Elvis Trail and Box Canyon—Florence, Arizona

Chris said:
I need to bypass the stupid factory wiring on these Rubicon lockers and hook them up to independent switches. That's what's causing me all this grief.

The Rubicon rear locker with the LSD concerns me since it seems like a somewhat common failure point, but it sounds like if I keep it locked the entire time, it isn't much of a concern?
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The more you wheel the rear unlocked, the higher the likelihood of failure.

Chris said:
This is interesting, because I thought that it was the front locker you wanted to keep engaged and the rear you wanted to disengage when doing tighter turns. That's what Josh and those other guys were saying in another thread if I recall.

That looks like a cool trail, and I can totally understand why if you were in the snow, that locker setup might be much more advantageous than me living here in the dry and never, ever planning to wheel in the snow or anything like that.

I've watched @starkey480 with his auto lockers front and rear and he never seems to have any trouble with anything (and he doesn't have to worry about turning on or off the lockers), so that's where I got the idea.

At some point I'll probably replace the lockers anyways, which is why I was curious. It sounds like Blaine is suggesting a selectable rear and an auto locker for the front. I'll take that recommendation since the type of climate / terrain he is wheeling in is identical to what we are wheeling in here in Arizona.

Where is that climb / trail?
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If you want to do it as effectively as possible, you wheel with the rear unlocked since they do not unlock as soon as you hit the off switch. That means if you pull into an area where you want to run the rear unlocked with the tires in a bind, they won't unlock until you release the pressure on the locking clutch which is about how much force it takes with one finger pulling on a tire.
 
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mrblaine said:
The more you wheel the rear unlocked, the higher the likelihood of failure.


If you want to do it as effectively as possible, you wheel with the rear unlocked since they do not unlock as soon as you hit the off switch. That means if you pull into an area where you want to run the rear unlocked with the tires in a bind, they won't unlock until you release the pressure on the locking clutch which is about how much force it takes with one finger pulling on a tire.
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With all the tight trails we've been wheeling on lately, I've had to unlock the rear quite a bit in order to make some of these turns. With both the front and rear locked it was making it damn near impossible.

I'll remember this though.
 
Chris said:
With all the tight trails we've been wheeling on lately, I've had to unlock the rear quite a bit in order to make some of these turns. With both the front and rear locked it was making it damn near impossible.

I'll remember this though.
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Test it in the garage so you fully understand what is happening. Lift one rear tire off the ground, lock it up, turn the tire until you feel it lock, hold it against the locking clutch with 1 finger pulling on a tire lug. Have someone hit the unlock. The tire won't move because the pressure on the locking clutch won't let the disengagement spring push the clutch apart.
 
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I've got an auto in the front of the 4dr... Seems to work really well. It's got the ratchet when turning tight, but that's not all that often.
 
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mrblaine said:
Test it in the garage so you fully understand what is happening. Lift one rear tire off the ground, lock it up, turn the tire until you feel it lock, hold it against the locking clutch with 1 finger pulling on a tire lug. Have someone hit the unlock. The tire won't move because the pressure on the locking clutch won't let the disengagement spring push the clutch apart.
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Is your selectable rear preference primarily for street manners?
 
mrblaine said:
Mostly. There are other ways to use it on the trail that are a bit advanced for this discussion.
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There are times on the street I wish I had a selectable rear but for the most part the Detroit has been fine. The auto swap should smoothen things up a bit as well.
@Chris knowing you I definitely think selectable rear is the way to go. Especially since you like zipping around on the streets with your new tune and headers 😂 I would have chosen that too if I didn’t get my whole Detroit super 35 kit for $400.
 
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mrblaine said:
Mostly. There are other ways to use it on the trail that are a bit advanced for this discussion.
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When I eventually replace the front with an auto locker, what locker would you recommend? I’d rather do it once and do it right.
 
starkey480 said:
There are times on the street I wish I had a selectable rear but for the most part the Detroit has been fine. The auto swap should smoothen things up a bit as well.
@Chris knowing you I definitely think selectable rear is the way to go. Especially since you like zipping around on the streets with your new tune and headers 😂 I would have chosen that too if I didn’t get my whole Detroit super 35 kit for $400.
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I think you’re right. I definitely like driving this thing like a sports car, even though it’s not one 🤣

I’ll probably just do an auto locker in the front in that case.
 
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Chris said:
This is interesting, because I thought that it was the front locker you wanted to keep engaged and the rear you wanted to disengage when doing tighter turns. That's what Josh and those other guys were saying in another thread if I recall.
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Yup that is exactly what John is doing in that video. Turning off the rear selectable will allow for far tighter turning without the rear-end push common with a spool (or a selectable engaged).

Chris said:
That looks like a cool trail, and I can totally understand why if you were in the snow, that locker setup might be much more advantageous than me living here in the dry and never, ever planning to wheel in the snow or anything like that.

Where is that climb / trail?
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That is Sunflower Mine - one of my favorites since you can have fun in the rock gardens and there are plenty of obstacles to play on. You also get some really nice scenery, cooler temps than in the valley (and snow at the peaks in winter), and relatively low trail traffic.

If you're going to only play in the dry rocks, there's much to be said of the simplicity and reliability of a pair of auto-lockers. Almost every guy I know with a buggy or Juggy/Truggy runs either a pair of lockers, a pair of spools, or one-and-one - not a single one is running a selectable.

But that said, life changes quick sometimes - for example, two years ago we were looking at buying a cabin up north - now we're looking at buying some land and moving full-time. Much like life, opinions change too. Maybe you're not interested in going up north for snow - but maybe you'll change your mind the next time it snows in Payson and everyone is taking a run up there to go mess around. One of the big advantages of living in the Phoenix Metro area is that we're only a 1-2 hour drive to snow in the winter (and 3 hours to dunes, and 4 hours to the beach).

There has been plenty of days where we took a break from the 50º weather of Mesa and drove to Payson or Flagstaff for the day to play around in the snow :)

Chris said:
I've watched @starkey480 with his auto lockers front and rear and he never seems to have any trouble with anything (and he doesn't have to worry about turning on or off the lockers), so that's where I got the idea.

At some point I'll probably replace the lockers anyways, which is why I was curious. It sounds like Blaine is suggesting a selectable rear and an auto locker for the front. I'll take that recommendation since the type of climate / terrain he is wheeling in is identical to what we are wheeling in here in Arizona.
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A lot of it is preference too - some people don't mind switches and some would rather not bother. There isn't a wrong answer really if you're building a rig to be tailored to your terrain and intentions...

Keep in mind that Currie is in SoCal and is a big regular at JV and western rocky trails. He's also built a number of successful KOH rigs. With a relatively unlimited build budget and big sponsorship, he could realistically run any setup he wanted to, so his personal suggestion for what he runs on his non-competition rock/trail rigs is insightful (and if I'm not mistaken, his son Brandon prefers the same setup for rock/trail rigs).
 
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