Why 4 X 4

[Usnthedog]

Every place you look, every dealer it's all 4 X 4's. I have a 4 X 4 and never use it. Why is it so popular? Is there anyone out there that has a 2 X 4 and is unhappy with the truck? How about with a 4 X 4? My first 2 trucks I bought off the lot hence the 4 X 4. I'm looking to order and almost feel ashamed to consider a 2 X 4. I pull a 12,000# 5th wheel. No mud holes and backroads. Thanks.

And diesel, but that is another post.

[laknox]

Terryallan wrote:

Usnthedog wrote:
Every place you look, every dealer it's all 4 X 4's. I have a 4 X 4 and never use it. Why is it so popular? Is there anyone out there that has a 2 X 4 and is unhappy with the truck? How about with a 4 X 4? My first 2 trucks I bought off the lot hence the 4 X 4. I'm looking to order and almost feel ashamed to consider a 2 X 4. I pull a 12,000# 5th wheel. No mud holes and backroads. Thanks.

And diesel, but that is another post.

honestly. It is a macho thing. As in. I just got to have a 4x4. They look so good. No I'll never go gully jumping, but I got to have a 4x4. OH! I may get stuck on a wet leaf, so I need 4x4. It reality, it is an image thing.

honestly. I have been towing for more than 40 years, and have never once needed 4x4, even though I have has several 4x4s. I have taken them gully jumping, and out on the beach, but haven't needed them for towing. In fact the BEST, most STABLE TV I ever had was a 4x2. I miss it.

Absolute cr@p! I have 4wd because it's =practical= for my needs, not because I want to be a bad a$$. I like to do some backroading in my stock truck and I've been out with guys with 2wd trucks. Yeah, they may make it up that road, but they tend leave a =lot= of rubber behind doing so. Me, I just drop to 4lo and creep up with hardly a spin. I actually use 4lo to get into one of our camp sites, not because the road's steep, but because it's got some rocky stretches and I can simply idle over them without rocking the FW too much. As I said before, our first time out this year, I needed 4wd to back into my site in an improved CG with dirt/gravel roads and sites. I knew without even trying that 2wd wouldn't work, so went right to 4wd and =still= spun a bit.

Lyle

[laknox]

Usnthedog wrote:
Every place you look, every dealer it's all 4 X 4's. I have a 4 X 4 and never use it. Why is it so popular? Is there anyone out there that has a 2 X 4 and is unhappy with the truck? How about with a 4 X 4? My first 2 trucks I bought off the lot hence the 4 X 4. I'm looking to order and almost feel ashamed to consider a 2 X 4. I pull a 12,000# 5th wheel. No mud holes and backroads. Thanks.

And diesel, but that is another post.

OK, here's my $0.02...

First off, if you can guarantee that you'll never be in a campground that's dead level and paved, then a 2x4 would work. I can tell you that my first trip this year, we were in a small CG with dirt roads and pads. Dirt was covered in fine gravel/coarse sand. As I had to back in uphill, I didn't even consider 2wd; went to 4wd and =still= spun a bit. I'd've never made it into that site with a 2x4. Even on a decent dirt road, if there's washboards, there =is= a difference in driving in 2wd and 4wd, even with a load on. 4wd makes driving in that situation much more comfortable, IMO. You get on pavement that's got sand/gravel on it, and 4wd can come in handy. Personally, I'll never have a truck that's =not= 4wd and I wish I'd had one 30 years sooner.

As for diesel, if you're never going to be in the mountains, or very infrequently, then a gasser is fine, but for frequent towing and/or mountain towing, diesel's the way to go. Again, I'll not have a truck that's =not= diesel.

Lyle

[akrv]

You are looking in the wrong place. I live in southern Arizona and you can't find a 4x4 down here.

[BarneyS]

A 4X4 truck doesn't have to sit high off the ground. Witness mine. It even raises or lowers according to what type of driving you intend to do. When the doors are opened the running boards that come out are only about 6 or 8 inches above the ground. :B My previous truck was too hard for my wife to climb into. That is just one of the reasons I purchased this truck.
Barney

[ppine]

It is not a myth. If you live in the West, you need all the help you can get to negotiate, mud, snow, ice, and steep grades.

If you wander you are going to get stuck with 4 wheel drive. It will just be in worse places further from help. You will learn to get unstuck.

[ReneeG]

Yes, on the 4x4 for all the reasons stated, but we use it all the time backing our FW into our level flat driveway which transitions from pavement to gravel and it's the gravel that causes loss of traction. Switch to 4x4 and no problem. Not to mention that years ago, when we had an older truck, our transmission service shop advised to always put your truck in 4x4 when backing up any incline or rough road with your TT or FW. It saves the transmission.

[ford_truck_guy]

I have ALWAYS had 4x4 because my truck plows snow when its's not towing my trailer in the winter..

