Two wheel drive or 4x4?

Then again, around these here parts on I90 in the winter, you see WAY more 4wds in the ditch, on there roof, side etc than 2wd's. I seem to recall getting in a wreck in mid january at denny creek. I was the first rwd to take out a 4wd per the leo at the scene!! Could not decide if that was a compliment, or a complaint!

Either way, 2wd works if one is careful, 4wd works if one is a bit less careful, but as sorta kinda mentioned, If you LOSE control, or get stuck, or other wise, your in a REALLY BIG world of hurt with 4wd vs 2wd! Then 2wd with a decent posi can be just about as good, or better depending upon circumstances than a 4wd with both diffs that are open. 4wd with a locking rear is better than 4wd with open diffs/rwd.........

as said, get what suits you. Not sure what my next truck will be.....4wd or rwd with a posi.......I've gone a lot of places with my current dually, previous sw 3500, both with the GM G80 locker that I could not go but in 4wd with my 88 no locking rear in rwd alone. Including a day up stevens pass where chains were required in 2wd, did the same on white pass one time too! Those are 4-6% grades IIRC to boot!

Marty

9 pages and it all comes down to get what works for YOU... ;) If 2wd works, great... If 4wd works, great...

I have a 4wd for the 4lo gearing.. Works great when parking the trailer at home..

4wd for all the other times I'm NOT towing... Or 4wd when I'm towing on gravel roads.. Really makes a difference in the front end handling.. For me anyway...

So, what works for me is not necessarily what's gonna work for you?? Get what works for YOU and you'll be happy either way! :)

Good luck!

Mitch

I have both trucks, depends what I need to do, as to which one a drive. The 2wd surely rides more civilized , and stays aligned better.

ib516:

powerful photos. Indeed, just as I had previously mentioned. CP rail was trying to clear a secondary line in North Dakota two winters ago with a snowplow train, and derailed. Had to bring in a snow blower to clear the line.

Sure folks, 4 X 4 does nothing if there is that much snow. But my examples were just to show how bad the weather can get there. Worst case scenario so to speak.

The snow itself is another factor. The soft, fluffy stuff, even blown into drift size is not that bad. But once winter progresses, and the snow crusts some, forget it. Nothings getting through it then. Vehicle starts to ride up on the crusted stuff, drops through, and one is stuck. Four wheel drive does not matter then. Stuck.

Icy roads are a different case, and one reason I really urge the OP to get a four wheel drive for winter driving.

Lessmore wrote:
I live in the province next door to Saskatchewan and directly above North Dakota. Our winters are similar. In fact the TV show Ice Road Truckers films here....in Manitoba and Alaska.

2WD... is not "useless" up here. I would say most vehicles are 2WD...cars, trucks...emergency vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances....invariably until the Crown Vic was discontinued...police cars too...were for the most part 2WD.

In emergency situations...emergency vehicles are often the only vehicles on the road and many of them are 2WD.

Yes....many departments in Western Canada are NOW looking at replacing their aging police package fleets with the new Ford Interceptor (Taurus) AWD....but then this is also the case in sun belt states. Other that police package SUV's...before the Taurus police package...AWD was not available or in use for police packages.

Years ago I worked on a family farm...driving 2WD pickups, grain trucks and also drove commercial 2WD trucks...E 300, E 350, F 600/700 trucks. No real problems. Occasionally we got stuck...but when we did..generally 4WD pickups would of got stuck too. When we got stuck in drifts, etc....the only thing that dragged us out were usually farm tractors or grain trucks with tandem drive axles...and after they had taken a run to get momentum to yank and then drag us out with a chain.

In the winter....we drove each day, unless the highways were closed by the RCMP or the city streets were closed by city police. Rarely....maybe once every 5-10 years were city roads closed. Highways, due to drifting were closed more often, but still not a lot.

Heavy snow driving was/is a matter of course up here and as you know...in the prairies we didn't know what a 'snow day' was up here.

My son has a 2WD truck with a locking axle and the factory off road package. So far hasn't been stuck in 5 winters. I generally drive a large Buick sedan...2WD, FWD, electronic traction aid...really good Michelin tires and I regularly go down back country and farm roads that are snow covered.

I've been driving winters since '65. I use prudence and common sense. I carry an emergency kit...shovel, steel traction bridges...snowshoes, winter clothes, food, back country maps, compass...stuff everybody should carry during winters up here. Rarely used it....bu it's there.

When I drive down winter back roads if I see deep snow...I stop and 'walk' it first....making a judgement whether it's drivable. Precautions everybody should take.

A problem with 4WD is that it can give a driver a false sense of it's abilities. No doubt it can go through deeper snow than 2WD....but often it provides a false sense of security to the poor driver and the 4WD can get further into deeper snow...where it get's hung up...50 yards past where the tow truck's winch hook will reach. :)

We've all seen a poor driver in a 4WD pickup, SUV, Jeep whip along in unsafe winter conditions...then slide into a snow filled ditch.

