4 wheel drive

[Dukec]

All
I have a question concerning 4x4 trucks and why I would want one. I will be looking for a new 1 ton truck that will replace my F150 tow vehicle. Everywhere I look at dealer lots and inventory all I see is 4x4s. In the prevailing thought is this better from a towing standpoint? Or is this the dealer and manufacturer conspiring to get more of my cash?
I currently have a bumper pull trailer that my 150 can and does pull but I feel right at the line. I have no interest in boondocking or using the truck for anything off road. I know the dealers harp on resale value but I am buying it for me not the next guy.

Appreciate you thoughts much.

Dukec

[garyp4951]

It amazes me how people just keep driving, thinking the GPS could not be wrong, and this includes me.
I wound up in the 9th ward in New Orleans with barely a place to turn around, cussing the GPS.

[Terryallan]

danrclem wrote:

lawrosa wrote:
coming back from florida to NJ we got off track in WV. GPS was wrong. Well yellow line in road disappeared. Then road narrowed and turned to dirt. had to turn around. But 50 ft of truck and trailer all I found was a sloped small field off the right side of road..

I carefully backed the trailer down the slope and tried to keep in straight line. I had to go down far enough till truck nose cleared fence on other side.

Put in drive and tires started spinning immediately. Chevy has a locker rear. Eased on gas some and locker en-gauged but wheels started digging in.

Trying to get 13000 lbs moving up an incline on grass just wasn't happening.

Looked at my wife, and she looked at me and said "well?"

I reached my hand down by the floor, pulled back on the lever, I gave to truck a little gas. And away we went.

Straightened out, threw it back in 2wd and continued are trip.

Wife says " I wonder what that would of cost to have a tow find us and get us out?"

I said , " which one of us was going to walk the 2 or 3 miles to the one house we saw, or till we got a cell signal? ( Non existent in WV ) And , we are from NJ and I am not sure they would Not take kindly to knocking on their door."

" And which one of us would feel safe enough to stay with the kids?"

Times like that you wish you had a gun. ( I dont own any guns)

As a matter of fact heres the house.. My wife took a pic as we were coming back out.

More confederate flags then you can shake a stick at!!!!!

And an OUTHOUSE!!!!










With that said, Ive always had 4x4 in my trucks. If I need it once it pays for itself...period.

I'd feel safer there than I would in certain spots of quite a few big cities.

Me too. You couldn't pay me to live in a Northern city

[Gary_C]

danrclem wrote:

lawrosa wrote:
coming back from florida to NJ we got off track in WV. GPS was wrong. Well yellow line in road disappeared. Then road narrowed and turned to dirt. had to turn around. But 50 ft of truck and trailer all I found was a sloped small field off the right side of road..

I carefully backed the trailer down the slope and tried to keep in straight line. I had to go down far enough till truck nose cleared fence on other side.

Put in drive and tires started spinning immediately. Chevy has a locker rear. Eased on gas some and locker en-gauged but wheels started digging in.

Trying to get 13000 lbs moving up an incline on grass just wasn't happening.

Looked at my wife, and she looked at me and said "well?"

I reached my hand down by the floor, pulled back on the lever, I gave to truck a little gas. And away we went.

Straightened out, threw it back in 2wd and continued are trip.

Wife says " I wonder what that would of cost to have a tow find us and get us out?"

I said , " which one of us was going to walk the 2 or 3 miles to the one house we saw, or till we got a cell signal? ( Non existent in WV ) And , we are from NJ and I am not sure they would Not take kindly to knocking on their door."

" And which one of us would feel safe enough to stay with the kids?"

Times like that you wish you had a gun. ( I dont own any guns)

As a matter of fact heres the house.. My wife took a pic as we were coming back out.

More confederate flags then you can shake a stick at!!!!!

And an OUTHOUSE!!!!










With that said, Ive always had 4x4 in my trucks. If I need it once it pays for itself...period.

I'd feel safer there than I would in certain spots of quite a few big cities.

Gotta love the thought process of people from the northeast. I'd feel safer there than any spot in ANY city in New Jersey. Maybe the poster is afraid they might invite him in for dinner and they'd not have bagels or pastrami.

[brulaz]

SidecarFlip wrote:

...
Any truck loaded has more traction, 2wd or not.
...

On a hard surface, like ice, yes.

But in soft, deep mud and sand, the more weight you have, the more you just dig yourself in deeper.

You want to float on top of that stuff, and spread out your weight with wide tires.

[Grit_dog]

^Oh no you di..int!
You'll have the city slickers here tell you shortly that human sewage put into the ground will wreck all of society because city sewer just makes yer poo disappear like fairy dust!
(Thread from a couple months ago about septics)

[SidecarFlip]

danrclem wrote:

lawrosa wrote:
coming back from florida to NJ we got off track in WV. GPS was wrong. Well yellow line in road disappeared. Then road narrowed and turned to dirt. had to turn around. But 50 ft of truck and trailer all I found was a sloped small field off the right side of road..

I carefully backed the trailer down the slope and tried to keep in straight line. I had to go down far enough till truck nose cleared fence on other side.

Put in drive and tires started spinning immediately. Chevy has a locker rear. Eased on gas some and locker en-gauged but wheels started digging in.

Trying to get 13000 lbs moving up an incline on grass just wasn't happening.

Looked at my wife, and she looked at me and said "well?"

I reached my hand down by the floor, pulled back on the lever, I gave to truck a little gas. And away we went.

