Stop front drive shaft engagement in 4L by pulling fuse?

[TriangleTom]

Howdy all.

I'm in a bit of an odd spot. I have a few large home projects I'll be tackling in the next few months, and I'll need to be backing a dump trailer up my extremely steep driveway into my garage. And I'd prefer to do it without roasting my SR's clutch.

I figure the easiest way to do this is to find a way to put the truck in "2-Low". I know that this was a popular mod for 3rd gens with the manual transmission, but I haven't seen it done yet on the 4th gen. Now, I don't need anything as convenient as a switch in the cab, but I'd very much prefer to do this without removing the entire front drive shaft or cutting or splicing into any wires. Unfortunately, so far I haven't had any luck tracking down a definitive list of which fuses control which systems in the 4th gen.

Is this something that's even possible? Or am I on a wild goose chase?

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[izzy]

How heavy is the whole setup? Can't see the clutch smoking unless the bed is filled to the brim with gravel, in which case you probably need a different truck lol

 

[TriangleTom]

When I'm backing it in? Empty trailer's a bit over 4000 lbs. I know the truck can handle that no problem; I towed my wife's car to the dealer a few weeks ago and it did perfectly and that was a 5000 lb tow. But, the driveway is so steep that it'll stall the truck if I try to idle up it in first, and given that I'm going to have to back a trailer in while turning I know I'm going to be feathering the clutch a lot if I do it in 2H, and I really do not want to do that.

 

[izzy]

When I'm backing it in? Empty trailer's a bit over 4000 lbs. I know the truck can handle that no problem; I towed my wife's car to the dealer a few weeks ago and it did perfectly and that was a 5000 lb tow. But, the driveway is so steep that it'll stall the truck if I try to idle up it in first, and given that I'm going to have to back a trailer in while turning I know I'm going to be feathering the clutch a lot if I do it in 2H, and I really do not want to do that.

I'm gonna be honest, reversing a 4000lb trailer uphill would probably smoke the AL80F automatic, or at least introduce a fking insane amount of heat into the trans from the torque converter..

 

[Sagebrush]

Or am I on a wild goose chase?

Why not leave it in 4 lo? I'd be concerned the rear diff or other components will be over-torqued.

 

[TriangleTom]

Why not leave it in 4 lo? I'd be concerned the rear diff or other components will be over-torqued.

You're putting the same load on the diffs either way, and it's not a straight shot back; I need to turn to get it in. With the transfer case and front hubs locked, that could seriously damage everything.

 

[Sagebrush]

You're putting the same load on the diffs either way,

Even with the front axles unlocked? I get the turn issue on concrete or asphalt.

 

[TriangleTom]

Even with the front axles unlocked? I get the turn issue on concrete or asphalt.

If i understand the drivetrain correctly, the front axles lock automatically after a few turns in 4WD, and the transfer case is always locked so the front axle would be dragging on turns in reverse.

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