so i am looking for a rear locker for my future truck. i have looked around and found two that i like.
the detroit trutrac and the toyota e-locker.
does anyone run either of these? if so how do u like them?
i personally like the trutrac because of price and no electronics to mess with. but i also like being able to turn the locker on and off whenever i want.
i live in washington where we get some snow and lots of rain. i will use it on my daily driver but i also want to be able to take it offroad.

which would be the best for me? (on a budget)

 

The detroit tru trac is not a locker.

It is a limited slip and does not perform as a locker does. I found mine to barely work at all, and if I lifted a tire, it didn't work at all.

Get the elocker. You'll be much happier.

 

I have a tru trac albeit in the front of my rig. Sometimes it will not lock the front when it should and will let one wheel spin while the other just sits there. When this happens I've found that if I tap the brake it will lock right up and put both wheels in motion. Other than that I've had no problems with mine so far. Also mine is not a DD, mainly for trail ridin,huntin and the occasional tree service job.

 

it's impossible to compare a truetrac and an e-locker, they are completely different.
it's hard to say which will be best for you, even though you're on a budget, because it depends on what your goals are. Will you be wheeling on rocks, will you be lifting tires? This is important, because the truetrac loses its effectiveness almost completely when tires get lifted off the ground. As Pyro mentioned, there is a technique called brake modulation that can help, but it's not a great solution.
An e-locker is the best of both worlds, it can be an open diff on the road, and a peerless traction aid on the trail. When modding it's always best to wait if you're on a budget and think carefully about which is best for you- it's far cheaper to save for what you really need than to install something cheap at first and then regret it later and pay for removal/reinstallation later.
In your case I would spend a lot of time reading posts about the truetrac (I recommend 4crawler) and the e-locker before deciding.
The Truetrac can be useful, in my case I have truetracs front and rear but my purpose is for only traction on wet roads, snow and ice, and offroad camping and fishing/reaching isolated scubadiving locations. It is NOT for rock crawling, and I am careful not to let any wheels lose touch with the ground. It's limited but can be useful for what it is. An E-locker is a much more powerful and useful traction tool.
respectfully-
taiko

 

I went from open, to a truetrac, to an elocker in the rear of mine and I recommend the e-locker. The truetrac works pretty good but is really nothing like the e-locker. Downey makes a cable conversion for the e-locker ($60) and it is also worth installing. For the record I don't rock crawl, but you don't have to to put a wheel in the air with an IFS. I thought the true trac worked good for what it was and I'm looking for one for the front, but the e-locker enables you to go further, slower if you catch my drift.

 

ok so an e-locker in the rear would be the best idea.
im not going to be heavy offroading but i want to be able to do some moderate trails atleast.

does anyone know where i can get one for cheap?

what are peoples personal opinions on e-lockers?

 

in order to answer your last two questions, the very best advice you'll find is to use the search button on top, click on that, and type "e-locker" in there. (without the quotes).
You will see 40 pages of information that came up, from some of the best minds in wheeling.
You can't go wrong by reading up on that, as many people have spent a lot of time writing reviews, opinions and options for choosing, buying, and installing e-lockers and just about everything else you can think of. It's time well-spent to read all the forums on a subject before spending your hard-earned money on a big-ticket item. Good luck!

 

For the cost, check out Aussie lockers. They're an automatic mechanical locker that costs about $250. I've found it to be very easy to get used to on the road and it does not bother me in the least. I don't "rock crawl", but I do use my truck to get to remote fishing areas year round. Sometimes that means through deep snow. Other times that mean I drive through rocky patches. Read the Aussie Locker review

Personally, I think an Aussie Locker rear and a Truetrac front would be a wicked, durable setup.

 

LOL
That detroit I bought from you seems to be working quite well for some reason.
;-) Maybe you had put it in backwards.....

 

If you find one "cheap" buy two or three!! They just arent "cheap" You'll spend at least twice the price compared to a lunch box locker.

 

The trutrac is going to be safer on ice than a full locker. It's less likely to cause a vehicle spin. Tru tracs are better suited for vehicles with auto trannys since you can use the brakes and throttle together to get the tru trac to act as a locker when needed.

 

Well since the e-locker is selectable you can leave it open on the ice. And i think a full locker would be better in an auto than a tru trac, since its actually a locker, not a limi slip.

 

OK, but what InternetRoadkill was saying is that it's easier to engage a truetrac with and auto tranny(the whole, brake and throttle thing simaltaneously). It takes a bit of pedal finess to accomplish this with a manual. I know, I've done it.

 

I've stated this in the review I did on the Aussie, but you'd really have to try to get the Aussie Locker to cause the vehicle to "whip around". In my brief experience on ice (actually thin snow over smooth pavement which is almost as bad), the truck didn't just spin. Rather, the rear end would slowly drift of to one side. You had ample time to correct. Further more, the the truck in 4x4, it felt very planted, more so than before the install.

 

For moderate trails you don't necessarily even need a locker...these trucks make it through stuff you wouldn't believe stock, I have no locker and I've had no trouble getting anywhere I've wanted to go, alot of it is up to the driver, line you take, and if you're using one the spotter. Unless you're rock crawling or going through snow or thick mud a locker is most likely not needed. True, a locker might make stuff easier, but who wants to take the easy way out??

 

And try airing you're tires down too, that makes a whole world of difference!

 

Yup I've never had any troubles in 4hi or 4lo...2hi on the other hand-I wouldn't trade my limited slip for anything!!! Besides I'm WAY too lazy to get out and lock in the hubs. Plus, it's funnier when I get through something in 2hi after somebody and they proclaim: "that was tough, good thing I had it four wheel drive!!"