seaotter

hi all,
i recently got a 95 V6 for firewood hauling/light plowing (haven't found a plow for it, yet).
i've been a little disappointed with it's traction in the snow, though. I've gotten stuck in the snow in my driveway a couple of times now and have noticed the wheels without traction spinning (front left and right rear, just the front left, etc.), while the other wheels just sat there on solid hardpack.
i was wondering what the best mods to do would be. should i get a locker for the rear? would this help much in snow? would manual hubs up front be better traction-wise than ADD?
seems like 4 wheel drive should be just that, ALL 4 wheels being powered.
thanks for the help!
curt

tc

A locker is a great addition - nothing increases the trucks capabailty as much, but there are compromises:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f31/locker-faq-43572/

So, yeah, a locker will help, but unless your driveway is something incredible, tires should do the trick.

Where are you in CO? Be sure to check out www.cottora.org - if this dang snow ever clears, we'll be 'wheeling a lot!

seaotter

thanks for the link tc!

i use the term "driveway" loosely...i'm up near ned and have a 300 ft dirt road up to my house that gets seriously wind drifted with snow.

i have brand new BFG ATs on the truck which help a lot. just need that extra oomph sometimes, especially if i ever find a plow.

tc

Ohhhh - yeah, locker will help. I would HIGHLY recommend a selectable though. Driving on those twisty mountain roads with a full time might be interesting.

You could do a TruTrac limited slip too, but they get aggravating offroad when wheels come off the ground. (Great on the road in the snow though)

ChickenLover

Manual hubs will make no difference as far as traction goes. I agree with TC, A selectable locker is the way to go.

seaotter

cool, thanks. time to start looking for a selectable locker for the rear.

what are your opinions on putting a selectable locker up front? only good for straight line off road? or would it be worth the money if i need it just for pushing a plow?

sorry for the noob questions. i was pretty surprised that my 4wd truck was behaving just like my AWD subaru in the deep snow...

thanks again.
curt

MMA_Alex

your best dollar for dollar bet as far as traction goes would be sandbags. Even in a lot of suv's i've found sandbags to help.

Theres a lot of info in regards to putting a locker upfront. If you're putting in a selectable locker, and can leave it unlocked on highways it should be ok.

tc

I did ARB's front and rear and have been really impressed with them. As noted above, you can turn them off when you need to turn or are on offcamber trails where being locked would cause you to slide sideways.

You can do a Tacoma elocker in the rear with minor modification to your axle housing:
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/electric_locker/

javadoody

is the only selectable front an ARB? if so, and you want selectable BOTH front and rear, an elocker wouldn't be as practible as you spend all the extra $$ for compressor and only use it up front. correct? if you only want selectable rear, either works (talking pure cost effectiveness here), right?

tc

Yeah, exactly. And with all the snow he gets up there, he NEEDS to be able to use 4WD on the road...

trdparts4u and 4WP both have package deals where if you buy both lockers, you get the compressor for free.