SRW 3500 2WD vs 4WD

[pjberny5]

Deciding if I should purchase a 2WD or 4WD SWR 3500 but need a little advice from those of you who have a 2WD or have had both. Total 5th wheel weight loaded is around 13,500 so do not need a dually and the SWR fits in my garage The other factor is the price. Can buy a 2WD this time of year for 5-6 thousand less than a 4WD.

[ken_burke]

pjberny5 wrote:
Deciding if I should purchase a 2WD or 4WD SWR 3500 but need a little advice from those of you who have a 2WD or have had both. Total 5th wheel weight loaded is around 13,500 so do not need a dually and the SWR fits in my garage The other factor is the price. Can buy a 2WD this time of year for 5-6 thousand less than a 4WD.

I have 4 wheel drive. It is more expensive, adds 300 pounds to the weight. You may never need it, but if you need it only once, it is worth the price.
ke

[RustyJC]

laknox wrote:
HAH! You've never been =truly= stuck until you've stuck a 4wd TRACTOR! :B

Lyle

When 4 wheel drive Chevy pickups came out in the late 1950s, the owners of an adjacent ranch in north Texas bought one. After a few months, we asked the ranch hands what they thought of their first 4WD truck. They said they hated it since, when it got stuck, it was stuck a lot deeper AND a lot farther from the bunkhouse which made it a longer walk home. :W

Rusty

[laknox]

HAH! You've never been =truly= stuck until you've stuck a 4wd TRACTOR! :B

Lyle

[Timay]

jerem0621 wrote:
Use to take 4x2 1978 F100 short bed hunting all the time. We hunted in a pine tree forest used by a paper factory. Had lots of logging trails. Never...ever...got stuck.. But we were not stupid about where we went either.

I have had many 4x4's and realized that I never needed the 4x4. Hunted off road in my 2007 Ford Focus for a while... took my wifes Sebring convertible hunting... Also took my Pontiac Firebird. Of course, I am careful where I go and if the roads/trails are too rough or muddy I park and hike in. Feet work great.

Last two trucks have been 2wd and will probably not own another 4x4 pickup.

Good AT tires, sensible driving, common sense goes a long way to not being stuck.

It all comes down to personal choice... Very personal choice.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

I was proud of my ability to get to the hunting grounds, camping spots, trail heads and so on with my 2 wheel drive station wagon, too! We had a Chevy Estate Wagon and went all over the wilderness area known as The Flat Top wilderness area in north west Colorado. We helped our niece get her Pinto into the furthest campground on the edge of the wilderness...

We were going to go explore another lake way back in - we were creeping along to make sure we didn't get stuck or have a problem - when all of a sudden the front end of the wagon went over the edge of a small drop off... *BOOM*! Big bang, the engine died, we were many miles back in the woods on a Monday (ever notice how few others are out camping during the week?)...the engine started, we crept on into the area and did our thing, but at that point I decided that if just that small drop off could kill the engine and cause other problems, I WILL NEVER 4-WHEEL IN A 2-WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE AGAIN!

BTW, if you want to see what it is like to get STUCK, get stuck in a 4WD!

Tim

[avvidclif1]

Not with 7000 lbs on the rear axle, plenty of traction.

X2 on the locking rear end.

[jerem0621]

Use to take 4x2 1978 F100 short bed hunting all the time. We hunted in a pine tree forest used by a paper factory. Had lots of logging trails. Never...ever...got stuck.. But we were not stupid about where we went either.

I have had many 4x4's and realized that I never needed the 4x4. Hunted off road in my 2007 Ford Focus for a while... took my wifes Sebring convertible hunting... Also took my Pontiac Firebird. Of course, I am careful where I go and if the roads/trails are too rough or muddy I park and hike in. Feet work great.

Last two trucks have been 2wd and will probably not own another 4x4 pickup.

Good AT tires, sensible driving, common sense goes a long way to not being stuck.

It all comes down to personal choice... Very personal choice.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Brad_NSW]

2003 Dodge diesel 3500 2-wheel drive.

12 years towing and 4-wheel would have been nice ONCE, backing up an incline with snow on the road. Made it but it was painfully scary.

Less maintenance/things to go wrong IMHO.

[john_bet]

caysea7254 wrote:
ok I asked this same Question last year. We ended up with a 3500HD Silverado 4W. Glad we got it cause we got stuck in our campsite in the mud. Thank goodness for 4WD.

I was at a rally a few years ago and almost every one who was parked on the grass had to be pulled out. MH, 2wd's,4wd's. All stuck in mud. Only time I have been stuck with my 2wd.

[caysea7254]

ok I asked this same Question last year. We ended up with a 3500HD Silverado 4W. Glad we got it cause we got stuck in our campsite in the mud. Thank goodness for 4WD.

[pyoung47]

A PU has very poor traction. Modern 4 x 4 trucks are very refined. Also be sure to get a pos traction rear end. Important for 2 wd or 4 wd

[transamz9]

Coach-man wrote:

shum02 wrote:

Coach-man wrote:
Depending on where you drive/camp some need 4x4, a lot of folks need to justify buying a 4x4! One disadvantage, in addition to lower mill age, and higher upfront cost is weight, which will take away from what you can haul!

A few hundred pounds of CCC and fuel mileage cost you can't count. I can drop 500lbs in the bed of the truck and not notice ANY change in fuel mileage, gasser or diesel.

Only issue I've had with it was the transfer case shift motor($150) and a few bucks worth of synthetic Mercon ever few years.

