Winch vs Lockers

UpsideUp · Apr 16, 2014

Hey all...This post might have been beat to death but was looking for help in deciding which to do next. I own a manual JK Sport Unlimited and of course it didn't come with lockers. What my problem is is cost vs function.
I'm in the market to regear as I have 35's on stock gears, but mix gears with lockers and beefing up the Dana 30 and that seems like a huge investment right now.
Is getting a front bumper and a winch a decent alternative investment for the time being? I was thinking the winch could get me out of trouble until I'm ready to make the plunge on everything else?
Or is this a "save your pennies" project and do gear/lockers first?
Thanks for your help!

jeff_in_rc · Apr 16, 2014

Why not re-gear and put in a rear locker for now? It will give you the power back with the 35's and a rear locker will do in most situations.
Of course if you had deep pockets you could do it all but hey, most of us are NOT in that situation huh. Just my 0.02, YMMV.

olram30 · Apr 16, 2014

Overlander has a sport with 35's. He seems to get around the trails pretty good. I'd do the bumper and winch first.

gtony12 · Apr 16, 2014

I have a sport 2 door with 2.5" lift, and I am going to be installing 35" with 3:21 gear. I know, I know:icon_crazy:. I am going to install winch first then save for re-gearing and rear lockers later. At least I will be able to enjoy some trail and hopefully get myself out if I get stuck. my :twocents::beer:

turbineguy · Apr 16, 2014

UpsideUp said:
Hey all...This post might have been beat to death but was looking for help in deciding which to do next. I own a manual JK Sport Unlimited and of course it didn't come with lockers. What my problem is is cost vs function.
I'm in the market to regear as I have 35's on stock gears, but mix gears with lockers and beefing up the Dana 30 and that seems like a huge investment right now.
Is getting a front bumper and a winch a decent alternative investment for the time being? I was thinking the winch could get me out of trouble until I'm ready to make the plunge on everything else?
Or is this a "save your pennies" project and do gear/lockers first?
Thanks for your help!

I was in the same place you were. Out of all my drivetrain mods, getting a rubi t-case for $1000 was by far the most bang for the buck when playing on rocks. Lockers were next, but I didn't do them until I upgraded axles. I play in groups, so there was always someone else around to winch me if I got stuck, so the winch for me wasn't critical.

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Jkjamesdawson · Apr 16, 2014

Winch first man. If you lock it first and manage to get stuck then you have no way out and your likely further down the trail than you would have been unlocked. Unless you wheel strictly in the rocks where there is always traction and all you'll need to get unstuck is a hi-lift. Lockers are king in Calfornia, but if your gonna hit mud, snow, water and such on your trails get a winch first.

UpsideUp · Apr 17, 2014

Thanks for all the great advice. I seem to always be out by myself with a buddy riding shot gun so the potential to get stuck and have to wait for help is always present. I do run a Hi- lift with recovery gear but as someone mentioned being in California I would hate to have to winch my way up the trail...nor do I think anybody would want to wait for me to do that.
But as it was said...it would suck to "locker" my way up a trail and not be able to get out of something I got into because of not having a winch.
I'm hoping to go with 4.88s as my gas mileage really suffered and I lost 6th gear. So that will be mandatory at some point I'm sure but liveable for now I guess.
I guess there is also the "cool" factor of running something other than a stock bumper?
Thanks again for all the advice and hope to see you on the trail!

cddye · Apr 17, 2014

turbineguy said:
I was in the same place you were. Out of all my drivetrain mods, getting a rubi t-case for $1000 was by far the most bang for the buck when playing on rocks. Lockers were next, but I didn't do them until I upgraded axles. I play in groups, so there was always someone else around to winch me if I got stuck, so the winch for me wasn't critical.

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I'm not the world's smartest man, and I'm still far from knowledgeable on all things off-road. With apologies for the thread-jack, would someone mind explaining the difference in the Rubi's T-Case and why it matters?

OverlanderJK · Apr 17, 2014

cddye said:
I'm not the world's smartest man, and I'm still far from knowledgeable on all things off-road. With apologies for the thread-jack, would someone mind explaining the difference in the Rubi's T-Case and why it matters?

