8 SUVs and trucks that still come with a factory locking differential for serious off-road use

A locking differential forces both wheels on an axle to spin at the same speed, turning a spinning tire into usable traction the instant grip disappears. Most modern SUVs and trucks skip that hardware, leaning on electronic traction control that reacts only after a wheel has already lost bite. Here are eight SUVs and trucks that still ship from the factory with a genuine locking differential.

1. Jeep Wrangler Rubicon: Two Lockers, Zero Compromise

The Rubicon trim of the Jeep Wrangler lineup ships with front and rear electronic locking differentials as standard factory equipment, not a dealer-installed accessory, switched on from a dash-mounted dial the moment the transfer case drops into four-wheel low range for technical terrain.

Solid front and rear axles, a two-speed low-range transfer case, and an electronic sway-bar disconnect round out a chassis built specifically for rock crawling rather than commuting, which is why the Rubicon remains the reference point every rival off-road package gets measured against by reviewers and buyers alike.

2. Ford Bronco Badlands: A Trail Package Built In

Ford equips the Badlands trim of the Ford Bronco with front and rear locking differentials as part of its factory off-road package, paired with a two-speed transfer case and skid plates aimed squarely at technical trail driving rather than highway comfort or daily commuting duty.

Ford built the trim around Sasquatch-style hardware that borrows heavily from desert racing, so the locking differentials work alongside wider tires and extra suspension travel instead of standing in isolation as a single off-road feature bolted onto an otherwise ordinary street truck. Ford also fits standard tow hooks and a raised air intake on the same trim, so the drivetrain hardware is not stranded without the recovery gear a serious trail run eventually demands.

3. Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro: Crawl Control Backs The Locker

Toyota pairs a rear locking differential with a low-speed crawl control system on the Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro, a system that manages throttle and brake inputs automatically once the terrain turns steep or loose underneath the tires.

That combination lets the driver keep both hands on the wheel while the truck modulates power wheel by wheel, a setup borrowed from Toyota Land Cruiser off-road programming and tuned here for a smaller, lighter body-on-frame platform than its larger siblings, which keeps the system usable on tight switchbacks. Toyota also fits a multi-terrain select system alongside the locker, letting the driver dial in wheel-slip behavior for sand, mud, or rock without leaving the cabin or touching a separate switch.

4. Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro: A Locker Built For Sand And Rock

A factory rear locking differential comes standard on the TRD Pro version of the Toyota Tacoma, engineered specifically for rock ledges and loose sand rather than pavement grip, a feature that carries over largely unchanged from earlier generations of the midsize truck.

Toyota pairs the locker with reinforced skid plates and long-travel suspension tuning developed alongside its off-road racing program, so the differential functions as one piece of a chassis built for sustained abuse rather than an isolated checkbox feature added late in development. Toyota also offers the same TRD Pro hardware with a Multi-Terrain Monitor camera system, giving the driver a view of the terrain directly beneath the front wheels while the locker is engaged.

5. Ford F-150 Raptor: Desert Speed Meets A Locking Diff

The Ford F-150 Raptor carries a locking rear differential underneath a chassis tuned more for high-speed desert running than rock crawling, backed by long-travel suspension and specialized shock hardware developed through the factory desert-racing program the brand runs.

That locker matters less for creeping over boulders than for keeping both rear wheels driving through sand whoops and washboard trails at speed, which is the environment Ford designed the truck around from the outset, not a secondary use case borrowed from a slower off-road SUV. Ford also fits Fox internal-bypass shocks and a widened front and rear track on the same truck, so the locking differential works alongside suspension hardware built for the same high-speed abuse.

6. Ram Power Wagon: Lockers And A Winch, Both Stock

The Ram Power Wagon pairs front and rear locking differentials with a factory-installed winch mounted in the front bumper, a combination almost no other full-size pickup still offers straight from the dealer lot without an aftermarket order or a trip to a specialty shop.

The winch turns a stuck locker-equipped truck into a self-recovery vehicle rather than one waiting on a tow, and Ram builds the whole package around reinforced suspension components meant to survive the kind of terrain that would strand a standard work truck. Ram also fits the Power Wagon with a two-inch suspension lift and an electronic-locking front sway-bar disconnect, giving the truck the axle articulation the front and rear lockers are built to use.

7. Chevrolet Colorado ZR2: Two Lockers On A Midsize Truck

Chevrolet includes front and rear locking differentials on the ZR2 trim of the Chevrolet Colorado, a midsize segment where most rivals stop at a single rear locker or skip the hardware altogether and leave owners shopping the aftermarket for a comparable setup.

Chevrolet backs the lockers with wider front and rear tracks and specialized off-road dampers, positioning the ZR2 as a factory alternative to trucks that would otherwise need an aftermarket axle swap to match the same low-speed traction, particularly once the terrain turns to loose rock or deep mud ruts.

8. Toyota Land Cruiser: Center And Rear Lockers For The Long Haul

The Toyota Land Cruiser carries locking center and rear differentials, hardware built for the kind of remote overlanding routes the nameplate has been driven across for decades on multiple continents, from African deserts to South American mountain passes.

Because the center locker splits torque evenly between the front and rear axles before the rear locker even engages, the drivetrain can keep moving through terrain that would strand a truck relying on electronic traction control alone to fake the same result, without a mechanical link to back it up. Land Rover and Jeep offer similar hardware, but neither carries the same decades-long overlanding reputation across remote regions with little infrastructure to rely on.