2WD or 4X4 for a truck camper

[jaycocreek]

Okay,this is for hauling a truck camper only and what a new guy should get when going to buy a truck camper..

Here is a pretty honest opinion of the pro's and con's of both and yes,he has a truck camper..Northern lite 10-2

2WD vs 4WD with TC only

Do you "Really Need" a 4X4 with a truck camper?..

[specta]

jaycocreek wrote:


The point of this thread was do you need 4X4 with a truck camper on?..

Why,because these big/heavy and wide truck campers are not meant to be off roading..They make the front end lite going up a grade and are to wide to maneuver in the mountains..

Your point, no you don't "need" a 4wd with a camper on it. Need and want are two different things.

In several situations low range has advantages over a truck with no low-range, especially if the truck has an automatic transmission. Nope still don't need it but it makes things nicer.

I've never experienced the problem you listed above.

No, campers are not meant for "off-roading". Who would want to take one "off-roading??

Mountain dirt roads are not "off-roading".

I wouldn't want to haul a camper on that old Chevy of your's either. Not even on the highway.

[jaycocreek]

As I mentioned earlier,I am not anti 4WD..I have two in the driveway,a Yamaha Rhino in the garage and a Chevy HD 2500 that is here most of the time..None of them are camper toters for how I use a TC..

The point of this thread was do you need 4X4 with a truck camper on?..I have not seen one picture of a 4X4 with a heavy TC on anywhere I could take my 2WD DRW..Kaytegs was the closest but he did it in 2WD...

Why,because these big/heavy and wide truck campers are not meant to be off roading..They make the front end lite going up a grade and are to wide to maneuver in the mountains..

I have seen DJ's trip on the Magruder road,awesome but I have taken my truck and TC on the same road,4X4 is not necessary and 4 Low certainly has it's perks but with my 4:10's and super engine compression,I do just fine and I am not tippy on side hills and narrower than any of the new truck campers..

So show me a picture of a 4X4 with a hardsided truck camper somewhere anyone with a 2WD DRW can't (shouldn't) go besides the sand(Not much around here)LOL

I also have never had any 4X4 drivetrain expenses including the two older ones in my yard.

I put my 8'6" Lance on this and drove around the block and took it right off..It was a fun truck though but not a TC toter for sure..LOL

[BradW]

specta wrote:
200,000 miles on my pickup and I have not put one single penny into any 4wd drive train components.

Since 1981, I've owned 8 new 4x4 trucks and jeeps. I've never spent a single nickel on a 4x4 driveline related repair on any of them.

I also have a highly modified TJ which I have spent a small fortune on......but that is another story. 🙂 🙂 🙂

bradw

[jaycocreek]

200,000 miles on my pickup and I have not put one single penny into any 4wd drive train components.

Might wanna service them once in a while..Just sayin'...LOL

[specta]

Kayteg1 wrote:

Screw the big thousands dollars the option will cost me till the time.

LMAO!!!!!!

What "big thousands dollars" are you referring to?

In the state that I live in the "big thousands dollars" that will cost you is when you try and sell a 2wd pickup. You wont get squat for it.

Nobody here wants one because they are useless in the snow and just bout any other adverse weather conditions without putting chains on or some other traction devise.

I would much rather reach over and pull back on a lever than stop, get out and install a set of tire chains.

200,000 miles on my pickup and I have not put one single penny into any 4wd drive train components.

I've watched numerous 2wd trucks struggle trying to get their boat out of the water.

Don't want one, don't buy one. I didn't want a 2wd pickup and never will own another one.

A lot of people get by just fine with a 2wd pickup an that's great. I'm happy they work great for you.

Camper or no camper a 2wd pickup truck does not have the same capabilities that a 4wd pick up does. They never have and they never will.

[jimh406]

Kayteg1 wrote:
OK, now you guys have me convinced.
Next truck I buy will have to be 4x4 only becouse maybe in 5, maybe in 10 years I might launch my boat at low water that is below concrete ramp slab.
Screw the big thousands dollars the option will cost me till the time.

Again, not big thousands. Besides, your truck should be good for a while, and as I noted, I’m pretty sure someone will pull you out. You should probably bring a tow strap with you. 😄

Besides, there’s probably not a lot tide changes in Nevada.

[Kayteg1]

OK, now you guys have me convinced.
Next truck I buy will have to be 4x4 only becouse maybe in 5, maybe in 10 years I might launch my boat at low water that is below concrete ramp slab.
Screw the big thousands dollars the option will cost me till the time.