4:1 gears. Lower crawl ratio.

turbineguy · Apr 17, 2014

UpsideUp said:
Thanks for all the great advice. I seem to always be out by myself with a buddy riding shot gun so the potential to get stuck and have to wait for help is always present. I do run a Hi- lift with recovery gear but as someone mentioned being in California I would hate to have to winch my way up the trail...nor do I think anybody would want to wait for me to do that.
But as it was said...it would suck to "locker" my way up a trail and not be able to get out of something I got into because of not having a winch.
I'm hoping to go with 4.88s as my gas mileage really suffered and I lost 6th gear. So that will be mandatory at some point I'm sure but liveable for now I guess.
I guess there is also the "cool" factor of running something other than a stock bumper?
Thanks again for all the advice and hope to see you on the trail!

Be safe out there. If you run by yourself, a CB might be a good investment as well. A winch in your case might be a good idea. Good luck.

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jkjurny · Apr 17, 2014

turbineguy said:
Be safe out there. If you run by yourself, a CB might be a good investment as well. A winch in your case might be a good idea. Good luck.

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Agreed. I have wheeled by myself twice, but have:

SPOT GPS
HAM Radio
CB Radio

Also kept the wheeling simple and nothing that would risk me getting stuck biggest worry is a break from normal wear.

Armydog · Apr 17, 2014

jkjurny said:
Agreed. I have wheeled by myself twice, but have:

SPOT GPS
HAM Radio
CB Radio

Also kept the wheeling simple and nothing that would risk me getting stuck biggest worry is a break from normal wear.

Ditto. I wheel alone cause no one likes me.... so I keep it simple and have recovery gear. Plus I'm a little girl and am afraid to do the stuff some of you guys do!!! Still having so much fun it should be illegal (actually most of the areas I wheel technically are.... shhh.....)

Sent from my iPad using WAYALIFE mobile app.......

turbineguy · Apr 17, 2014

We had a sad case here in Idaho where some people were wheeling alone, flipped a (blazer I think), killed a women and seriously injured a guy and his two kids. Luckily he was in cell phone range and was able to call for help, but it took a while for the sheriffs and BLM to find him, and he wasn't even deep into our wilderness.

http://www.ktvb.com/news/Rescuers-search-for-family-trapped-in-remote-canyon--252476381.html

Bad unexpected stuff can happen suddenly.

cozdude · Apr 17, 2014

As other have said I would do the winch first. I did the winch back when I was on 32's. Once I upgraded to 35's my 3.73's were really struggling. When I regeared I did 5.13's because I will do 37's at some point. Also I locked the rear with an ARB but left the front d30 open.

Sent from my iPhone

BlackKnight · Apr 17, 2014

I think of it this way:
A set of lockers get you out of some of the times you would need a winch.
A winch gets you out of the position all of the time you would need a winch.

Winch first, Lockers second would be (is the way) I'll be going..

UpsideUp · Apr 17, 2014

cozdude said:
As other have said I would do the winch first. I did the winch back when I was on 32's. Once I upgraded to 35's my 3.73's were really struggling. When I regeared I did 5.13's because I will do 37's at some point. Also I locked the rear with an ARB but left the front d30 open.

Sent from my iPhone

How are the 5.13s for the 35's? Does it feel like over kill or will there be any potential damage that you for see?
And do you know of anybody running a "lunch box" style locker up front and ARB in the back? Just a thought to keep cost down.

UpsideUp · Apr 17, 2014

BlackKnight said:
I think of it this way:
A set of lockers get you out of some of the times you would need a winch.
A winch gets you out of the position all of the time you would need a winch.

Winch first, Lockers second would be (is the way) I'll be going..

Fantastic logic! Thank you for the advice. And definitely the cheaper of the two options.

OverlanderJK · Apr 17, 2014

Locker will get you into mor trouble not less. With lockers you will think you can do more and thus end up worse off.

cozdude · Apr 17, 2014

UpsideUp said:
How are the 5.13s for the 35's? Does it feel like over kill or will there be any potential damage that you for see?
And do you know of anybody running a "lunch box" style locker up front and ARB in the back? Just a thought to keep cost down.

they are great! i have plans to go up to 37's at somepoint so thats why i went 5.13. didnt want to spend the money on two regears. if i was to stay at 35's i would have went 4.88. the only potential damage i see is that i have 5.13's in a d30. to limit the stress on the gears i left the front open and only locked the rear.

cozdude · Apr 17, 2014

OverlanderJK said:
Locker will get you into mor trouble not less. With lockers you will think you can do more and thus end up worse off.

true story. even since i put in my rear ARB i have done a few things i normally wouldnt have done if i was still open.

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