tell you that I have also turned back many times, because I was not sure that I could make it through that trail.
Do yourself a favor and do it right. Get a good locker or selectable locker. You won't regret it, and you will see a world of differance.
There are some things you can go cheap on and somethings you can't. This is one of those things, that you can't.

 

[AlaskanJack]

OK Ray I hear you loud and clear.