general 4x question

[mudseeker]

winter time is coming upon us and it got me thinking of snow wheeling. that thinking led me to thinking about my 4x setup. now i know when i put it in 4hi/lo that the rear end does not lock, so i still only have one useful tire in the rear, but what about the front? do both tires in the front have traction? so what is it, do i have a 4x3 or 4x2 when things start to get hairy?

probably a stupid question, but it's midnight and i'm bored.

[75K30]

I had a guy stop by the shop the other day looking for some info, and this exact question came up. He was stuck on a dirt road, and was upset that even in 4wd, he only had one rear tire spinning, and one front tire turning. He seemed puzzled.
This is actually a good question, and one that is not ever asked, and probably should be.
Each end of the truck has a differential, and if these diffs are "open" only one tire will get power, provided that there is low traction. What I mean by this is that both wheels will get power if the traction to both is equal.
Power is sent to the wheel with the least amount of traction. That is how a basic differential works.
The front is not any different, and most fronts will only have an open diff.
Aftermarket traction devices are the only way to get bias equal to the wheels.
Limited slips, whether gear, or clutch type, will apply some tension to the side gears, and help to apply power to each wheel on a given axle, and a locker, whether selectable, or automatic, will lock the side gears directly to each other.
Front diffs are the same. They will require some sort of traction device to accomodate this.
Lockers in the front are interesting to drive to say the least, and lockers in the rear can be a real kick in the pants on an icy road. Learning how to drive with locked diffs is an experience to say the least.
If you have open diffs, you only truly have 2 wheel drive. Typically one front wheel, and one rear. If traction is equal, you can get traction to two wheels, but you probably would not need 4wd if traction was that good.

[stumpuller454]

the front is open so in a superstuck condition ie. if one tire was on a rock and one was in a mud hole, the tire in the mud hole would spin, sucky! especially true in winter, easiest tire to spin will, thats why so many people get stuck in the silliest things

[03chevy]

mud you have limited slip on the front and rear axles. to get all 4 to turn when in 4wheel hi or low you need to add a locker in both axles

[RoadHammerTLM]

With out lockers 4 wheel drive is just another something to sell people to make them feel better. I was raised in the mountains of the northeast and almost never had a 4 wheel drive. Dad always said they were for wimps and flatlanders. If you can learn to drive a 2 wheel drive they will go most anywhere a 4 wheel drive will. And if you do put lockers in remember that it will make you truck chuck real bad when you make short turns. I had lockers on my Jeep. And she would hop around a corner when turning in or out of anywhere.

Hammer

[mudseeker]

kinda figured that would be the answer.
a guy at work has a cable operated locker in the rear of his jeep and i was starting to look into, made by OX i think. snow is no different than mud for me, i tend to stay out of the deep stuff. last year the rears got hung up on some ice under the snow and the front end just couldn't pull me or the other truck out (dads truck in snow drift). now i know a locker wouldn't help me in a situation like that but it would be nice to get in the stuff deeper than my bumper.

[75K30]

even with 40" rubber and detroits f/r, pops still had a heak of a time in the snow. That stuff is often time worse than mud.

[junior3382]

I was going to add what 75 did here about wheelin.... snow is more slick them mud sometimes.... so here, if you would serious about getting places in the winter, some people I know up north have good luck with this setup

[mudseeker]

that cali mountain snow is a whole different breed compared to the fresh powder i run in. there's no way you could get me out there unless i was locked front and back and had a winch. none of which i have at the moment.

i know my trucks limits and i wouldn't step one foot past the trail head with my truck. maybe one day when i have enough money to play with.........

[mudseeker]

those tracks are a little overkill for what i do in the winter.