I'll be shopping for a new (or new-ish) truck shortly for pulling a medium size trailer or 5th wheel. It seems like the vast majority of 3/4 and 1 ton trucks around here are 4WD, with jut a few 2WD...
Like you I simply could not justify spending more up front and getting worse fuel economy just to have a 4X4 TV. Pulling large trailers how many times are you going to pull it off pavement? Thats the biggie.