Well, there is a simple solution to that problem. Lock the hubs and keep the tcase in 2wd. Strength and the ability to attempt obstacles in 2wd.

But then again, speaking of strength, I can't see anything being stronger than the live hubs an ADD truck comes with. I do love my manuals though.

 

lol i should have named this thread battle of the hubs...

 

thats such an ignorant, stupid thing to say. but hey..your right..if you go muddin in your truck, you wanna get just as muddy right? expecially when your goin campin or somethin. if there is a mud hole, you gotta swim through it first huh? well i see it different. im lazy. i dont feel like gettin out and lockin them. for what reason should i want to? all because a "fuse" might go out on my auto hubs? well i'd rather take the chance of that happening, and not have to get my ass up lol

 

you can always lock hubs early and leave in 2wd to see how far you'll go before you shift into 4 on the fly.

don't discount the ability of bald tires. two of my most unstoppable trucks had baloney skins. one went through sand like butter. the other went thru deep mud like... well, like not very deep mud.

it has a LOT to do with gearing and axle weight as well; how we transfer that power. it's foot technique on the pedals, plus tire traction without digging, and weight distribution as to whether you plow in or drag-ass, PLUS ground clearance, plus confidence.

i'm pretty sure the last one comes stock with Toyota, but is a very expensive option with Fords. lmao!

 

except for Rubicon jeep wranglers.

 

well idk about that...i think its both lol

 

I agree that it's mostly the driver. Hubs are irrelevant, manual, ADD, whatever you prefer works for you. Like Tc said, locked hubs are locked, whether or not there is a problem with the electronics. I have ADD, cuz thats what came with it, but I want manual just cuz. my brother had an '85 ranger STX that with manual hubs that would go almost anywhere my 4Runner would. he also had a welded rear end, so that probably helped, but still. Gears help too, thats part of the reason our rigs can do stuff in 2wd.

 

I don't think he was suggesting any of those things... lock the hubs before you get in and drive away. Then you don't have to worry. Doesn't REALLY matter anyway, whatever suits you.

I don't have manual hubs just for the reliability of them. The main reason I got them is to reduce wear on my front end. That's enough reason right there that I don't mind getting out and turning 2 dials in any conditions. My 4runner is my daily driver and if the front axles and diff don't need to be spinning everywhere I go, why make them?

 

lol to be honest (and not to toot my own horn lol) i really think my bald tires are amazing off road, i would have never thought in a million years my tires could have gone the places theyve been. i dont think theyre as good as swampers, but id put them in maybe up with a general grabber at. lol but for whatever reason, even though my tires have threads showing, im keeping them untill they blow out

 

im not disagreeing with anyone about manual vs. auto. im just sayin for some reasons, auto i think is better, but for some reasons (as alot of you suggested) manual is better. no right or wrong in this case

 

ok, ill break it down, in my oppinion manual is way more reliabe, theres so many computerized parts associated with auto hubs that can fail at any time, especially when you least want them too. id rather get out of my truck for 10 seconds to lock my hubs, then risk my hubs not engageing when i need them too. thats only my oppinion, im not saying its right or wrong.

 

You DO realize most "auto" hubs are simply splined plates, right?

 

You guys are forgetting one important quality:

Toyota trucks are easy to work on. I'm barely qualified to hold a wrench yet I've tackled some fairly tough projects/mods. I feel much more confident that if I breakdown out there in the sticks that I'll be able to fab something together to get my Runner home.

-Tom

 

is it because they are also used as jeep recovery vehicles?

 

ground clearense i a big part of how they do off road

i measured from the bottom of my diff on my 81 pickup with stock suspention and 30s all terrains then i measured my dads bronco with 4 or 5in of lift and new 36 TSLs and my truck had only 3in less clearence

 

Um ... (36-30)/2 = 3 ... what it should be just on the tire diameter alone ...

 

The lift doesn't have anything to do with the clearance of the diff. If you were to put the 36's on the Toyota the clearance would be the same as the bronco.

 

the guy above me is right, i know my truck scrapes everywhere i go, and you can see the marks fin the mud from the diffs dragging. you know, most trucks get stuck when you start dragging.

 

I was wheelin with my friend in his Jeep Cherokee once and he rammed his tcase into a rock stickin out of the ground. It pushed the rock through the dry ground a few inches and the Jeep stopped dead in its tracks.

Would have happened to anyone, but larger stock tire sizes on Toyota trucks is a plus. I love that they sit high enough you can work on just about anything without a jack.

 

lol, i was helipn my dad change a valve cover gasket on my his 95 ranger, and i figured it would be eisier to access this one bolt by getting underneath the truck, without even thinking i hit the ground ready to crawl under...wow i forgot this aint my truck theres no way im gettin under there...