Who has installed ARB air lockers in at least one axle of thier bobber?

[dieck]

I'm interested to hear about experiences of bobber owners that have have installed a locker. It seems like a lot of what keeps a stock deuce moving is all the rubber on the ground. With one less axle it seems like a locker would almost be mandatory for sticky offroad situations. Any vids of locked bobbers doing amazing things?

 

[rnd-motorsports]

I would agree 100% never had a deuce but have installed a few 2 1/2 ton axles into pickup builds and a detriot or locker of anykind makes abig differance. even more so with bigger tires! I have plans on getting one and I will be bobbing it I think they look awsome!

 

[snoplay]

I put a detroit in the rear of mine , love it then I put #800lb of steel in the rear wow what a difference . The weight made the biggest difference

 

[Maverick1701]

I put a detroit in the rear of mine , love it then I put #800lb of steel in the rear wow what a difference . The weight made the biggest difference

I love that detriot locker sound! (when turning)

 

[92RT-TT]

I had a locker in my last jeep. Haha taking sharp corners the tires would chirp

 

[ccequipment]

Bobbed trucks will not go nearly as well as a 6x6. Weight will make a big diffrence. Lockers are great in the rear only with weight. A front locker works really well also. I have put ARB's and Detroits in. ARB's are nice, but you have more cost and more moving parts. Detroits are simple, but will steer funny up front if you drive on the road alot unless you get a set of front lockout hubs.

 

[92RT-TT]

Bobbed trucks will not go nearly as well as a 6x6. Weight will make a big diffrence. Lockers are great in the rear only with weight. A front locker works really well also. I have put ARB's and Detroits in. ARB's are nice, but you have more cost and more moving parts. Detroits are simple, but will steer funny up front if you drive on the road alot unless you get a set of front lockout hubs.

totally unrelated to this thread, but oh how I love that deuce in your avatar picture... mmmm quadcab!

 

[wbdodgeiv]

Detroits are simple, but will steer funny up front if you drive on the road alot unless you get a set of front lockout hubs.

Do they drive funny with the air shift xfer case or does that not matter? I was thinking about a set for both the front axle and rear tandem.

 

[dieck]

Do they drive funny with the air shift xfer case or does that not matter? I was thinking about a set for both the front axle and rear tandem.

Air lockers are open diffs when not engaged so drive same as stock when unlocked.

 

[Seth_O]

I feel bad as I can't really contribute to the OP's question - but I installed lockers in my landcruiser, it made a HUGE difference. Completely different animal off-road. I imagine it would be the same for a bobbed deuce.

I have plans for lockers (front and rear) in my deuce. After doing them in my landcruiser I can't go back......

 

[AZDeuce]

So would it be cheaper/more relable/or any more benificial to run the less complicated Detroits Lockers in the rear(s), and a ARB up front? Just curious as I'd like to turn my deuce into the ultimate desert cruiser.

 

[dieck]

Based on experience with past (non-MV) 4x4....

If the truck is to be used primarily offroad detroit in back and ARB in front works well. If the truck is used regularly on road, the detroit even in the rear will be noisier and be engaged if accelerating into a turn which does happen often on the road which will result in some scrubbing or squirly behavior if its wet or slick. For a 50-50 on road off road mix I've had the best luck with a air or electric locker in the rear and an open front diff. This way when your in 2wd the truck drives normally. When off road and you lock up the center and rear diff you have both rear tires and at least one front tire pulling but can still steer well when in aggressive turns offraod.

I'm assuming this translates well into MV OD vehicles.

So would it be cheaper/more relable/or any more benificial to run the less complicated Detroits Lockers in the rear(s), and a ARB up front? Just curious as I'd like to turn my deuce into the ultimate desert cruiser.

 

[mudguppy]

Bobbed trucks will not go nearly as well as a 6x6. Weight will make a big diffrence. Lockers are great in the rear only with weight. ... [Lockers] will steer funny up front if you drive on the road alot unless you get a set of front lockout hubs.

i'm going to have to disagree with you on all counts.

1. "Bobbed trucks will not go nearly as well as a 6x6." - the original question is about lockers in a 4x4. so if you had 4wd, it begs to say that you would go farther than a stock deuce with only 3wd. obviously, that's not apples/apples. so if you put lockers in a stock deuce, i'd argue that you'd never steer it with the large amount of weight and driving wheels in the rear.

2. "Weight will make a big diffrence." - weight only makes the suspension work more and is a crutch for suspensions that do not have adequate articulation. also, you need less articulation out of a suspension with a shorter wheelbase.

3. "[Lockers] will steer funny up front if you drive on the road alot unless you get a set of front lockout hubs." - i often leave my front hubs locked and have never even noticed any steering input from the front locker; hi-way, around town, parking lots, etc. i only realize the front is still locked when i get out to lock the hubs to find that they already were!



to the OP, i'd offer this input: you can put Ouverson lockers in front and rear for the price of one ARB unit.


edit: also, it's pretty easy to drive the truck to never make any noise or have under-steer in turns with a locker in the rear. it really isn't that difficult... took me about 15 minutes of driving to figure that out.

 

[flyxpl]

had my A3 down at a cabin by the river . Sandy driveway on a hill. I was very suprised how easy the rear tandems were spinning . I would geuss rear traction on a 6x6 or bobber is about 30% . It did not want to go anywere without the front axle locked . With the front axle locked I got no spinning at all , the front pulled so good the rears did not have a chance to spin. If I was only going to spend the money on one locker it would be an ARB in the front axle .

 

[Josh]

I am definatly putting at least 2 lockers in my stock truck. I spend enough time out in the dunes/mud to warrent the use. But I also DD my deuce so I was going to with Detroits/lock outs on the front and and arb in the rear rear. Then after price checking, I found I could get ARBs cheapers then a detroit + lockouts. I figure when it happens, The front axle and rear-rear are getting ARBS, and if cash premitting, the rear-front is going to get one too.

 

[jwaller]

weight will help you out.

We have such large tires that when you spread out the weight over such a large area you get very little ground pressure, thats why you will always plow down with the front end first, you have double the weight and 1/4 of the area to put it.

Weight in the rear will help the tires to bite into the soil instead of spinning on top of it. There is a balance to be had though, too much and you will sink.

 

[Josh]

I went to a mud bog with a M107 in the bed of my truck, Got way better traction then when I removed it. I only took it out because it kept hitting my hard top and didnt feel like being decapitated.

 

[mudguppy]

remember, guys: i know we are talking about mechanical lockers and calling them 'Detroits' in generic terms (for the most part).

however, if you are going to be buying a mechanical locker you really should be buying the Ouverson Ultra-locker; it is a better design made out of much better materials and can be had for less $$. there's a member on here that sells Ouverson stuff for discount; i think it's 'tie0644'...? his name's Scott and i bought my lockers and hubs from him and would do it again. i'll be buying upgraded shafts from him in the future.

edit: sorry, Scott is tie6044.