ARB bumper/winch vs ARB air locker rear diff on a gen III

[FullMonte]

Hey guys,

I'm eventually going to get both (I hope). But which one should I invest in FIRST? Bumper with winch or rear diff lockers?

I mean they're both to get you out of a sticky situation..

I only got stuck once so far. I was high centered on a mound of snow, that I was able to dig my way out of..would rear diffs have gotten me out faster? Would a winch?

Would like to get your opinions on this..

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[nckwltn]

In my limited experience, the lockers are the most helpful for you, and the winch is more helpful for your buddy who got himself stuck :sombrero:

I feel like lockers are the way to go initially, they are likely to get you through any difficult spot. If you can't make it with lockers, someone with a winch will probably be along shortly.

Each provides a different type of help to move you along. If it was me, I'd go lockers.

 

[Mrknowitall]

I would tend to lean the other way- A winch (and something to hook it to) will get you out just about every time, while a locker likely does very little in a situation you described above. Especially on an 01-02 model, the LSD is actually pretty good. AFAIK, its a helical gear unit, so you can pre-load it with the parking brake. Another consideration is how you load your vehicle- the Montero starts out kinda balanced, but once you throw a huge stack of stuff in the back, the weight balance probably shifts to the rear. That means you'll lift a front tire, while both rears stay firmly on the ground. A rear locker will not help that much in that case.
With a bumper/winch combo you get several things-
1st, it looks cooler (this is very important)
2nd, you've replaced that piece of Tupperware Mitsubishi mistakenly installed on the front. You now have a good safe place for some responsible lights to live and added potentially crucial protection against animal strikes. I don't know what kind of large critters you have jaywalking in Norcal, but back here a chance encounter with a disrespectful white-tail can ruin your weekend.
3rd, You now have the capability to drag your vehicle through just about any bad decision you might make.
4th, you can winch stuff out of the way, like abandonded Defender 90's or deadfall.
One thing you didn't put out there was a front receiver ad a multi-mount winch. Advantages-
1- lower point of entry
2- no potentially long wait times for your favorite ARB dealer to get your bumper from OZ.
3- the ability to seek a second opinion and pull yourself out backwards.
4 you can leave it at home when you wont need it.
5. Really nice place for a clevis in a kinetic recovery.
Drawbacks are....
1. Winch has to ride inside- MUST SECURE WELL. An unrestrained 100lb chunk of steel and aluminum is no joy in a collision. Sure, you don't intend to crash, but you probably wear your seat belt. Or
2. Winch rides hanging off the front or rear- vulnerable and hurts approach/departure angles.
3. No cool bumper.
4. You might have left it at home when you need it.

 

[JHa6av8r]

I'm with nckwltn. Lockers will reduce the need for the winch so lockers first would be my vote. Planning on adding a winch to the front bumper of my truck. If I need to be back out my plan is to winch with my Hi-Lift.

 

[nasko]

IMO if you venture out alone the winch is more valuable. My 2 cents. I have LSD on my Xterra and have been called to pull out a locked 4Runner on a recent hunting trip.

 

[eurosonic]

A locker all the way. I use my locker almost every single time I go wheeling. It got me through mud, rocks, rivers, etc.

Used a winch only once and thats just to get someone out who was hight centered on a rock.

 

[Toasty]

Having built more trucks than probably anyone here, this is my order of install.

1. Transfer case gears

The reason is that your truck doesn't have to work as hard to climb obstacles AND with more tire speed control you don't break traction nearly as much so lockers become less of a need. Also since shock loads have decreased drivetrain wear and tear will also decrease.

2. Armor

Systematically install your armor starting with the most utilized pieces first; Sliders, Front Bumper, skid plates if you don't have them and rear bumper

3. Lift/Tires

Since you've regeared and modified your bumpers this will allow better fitment of wheels and tires, get the tires you really want rather than settling because the truck isn't quite ready for whatever size you had in mind. It also sucks to buy awesome tires just to have them bring your truck to it's knees offroad. There is a balance between big tires help me roll over things and big tires make it hard to push over things.

