Do I really need 4WD?

I've lived in the Northeast my entire life, and I've seen both sides of this one first-hand. My parents have had only 2wd trucks and Suburbans for the last 35 years. They've always run different tires for winter (and have been running the same set of Blizzaks for the last 10 years), and have never had any issues. Some of those vehicles had the G80 rear differential, and several were open differentials. I personally drove a 2wd truck out at college in upstate NY with nothing more than some winter tread tires (nothing like Blizzaks). When I moved back to CT after college, I built a frame out of of 2"X8" boards to contain some cinder blocks over the rear axle. It helped, but I found that too much weight could give you and exaggerated pendulum effect in the snow/ice.

With that being said, my last two truck purchases (spanning the past 11 years) have been 4WD trucks. I just like having the easy button in case you need it. With a 275' long sloped driveway, having a 4WD vehicle is a plus.

Either option can work well, I find that having a 2WD truck in an area with primarily 4WD trucks will hurt at resale time, but is a good thing when you're buying one. Honestly, I could go either way on this one. If I was going to be the only driver, I'd love the challenge of getting around in a 2WD truck. However, since my wife drives our truck as often as I do, I think the 4WD makes a lot of sense for us.

All real trucks around here are 4WD. That's because we have mountains and weather I've never needed the 4WD on my truck due to snow (it's rarely the one that gets used in that arena) but I have a few times needed it to deal with mud. And any time I can drive out instead of trying to dig out a 7700 lb truck, I'm happy.

As noted, the resale on 2WD trucks can be shockingly poor in our area.

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

My suggestion? Buy a RWD truck, but buy in the winter, and get the oh-E36 M3-that's-right-it-snows-here-discount. If you buy right and you decide you need a 4x4 then sell the RWD truck in the spring when their value is back up and get a 4x4. In all likelihood, if you can't think of a good reason for a 4x4, you'll probably be happy with a RWD truck!

I bought a 4X4 K5 Blazer when I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska. Used it there, even spent the summers mudbogging with it. Moved to Kentucky/Tennessee and rarely used the transfer case. Had a broken auto-locking hub for about a year and I didn't know it until I tried to use it. (installed Warn manuals and never worried about that again) I replaced it with a 2wd truck and put good tires on it and went everyplace I needed to go. Before I bought the Blazer I had a small FWD that I put snow tires on in the winter. Went everyplace I asked it too.
Good tires designed for the use and driver judgment will get you most places.

doc_speeder wrote:

HiTempguy wrote: If I hadn't been in 4wd due to the inclement weather, it would have been a nasty rear ender, but the 4wd allowed the truck to brake much more aggressively.

Hmmm...I've heard this. It's a popular thought. But it doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe without ABS, but with ABS this really doesn't compute. Please explain this to me. I know I've experimented with my own truck on ice. With a full ABS engagement, it makes no consistent repeatable difference that I could discern whether the t-case was in 4x2 or 4x4 mode.

My experience has been that with the front and rear locked together, the rear end end is less likely to lock up, so you can brake at the grip level of the front wheels without losing traction on the rears. With a decent ABS, it probably doesn't make as much difference, but with no ABS or badly programmed ABS (2000 Silverado) it can be a lifesaver.

doc_speeder wrote:

HiTempguy wrote: If I hadn't been in 4wd due to the inclement weather, it would have been a nasty rear ender, but the 4wd allowed the truck to brake much more aggressively.

Hmmm...I've heard this. It's a popular thought. But it doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe without ABS, but with ABS this really doesn't compute. Please explain this to me. I know I've experimented with my own truck on ice. With a full ABS engagement, it makes no consistent repeatable difference that I could discern whether the t-case was in 4x2 or 4x4 mode.

Well first off... ABS is practically useless on ice period. You stomp the pedal, there is little to no traction and it completely bleeds the brakes to the point of no braking pressure. So to me, talking about ABS and winter driving is a fairly moot point.

AWD/4wd keeps all of the wheels rotating under braking which keeps tires from locking up. On ice, your rear brakes are extremely easy to lock up. Depending on the type of system and what type of diffs are used, each corner of the car is interconnected. A "slipping" tire still has more traction than a completely locked tire.

It doesn't make a HUGE difference, but it is noticeable. Especially when the road conditions go outside of "typical". Active center diffs in STi/Evo rallycars make a huge difference in braking though compared to an open/viscous centre diff.

No you don't.

4WD is like the having a 3/4 ton for towing. It's nice to have, but you don't NEED it. You may want it though.

fanfoy wrote: No you don't.

epic

If you've ever wheeled (or ridden) Moab, you know that slickrock is grippier than asphalt. Let's see him do that in the rain Doesn't really prove much.

Now, if he were to drive 1/4 mile down the road and deal with the sand in some of the campsites, that would be impressive...

I've towed with a half ton and a 3/4 ton. Yes, some of us do need big trucks.

