I was talking to a salesman the other day at the Chevy dealership and he told me about the locking rear differential on the newer Chevys and how they get better traction than the Fords in 4WD. Anyone have experience with them? Could they take the place of getting 4WD on the truck if you only use 4WD once in a while for getting out of slippery situations?
Thanks!

 

No, it's not. I had to take my boat out at a boat ramp covered with acorns, leaves & sticks due to some recent high water. I tried to ease up the ramp in 2WD (I have the rear locker) but the rear just slid sideways. I put it in 4 hi & it drove out without slipping.

I had a salesman try to sell me on a locker being as good as 4WD too. But I'm glad I got the 4WD.

 

Thanks! That's a very good thing to know. I'd love to save the money and gas mileage by going with 2WD, but I guess there's no way around it when pulling a trailer.

 

No surprise that your wheels in the water and slime on the ramp slid even with the LSD and that adding power to the front wheels on the dry section did the trick. On ice with 4WD all you get is four wheels spinning instead of two.

A limited slip differential helps the 4WD work more effectively in a variety of situations. I have high centered trucks and then had both the rear and front wheels lose power without a limited slip differential in the vehicle.

I noticed with my first 4WD SUV with LSD that I had to put the car into 4WD a lot less and situations where previously I needed 4WD as in getting up a gravel road to the roadway from my house I could get by perfectly well in 2WD thanks to the limited slip differential.

After market locking and limited slip differentials have often been trouble prone and expensive to buy and install. Being able to get them as an option with the trailering package and have the LSD covered under the GM warranty for 5 years or 100,000 miles is terrific.

 

The Locker is a good set up, I have it on my 2WD truck. It's not meant to replace 4WD, and in a situation where 4WD is actually needed, nothing can replace it short of a set of tracks.

That said, I also agree with elkhornsun. I've found that with the locker in my 4wd truck, I use the 4wd far less often for occasional "gittin' in stuff". it's a definite plus whether you have 2wd or 4wd, and worth the extra bucks.

 

I was actually on dry pavement covered with acorns, sticks & leaves. A private ramp, not ideal conditions. But I was really happy that I didn't settle for less.

Another way the 4WD is superior is the low range 4WD. It's a stump pulling gear-splitter you can't get with a 2WD & LSD rear.

 

It's better to have the 4WD and not need it than not have it and get yourself in a bad situation. Resale is higher too so don't look at it as waisting money. Boat ramps can suck sometimes and the guys who invested in the 4WD are usually watching the 2WD guys spin tires and occassionally getting their trucks wet. We pulled our boat this past season with a 4WD Suburban. We went almost the whole season without needing the 4WD engaged although I would use it anyway every once in a while just to use it. The last weekend of the season we went to our normal ramp and it was closed for repairs. We ended up using a ramp that was seriously steep. I put it in 4 Low just because I had it and I was amazed at how it just pulled it out at almost an idle. Everyone in front of us with 2WD's were spinning and getting a little sideways. They all made it out, but not near as easy as we did. Our boat was almost too big for this ramp so I am not sure if a 2WD would have made it.
Long story short, I know too late, get the 4WD!

 

i have had several 2wd and 4wd trucks both with lockers and without no comparison 4wd lockers wins every time... a lot of what makes a big difference is in ones driving ability... im not saying that you don't know how to drive but there are lots of people that think that they do when they really don't and thats where the trouble starts.....

 

PLUS you can have all the 2WD locker in the world but if your at a slippery boat ramp your just going to have 2 tires spinning instead of one. You need that traction where the ramp isn't slick also the engine sitting over the front wheels gives them much better bite than the rear with just a light bed over them.

 

I like the guys with 2wd that think they can go anywhere a 4wd will go. I get to have fun pulling them out.