I drove 700 miles with the power divider lock in

Snowwy i ave to disagree with you on the rear axle being just a floater tell you flick the switch, if that was the case your front drive tires would wear out first but in any truck i'v ever driven the rear drive tires always wear out first cause they are getting most the power all the time. But yes in slippery conditions the front axles usually spin first because yes the power hits them first before moving through the drive line to the rear axles.

For the guys that don't know on your axle switch if there is an X between the axles you have a power divider and as has already been said it spplits power between the axles so one wheel on each axle gets power or spins if your stuck. running down the road with this on wont hurt anything but pretty useless unless your on ruff roads bad weather.

And if you have a big X on the axle its a diff lock locking that axle so both wheels on axle spin at the same time. as its been said running with this on down the road is a very bad idea will tear up tires axles and rear ends. If you run OTR its pretty rare you would see this switch in a company truck asaide from heavy haul or really heavy weights

I know it's been said before by prairieboy but just saying it again doesn't seen like everybody is understanding it yet

 

All drive wheels pull equally until a wheel breaks traction.
The wheel that breaks traction and spins will be the wheel that either carries less load weight than other wheels or has less direct contact with the road surface than other wheels ( dirt, sand, rocks, snow, ice, water, uneven surface etc).

 

in a all open position the power will follow the path of least resistance that can result in the 1 tire that has the least traction to spin, put the power divider in now the front and rear diff must turn the same speed as each other so the tire with the least amount of traction on your front and your rear drive will spin. if you have equal traction on all 4 sets of tires, power will be transferred to all tires, put the divider lock in with equal traction on all four tires. and you drive straight down the interstate with equal tire wear on all your drives it shouldn't do anything however if tires are not exactly equal in tread depth meaning one set is spinning faster than the other its going to put more and more pressure on the power divider until something gives weather that be traction or a axle shaft or the divider its self. hopefully traction gives before anything else then all you will have done is cause extra wear on your tires.

now in a unlocked position driving down the interstate you passenger side rear drive wears the fastest followed by the rear drivers side followed by the front passenger side followed by the front drivers side. this is caused by the direction of rotating tq being applied to the axles and the rear axle being the end of the line for the power searching for its path of least resistance.

 

my FL columbia has the light and switch under the qualcome so i cant see it lol

 

In a dirt lot, or on sandy asphalt when bobtailing just for fun, have the divider kicked in doing about 15 to 25 MPH, then kick in the jake brake on number two, and you can do some awesome 360s. (not recommended for newbies).

 

The front wheels may spin first in the snow, because the rear axle is maybe carrying more of the weight at that moment, and has the front axle suspended between the steer axle and the rear. Power goes to path of least resistance...

With the power divider locked, even going down the freeway can inflict stress, all the while having matched depth tires, because if the front axle has to roll up over a rise in the road surface, or a bump, the tires momentarily on the front axle, have to travel further than the back tires, and then when the back tires roll over the same rise, or bump, they have to travel further. So, the tires, front or rear, have to slip, which is all happening in micro seconds, but irrespective, putting stress on the bearings in the power divider, especially loaded.

Having mismatched tires front and rear, can be seveal feet in a mile, and that means that the front tires, and or the rear, have to be skidded that far each mile. A lot of stress and wear.

Turning, the front axle is on a different radius than the back, thus the tires front and rear, are traveling unequal distances, thus really having to slip some of the tires.

I am sure there are many more here, than will admit, that have driven down the road a ways, and noticed the switch still flipped.....

Yes, I have to admit, I used to bobtail up to the fuel pumps for a company I used to drive for, and once in a while would also hit the jake have way across the lot. Back then, we did not have 3 position jakes, it was all or nothing.... It is a wonder I never got called on it......