I live in Minnesota, so the truck will have plenty of snow in it's future.

I bought an 04' SuperCab off of a lot and I would have preferred it had limited slip, but everything else was exactly what I was looking for.

I'm reading on another site than without limited slip, if you have the two "power" wheels both spinning when in 4X4, the system will disable power to the other two wheels so you can be SOL at that point if you're in deep snow/mud.

Has anyone without limited slip had a chance to encounter some deep snow or mud and see how this heavier truck does for traction??

 

I ordered my lariat 4x4 with out limited slip. Just the regular 3.73
We never have enough snow for me to need it, I have not recieved my truck yet so I cant comment on how it pulls in 4wd.

 

Going by my experience in my 2000 F150 I wished I had limited slip so I ordered it('04)with it.
I hated seeing them Chevys (friends with limited slip) pull away from me in 2wd when I had a little spinning in the rear
Can't wait to try it out!!

 

If you had limited slip and the three pulling wheels were spinning ,you would be stuck.You can,t cover all the bases.
A cell phone and a good friend helps sometimes.

Mike

 

Limited slp differential is the cheapest traction enhancing option. I experience the benefits in snow, rain, and dry pavement on my 4wd truck.

Yes, with it you are most likely only getting 3 wheels to spin, but 3 is 50% more than one front and one rear without it, or double the traction as one wheel drive, err 2wd.

 

At this point you have no momentum and you are on a hockey rink. And the ice manager is pissed!

 

It is nice to have, but not necessary. You may just get yourself stuck alot worse, because you ventured into deeper snow (or mud) that non-limited slip would have discouraged. Bury the axles and your not going anywhere without digging. Chain up on all four and you would be surprised where you can go without LS. I do it all the time in government rigs up in the mountains.

My 04 F150 and my last two Chevys were fine here in Montana, but you will spin the rear drive wheel more from the standing starts with OD. I'm not racing anybody so I just feather the gas/clutch more.

 

IMO, I wouldn't buy Limited Slip again. It isn't the best thing for off-road use, and it dang sure doesn't keep you from getting stuck. Too bad you can't get a locker from the factory.

 

I bought my truck off the lot. It does not have LS, but I would have preferred that it did. In any case, we have already been through two 10-inch snows and several smaller ones. No problems at all getting around. In fact, I purposely drove through unplowed areas on and off road just for the heck of it. Lots of fun, no problems.

 

I'm glad to hear that Mudlord.

We haven't had a whole lot of snow this winter, but I'm going to get out in the country and give this a little test on a decent day weather-wise just in case I get in too deep!

 

One of my biggest uses for the truck is pulling my boat. The ramps are always wet, and usually slippery. Combine this with too steep an angle, and slippage does happen. The LS gets me back up the ramp with little to no slippage while I watch those without spin their tires.

 

JMorri, I have the LS but I have had non LS trucks in the past. I have learned that learning driving styles for off-road driving can do wonders as long as your not going in further than your vehicle is capable. If you find yourself in an off-camber situation with the two drive wheels losing traction using a little brake at the same time will put enough resistance on the spinning wheels to allow some traction to the ones in contact on the other side(s) and they will pull some. A little practice with this will tell you how much brake to apply.

 

If you already have limited slip in the rear can you put a locker in the front?

 

Off-topic: Am I correct? In reference to spinning three wheels and being stuck, I heard that a Mercedes G-class is the only passenger vehicle that is capable of transfering all the power away from three wheels and put it all to one wheel. In most applicatons you can stop one wheel from spinning on either axle, but not both on the same axle. Heard this from a Mercedes mechanic. I aslo was just reading an article about an Aussie rock crawling champion, who uses Hummer axles G-class differentials and a chevy body.

Just wondering
Adam

 

Yes, several companies make lockers. An electric locker would probably be easiest to install and work with, but air operated lockers, such as ARB's, are the $h!7. Plus if you have air ops you could rig up on-board air for inflating tires, rafts, running tools, etc... Mostly guys that are really into off-roading go with air ops though.

By the way, limited slip is not the same as having a locked axle either. If you locked both front and rear you would be damn near unstoppable offroad