well... sometimes old horses just need that one more beating...

ive searched and searched but i just cant find info thats related closely enough to what i do to make my disision.

truck is a 1990 sidekick. stock for now. but getting 2" susp.
its my daily driver/weekend rig. i try to get out wheeling whenever i can. it drives there and back. its an hour drive each way to go wheeling all highway. my daily commute is 30km each way. it will pull a trailer in the future to and from bc (mountain highway, 8 hour drive each way) but for now its just the truck making the trip, no trailer.

i understand i will get accelerated tire wear (i have acceled tire wear already from one tire fires on corners so it doesnt bother me)
it will have seperate road tires (simple trails) then an aggressive set for 4 wheelin to cut down on wear on the aggressive set.

i dont like how alot of people are saying the lockrights are unpredictable with how they lock and unlock, and ive heard they have been known to break axle parts from them randomly unlocking then relocking while on power.

i want something that will get me down the road SAFELY. im ok with having the rear end wag on me around corners. but will a spool be ok with towing?

im hoping to get this figured out in the next month so i can get something ordered and get it installed before my next local zuk run (everyone else has full shops, money, and alot of work into their trucks. i dont have any of that, i gotta get something for the next trip)

A properly set up locker is predictable, spools are tougher on
your axles than any locker will be, but they cost a little less than
half, but in my opinion I'd go locker

Wild

What wildgoody said.  A spool is going to chew up your tire and eventually break axles driving it as a dd on pavement.

 If you really want the best of both worlds save up for an ARB.

i use this truck for daily driving. it cant be up on jack stands with the rear end pulled apart to fix it randomly. i need something that i can put in it and go. tire wear doesnt bother me. i wear tires anyway from one tire fires both onroad and offroad.

i cant afford an arb with all the compressor and everything. its either a lockright or a spool.

i just what to know whats going to work for me with the LEAST problems.

A locker will give you the least trouble, I've been running the same
one for 8 years, never had a problem or broken rear axle and I was
running 33" 13.5 Swampers on it as a DD for 5 years

Wild

Dude!! do not even think about getting a spool for a daily driver. Spools are for rigs that are towed to the trail and then back to the garage. Strictly off-road.
for what it's worth I've owned Detroit lockers and lock right lockers. THey work the same. I had them on my daily driver 4 door sidekick. Everything was exactly the same on road with the locker. Same gas milage, same handling, same acceleration same everything. THe only difference is when you in a parking lot and making a sharp slow turn. you'll here the back end clicking. That is it man. hope that helps your decision.
I also forgot to mention that having a locker off-road is frigging amazing.

ive just heard that if a rear axle bends or a spring shifts it can really screw up the locker.

i run with several suzuki guys and most are running spools over lockrights because they have either had it slip and lockup and snap an axle or had it do other damage on the trail AND driving onroad.

its just making me wonder if i should get one or not, my truck usually is on power on corners anyway (most roads around here are merge lanes that are on corners and im gunning it to get to speed. so when its going around corners its going to be locked anyway.

im just thinking the spool because it wont unlock for no reason then lock back up. its always locked. it wont put a jarring pressure on the axles it just puts pressure.

idk. i just dont want to make the wrong choice.

Don't mini spools use shear pins designed to break before the axle shaft?  I'd think it'd be better than a regular spool. I may go this route on mine to hold me over till I swap in the 'yota axles.

If your friends are having trouble with their lockers, they didn't set it up right.
a PROPERLY set up locker will drive one wheel around corners unless you
apply enough power to break traction on the one tire, then it will do it's job
and lock up.

It will take you a few days of driving to get how it works, but you will get it

Don't mini spools use shear pins designed to break before the axle shaft?  I'd think it'd be better than a regular spool. I may go this route on mine to hold me over till I swap in the 'yota axles.

You are probably thinking of the pins in a a Lock Right or Detroit EZ-Lock.  The mini-spool is basically just a cast chunk of metal that replaces all the insides of the diff.  The difference between it and a full spool is that the full spool replaces the carrier as well.

I know for a fact that the axle will break before the mini-spool will.  Makes a nice sound as well. 

I run a spool in the rear of my Sammy and a lockright up front. The lockright was in the rear and I hated it was like ridding a bucking bull when taking sharp slow corners, plus when I down shifted to 4th gear going around a corner it felt like the rear would kick out a little. Like the spool WAY better no clicking and smooth slow corners just chirps tires. Just got to rotate tires more offten. And yes my Sammy is a daily driver on 33's with a spring over.
MY choice would be spool all the way!

The difference between it and a full spool is that the full spool replaces the carrier as well.

Thanks for clearing that up for me! 

I haven't put any highway miles or pavement miles for that matter on mine yet (with the spool). 
mike5721947 - you know what's up there...
http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/build-diaries-how-to-diy/mr-t-the-build/

So mine is just an opinion!

SPOOL!  Mostly cause it's way cheaper than any locker and easy to install.  Plus the added predictability of the rear end being always locked up.  I can't really say otherwise, cause I've not had a locker yet.  But if I went locker I would save my pennies for a selectable locker.  Spool is the cheap/quick fix for your traction woes.  Just MO.

I think the spool is an easy install...if you follow the instructions which can be found kicking around here somewhere, the spool install took me 4.5 hours, two small bottles of 75/90 gear oil and some RTV sealant.  No special tools required, but a impact gun made it way easier. 

Spool  - $110  USD (+ shipping)
Synthetic gear oil - $30 CAD
RTV silicone - $6 CAD

Done!


PS - I was once talking with John (zuki freek) about it.  He said go spool in the rear.  He's been daily driving his for quite a while welded and recommended the spool for price/function/ease of installation.

When I bought my truck it ha a locker already installed in the rear. Having read some of the stories online, I was really worried about it, especially since my wife would be occasionally driving the Sammi too, and she's not the world's best driver. When I actually started driving the truck though, it was no problem at all.
Yes, it clicks lightly when going around a corner, and yes, sometimes it makes a thump, but as far as unpredictable or strange handling habits, there have been none. I tend to power through corners myself, and it unlocks exactly as it should. This leads me to believe that the people who were having problems didn't set it up correctly.
Is there a bit of a learning curve? I believe there is, because you need to get a feel for how your truck behaves, but the same could be said about a spool. Both of these devices do wonderful things for offroading, but inevitably change your on road handling, and either one will require some intelligence on your part. In the words of my old Platoon Sergeant, you gotta be 10% smarter than the equipment you use.
A spool is very, very hard on your drive train and tires on pavement, and my locker experience has been great. I highly recommend a locker for a daily driver with weekend trail riding.