If you are a truck owner, or looking to be one, you know you have a lot of options. Think about your reasons for buying a truck. Will you be off roading? Pulling heavy loads? Driving in ice or snow? These are important facts to consider when thinking about the options you may want to include in your truck purchase.
Depending on where you live, you may have to deal with driving in ice and snow. People who purchase trucks that are driven in these conditions, often take special consideration with options that might affect the wheels and how they handle in these conditions.
If you are planning on using your truck for hauling heavy loads, that’s another set of options to think about. Are you a contractor who regularly carries a load? Or maybe just occasionally you have to tow or pull a large load? Either way you need to think about options for your truck that might help you in your day to day life.
Two options you may consider are the anti-spin differential rear axle and the torsion key lift. Let’s look at these two options and what they can do for your truck.
Some trucks come equipped with anti-spin rear differential on the back wheels. What this option does is, if your rear wheel starts to slip or lose traction the other rear wheel will pick up and engage. This will help keep your truck moving . It can also help your truck get around corners.
This option is good not only in snow and ice, but in wet weather as well. In fact, any time you are driving on a slick surface the anti-slip rear differential can be helpful. This is also a good option since sometimes the back of trucks can be lighter and therefore tougher to manage on these types of surfaces.
However, there are a few drawbacks and concerns to relying on the anti-slip rear differential. Since this option will kick in to effect when driving on slick surfaces, it is possible that the other rear wheel that is trying to engage won’t be able to. In this case your truck will not have any traction in the rear. Without any traction your truck can easily become stuck.
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Using a torsion key lift is an interesting option with some trucks. With a torsion key, you can basically adjust the height of your front suspension. Some truck owners like to raise the front of their truck, so that it matched the rear in height.
Sometimes trucks come slightly higher in the back. This is to allow for the truck to settle down as it carries heavy loads over time. You can use a torsion key to level your truck so that both the front and the back are the same height. If you do not intend to carry heavy loads, this might be something you wish to do with your truck. Btw, gps navigation is good tool for truckers, let find the best gps for truckers to find your way when driving.
Torsion keys are usually purchased as an aftermarket item to add to your truck. These aftermarket keys, are a slightly different shape than leveling keys which are probably on the suspension system. This different shape will allow you to adjust the suspension even higher than just using the leveling keys alone.
This does allow you to raise the suspension even higher, but you have to remember a few things. Increasing the height will not affect any issues you may be having with ride quality nor it will change any problems you may have with the suspension.
When you decide to use torsion keys to change the height of your truck, you should remember a few things. You should always double check that the height is the same on both sides of your truck. And it is a good idea to have your truck aligned after adjusting it with the torsion keys.
Becoming the owner of a new truck is exciting, but comes with a lot of options to consider. When you are thinking of purchasing a truck you will have the option to add some features and purchase aftermarket items. Before doing this, you need to think of a few factors.
You should consider where you will be driving and the road conditions you might encounter. If you will be finding yourself on slick or slippery roads, you might think about the anti-slip rear differential axle. This option helps to transfer friction from one rear wheel to another rear wheel when it is slipping. This can helpful when driving on wet, snowy or slippery roads. However, this may not be helpful if both wheels are slipping.
The anti-spin differential rear axle can also be helpful when navigating tight turns and corners. This option definitely has some positive points to consider. If you like to off road and find yourself driving in different types of road conditions, this might be a good option.
Torsion key lifts are an aftermarket tool to help you raise the front of your truck to match the height of the back of the truck. Trucks are manufactured to allow for extra give and sag in the back, so the back of the truck will start out higher than the front. If you want both ends to match height-wise, a torsion key lift is for you. This key can help adjust your truck higher than just the leveling keys that are included.
Take your time when considering the extras and the options when purchasing a truck. Make sure that what you are adding will add value to your ride.