brandon\

Hello -

I have a 2019 XLT and live in Minnesota. It has a 3:55 rear w/o locker or 4a. How well do non-locker, non-4a trucks do in the snow? (And just for the record, I’ve driven 2wd S10s and Honda Civics through MN winters, so this will invariably be way better than any of those.)

Gordy49913

I never use the locker by itself in the snow, all that does is spin you around, I'll use the 4 wheel drive first, then if I need a bit more traction I'll add the locker. Don't have 4A, standard 4 wheel drive only. My experience is in Upper Michigan along Lake Superior, lake effect snow country.

___

When I first acquired my truck, it had about 60% tread remaining on the stock wranglers. I've got the 3.55 locking rear and always found it necessary to have the rear locked for take offs when roads weren't plowed. I couldn't get much traction if I wasn't locking the rear. Didn't think much of it until I got a new set of wranglers and also placed 15 or so bags of ice melt in the bed over the rear axle. After that I've never actually had to lock my rear end. Wound up using the ice melt later on and never bought more, and in 4H, the vehicle still performed just fine on stock tires in deep powder and slush snow even in the canyons. I feel as though proper tires may have more play in determining how traction goes in wet conditions. I'm on 35" KO2s now, so I might be back to using the locker next winter because from what I've heard, KO2s leave a lot to be desired in wet and icy conditions.

bisonp

I thought I wanted a locker, but I didn't find it useful at all in snow. Truck does fine with 4H, just doesn't corner well.

52merc

I think you've already answered the question. Will be better than 2WD. I have 4A and although it is a real nice feature, standard 4X4 can be used just as well. I've yet to actually use the locked diff. I've only shifted it in/out a few time just to keep everything working. Before my F150, for 11 years, I drove a Sport Trac which had regular 4X4 and never had any driving problems. Winter driving just requires a certain amount of care, as you already know.

Pugnuts

You'll be fine with 4A.

mbrick

OP doesn't have 4A. Did you mean 4H?

caperJ

Forget the locker in snow use 4wd. Locker does not help when in 2wd.

Wicked ace

You are in a better situation not having the locker and installing a limited slip. I echo comments above about the usefulness of the locking rear driving in snow. If I had to deal with frequent and heavy snow on a regular basis I would be looking into a Torsen type limited slip differential. From past experience with different PU trucks over the years, just having a limited slip rear is often enough to get you around.

ztman

I think his original post was edited