4. Locker(s)

I install lockers at this point because you've got your gearing and tires, the truck is super capable already now you're taking it to the next level. For selectable lockers do the FRONT first (this is opposite of what Jeep guys do) the reason for this is that ALL Montero's have more suspension travel in the rear than in the front so the front tires break traction more frequently. In the case of hill climbs you'd rather have the truck pull you to the top than push because if the rear is pushing the front more than the front has traction you can get sideways easier.
If you already have a rear locker or are planning on an auto locker then obviously front locker last.

5. Winch

This is the point where i think you need a winch, your truck is now capable enough to do trails where winch use may be mandatory or very likely. Before your truck is built a winch is for helping other people or helping yourself in a moment of stupidity (we've all been there). Every time i've needed to winch and every time i've watched someone winch it has been pre meditated as in "i'm going to take this line as far as i can then i'm going to winch the rest of the way".


Now i know there are tons of other pieces of equipment like straps, shackles, jacks, tools etc. I have all these things and just transfer them from truck to truck depending on what i'm driving. This is just my typical build order based on what makes your truck the most usable capable machine through the entire build process. Each step makes the most out of the next step. Gears- carry the weight of your armor and tires, Armor- helps make room for bigger tires and protects from the trouble bigger tires get you into, Tires- increase your clearance and increase your traction, Lockers- because it's time to get nutty and you just didn't quite have enough traction before to do all those crazy things you've always wanted to, Winch- Yep we're doing Fordyce Creek on the 2015 SIERRA NEVADA CHALLENGE <Overlanding at it's finest you'll see a sign up post shortly...

 

[FullMonte]

Wow!! this is why I love this forum! Thanks for all your info! Ill def let you know what I go with..

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[Sabre]

I have a Gen 3 and don't have any desire to put a rear locker in. The LSD is amazing. I would put an auto locker in the front if I thought that I needed more traction. A winch would be on my list...the truck is highly capable, and the times I've gotten stuck weren't for lack of a locker.

 

[JamesW]

I'd go winch before lockers if you travel alone,I find with lockers you get yourself further in trouble than you do with the open diffs,hard stuff seems easier,so you end up tackling harder stuff with a bit too much confidence,and then you run out of luck eventually

Winch will let you pull yourself out of trouble and get you trough where the lockers would get you through too,but it takes longer,but still gets you through.

Either way you'll be happy with what you go for

 

[nckwltn]

I'd go winch before lockers if you travel alone,I find with lockers you get yourself further in trouble than you do with the open diffs,hard stuff seems easier,so you end up tackling harder stuff with a bit too much confidence,and then you run out of luck eventually

Winch will let you pull yourself out of trouble and get you trough where the lockers would get you through too,but it takes longer,but still gets you through.

Either way you'll be happy with what you go for

One tip I read one time was to do everything in 2wd until you got stuck, then use 4wd to get yourself out. I think I would agree if traveling alone, a winch is something likely to save you vs lockers... lockers will just let you get deeper into trouble.

 

[nasko]

It also depends on what terrain you are travelling. Up here (Ontario, Canada) many of the trails have mud, water holes. In many of those a locker won't be any help.
Again, my 2 cents.

Cheers7

 

[Inyo_man]

If you shoot for a locker, I'd suggest a front locker (ARB) rather than a rear.
As others have stated, the factory rear LSD can get you a long way when you get the hang of loading it with the parking brake.
It also is great on ice/snow covered pavement driving, where a selectable locker leaves you with an open differential.
Good Luck

 

[montypower]

The factory traction control on the 03 is incredible. I'd do the winch. Recovery gear is top priority in my opinion. Lockers will just get you into worse situations requiring more recovery gear.

For me... I'm doing everything.

 

[JamesW]

Yesterday I went into the forest near me,i've 35s and a rear locker,got her bellied out on a large rut. Had to dig out,if I had a winch i'd have pulled myself through it,and if I couldn't get there without the locker id have been able to winch there anyway

I've no winch so I had to dig it out with a small shovel :Wow1: There was 2 of us,but only one shovel so the digging wasn't so bad