I'll be getting my income tax returns back here soon.
Which, obviously means its time to mod the Yota

I'm torn here, though. Should I get a rear Detroit locker or 5.29s?

If I were daily driving this truck, the gears would be a no brainer.
But, I drive this truck to work (5 miles one way) about once a week
and it gets trailered to the wheelin' spots.
Other than that, she mainly sits in the back and looks pretty...

The type of wheeling I do is a variety of hard-packed trails, thick mud,
and some nice steep hills and valleys. So, whch do you think would benefit
me more? I'm eventually going to be running 35x12.50 TSLs, which is why
I will, at some point, be investing in gears, but for now I'm kinda leaning
towards the locker. Give me some opinions, here.

 

I'd go with the locker!

 

yeah lock the beast. Even if your only on 33's and have IFS, if you have lockers front and rear and at least manageable ratios the only limit to where you can go is really how much body damage your willing to take...

 

Anybody used a Detroit EZ locker? Components look similar to the
Lock-Rite but there's a few on eBay for under $200

 

I have an AUSSIE LOCKER in the front and like the way it works but I think when it comes down to it they are all pretty much the same so imho it just comes down to the name brand you want to choose.

With that said if you don't want to spend the money on a ARB the next best option would be a LSD they are a bit more money but will do the same thing except makes turning easier.

 

scrat the detroit get a aussie or lockrite and regear from money save from not getting detroit.

I wouldn't get locker off e-bay, PORC had a good deal on lockrite when I was shopping around and they give an extra warraunty so if I break it running "oversized tires" they replace it.

If you watch the classifieds you can find IFS fronts regeared that are being sold becaise people are upgrading to SAS. I did and save alot of cash, for more mods/upgrades

 

If you do one or the other, save your money, plan ahead and do both at the same time. Otherwise you waste alot of money on labor (or your own time for the do-it-yourselfer) because it is WAY easier to install the locker and the gears while you, or the shop, have it apart, rather than remove from truck twice, and tear down twice and install twice. If you regear first, you will have to remove the whole carrier, and tear apart the differential again to install the locker. IF you are going to do them seperately, I would recommend the locker first, due to simplicity. You could do it yourself if you know what you are doing. Gear setup is much more complicated due to reading patterns, tear down, you will need special tools (some will be required to install the locker anyway). But much simpler to just install both at the same time. I would take muddpigg's advice, buy a less expensive lunchbox locker, install it with the gears with marginal or no increase in labor cost(because the whole thing is apart anyway for re-gearing, it takes 5min for the locker install at that point), and save alot of money long run.

 

Locker bud, I had a great experience with Aussie, and would buy from them again.

But I found a Loc right for $100. Works great, with a thick and heavy oil, I barely hear the thing back there.

 

x2 - save up to do both at the same time

 

I know that ideally thats the way to go..
Save up so I can get ARBs f/r and gears at the same time.

But, in the real world, unfortunately I'm not that
financially advanced. I would love to be able to just
tear into both diffs and do everything, but I don't think
its a realistic goal.

I have three wheeling trips planned for the summer,
and I'm sure more to come as the year progresses, which
is why I kinda want to just do the locker now and save me
headaches on the trail. By the fall, I should then
have enough to spring for gears.

 

Whoa, a LSD is NOT the same thing as a locker and not nearly as useful off road.


You can always get lunchbox lockers (aussie, lockright) right now which you can install yourself and then do gears later. Its looks like you are leaning toward lunchbox lockers anyways. They don't require you to have to resetup your gears...

 

i got a lockrite before i got new tires. go with the locker first. i got mine for 200 dollars from performancecenter.com and it was free shipping. glad I went locker first, and it was way cheepier than new tires

 

The detroit in the rear of my truck is probably one of the best investments I've made....I love mine...daily drove it for years with no issues at all!

 

Save and do both at once...less work and labor fees