4x2 or 4x4?

My bad... I'm used to renaissance faires, which I do most of my dry camping at.

There are a number of similarities. Both are quite useful for camping, for starters. I could name more, but I don't want to derail the thread.

mlts22 wrote:
For a commute/daily driver that mainly sees tarmac, a 4x2 is OK and fewer moving parts. However for something driven in rural areas, 4x4 is not much more (when factoring the total vehicle cost), and when needed, you need it. Sure beats waiting for someone with a heavy duty wench to show up and get your vehicle unstuck.

HA ha ... WENCH is a girl, WINCH is a tow-assist machine. Which one would you rather have camping with you? :) :)

Now, that really is a puzzling question, ain't it? ;) ;)

For a commute/daily driver that mainly sees tarmac, a 4x2 is OK and fewer moving parts. However for something driven in rural areas, 4x4 is not much more (when factoring the total vehicle cost), and when needed, you need it. Sure beats waiting for someone with a heavy duty wench to show up and get your vehicle unstuck.

Redsky wrote:

Not sure what the thinking is of the OP but it is really a case of beating a dead horse that was buried long ago.

Indeed. The only real debate is locker vs. air locker vs. LS vs. open carrier, manual transfer case vs. electronic, etc.:B

Obviously, cost of maintenance and repair is more over 2WD, but that comes with owning a 4X4. Don't totally know about Ram and GM, but front axle repairs can get pricey. I had both ESOF locking hubs recently fail. I only noticed it with the camper on. Front end pulled significantly to one side and made a noticeable hum (like that of the front axle spinning at hwy speed when it shouldn't be). That will eat up tires fairly quick. Not cheap to replace either. Roughly $175-250 depending where you shop. And those are probably the easiest parts to replace on modern 4X4's with nothing serviceable in them. It hate the electronic stuff. Easy to use, but way more complicated than a 4 wheel drive needs to be.

work2fish wrote:
It seems to me that if a person is considering a 2WD truck, that they also might want to consider a roomier class C motorhome instead of a truck camper. I use my 4WD all the time on slippery boat ramps, on cruddy dirt roads, in snow and ice and for better clearance.

No doubt. The whole attraction to a TC was to have a 4WD RV! How cool is that? Aside from your Prevosts, you look at something like the Earth Roamer and realize how boring the average Class-whatever is. This was half the draw for me. Capability, capability, capability.

Don't get me wrong though, in good times and clear thoroughfares, I was originally looking at a Sprinter conversion- the Airstream version would have been cherry. A Lear jet for land. But I keep going back to my median event... there's just no way. And so nothing else would do but a TC. It's ready for clear thoroughfares AND blocked ones too.

It seems to me that if a person is considering a 2WD truck, that they also might want to consider a roomier class C motorhome instead of a truck camper. I use my 4WD all the time on slippery boat ramps, on cruddy dirt roads, in snow and ice and for better clearance.

I need 4WD to get my truck up my driveway. I need 4WD at the boat ramps. I need 4WD often when pulling onto sand at the beach or a soft shoulder when in the mountains and there is snow.

I use 4WD even when it is not absolutely needed as on backcountry dirt roads as it keeps me from making the ruts deeper and the washboard conditions much worse - there are already enough yahoos doing that as it is.

4WD has a negligible impact on towing or payload capacity, reducing it for my Chevy truck by only 200 lbs. in either case. I would also increase the payload by leaving the spare tire at home and only filling the fuel tank half full.

Not sure what the thinking is of the OP but it is really a case of beating a dead horse that was buried long ago.

QUOTE:

Real-life scenario from last year: I was traveling with my father down I-20 in Alabama. Middle of nowhere. All of the sudden, brake lights ahead. The interstate, far as the eye can see with no origin ahead, gridlocked. Folks out of their vehicles talking with one another. It had just rained and the shoulders and medians were thick with mud. If we had 2WD, we'd be as screwed as the family next to us in the Camry. Instead, we refused to play victim, said 'screw this nonsense', threw it in 4WD, crossed the median without trouble, waved to others, and went along our way. The other way. And thanks to a smart device or map of your choice, found a country road a couple miles back that paralleled the interstate, hopped on, and navigated our way back forward a good 10 miles. Got back on an EMPTY westbound I-20 after a small town, and smooth sailing. We still have no idea what happened, but it didn't matter. END QUOTE

We've done exactly that same thing on more than one occasion. When you need it, you need it and it makes it worth every penny in this kind of case. AND, in other cases where you feel the slip - in a CG or on a back road - when the situation calls for it, nothing else will do the trick. I also agree, you get yourself in places where you NEED it simply because you have 4x4, but that's the fun part, you CAN do it, so you do it and enjoy it ... :) :) :)

I would own a Prius before I gave up my 4X4!:)

Wo.ody wrote:
OK...lets say your camper is a 4500 lb monster like a Lance 1191 or an Arctic Fox 1140 or a heavier Eagle Cap 995. You may get off the pavement to camp but you aren't going to do the Whazoo with it.

Your going to trade maximum load capacity if you add 4x4 to a new truck. Sure, we all want 4x4 but do you really NEED 4x4 for a rig that is specifically used as a warm weather TC hauler?

I absolutely need 4WD, it is not a want. Think not about 'warm weather', but of 'agility'.

Real-life scenario from last year: I was traveling with my father down I-20 in Alabama. Middle of nowhere. All of the sudden, brake lights ahead. The interstate, far as the eye can see with no origin ahead, gridlocked. Folks out of their vehicles talking with one another. It had just rained and the shoulders and medians were thick with mud. If we had 2WD, we'd be as screwed as the family next to us in the Camry. Instead, we refused to play victim, said 'screw this nonsense', threw it in 4WD, crossed the median without trouble, waved to others, and went along our way. The other way. And thanks to a smart device or map of your choice, found a country road a couple miles back that paralleled the interstate, hopped on, and navigated our way back forward a good 10 miles. Got back on an EMPTY westbound I-20 after a small town, and smooth sailing. We still have no idea what happened, but it didn't matter.

Onward. Through whatever. I too will never buy a truck without 4WD.