I'm looking mostly for deep snow performance, like on this last mountain run we made... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIu9NL3tKzU

 

Ugh! Thats one of the times my LSD let me down. My rear end slid out from under me and the left rear tire went off the trail. Having AT's didn't help, but everytime she'd start to grab the rear would open up again.
A quick tug with a jeep (locked front and rear) got me back up. I caught a rash of crap for that.

 

Hahahaha, you too mister!

 

Wow...mister even. I surely feel as old as I should now.

 

With that deep snow, I would prefer a Full Detroit in the back, Narrow Studded Tires no wider than 12.5", Plenty of sand bags or weight in the back, and a good shovel! Looks like a good ride through the hills!

The one thing with a Detroit Full in the rear when your on icy roads, is that a Automatic Trans will fair way better than a standard. When you shift with a auto, it doesn't let the rear spin out from under you as with a standard, the gears engaging will be more aggressive and might spin you sideways

 

The video doesn't show it, since I was driving the Dodge and was a little busy , but I got pulled out by a Ford. Granted, it was a Powerstroke on 38" Boggers with Lockers front and rear, but still... The funny thing was, as soon as he got me moving again, I started to catch up to the tow rope. I'm pretty sure that if I had had a locker, I wouldn't have even gotten stuck in the first place.

 

Get the bank roll ready. I was there in the spring.

 

I say get a Truetrac if you don't want to do any rock crawling.
To get it to transfer power you have to gun it.
It will get both tires moving in ice snow and dirt. I pulled straight up a ditch with 1/2" of ice on top of some crunchy snow yesterday in 2 wheel without a hitch with both wheels a spinnin'.

Deep snow performance eh'? Forget about lockers or LSD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDlLt28WmOA
Mute this one then play it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhUnVOAE904
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkleAMR3IyI

 

I have had a Detroit Locker rear and Detroit TrueTrac front for over 6 years in my daily driver Dodge and I can say without a doubt it is the best investment I've made in my truck. As someone already posted, there are some things you have to know about the locker before you purchase it. The Detroit is the biggest, toughest thing out there when it comes to lockers and it acts like it. When you get on the throttle coming out from a stop sign it will bark tires and spin. If it is rainy/snowy or just slick you are going to spin. When you turn, if you are on the throttle or it is slick the locker will lock and you will spin and torque. You don't have a open diff anymore so expect some barking of the tires. Also you will wear the outside of you tires much faster. I can say my BFG Mud Terrains handled it well but eventually wore out on the outer half. The locker has handled all I've put it through without trouble and so has the rest of the drive train. I can say if you are going to put a locker in go ahead and re gear your rig. I put 4.10 in and the difference is amazing. As for traction in snow, we have a foot of snow here today and I haven't put my truck in 4WD yet.
The truetrac in the front is also a very good choice. It is made by Detroit and is a LSD. It is very strong for LSD and has a very high torque break limit to which it lets the least tractioned tire spin. If you want to keep the auto locking hubs it is hard to beat a LSD. Honestly, if you are putting a locker in the front of your truck it has become a off road only truck at that point. The steering will be tough and breakage is likely.

**Also if you re gear your truck put the same ratio in the front and back. Way to many guys cheap out and just re gear the rear end. This is a huge mistake! I did 4.10 front and back and the low end torque will ****** the bumper off a Mack Truck.

 

Gears are definitely a good investment if you're going with a carrier replacement like a Detroit or some sort of LSD since your gears have to be set up anyway.
You can get the front and rear Yukon gears and install kits for $677 at completeoffroad.