More often than not, good tires will be worth more than 4 wheel drive. Plus a good snow tire has the added benefit of helping you stop in snow and ice conditions, whereas 4WD does not.

Which is why my snow vehicles wear snow tires But it's not all about snow.

wbjones wrote:

logdog wrote: 4wd vs 2wd, auto vs manual, ford vs chevy. All questions without "one size fits all" answers. However, I got stuck in the muddy pastures of enough horse shows that I will never own another 2wd tow rig. But it sounds like you would be ok with it for your situation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4xBCq_cpw

Wait a minute.....did my wife talk to your wife or something?

I have a 2wd dually and we own 10 acres. I generally park my trailers and parts cars back in the field to keep them out of the way. There have been many times I've had to retrieve my damn 2wd dually with one of my 4wds after getting stuck in the wet field. My next dually with be 4wd.

My parents in far northern Chicagoland have an AWD 4Runner, because that is the only way it came. My dad has a RWD G37 with snow tires. My older brother had a 2 wheel drive Tundra living in Minneapolis. He could have used the 4wd. Mom and Dad? I think that 4wd has been used 2 times. And one of the times was in a muddy "parking lot". We probably still would have gotten out without the 4wd, but that made it easy.

My diesel pickup is very front axle heavy, will get stuck in places it doesn't seem possible. Besides that, I haven't seen anybody mention the benefit of low range for towing. There is a really steep hill going up to my brother's house, putting the truck in low range allows it to pull the hill in od with the converter locked. No heat up of the trans, easy on everything when pulling a tractor and equipment trailer (about 19k gross weight). Jeff

You don't need it but its always nice to have

From what you've said, 2WD will be fine. Get a limited slip axle and good tires. Add ballast for the winter, I put it all the way at the back of the bed for max effect.

In reply to Gearheadotaku:

And being in a somewhat similar although more rural setting, if you're getting stuck in a 2wd.....you shouldn't have been out in it.

I drove a lowered focus through last winter.....

So, here's what happened last night.

My father in law and brother in law were up on the mesa cutting wood. They filled up the bed of the early 90's 4WD single axle F250 (gas engine), then backed the Ford 350 King Ranch 4WD diesel dually into the same spot. It proceeded to sink up to the door sills - my brother in law had to climb out through the window. Think about how much a long bed 1 ton diesel crew cab weighs, it's around 8500 lbs. Now add a bed full of wood.

So they backed the F250 up to it in order to pull it out, and the F250 proceeded to sink in the newly disturbed mud.

They walked down the mountain to get cell service and so their respective wives went to the rescue with another couple of big 4WD trucks. The newly arrived F350 diesel popped the old F250 out without too much drama. Brother in law bolted his winch on and between that and two 4WD pickups they managed to extricate the dually once the bed had been emptied. Last I heard from them, it was 24 degrees at 9 pm and they were loading the bed of the dually back up again.

They didn't call me, I'm not sure if I'm relieved or disappointed...

I still don't buy the "engine braking with 4wd" argument...but then again, I've never heard it from folks who can put up a valid argument for it like has happened in this thread.. So, I'll keep an open mind on that one.

Where I live, not very many city folks need 4x4. But a LOT of people think they need it. Until a couple years ago, I never had a 4x4 vehicle. I've still never needed one for on-road use.

I do, however, own like...5 4x4 or awd vehicles now (most of them will never be used on the road). This year, I think I might actually drive one when it snows.

I also have 16 acres now...so a 4x4 pickup will be nice at times. Not necessary...but fun.

For me, it's not about need. If it snows too much, people just stay home for the day. Nobody is going to starve to death due to the snow we have here in the winter.

It's about want/fun. 4x4 is fun if you have occasion to use it.

One tip for winter driving. Throw a tow strap in with your gear somewhere (near the spare tire, for example). I do it...not necessarily to pull other people out...but so folks can pull ME out if needed.

ClemSparks wrote: One tip for winter driving. Throw a tow strap in with your gear somewhere (near the spare tire, for example). I do it...not necessarily to pull other people out...but so folks can pull ME out if needed.

One tip for winter driving in California -- keep an umbrella in the truck because it rains occasionally. :)

The closest my truck ever gets to offroad is the broken up asphalt that's used for some of the autox sites around here. 2wd is entirely adequate for my towing needs.

My dually is RWD, and I love it. I have owned it over 10 years now, and I've never encountered a situation where I needed, or even wanted, 4WD. If I ever buy another truck, it will be RWD.

That said, I can certainly understand that many truck owners routinely NEED 4WD, just not nearly as many as OWN 4WD.

Ok so we have the getting stuck portioned covered, so what about fuel mileage?

I imagine there isn't much difference, but I'm just curious.

Oh, there's a difference in gas mileage with 4wd, and it's not for the better. Mmm, about 10% loss. Drag and weight.

Oh, there's a difference in gas mileage with 4wd, and it's not for the better. Mmm, about 10% loss. Drag and weight.