4x4 questions part 2

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by OzarkSaints, Apr 18, 2010.


  1. OzarkSaints

    OzarkSaints Monkey++

    hub went out a coupla months ago and trying to decide what to replace it with.....should I go manual, or auto(?) hub so that I don't have to get out to switch into 4wd?

    would that recommendation be the same if you were living in an area with tons of snow? (we still may end up moving north, not sure yet)

    what are the rules for running with the hubs locked, but not in 4wd? in a bug out scenario, I would not want to have to keep getting out to lock/unlock the hubs...I also wouldn't want to screw something up halfway to the cabin!

    thanks for y'alls time
     
  2. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    I run locking manuals.Auto's can get you into trouble by unlocking and not locking in.
    During the winter I leave them in and take them out once the roads clear up.About 4 months.
     
  3. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    If you are in a banzai situation, (BO tout suite) you are taking the chance of having to stop to engage, or stop permanently. My current rig has auto hubs that (I think) I can rely on, but nothing is idiot proof, and Murphy is ALWAYS awake and lurking.
     
  4. OzarkSaints

    OzarkSaints Monkey++

    ====qoute====

    would that recommendation be the same if you were living in an area with tons of snow? (we still may end up moving north, not sure yet)
    That's a choice to be made on laziness or not.

    ====end qoute====

    hmmm.....ummmm.....yeah......and here I was thinking it was a choice to be made off of protecting my family.....i.e.:

    a) not having to stop in a bug out scenario and take a stroll around the vehicle and get yourself shot or mugged thereby leaving your family defenseless and alone to be robbed, murdered, or raped

    b) not having to stop repeatedly on curvy shoulder-less Vermont two lane roads to go back and forth between locking and unlocking the hubs in marginal weather thereby creating a very real risk of another car hitting my overgrown ass while it is bent over in the road messing with the hubs or possibly even running into the vehicle itself while my daughter is inside

    .....and....obviously....if a person is in a place that snows 4 months of the year, then exactly 33% of the time that they might have to bug out would be during snowy weather.......and just as obvious, is the fact that if you have to get out of your BOV to engage the hubs up in the snowy north country, the reason necessitating the engagement of 4wd would exist regardless of where you are driving your vehicle at (i.e. city/freeway/small town/etc.) because the need for 4wd would be based off of snow, as oppossed to based off of a lack of pavement; which is an entirely different security problem than living somewhere where it does not snow at all, which would mean that you would never need 4wd unless you were off of paved roads, which by default would mean that you were in a more rural region away from the city and far, far, far less populated than a busy snowy northeastern 4 lane suburban highway

    thanks for the info fellas, much appreciated!
     
  5. OzarkSaints

    OzarkSaints Monkey++

    oh....the truck does have a solid front axle....not sure if that makes any kind of difference in regards to hub style recommendations?

    thanks again!
     
  6. caduckgunner

    caduckgunner Monkey+++

    I would get manual locking hubs. I went through 2 pair of the auto locking ones on my Chevy. If your worried about it, you can always just keep them in the locked position (This will cause more wear and tear though).
     
  7. Sherman

    Sherman Dog Eat Dog

    auto hubs =junk
    warn premiums= lifetime warranty

    my wrangler has fixed drive flanges, no hubs at all. I removed the 2 part axle and vacuum disco and replaced w/ a solid axle.
    In other words my front axle, driveshaft, locker and gears are turning all the time. But the t=case is in 2 wheel.

    talk about shift on the fly :D
     
  8. SoCal09

    SoCal09 Monkey++

    Manual hubs. If the autos break ur vehicle becomes defective anyhow. Teach your family how to provide security. It literally takes 10 seconds to engage manual hubs
     
  9. OzarkSaints

    OzarkSaints Monkey++

    thanks fellas....manual it is!
     
  10. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    By telling you I run them locked in 4 months out of the year was to point out they don't wear out prematurely due to the extended use, which would be the same snow...or no snow...
    When you have to walk off of a mountain 20 + miles in the snow, sleet and rain because the auto hubs weren't that automatic at all you will become a manual hub guy too.
    There are 2 types of automatic hub 4WD owners, those who have replaced them with manual hubs and those who will eventually.

     
  11. Old Sarge

    Old Sarge Old Sarge

    By all means go Manual. I lived in Alaska for a few years, with an old Dodge PowerWagon. I installed manual lock-ins before taking the truck to the northlands, and never regretted it. Drove with them locked in all during the winter months, and only unlocked when the roads were clear and dry again. Never an ounce of problems.
    Now own an old CJ5, with a V6 Buick engine, and manuals as well. Still no problems. Great inventions.
     
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