4x4 vs 2x4

rhagfo wrote:

fanrgs wrote:

BenK wrote:
Floor mounted levers confused so many that they are now gone and dash mounted electronic shifting of the transfer case is the norm (not all, just most). Lost with that is 'N'...was for the PTO, but most won't know what a PTO is...

Interesting! My 2015 Ram Tradesman has a floor-mounted transfer case lever with a Neutral position.

Wow, it is a sad day when a simple floor mounted lever is confusing!!
No wonder most people get confused when confronted with three pedals on the floor and only two feet to operate them!!!

Floor levers Confusing??? Agree, but Only to people with no driving skills. I grew up in a time when the only 4x4 vehicles around, were Green, or Blue, and had big white stars on them. (Army), Navy) the rest of us learned to drive without 4x4, and in truth didn't miss it.
But I did want one to play with. My first 4x4 was one of those. A DJ3A Willies Jeep. It had 3 levers To put it into 4x4 You had to stop. Lock the hubs, put the shifter in Neutral, Push the right lever to the middle, then pull the left lever to the middle, then push the right lever forward, and then pull the left lever back. After that you put it in what ever gear you wanted, and BTW. It had a top speed of 35 MPH when in 4x4. You could move the world, but slowly.

So when I say 4x4 is not needed to tow. It isn't needed for people who learned to drive without it. I have NEVER been stuck on wet grass. Never figured out how you could let that happen. And I have never need 4x4 when towing, and I have towed on ALL kinds of surfaces, and camped in NP CGs, Sand CGs, Dirt CGs. whatever. Plus. My TT is parked on a down slope in the back yard. I have to pull it up hill in grass to get it out. It has always came out, wet or not.

So in fact. 4x4, or 4x2 is a personal choice. Not needed for towing. Well, by people who learned to drive without it any way. My new to me 150 has 4x4. but only because it had it. It was not a requirement.

fanrgs wrote:

BenK wrote:
Floor mounted levers confused so many that they are now gone and dash mounted electronic shifting of the transfer case is the norm (not all, just most). Lost with that is 'N'...was for the PTO, but most won't know what a PTO is...

Interesting! My 2015 Ram Tradesman has a floor-mounted transfer case lever with a Neutral position.

Wow, it is a sad day when a simple floor mounted lever is confusing!!
No wonder most people get confused when confronted with three pedals on the floor and only two feet to operate them!!!

BenK wrote:
Floor mounted levers confused so many that they are now gone and dash mounted electronic shifting of the transfer case is the norm (not all, just most). Lost with that is 'N'...was for the PTO, but most won't know what a PTO is...

Interesting! My 2015 Ram Tradesman has a floor-mounted transfer case lever with a Neutral position.

There is no answer to this 'question'. It's entirely a matter of opinion. Thus several pages of opinion, should be enough for the OP to decide for himself.

7 pages
question not resolved
lots of opinions

Get a 4WD...they just look better.

If you have to ask...do NOT get it...

Folks who don't know and get it has been very bad, IMHO, for the types of 4x4's
offered by the OEMs

Dumbed down for convenience to the point it is almost worthless to
me...of course IMHO...and increased both the complexity (for no good
reason other than for convenience) and the cost (purchase and to fix)

Floor mounted levers confused so many that they are now gone and dash mounted
electronic shifting of the transfer case is the norm (not all, just most). Lost
with that is 'N'...was for the PTO, but most won't know what a PTO is...

Ditto hubs...first came automatic hubs, which stuck most times and mainly because
folks did NOT know they need yearly servicing...then no more hubs and the front
axles hooked up 100% of the time...4x4 is now done on most via the front diff with
a solenoid/etc to toss in a dog into the carrier

Too often here, but mainly over at my 4x4 blogs/forums folks come ask what to
do with 'that funny noise' coming from underneath the vehicle...they do NOT
understand, nor accept that 4x4 is NOT to used on good traction conditions...but
on slippery/etc conditions...unless they have full time or AWD, etc



If you have to ask...do NOT get it...

I always get a chuckle out of these "4X4 vs. 4X2" threads (by the way, a "2X4" is a piece of lumber, not a vehicle).
In my 60 years of driving, I have owned both. In fact, I now have a 4X4 Dodge CTD 2500. I have had it in four wheel drive to test the function, but that is all.
I used to have a Jeep Rubicon. The only time it was in four wheel drive was on trips to Moab to run the slick-rock trails. Oh, wait, I did put it in four wheel drive, and locked both differentials, to try to bust a snow berm that I had built up in front of it. That didn't work, I had to dig it out!
When we were full timing in a triple slide fifth wheel, I had a 4X2 Dodge 3500 CTD. Never needed 4X4. After we settled, I used that truck for hauling hay for our horses, never needed 4X4. I took it to CA to pick up a car on a flatbed trailer, towed that rig across Donner Pass in a blizzard, did not need 4X4. Yes, I had to put chains on.
The only reason I have a 4X4 now is that a Dodge 4X4 is towable four down without modification (the 2500 CTD is too heavy, though), and 4X2 trucks are hard to find.
My last truck, a Dodge 1500, was 4X4 for the same reason: Towability!
I grew up and learned to drive in Northwestern Montana winters without 4X4. They were quite rare back then. Very few people wanted them!
IMO, based on what I see around here, 4X4 is more a "fashion statement" than a true "need"! Most of them rarely leave hard surface roads. Note I did not say "pavement".

Honestly, in about 45 years of owning a pickup I've OFTEN needed a four wheel drive. For many years, I didn't have one, and in my use I did a lot of back up / go forward -- pull me out etc. Obviously, if you are one who only goes to deluxe campgrounds or strays seldom from the interstate, you would be much better off with a two wheel drive, since 4 x 4 is annoying -- higher - which makes climbing in and attaching to anything you are pulling more complicated.

Honestly, though in the past couple of weeks I have used 4 x 4 quite a bit.

1. We recently attended the Midwest Old Threshers in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. The campground there is actually, just a pasture dotted with electrical hookups. The terrain is up and down. I needed 4 x 4 to get into my campsite -- otherwise, they would hook on to you with a huge 4 x 4 tractor -- not something that I liked the looks of. After we were there and set up, it came a 2 inch rain. I needed 4 x 4 every day just to get out of my campsite parking place.

2. After I returned home, we traded trucks, and the first time that I hooked up to my flatbed trailer, I needed 4 x 4 to get it out of the parking place.

Diesel trucks are very front end heavy, and this just exacerbates the issue if you are in soft ground. I don't have a dually, but a dually is much worse than a SRW when negotiating mud or snow.

If you are planning to ever sell your truck, a two wheel drive is not that attractive.

To sum up -- if you are careful where you go, a two wheel drive has a lot of appeal. If you want more flexibility, 4 x 4 is definitely the way to go.

Years ago, my dad fed cattle with Chevy trucks, from the 49 up through a 72 -- always two wheel drive -- hardly anyone had 4 x 4 back then. Our roads were mud -- no gravel. We really needed 4 x 4 then, but didn't have one. (Of course we would have just dug deeper ruts before we got stuck.)

You'll only NEED a 4x4 once to understand why it's worth it.

Supercharged wrote:
The only people who ever need a 4x4 are ranchers, some farmers, loggers, untily companies, people in Canada, Alaska. All the rest are just waisting there kids fun money for later.

You left out those who live on a hill in Colorado and can't even reach their garage in snow without 4WD. Before I got my first 4WD truck, I had to park at the bottom of our hill during snowstorms and climb three blocks through the snow just to get to my front door. In the last 35 years, I have had four 4WD drive trucks and have never failed to reach my house in that time.