[wnjj]

jimh425 wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
Jim had me going with his legend till he made the boat ramp issue.
I've been launching boats with motorhomes, bus conversions, RWD Chevy vans (who actually suck on everything, but size) , RWD flatbeds, and traction was never issue.
I recall slight issue with FWD Volkswagen pickup, but still manageable.

There are big tide changes in Puget Sound. I’ve seen more than one vehicle stuck on the ramp because of algae or mud on retrieval. Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Usually, someone feels sorry for them and hooks a chain/tow strap to their front.

BTW, also happens on rivers and lakes. Try a search for vehicle stuck on boat ramp. Some ramps are extremely steep as well.

Fwiw, it was all true, but I don’t know if you should believe me since it is the internet ...

Also add to that the ramps that have a series of concrete bars with gravel in between below the water level. I saw a RWD truck stuck between those until they removed the boat, pulled forward some and then re-loaded. Not all boat ramps are in the desert where the water gets low enough to pave a nice ramp well into the water.

[jimh406]

Kayteg1 wrote:
Jim had me going with his legend till he made the boat ramp issue.
I've been launching boats with motorhomes, bus conversions, RWD Chevy vans (who actually suck on everything, but size) , RWD flatbeds, and traction was never issue.
I recall slight issue with FWD Volkswagen pickup, but still manageable.

There are big tide changes in Puget Sound. I’ve seen more than one vehicle stuck on the ramp because of algae or mud on retrieval. Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Usually, someone feels sorry for them and hooks a chain/tow strap to their front.

BTW, also happens on rivers and lakes. Try a search for vehicle stuck on boat ramp. Some ramps are extremely steep as well.

Fwiw, it was all true, but I don’t know if you should believe me since it is the internet ...

[jaycocreek]

ticki2 wrote:
You should ell your friend in the video to lift the plow when they back up.

I don't know the guy from Adam but I assume he was back blading,a normal thing in plowing and grading,sometimes..I back blade our driveway quite alot saving on the amount of piles in the yard.And back blading makes for a nice smooth surface..

His 16-1700# in the rear of his 2WD DRW certainly mimics a small pop up or Lance type TC on that 2WD DRW..Traction was not an issue as the video shows..

He also said they were having some plow issues,that could also be why he didn't raise the blade..Hydraulics in the cold can really raise havoc sometimes..

[Kayteg1]

Jim had me going with his legend till he made the boat ramp issue.
I've been launching boats with motorhomes, bus conversions, RWD Chevy vans (who actually suck on everything, but size) , RWD flatbeds, and traction was never issue.
I recall slight issue with FWD Volkswagen pickup, but still manageable.

[jaycocreek]

Kayteg1 wrote:
1 note thought. My story is truth.

Jim don't believe anyone..Everything is staged..If it isn't notarized,don't post it for Jim to read..(laffin)

[Kayteg1]

Good one Jim
Only shows how many variables real life can have and all the forum whining can go only so far.
1 note thought. My story is truth.

[jimh406]

I worked with a guy who traded his 4x4 for a 2WD to save money, maintenance costs, and he said that he never needs 4x4.

That year, he got stuck on the same beach his family liked to go to several times and had to pay a tow truck each time. Later that winter, he stayed home from work a few days because he couldn’t get out of his driveway/subdivision. So, he bought chains because he needed to go on the other side of Cascades and also to get out of his driveway/subdivision when it snowed. He found it a pain to put on chains since he never had to before with his 4x4 since they were exempt. That spring, he got stuck on a boat launch when he volunteered to tow a friends boat to the Sound. After seeing how bad it was, he asked others to drive when he went hiking and fishing so they wouldn’t get stuck.

He had enough and decided to trade for a 4x4. The dealer lowballed him because they had a hard time selling 2WDs, and he said never again..

[Kayteg1]

Years ago, back in California I worked with a guy who was living like 40 miles away. Working often 7 day a week, the guy was putting 40,000 miles annually, mostly carrying only lunch box in his pickup.
So when his RWD pickup got totaled, he bought 4x4 pickup as replacement.
I ask him why he bought 4x4, his answer was "becouse I have garden and need to haul away yard clippings".
Few more answers and turn out that from his 1/8 acre property, he needs once a year clippings haulings.
So roughly he had additional cost of $2000 today's dollars of driving 4x4 just to have 4x4 when "he needs it" once a year.
That was San Francisco East Bay with average 15 rainy days a year.