4WD vs 2WD

proxim2020 wrote:
I've only ever had 2WD trucks and never been in a situation where I couldn't get the truck out of. There were a few situations where a 4WD would've come in handy, but I still made it out ok.

- While going around a low speed curve, the back end of the truck kicked out and I took a trip down a 20 ft embankment. I was able to stop at the top, but the wet grass and slope caused me to slide all the way down to the bottom. Luckily there was no water at the bottom and no damage to the truck. The slope, wet grass, and 2WD made it too difficult to drive straight out of it. I used the gas and brake to get rolling, drove diagonally along the embankment, and pulled my self out.

- Had to get up a 9% 250ft long driveway that was covered in 2.5ft of snow with a layer of ice underneath. Shoveled a path, tossed down sand, put sand bags in the bed, built up what little speed I could at the bottom, and to the top of the driveway I went grasping for grip. That was the last time I parked at the bottom of that driveway lol.

- Once we had to retrieve our TT from the back of an empty snow packed lot. No snow blower or plow in sight so I made a half attempt to cut a path. Hooked up the trailer without the WD bars to give me more weight on the back. We got started pretty easily, but had to give it a good amount of gas to get through the rest of the snow. Once I got started, I didn't stop until I got back to the road. Felt like I was in a tractor pulling event lol. This was actually quite fun.

You can get a 2WD out of most situations just fine. 4WD just takes all of the thinking out of it. I've never had to be extracted from anywhere. I mostly stick to paved and dirt roads. Down at the beach I just lower the pressure and try to stick to the hard packed stuff. I've never had a problem with moving my TT on wet grass. If I did, I could always just take my rubber leveling blocks and use them as traction mats. I don't run into 4WD situations enough to justify buying one.