Detroit locker for everday use?

[glhs]

Wondering if this is possible and still pull a gooseneck or 5th wheel occasionally. Are they ok to run in the ice and snow? I'm running a Dana 80.

Kurt

 

[drrhoades]

I have one in my truck and I wouldn't have it any other way. You just have to learn how to drive it around corners and when it is wet out. On the snow and ice it is excellent. I have not towed with it yet though.

 

[EKlem]

The problem with a detroit locker and towing is the amount of weight you have on your drive wheels. If you power through a turn, the locker won't unlock and you will scrub your tires real bad. This also puts a lot of stress on your driveline components. When you have a lot of pin weight, the tires have better grip so the stresses go up a lot. You end up with some pretty scary binding of components, especially when on dry pavement.



As far as snow and ice is concerned, a locker will get a lot more exciting if you break the wheels free. They are great for deep snow where getting stuck is the issue but not so great in slippery stuff since they kick out the rear a lot.



I have had lockers in both of my trucks and I pulled the one out of my current truck. It was noticeably decreasing my fuel mileage, wearing out my tires faster, and was not as pleasant to drive. For the few times it really helped me out, it wasn't worth it to me.

 

[BigPapa]

It was noticeably decreasing my fuel mileage, wearing out my tires faster, and was not as pleasant to drive. For the few times it really helped me out, it wasn't worth it to me.

Was this towing or empty?



Scott

 

[EKlem]

Was this towing or empty?



Scott

This was doing both. My old truck had a detroit locker in the rear and would wear the rear tires at about 1. 5 times the speed of the fronts. I put the locker in right when I got the truck so I can't compare fuel mileage before and after. The old truck did a lot of towing but none of it was very heavy(tongue weights of less than 500 lbs).



In my current truck, I picked up a little over 1mpg when I took the locker(powertrax) out. It wore out a set of rear tires in 15k miles. As I got used to the locker, I got better at driving so that I was not on the throttle when a turn started so that it would unlock. Now with it out, the front tires are wearing faster than the rears which look like they should be good for 50k or more. When I took out the locker, it had been so harshly locking and unlocking, that some of the ring gear bolts had started to back out. This truck always has probably 800lbs in the bed which must make some difference.