Eaton TrueTrac Vs ARB or Detroit Locker

I’ve got a 2017 Tacoma TRD Sport and I’m getting ready to have a new differential put in it and I cannot decide what to go with. I use the Truck to mainly hunt with at night “Coonhunt” I do end up in some pretty rough places including a lot of fields. I just don’t want to get stuck at 3 in the morning. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

If you want max offroad differential performance it's either the Detroit or ARB. If you want to spend less, keep it simple, and don't mind dealing with a locker's road manners then the Detroit is ideal. If you are willing to spend more to keep smooth open diff road manners and get on-board air then the ARB is the answer.

 

I was hoping the TrueTrac would work good with the limited slip braking system but I don’t guess it’s going to be like a locker

 

I wouldn’t personally buy a locker unless I was getting stuck a lot where I knew it would help. I’d start with good tires, a shovel, and traction boards if I didn’t already have them. A locker is expensive and will not guarantee you won’t get stuck.

Here’s me stuck with my locker and ATRAC engaged wielding 33” mud terrains and traction boards.

 

A Detroit locker is the best mod you can do to a 4x4 , you'll notice you can drive farther into a rutted rocky trail in just 2wd before you engage the front axle

Over the many many years I was into rock crawling , I've seen my share of stuck 4x4's with limited slip equipped axles getting on the simplest off road terrain . A Detroit locker will allow 100 percent equal traction to both wheels . A limited slip will only give power to the wheel with the least traction


When I was a member of CA4WDC " Calif Assoc 4wd clubs " I did alot of pre trail run inspections on the 4wds at these events . One such inspection was on some runs requiring lockers only due to the terrain . We had the 4wd's pull up to us and we would lift with floor jack on one side of the rear axle so that tire was off the ground . We next had the owner of that vehicle attempt to pull forward 9 out of 10 times these vehicles couldn't move forward as the power was transferred the tire off the ground

Now you do this same test with a Detroit locker equipped vehicle it had no problems pulling the vehicle forward with only the one tire

 

I put an auto-locker (e.g. Detroit) in the rear of my previous Tacoma, and I have a manual locker (e-locker) in my current Tacoma. If you are just locking one axle and have an auto transmission, I prefer the autolocker hands down. It locks on the go before you know you need it, whereas you might already be stuck by the time you realize it’s time to engage the manual locker.

On the roads, I never put my truck in 4wd again after installing the autolocker. With good tires it would simply go, no matter what — snow or ice. There is a small learning curve to driving an autolocker on icy roads but it is 1000% better than an open diff or electronic LSD.

Plus, engaging or disengaging an autolocker is far quicker and more intuitive with the skinny pedal than a manual locker will ever be.

Before people try to talk you out of the Detroit because you don’t “need” it, remember it’s not much different in price from a Truetrac, but has far more capability. And many GM trucks have come with autolockers from the factory, and people aren’t dying on icy roads because of them.

 

Just out of curiosity, are you 6MT, or 6AT. This is important information because they have different rear axles. If you are 6MT, you only have factory E-Locker, Eaton E-Locker, Harrod E-Locker or the ARB Air-Locker as options. There are currently no limited slip options for the 6MT.

 

Excellent post !!!


I remember quite few years ago out in the Socal High Desert near Barstow Calif I climbed a steep rocky Hill in my 68 M38A1 Jeep that had Dana 44's with Detroit lockers in both axles . As I got close to the top I was fighting to keep traction as I was having a hard time keeping forward momentum going

I finally got to the top of the hill and a friend of mine who was already up here told me that it looked like my front wheels weren't pulling or getting power . I looked at my t/ case shifters and I was in 2wd with hubs locked in . I couldn't believe I climbed that hill in 2wd with just the rear axle equipped with a Detroit locker

 

No manner of traction is going to get you out of being buried to the frame.

 

My Tacoma is Automatic Tranny. I guess most of my driving is on the roads but when I run my dogs at night I never know where they r going to tree and I like to get as close as I can to them in the truck before I start walking. As far as four wheeling I don’t really do any of that just mainly night hunt.

 

Don't get wrong but a limited slip is okay and practical for a daily driver and run on unpaved dirt roads . But if you can't keep all 4 tires on the ground and not in the air they're doable . The moment that a tire leaves the ground that axle is done pulling or pushing that vehicle . That axle will operate just like an open diff rendering you stuck

 

Wouldn’t your automatic limited slip OEM “Braking start pulsating” enough to send power to the other wheel. You have your OEM limited slip which is basically braking working with the TrueTrac unless I’m reading it wrong

 

I’m going to do something to it because I just don’t like the way it is. All my other Taco’s have had OEM E Lockers on them and I can’t stand this

 

I assume you are referring to AutoLSD. It is only available in 2wd and is helpful for getting out of a snowy/icy parking spot, not much else. You need a off-road or pro to get the off-road traction control.

 

Trade it in for an off-road? Besides the locker you get atrac/mts which are very underrated IMHO.

 

No it also works in 4wd I’ve seen it with the truck jacked up in the air. It’s not much but it will pull the truck off the Jacks. It’s just slow about doing it. You can find that on you tube

 

That’s TRAC and it’s mostly useless for getting unstuck. That video is misleading and full of terminology mistakes.

 

The OEM electronic limited slip is fairly anemic compared to a Truetrac, which is in turn fairly anemic compared to a locker. @USMarine mentioned having to get a wheel in the air to appreciate the strength of a locker over a limited slip, but some people find that the right consistency of slippery mud in a rut is sometimes not much different than having a wheel in the air.

If your dogs are leading you into heavily rutted muddy territory you will still appreciate a locker and MT tires —

which brings us to another important point: if you are not already running MT tires for hunting, at least start there. Even a locker will hopelessly spin both OEM tires in mud all day long.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-traction-control-modes-explained.530695/

 

It sounds like from what you guys are saying I’m going to need a Locker. At least in the rear. I wanted one anyway and should have waited for the Off Road but I bought this Sport model. I’ll probably go with the Harrip E-Locker. Right now I’ve got Kenda Klever AT2. They are alright for what they are but I’m putting BFGoodrich Mud Terrain on the truck before next fall.