2wd vs 4 wd?

mowermech wrote:
Yes, I spent a great deal of time enjoying the "show" at Pismo Beach in CA, sitting on the dunes watching the people with 4X4 trucks and camp trailers sitting on the beach, and giving hundreds of dollars to tow operators getting their rigs off the beach.
Often the gyrations they went through before getting the tow truck were the most entertaining, especially when the tide was coming in, and they were below the high tide line!
At that time, we had two 4X4 trucks sitting back at the campground. We resisted the temptation to go play in the sand. We knew we could not afford the towing bill!
Common sense works!

Right up there with going to a busy boatramp at the end of the day when the boats come back with no alcohol in them but the operators come back full of it.

Yes, I spent a great deal of time enjoying the "show" at Pismo Beach in CA, sitting on the dunes watching the people with 4X4 trucks and camp trailers sitting on the beach, and giving hundreds of dollars to tow operators getting their rigs off the beach.
Often the gyrations they went through before getting the tow truck were the most entertaining, especially when the tide was coming in, and they were below the high tide line!
At that time, we had two 4X4 trucks sitting back at the campground. We resisted the temptation to go play in the sand. We knew we could not afford the towing bill!
Common sense works!

Slownsy wrote:
Generalizing is fine but not everybody that has a 4x4 thinks they can go every where, and If stuck get out and evaluate situation instead of reving and burying it. Traveling the Canning stock route in OZ over 1000 sandunes in ouer F250 got stuck 3 times but easily got underway again.
Frank.

Living near the coast for most of my life, it was always interesting, to see people get stuck, then get help to get get going only to stop about 50' down the beach to see if they were getting stuck again! :S

I just got stuck in the mud last weekend with a 4x4.

I misjudged what I was driving into, had a bed full of firewood, making for about a 9,000 pound truck, and sunk like quicksand into the swampy, muddy mess. The mud was up to about 3/4 of all the tires and there was no getting out of there, 4x4 or not. The difference in my situation was that all four tires spun instead of two.

I was about 30 feet from a paved surfaced and only had a 15-foot tow strap. The guy who originally tried to pull me out with that 15-foot strap had to come off road because of the short strap and started getting stuck himself (in a 4x4 Silverado).

Fortunately, word spread and another guy came along in a 3500 RAM CTD, whipped out his long tow strap, and snatched us out of the muck like it was nothing.

We got back from our camping trip and I immediately bought one of these on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004P9C5H8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

With all of that said, I will always have a 4x4 truck. They have never failed me in the snow, and I have pulled others out. I now realize, however, why lighter Jeeps with big tires make better true off-road vehicles than heavy pickups with normal tires. :o

I wonder if in situations most campers are liable to get in that 2WD with a locking differential wouldn't work as well as 4WD. I often drive my 4WD F-150 out on the beach here, south of St. Augustine, and find that in loose, fairly deep sand I can go as well in 2WD with the differential locked as I can in 4WD.

Generalizing is fine but not everybody that has a 4x4 thinks they can go every where, and If stuck get out and evaluate situation instead of reving and burying it. Traveling the Canning stock route in OZ over 1000 sandunes in ouer F250 got stuck 3 times but easily got underway again.
Frank.

Ok, but how about general stability while towing?

When I didn't have the ProPride I noticed that using 4WD would feel more stable (I felt less sway). 4WD HI for the Sequoia is kind of like AWD, I think.

mowermech wrote:
The 4X2 driver:
"That looks questionable. Maybe I better not go there!"
The 4X4 driver:
"I have FOUR WHEEL DRIVE, I can go anywhere! Hold my beer and watch this! Besides, I have a WENCH, I can WENCH myself out if need be!"
(actually, he means WINCH, but whatever...)
Then, since there is nothing to hook the cable to, and he left his land anchor in the garage, and the BLM won't allow him to dig a hole for it anyway, he sits and waits for another 4X4 to come along and pull him out.
Yeah, I have seen it...

HA! That is about the size of it. Brute power & ignorance wins the day. It is amazing where a driver of 2WD manual shift & knows how to use clutch can go. For over 40 years I never had an automatic. Nothing but Front WD & RWD. Got into many iffy situations. Never needed a tow.

I carry a tow rope. Actually it is 2000# breaking load boat anchor line. Never needed it. Hope that if the day ever comes when help is needed I don't get some lead footed cowboy with 4WD who applies maximum power on the first try rather than stepping up slowly to what is needed.

4wd for sure...

Last summer I was pulling my TT down a small road to a COE camp ground. I had to pull into the grass to get past another trailer. The grass was wet, ground was FLAT. When I went to pull off rear wheels slipped, no traction. Turned on 4wd high, gave it gas and boom, took right off with no slippage. I would be sure to get 4wd, you never know when you might need it, gravel, wet ground, mud...

The 4X2 driver:
"That looks questionable. Maybe I better not go there!"
The 4X4 driver:
"I have FOUR WHEEL DRIVE, I can go anywhere! Hold my beer and watch this! Besides, I have a WENCH, I can WENCH myself out if need be!"
(actually, he means WINCH, but whatever...)
Then, since there is nothing to hook the cable to, and he left his land anchor in the garage, and the BLM won't allow him to dig a hole for it anyway, he sits and waits for another 4X4 to come along and pull him out.
Yeah, I have seen it...