Straightened out, threw it back in 2wd and continued are trip.

Wife says " I wonder what that would of cost to have a tow find us and get us out?"

I said , " which one of us was going to walk the 2 or 3 miles to the one house we saw, or till we got a cell signal? ( Non existent in WV ) And , we are from NJ and I am not sure they would Not take kindly to knocking on their door."

" And which one of us would feel safe enough to stay with the kids?"

Times like that you wish you had a gun. ( I dont own any guns)

As a matter of fact heres the house.. My wife took a pic as we were coming back out.

More confederate flags then you can shake a stick at!!!!!

And an OUTHOUSE!!!!










With that said, Ive always had 4x4 in my trucks. If I need it once it pays for itself...period.

I'd feel safer there than I would in certain spots of quite a few big cities.

No problem with an outhouse either. Being from West Virginia, outhouses have many benefits. One, the conserve water, two, they never plug up and three, when the pit is full, you move the privy and the next year you plant your garden on that 'used' spot.

[SidecarFlip]

drsteve wrote:

ppine wrote:
There is a lot of mythology connected with four wheel drive trucks. They just get you stuck in worse places.

It is definitely worth having on any tow vehicle.

Never believe anyone that tells you "in 4w low I can go anywhere." No they can't.

No, it's true. You CAN go anywhere in 4L. But you might not be able to get back out. 😉

Some people also forget that their brakes are no different than a 2WD.

Why I have a winch that fits in the receiver. When it won't go, I can self recover.

[drsteve]

ppine wrote:
There is a lot of mythology connected with four wheel drive trucks. They just get you stuck in worse places.

It is definitely worth having on any tow vehicle.

Never believe anyone that tells you "in 4w low I can go anywhere." No they can't.

No, it's true. You CAN go anywhere in 4L. But you might not be able to get back out. 😉

Some people also forget that their brakes are no different than a 2WD.

[danrclem]

lawrosa wrote:
coming back from florida to NJ we got off track in WV. GPS was wrong. Well yellow line in road disappeared. Then road narrowed and turned to dirt. had to turn around. But 50 ft of truck and trailer all I found was a sloped small field off the right side of road..

I carefully backed the trailer down the slope and tried to keep in straight line. I had to go down far enough till truck nose cleared fence on other side.

Put in drive and tires started spinning immediately. Chevy has a locker rear. Eased on gas some and locker en-gauged but wheels started digging in.

Trying to get 13000 lbs moving up an incline on grass just wasn't happening.

Looked at my wife, and she looked at me and said "well?"

I reached my hand down by the floor, pulled back on the lever, I gave to truck a little gas. And away we went.

Straightened out, threw it back in 2wd and continued are trip.

Wife says " I wonder what that would of cost to have a tow find us and get us out?"

I said , " which one of us was going to walk the 2 or 3 miles to the one house we saw, or till we got a cell signal? ( Non existent in WV ) And , we are from NJ and I am not sure they would Not take kindly to knocking on their door."

" And which one of us would feel safe enough to stay with the kids?"

Times like that you wish you had a gun. ( I dont own any guns)

As a matter of fact heres the house.. My wife took a pic as we were coming back out.

More confederate flags then you can shake a stick at!!!!!

And an OUTHOUSE!!!!










With that said, Ive always had 4x4 in my trucks. If I need it once it pays for itself...period.

I'd feel safer there than I would in certain spots of quite a few big cities.

[DSteiner51]

In the past year and half since I got this camper I have been stuck twice with my 4x4 and needed towed trying to go where I went with my last rig. Heavier truck, heavier 5th wheel exact same places.

For me? 4x4 absolutely.
For you? Depends?
Not one size fits all.

[ppine]

There is a lot of mythology connected with four wheel drive trucks. They just get you stuck in worse places.

It is definitely worth having on any tow vehicle.

Never believe anyone that tells you "in 4w low I can go anywhere." No they can't.

[GeoBoy]

I have 4 wd on my trucks as insurance, I don't want to drive clear across the country, on a trip, and encountered conditions that require 4 wd. When putting my truck up on leveling blocks I put the truck in 4 wheel low to make it easier on the truck. Get 4 wd on your retirement truck so you don't have to worry about getting towed and spending more of your retirement money.:W

[SidecarFlip]

My reference to my old 2wd dually pickup getting stuck on wet grass (and it did, more than once) was unloaded. Any truck loaded has more traction, 2wd or not.

An empty dually has no tractive effort at all.

[Terryallan]

Lessmore wrote:
I just saw a newer Ford F 350 2 WD truck. It was a regular cab and is in service for a large lawn care company. It had a big plastic barrel of some liquid in the bed and if I recall correctly was towing a utility trailer loaded with lawn care equipment.

I was actually surprised to see it, as many have said, 4WD seems to be the norm.

Don't be surprised. Some people just buy what they need as opposed to what they are told they need. I been doing that all my life

[brulaz]

Dukec wrote:

...
We do get some snow here in the winter but I plan to be south - way south when it flys.
...

Exactly what I said to my dealer when buying a 4x2 F150.
4x4 doesn't matter as we're taking it to Florida in the Winter!

But it turns out Florida has some of the worst mud and sand you will see anywhere. And with a heavy trailer in tow, it's just too easy to get those rear wheels dug in and stuck.

If you're at all interested in any of the out-of-way, off-pavement places, I'd go with 4x4. But if it's going to be a pavement-queen, then 4x2 is fine.