Lockers are devices that keep your wheels spinning even if you are losing traction. In most vehicles, when one tire begins to spin (lose traction), all of the power goes to making that tire spin to regain traction. A locker sends an equal distribution of power to both wheels on an axle.
A locking differential provides equal torque to the vehicle’s wheels by forcing both wheels to turn at the same speed. A selectable locker can be turned on or off with a switch and allows open differential driving while on the road, and a locked differential when off-roading.
“Why,” might you ask, “do I need a locker?” When your vehicle is climbing an obstacle, it might have a boulder on the right side but not on the left side. As your right tire begins to climb the boulder it lifts your left tire up in the air resulting in a loss of traction for that tire.
If you are not equipped with a locker then as your left tire loses traction, all of the power is sent to your left wheel to try and regain traction. Meanwhile, your right tire is left stuck, with not enough power to get you over that boulder. A locker would automatically distrubute that power equally so that during the few seconds your left tire is in the air, you will feel no difference in power, it will be constant and steady. The best way to get over an obstacle is to crawl, and a locker can help you to achieve this.
A locker can be added to the front or rear axle of your vehicle. If you want to add each locker seperately, the best is to begin with the installatin of a rear locker. The rear locker will do more to help you off road than just a front locker. Most of the time when you need a locker to help you get out of an obstacle, your vehicle is going uphill so most of the weight shifts to the rear. A rear locker makes a big difference in everyday four wheeling, while a front locker can help you through a massive boulder field or other rough/rocky terrain.