I have only needed 4x4 2-3 times towing, BUT having it was priceless !! And it saved me a TON of money and or aggravation those 2 - 3 times...

Sometimes that wet grass on a small up hill slope can be a bugger to push your trailer up in reverse! Or heavy rains on grass and heavy trailers do not go well together


** I think Cummins12V98 has a good picture of wheels and tires that were down DEEP in mud.. I believe that 4x4 may have helped there just a bit !

[Cummins12V98]

"honestly. It is a macho thing."

HA, right!

Does this LOOK like a 4x4? It's 2x4 version looks just the same.



This LOOKS like a 4x4!

[Cummins12V98]

rhagfo wrote:
Why, cheap insurance!
Backing up hill on gravel, sudden snow storm!
Wet grass!

YUP, how about when out sight seeing and the gravel road turns to sand before you know it and you start digging in. YUP happened and no cell service. Hit 4wd and took right off.

How about setting at the campsite wife calls right at dust panicked saying she is stuck, GPS told her wrong way back. I explain how to get it in 4wd, no go as it just kept digging. Explained 4 low and she drive right out. True story!

YES, 4wd is worth EVERY bit it costs and more!!!

[Learjet]

Terryallan wrote:


honestly. It is a macho thing. As in. I just got to have a 4x4. They look so good. No I'll never go gully jumping, but I got to have a 4x4. OH! I may get stuck on a wet leaf, so I need 4x4. It reality, it is an image thing.

That is one of the most over the top statements I have seen here in a while. WOW!

[fj12ryder]

Terryallan wrote:

Usnthedog wrote:
Every place you look, every dealer it's all 4 X 4's. I have a 4 X 4 and never use it. Why is it so popular? Is there anyone out there that has a 2 X 4 and is unhappy with the truck? How about with a 4 X 4? My first 2 trucks I bought off the lot hence the 4 X 4. I'm looking to order and almost feel ashamed to consider a 2 X 4. I pull a 12,000# 5th wheel. No mud holes and backroads. Thanks.

And diesel, but that is another post.

honestly. It is a macho thing. As in. I just got to have a 4x4. They look so good. No I'll never go gully jumping, but I got to have a 4x4. OH! I may get stuck on a wet leaf, so I need 4x4. It reality, it is an image thing.

honestly. I have been towing for more than 40 years, and have never once needed 4x4, even though I have has several 4x4s. I have taken them gully jumping, and out on the beach, but haven't needed them for towing. In fact the BEST, most STABLE TV I ever had was a 4x2. I miss it.

Absolutely agree. I had a 4WD truck when I was in my 20's and image was important. I sold it when I realized I didn't need it and it just cost more to operate. My stepson just presented me with another reason: he just spent $1300 to have his transfer case repaired.

[IdaD]

A lot depends on where you live. When I visit Texas or Southern Cal or Florida, I see lots of 2wd trucks. Where I live (Idaho) there are essentially none outside of a few out of area travelers and some contractor type rigs.

Buy a new 2wd truck in the northwest, and I'm not joking at all, and you'd lose more value once you drove it off the lot than you would have spent on the 4wd option just because it's a 2wd truck. They are total dogs to sell around here. My point being that in a lot of parts of the country buying a 2wd truck is a dumb financial choice. In other parts of the country I'm sure 4wd trucks are the poor financial choice.

[thomas201]

No trip is complete without a little time on some backroads. Drop the 5er and off we go. I spent my working time in the oilfield driving 4X4 pickups in the mud, snow and sand. Favorite trip to date (with 3 states left) was Toroweap on the Grand Canyon. Us and two other people laying on a rock cliff and looking into the Canyon. Also, the crapper with the best view in the US. 60 plus miles of dirt road to get there. You would need 4X4 if you got any rain. I like mine with manual locking hubs and a manual shifter, those I can bypass if they break, not like the electronic stuff.

[Tvov]

Yep, 2WD here. Ordered it on purpose like that, dealer did a "swap" with another dealership to get the truck. I tow constantly during the summer, landscape equipment trailers and/or camping.

One big advantage? My truck is NOT 10 feet in the air! I can actually get in and out of it easily.

Would I like 4WD? Sure. But I'm happy with mine as is. I grew up with rear-wheel-drive large cars, so I can drive in sloppy conditions. I also put on actual, real snow tires (not the "all season") for the winter.

Having said all that, when I went to buy the truck, if the dealership had a 4WD version on the lot with the options I wanted, I would have bought that if the price was similar. As it was, I paid $$$$ less for mine.

[Kavoom]

Living in Montana, 4 X 4 or AWD is NOT a luxury but more of a necessity with snow being the primary issue. Oh, and it will let you get places no 2wd can. Our second vehicle is a Subaru for the same reasons.