A locking or free-wheeling hub can be a worthwhile add-on to many four-wheel drive vehicles. If your vehicle came equipped with an automatic-locking hub or you want to replace a worn-out hub, you may be interested in installing a Rugged Ridge manual-locking hub to improve your off-road capabilities. These Rugged Ridge hubs are made with impact-resistant nodular iron and a corrosion-resistant aluminum cap. An automatic-locking hub can be unreliable and bothersome, especially if yours is producing an audible clicking noise as it engages into four-wheel drive mode. Plus, if you’re off-roading and your automatic hub fails, you may find yourself stuck. A manual hub can quickly engage all four wheels to free you. The disadvantage is that you will need to exit the cab in order to activate the hubs. A failed automatic hub will render 4WD operation impossible, and you’ll be forced to drive in 2WD mode.