Truck mods

[Redfrog]

I recently bought a 97 crew cab ford. It will be my hunting truck and I'd like to put a locker at least in the rear end.
I've been looking at the OX locker. Anyone familiar with them.
Any other suggestions.

I'm also looking for a hydraulic or pto winch. Suggestions??

Anyone built the storage boxes with the sliders to fit between the wheel wells?

[FishinFreak]

Don't know about OX lockers but ARB makes a very nice air activated locker that allows you to engage or disengage it from the cab

[Hunter Trav]

From all the info gathering I did on this subject before buying my current hunting rig (which was a ton), ARB seemed to come out on top the most. But your gonna pay for it. If I remember correctly the OX locker uses a cable setup to engage/disengage, which could prove itself to be more reliable than the air activated ARB. The nice thing about the ARB is that you can set it up so you can use its compressor to air up tires, or use air tools in the event of a breakdown. I guess what it boils down to is how far you want to take this truck in terms of mods. Go to the extreme, or keep it simple. Only you can answer that question. If your looking for simplicity and reliabilty, you may want to look at a Detroit TrueTrac limited slip for your rearend. Extremely well built and very reliable, and you dont have to route any air lines or cables anywhere to use it. I have one in my truck and I'm quite happy with it. If I'm ever able to do up the front diff, I think I'll be saving up for the ARB setup, as you want to be able to turn it on/off for steering purposes. Hope that helps. :)

[Iskra]

Anyone built the storage boxes with the sliders to fit between the wheel wells?

I use Cargo Bed manufactured in Edmonton. Mine is 750 lb capacity. I Did not build any boxes on it but I load it with containers and sled full of equipment. Its very easy to load and unload. It is like a drawer pull it out and push it in. http://www.cargobed.com/

[ghglenn]

If you have the cash, I would go with the ARB up front/and rear, or for less, a detroit-locker in the rear. The detroit is inexpensive, not too bad on the hi-way, and well made. The ARB is engaged/disengaged with the flick of a switch, which is nice. Plus, as stated earlier, the onboard air features are nice, too. The OX is also a great locker, just cable actuated. If the cable breaks on the trail, you can get under vehicle and lock it in by hand. If you have a leak on an ARB, that is tough to remedy on the trail. That being said, I still would go with ARB for the features. I would also suggest a dual-battery set-up with a nice Warn Winch instead of PTO, jmho. Sometimes a running vehicle and a winching situation aren't in the same equation.

[Redfrog]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll check out the ARB units.

I have used lots of winches over the years, both for work and play. I've never been impressed with electrics. I've seen them smoke up too often and it is ALWAYS when you need them most. It is not a user problem in my case. I know about loads and blocks etc. I did vehicle recovery for years.

I've never seen a hydraulic or PTO quit if used properly. As far as the worry about being in a situation where your engine quits and you need the winch to get you out, well I've never seen it. I have been in a lot of nasty places, but if the engine wasn't running, the winch wouldn't have saved the day. My experience may be different, but I wouldn't put a warn on a vehicle of mine.
Hubs yes, winch ..no.

Thanks for the tip on the cargo box.

Any other modifications you can suggest would be appreciated.

I have a canopy and a boat rack with an electric loader to go on as well.

[artie]

alot of the new trucks do not have the adapter plate on the transmission to hook up a pto. I know my 97 standard tranny chev does not so I have my pto winch sitting in the shed.

[jpohlic]

I had a Jeep TJ with a detroit locker in the back and a detroit true-trac in the front. I did a lot of extreme off roading with it that would not have been possible with out the lockers.

The true-trac is a limited slip and locked up most of the time when needed, sometimes I had to tap the brakes to get it to lock up. A true-trac in the back of a hunting truck would be a decent choice if you're not doing serious off roading, also better for icy roads than the detroit.

The detroit in the back functioned flawlessly and I would get another. It was loud and clanked and banged when locking up on turns but it never failed to perform.

However, if you are planning on driving this truck a lot in the winter I would advise a selectable locker like the ox or arb. A full-time locker like the detroit can be a handful on icy roads. I'd go with the ox over the arb, I wouldn't want to deal with the potential problems of the compressor or air lines.

[FishinFreak]

I got to say I'm really surprised by the amount of worry re: air actuation lockers. Guess as a trucker I'm just more comfortable with air systems than most. The nice thing about air is; a leak is easily found and fixed with the proper splice equipment.
As for other modifications; I would suggest a set of LightForce floods in front of the grill and a set of Toyo Open Country M/T's on the rims, an expensive but incredible traction tire with much less road noise than BFG's. Also a small winch in the box would be nice for loading the latest catch of the day :)

[600twin]

I am using a powertrax for the last 6 yrs with no problems. Easy install in an hr, pull side axles then remove pin and bolt and side and spiders and palce the unit in Really easy to do yourself. No removing gearsets and setting backlash again like with some systems , no airlines or cables to break just drive it. Little bit of noise going slow around turns ,it is a ratcheting sound but noting as bad as a detroit. Leave one rear wheel on the ground and it will still drive nothing like the Auburn my buddy got sucked into buying after he blew up his Detroit Truetrac. Cost about 400-500 but that was 6 yrs ago, i don't do any hardcore stuff just everyday driving.

http://www.richmondgear.com/powertrax/noslip.html