Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
Just want to get some opinions here. My Tacoma is not a TRD 
so my rear diff is open.
Over on the TTORA boards, of course, they're all about locked diffs, but then again, they're also about 35" tires, 6" lift kits and rock crawling on 10/10 trails, too, none of which describes me or my rig.
My last true 4x4 was a Mitsubishi Montero, and it had the factory LSD in the rear axle, which helped me out at Hole-in-the-rock in 1999. I actually only made it as far as the base of Gray Mesa, at that point with my 235/75 tires, no lift and a 5-speed tranny I just couldn't make it up across all the twisty rock so I parked at the base of the mesa and rode with someone else all the way up.
Anyway, over on TTORA I posted the question of whether I should get a LSD or a locker, and the opinions were pretty much universally that (1) LSD was worthless when compared to a locker off road, (2) LSD was actually dangerous because it could kick in unpredictibly on-road causing my rear end to spin around, (3) the inexpensive "lunchbox" or automatic lockers were dangerous in a pickup for the same reason, and finally that (4) the only real solution was an air locker at a cost of $1000+.
Of course, as I said above, the kind of 4-wheeling they do isn't really similar to what I do (for me 4wd is simply a means of getting to someplace I couldn't otherwise get to) so I thought I'd ask for the group's experience here.
As regards point #2 above, I can tell you this: My last truck was a 1999 Ford Ranger, 4x2. Because it was 2wd I had a LSD installed in the back for additional traction. It generally worked great, but there was one time when I was driving down a snowpacked street in Laramie, and without warning the whole truck slid and spun to the left. It was a miracle I didn't hit anybody because this was a main street (Grand Avenue, right in front of the University.) At first I dismissed it as some kind of freak accident caused by hitting some glare ice but after reading what people on TTORA said, I wonder. I actually had something similar happen to me in the Montero in 1998, again when driving on a snowpacked street in 2wd, so I wonder if it was the LSD that caused it both times?
When I pointed out on the TTORA boards that I had a LSD in my Montero, they replied by saying that an SUV is less likely to spin because its weight is more evenly distributed than the weight of an unloaded pickup, which is heavy in the front and light in the back.
So, anyway, what are the thoughts on LSD/Locker/Open on an expedition-type truck? If I get a locker should I make sure it's an air-locker or an e-locker? For that matter, does anybody make an aftermarket e-locker for the Taco, or would I have to try and cannibalize a TRD? It really does sound like it might actually be safer to run open diffs on the highway and just have a switchable locker for the hard stuff, but I'd be interested in knowing people's experience.
so my rear diff is open. Over on the TTORA boards, of course, they're all about locked diffs, but then again, they're also about 35" tires, 6" lift kits and rock crawling on 10/10 trails, too, none of which describes me or my rig.
My last true 4x4 was a Mitsubishi Montero, and it had the factory LSD in the rear axle, which helped me out at Hole-in-the-rock in 1999. I actually only made it as far as the base of Gray Mesa, at that point with my 235/75 tires, no lift and a 5-speed tranny I just couldn't make it up across all the twisty rock so I parked at the base of the mesa and rode with someone else all the way up.
Anyway, over on TTORA I posted the question of whether I should get a LSD or a locker, and the opinions were pretty much universally that (1) LSD was worthless when compared to a locker off road, (2) LSD was actually dangerous because it could kick in unpredictibly on-road causing my rear end to spin around, (3) the inexpensive "lunchbox" or automatic lockers were dangerous in a pickup for the same reason, and finally that (4) the only real solution was an air locker at a cost of $1000+.
Of course, as I said above, the kind of 4-wheeling they do isn't really similar to what I do (for me 4wd is simply a means of getting to someplace I couldn't otherwise get to) so I thought I'd ask for the group's experience here.
As regards point #2 above, I can tell you this: My last truck was a 1999 Ford Ranger, 4x2. Because it was 2wd I had a LSD installed in the back for additional traction. It generally worked great, but there was one time when I was driving down a snowpacked street in Laramie, and without warning the whole truck slid and spun to the left. It was a miracle I didn't hit anybody because this was a main street (Grand Avenue, right in front of the University.) At first I dismissed it as some kind of freak accident caused by hitting some glare ice but after reading what people on TTORA said, I wonder. I actually had something similar happen to me in the Montero in 1998, again when driving on a snowpacked street in 2wd, so I wonder if it was the LSD that caused it both times?
When I pointed out on the TTORA boards that I had a LSD in my Montero, they replied by saying that an SUV is less likely to spin because its weight is more evenly distributed than the weight of an unloaded pickup, which is heavy in the front and light in the back.
So, anyway, what are the thoughts on LSD/Locker/Open on an expedition-type truck? If I get a locker should I make sure it's an air-locker or an e-locker? For that matter, does anybody make an aftermarket e-locker for the Taco, or would I have to try and cannibalize a TRD? It really does sound like it might actually be safer to run open diffs on the highway and just have a switchable locker for the hard stuff, but I'd be interested in knowing people's experience.