Hmm? Just the response I expected, if this were a 2500 vs 3500 weight question, the weight police would be asking how many additional coats you are packing to make sure you do not go over the CCC, or GVCWR, or anything like that! Now I am supposed to believe that a transfer case and front axel with all the trimmings of a 4X4 only weigh 100#??

The GVWR on the 3500 is higher on the 4X4's.

[shum02]

Coach-man wrote:

shum02 wrote:

Coach-man wrote:
Depending on where you drive/camp some need 4x4, a lot of folks need to justify buying a 4x4! One disadvantage, in addition to lower mill age, and higher upfront cost is weight, which will take away from what you can haul!

A few hundred pounds of CCC and fuel mileage cost you can't count. I can drop 500lbs in the bed of the truck and not notice ANY change in fuel mileage, gasser or diesel.

Only issue I've had with it was the transfer case shift motor($150) and a few bucks worth of synthetic Mercon ever few years.

Hmm? Just the response I expected, if this were a 2500 vs 3500 weight question, the weight police would be asking how many additional coats you are packing to make sure you do not go over the CCC, or GVCWR, or anything like that! Now I am supposed to believe that a transfer case and front axel with all the trimmings of a 4X4 only weigh 100#??

Well...according to the 2006 Ford towing guide, yup between the 4x4 and 4x2 about 100lbs of CCC. Who'd have thunk it? 3571LBS/3504LBS Of course other options will change this number up or down.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

downtheroad wrote:
Can't imagine buying a 350/3500 truck with 2 wheel drive.
Probably the good price is a reflection of the fact that no one wants one and they can't get rid of it.

..and then there is the re-sale factor to consider. Good luck with that.

Disagree!..:(

Can't imagine buying a 350/3500 truck with 4 wheel drive!..:R

Towed all over the USA - 34 ft 5th with SRW two wheel drive.

Did I do that during the winter?? - well yes and no.

The winter "Yes":
I live in CA. Plenty of places to go in CA/AZ where the weather is mild - all year round.

The winter "No":
Maybe if I was in MT or WI, or.... but most of those folks winterize their RVs.
Guess I might need the 4x4 for a snow plow attachment, rather than RVing.

My experience - for a lot of years had a place in the local mountains, about six thousand ft elevation. Lots of snow.
Also, many ski trips to the Sierras in winter.
Had a 1T SRW crew-cab - with "open" differential. No big deal!

Only need for 4 wheel drive was to get past the "chain inspection station" - when chains were req'd for two wheel drive.
(4x4 just had to have them along with you).

Great fun watching the 4x4 "flatlanders" who thought 4x4 was the cure all for snow conditions.....Oops black ice - and so much for 4x4!

For me the two 4x4 vehicles I had were just another thing to maintain - which I didn't use or need (except for the CHP insp stations).

Resale value?
Excellent in my neck of the woods - usually 4x4 trucks are the ones to stay clear of - due to abuse by the off-road "kiddies".

Neighbors are from Chicago. No need for 4x4 - no clue why anybody would need chains for anything...:@

A friend lives in Oregon - tows a 36' Alpenlite with SRW 2x2.
The 4x4 crowd (and the salesman) thought he was nuts when he ordered two wheel drive.
He's towed round-trip to Alaska *early* in the season to workcamp twice with no problems.

If I lived in the mtns or CO, MT, etc. *SNOW country*- sure! -
4x4 is a no brainer.
However, if I wanted to "play" off-roading, it sure wouldn't be with a pickup!..:W

Gets down to where you live, how you will use the truck, and lastly what rings *YOUR* chimes...;)..:C




~

[Old-Biscuit]

Veebyes wrote:
The whole thread reminds me of this one seen in Chicken, Alaska. Not many trees to get a winch line on up there but there is plenty of mud.

If this works for boats, why not vehicles.

Had a homemade 'sand wedge' that I carried in my '72 Bronco

1/4" steel plate cut in a triangle with a 2' steel pipe welded to top of plate. Steel loop welded to pipe right at top of plate. 5# sliding weight on pipe to drive it at an angle into sand.

Hook winch line to loop and PULL

Used it many times while out off-roading running river beds, sand washes.

[laknox]

PRodacy wrote:

laknox wrote:

Veebyes wrote:
The whole thread reminds me of this one seen in Chicken, Alaska. Not many trees to get a winch line on up there but there is plenty of mud.

If this works for boats, why not vehicles.

My h.s. physics teacher didn't have much use for winches. He carried an old truck axle, a sledge hammer and about 100' of cable in 2 50' lengths. He'd hammer in the axle, attach the cable to truck and pin (or tree), then simply grab the cable in the middle and lift it or walk sideways. That's a =lot= of leverage! Just keep doing it until unstuck. Of course, his main point was "don't drive in places where you =could= get stuck". 🙂

Lyle

Lyle, your physics teacher was testing you, and obviously you failed. Pulling sideways on that cable provides less force than pulling straight in-line with the cable. Simple vector analysis. If you think there's any way one person pulling in any direction could beat a winch (about 12,000 pounds, or 24,000 pounds with a snatch block) I've got some great beachfront property in Kansas that I'll sell to you. Anchors to get stuck vehicles out when no trees are within reach of the winch are readily available and used by many off-readers.

Dunno, but I've used the principle any number of times, when I couldn't get a straight pull on a cable/wire/rope. Works pretty good, too.

Lyle