mini-spool opinions?

alright, it seems as though all of the lock rights i'm finding are sky-rocketing past my price range, but a set of mini-spools lies right in my range. i'm just looking for something easy to put in for say, a weekend at tellico. and then be able to take it out for driving around town (driving in downtown atl with a locker on the cj doesn't really strike me as fun). anyone got some horror stories to talk me out of it, or some positive stories to talk me into it?? right now i'm sitting on the fence. all i know is i don't have enough money for an ox locker or the like.... maybe after i get out of school, but not right now.

 

Unless you are gonna try the really rough stuff the 1st time at Tellico you won't really need it at all. Half the jeeps that were there last year had no lockers at all, Billy in (Animal) did just fine, so did Scott (60cj), Scott (ducks bass @##) also did fine in his jeep, I don't think Tim harris had a locker in his jeep either, Joe had a Aussie locker in the front and an open rear, I don't think Worth's fire jeep has a locker at all either. If its not what you want, don't spend the money for something to use at Tellico, it isn't worth it and you probably won't need it. I put an Aussie locker in my front but I have an open rear, I might put a power lock in next winter but I have done quite a bit of mudding with no lockers or limited slips at all.

 

Mike's comments are dead-on... No need for a locker just for the Tellico trip. Lockers are actually kinda rare in our group and we still have a blast.

 

Spools are not easy to just put in and then take back out. It replaces the carrier.
I run a rear locker but have run many miles of trails with no locker at all.

 

3 times to tellico with no locker and no trouble whatsoever. The ground is made of rock there so traction is not a problem and I promise you there'll be a good spotter letting you know if you are about to hang up on something.

 

aww come on guys. i'm not sayin that open diff stuff isn't fun (i've done it for years in my cherokee) but i finally put a locker in the back of it, and things just hit a whole new level with the locker back there. i was crawling up things that i had no prayer on before. i just don't really want to go through the same learning pains of getting half way to where i want to be and stopping because one tire if lifted just a little bit off the ground and the other just can't dig enough to pull everything over something. it's not that i want to come to tellico and play with the big guys, i just want to put my little project through the paces without wondering what it could have done if....

it's already been around the forest servce roads with a couple of detour taken here and there to see how it feels in certain situations. i just want to up the anty if i'm going to go to the "mecca" of jeepdom. maybe it makes sese, maybe it doesn;t, but that's where i was coming from.

 

A "mini spool" replaces only the spider gears and side gears.

Chris - If you have the mini spool, and you have the time to install it - heck yeah, put it in. You've got nothing to loose. I don't know if I would shell out the $$ for it, only to use it at Tellico though if you don't already have it...

 

Leave it open or use a Lock Rite if that's all you can afford (kinda like me, a Detroit is in my future) I really can't complain about the Lock Rite though. If you are dead set on spools, you better buy some backup axles 'cause you'll be breakin' some.