I once backed my flat bed trailer into my sons back yard to leave it for a few days. The yard is flat as a fiddle top and my 04 Dodge diesel would not untrack in the wet grass. I had the go get his tractor to get it moving. I got it stuck in my own yard about a month later. Same situation, unhooked my horse trailer and there I sat. In my opinion the weight of the diesel in front and the light rear makes 4 X 4 necessary. It drove great on the road, I loved the truck but I had to replace it with a 4X. Just replaced the 05 and didn't consider 2 wd and I don't think I could have found one in Northern California.