2WD or 4WD

Sport45 wrote:

Sport45 wrote:

RedRocket204 wrote:

wwest wrote:
Other than initially getting up and going, moving, on the slippery stuff 4WD/4X4 drivelines are totally USELESS!

How about geared down engine braking with 4x4 engaged?

To me, your above statement is invalid.

You really shouldn't be in 4x4 mode when towing in a good traction situation unless you have a AWD vehicle. Forcing the front and rear axles to rotate together on a good road is asking for trouble. The best thing that can happen is rapid tire wear. It gets worse from there up to braking an axle or driveshaft due to driveline wrap. 4x4 is for off road or slick roads only. At least that held true for every 4x4 I've owned. Not one was AWD capable, meaning there was no center differential to allow the front and back to track through a different turning radius.

And if you're using 4x4 downhill on a slippery road you can lose steering as mentioned above when wheels slip on a turn because they're all locked together at the same wheel speed.

Towing was never mentioned in wwest's absolute statement about how 4x4 is useless other than accelerating moving forward and that is simply not true. Then he comes back and has a non-absolute statement...so, what is it?

You guys can continue to disagree and that's fine. WA and TX must have way more adverse driving conditions than I experience in the mountains of CO driving down into Denver and then back home 5 days a week. :R

BTW, it takes much more than 1" of snow to close down everything here and snowplows are not everywhere all of the time.

I had a 1986 2wd chev V-6, turbo 400, 2.73 rear end and lots of tools in the truck bed. Had to drive up in the mountains' on a winter morning and go off the road to the house we built earlier that year. the snow was deep and the driveway to the house was just wider than my truck but it was plowed. I worked all day and the next day the electricians drove a 4x4 to the same job and got stuck. they wanted $300.00 from my employer to pay the wrecker that towed them . He told them no way his man did the same drive in a 2wd. Weight and high rear gear and no power worked that day for me. I never figured how a wrecker drove in that long driveway when the width was so narrow.

chevman

Sport45 wrote:

RedRocket204 wrote:

wwest wrote:
Other than initially getting up and going, moving, on the slippery stuff 4WD/4X4 drivelines are totally USELESS!

How about geared down engine braking with 4x4 engaged?

To me, your above statement is invalid.

You really shouldn't be in 4x4 mode when towing in a good traction situation unless you have a AWD vehicle. Forcing the front and rear axles to rotate together on a good road is asking for trouble. The best thing that can happen is rapid tire wear. It gets worse from there up to braking an axle or driveshaft due to driveline wrap. 4x4 is for off road or slick roads only. At least that held true for every 4x4 I've owned. Not one was AWD capable, meaning there was no center differential to allow the front and back to track through a different turning radius.

And if you're using 4x4 downhill on a slippery road you can lose steering as mentioned above when wheels slip on a turn because they're all locked together at the same wheel speed.

RedRocket204 wrote:

wwest wrote:
Other than initially getting up and going, moving, on the slippery stuff 4WD/4X4 drivelines are totally USELESS!

How about geared down engine braking with 4x4 engaged?

To me, your above statement is invalid.

You really shouldn't be in 4x4 mode when towing in a good traction situation unless you have a AWD vehicle. Forcing the front and rear axles to rotate together on a good road is asking for trouble. The best thing that can happen is rapid tire wear. It gets worse from there up to braking an axle or driveshaft due to driveline wrap. 4x4 is for off road or slick roads only. At least that held true for every 4x4 I've owned. Not one was AWD capable, meaning there was no center differential to allow the front and back to track through a different turning radius.

monkey44 wrote:


There's NO question about the versatility of 4x4 in any kind of camping or off-highway, or dirt roads ... Doesn't mean you MUST buy a 4x4, just means you have a lot more driving options if you do ... and are less likely to get stuck somewhere as well.

but you have to be careful about 4x4 bbs (big ball syndrome). Sometimes people with 4x4 believe they can go anywhere with it. I personally have seen way more 4x4's stuck in far worse situations than 2wd's. And this is coming from someone with a 4x4 Explorer. A peg leg 2wd can get stuck in wet grass, but a 4x4 typically needs to be further from terra firma to get stuck, which means a far more expensive extraction.

The argument is as old as the 4x4 option. I personally wouldn't buy a 2wd truck, but that doesn't mean that everyone needs a 4x4 truck.

wwest wrote:

ScottG wrote:
It's really just a personal choice depending on what you need. If you drive in the snow then the 4X is going to run circles around the 2WD (and then pull it out of the ditch). There is no comparison in this regard.
Been there, owned both - check sig.

Call me the next we have serious snowfall and my RWD/4WD/4X4 '92 Jeep in RWD and rear tire chains will show you how to run "circles" around ANY 4WD or 4X4.....

Yes, NO comparison!

SO, you talk here about ONE type of use, and I personally even doubt that statement. But even if you can, do you jump out there and chain up every time it gets a little muddy or rain on grass? Sure would be A LOT of hassle ...

There's NO question about the versatility of 4x4 in any kind of camping or off-highway, or dirt roads ... Doesn't mean you MUST buy a 4x4, just means you have a lot more driving options if you do ... and are less likely to get stuck somewhere as well.

wwest wrote:

RedRocket204 wrote:

wwest wrote:
Other than initially getting up and going, moving, on the slippery stuff 4WD/4X4 drivelines are totally USELESS!

How about geared down engine braking with 4x4 engaged?

To me, your above statement is invalid.

Anytime, ANYTIME, you have braking on the front wheels, mechanical or compression, you are in danger of loss of directional control. That's the very reason for ABS...

Is that loss of directional control any different with 2 wheel drive and friction brakes versus all 4 wheels (4x4 with drive-train compression) spinning at the same rotational speed?

I still find your statement lacking and invalid.

You've read all the responses and I agree for the most part.
Resale is the big one in my book sspecially if you're talking hi dollar diesel dually.
You'll lose more on resale than the up charge for 4 wd.
There's a 13 ram cc dually diesel super low miles 2wd I saw on CL for sale. Asking $29k and it's not selling. Same exact truck sells for $40k plus if 4 wd.

KD4UPL wrote:
Only you know how you will use the truck. I'll never have another 2wd truck. I live where it snow and I often drive on dirt roads in the mountains. I can't tell a difference in ride or handling in my Chevys. Technically the added couple of hundred pounds of weight will slightly lower your towing capacity.

The first line here really ends the discussion. It ALL centers around what you need out of the truck. Here in NW Ohio I won't have a truck without 4 x 4.

I've actually used 4WD once while camping. You always assume you won't need it but you don't know what you don't know.

Case in point, several years ago we went camping during Memorial Day Weekend. It had rained all week leading up to, and then rained more Thursday night. A motor home buried itself trying to back up off the stone campground road and into their site (which really was nothing more than a grassy lot). Subsequently, the front end of the MH stuck out into the driveway. In order to get to our site we had to go off the drive and into the grass on the other side, as a LOT of other campers already had done. As a resulte of that, the grass was a mudpit. As I entered that pit the rear tire of our Excursion instantly started turning and we stopped immediately as that tire spun.

I pushed the 4 x 4 button, and we pulled right out of it, no issues.

Just me personally, but my tow vehicle will always have 4WD

FWIW

RedRocket204 wrote:

wwest wrote:
Other than initially getting up and going, moving, on the slippery stuff 4WD/4X4 drivelines are totally USELESS!

How about geared down engine braking with 4x4 engaged?

To me, your above statement is invalid.

Anytime, ANYTIME, you have braking on the front wheels, mechanical or compression, you are in danger of loss of directional control. That's the very reason for ABS...