What I'm saying is that 4WD is not necessarily needed. Can it be a good option ? Sure.

Is is something we want or need ? In a number of instance I think it is something an individual wants, rather than needs.

Given that most of the RV Net members live in either the USA or Canada...both democracies...people are free to choose what they drive. Nothing wrong with that.

But I think we need to be careful advocating that 4WD is absolutely necessary. If winter conditions are that bad all the time...4WD vehicles will not cut it...instead maybe those who are mired in deep snow should be looking at tracked vehicles.

;) I'm kidding....just a bit. :)

There's all that snow driving and then there is simply backing a trailer uphill on gravel which the emergency vehicles don't have to do. Again, 4x4 isn't just for snow and a 2WD sedan or dually fire engine is no caparison to a light pickup with a heavy trailer in tow.

It's the little situations nobody seems to remember. Sure you can just park elsewhere or "get a run at it" but who wants to use momentum when you're moving a trailer?

Here's what every manly-man needs. The only problem I see is it's not a doolie. Needs 4 sets of tracks on the back.

ib516 wrote:
I have a 4wd because we get snow 5 months of the year here in Canada (fun right?). 2wd trucks are all but useless here, and very hard to sell/find unless they are for commercial use where the guys that buy them aren't the ones that have to drive them.

This image was taken not far from where I live. Yes, we got enough snow this year to stop a freight train.

I live in the province next door to Saskatchewan and directly above North Dakota. Our winters are similar. In fact the TV show Ice Road Truckers films here....in Manitoba and Alaska.

2WD... is not "useless" up here. I would say most vehicles are 2WD...cars, trucks...emergency vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances....invariably until the Crown Vic was discontinued...police cars too...were for the most part 2WD.

In emergency situations...emergency vehicles are often the only vehicles on the road and many of them are 2WD.

Yes....many departments in Western Canada are NOW looking at replacing their aging police package fleets with the new Ford Interceptor (Taurus) AWD....but then this is also the case in sun belt states. Other that police package SUV's...before the Taurus police package...AWD was not available or in use for police packages.

Years ago I worked on a family farm...driving 2WD pickups, grain trucks and also drove commercial 2WD trucks...E 300, E 350, F 600/700 trucks. No real problems. Occasionally we got stuck...but when we did..generally 4WD pickups would of got stuck too. When we got stuck in drifts, etc....the only thing that dragged us out were usually farm tractors or grain trucks with tandem drive axles...and after they had taken a run to get momentum to yank and then drag us out with a chain.

In the winter....we drove each day, unless the highways were closed by the RCMP or the city streets were closed by city police. Rarely....maybe once every 5-10 years were city roads closed. Highways, due to drifting were closed more often, but still not a lot.

Heavy snow driving was/is a matter of course up here and as you know...in the prairies we didn't know what a 'snow day' was up here.

My son has a 2WD truck with a locking axle and the factory off road package. So far hasn't been stuck in 5 winters. I generally drive a large Buick sedan...2WD, FWD, electronic traction aid...really good Michelin tires and I regularly go down back country and farm roads that are snow covered.

I've been driving winters since '65. I use prudence and common sense. I carry an emergency kit...shovel, steel traction bridges...snowshoes, winter clothes, food, back country maps, compass...stuff everybody should carry during winters up here. Rarely used it....bu it's there.

When I drive down winter back roads if I see deep snow...I stop and 'walk' it first....making a judgement whether it's drivable. Precautions everybody should take.

A problem with 4WD is that it can give a driver a false sense of it's abilities. No doubt it can go through deeper snow than 2WD....but often it provides a false sense of security to the poor driver and the 4WD can get further into deeper snow...where it get's hung up...50 yards past where the tow truck's winch hook will reach. :)

We've all seen a poor driver in a 4WD pickup, SUV, Jeep whip along in unsafe winter conditions...then slide into a snow filled ditch.

What I'm saying is that 4WD is not necessarily needed. Can it be a good option ? Sure.

Is is something we want or need ? In a number of instance I think it is something an individual wants, rather than needs.

Given that most of the RV Net members live in either the USA or Canada...both democracies...people are free to choose what they drive. Nothing wrong with that.

But I think we need to be careful advocating that 4WD is absolutely necessary. If winter conditions are that bad all the time...4WD vehicles will not cut it...instead maybe those who are mired in deep snow should be looking at tracked vehicles.

;) I'm kidding....just a bit. :)

The cumulative heat in this age old debate is enough to melt even N.D. snow.

I use 4WD all the time. And at the same time, I never use 4WD.

I leave the front hubs unlocked, and use the gear reduction of the transfer case for to get granny low to save the auto transmission torque converter from heating up during low speed back and forth moving a heavy trailer. Works for up steep driveways too.

Now, I'm helping a friend look for a transfer case and rear drive line for his company service truck that was ordered as a 4x2, to "save money". despite my strongly suggesting that he order a 4x4. Well, 3 full transmission replacements later, he gets it. He didn't save money after all.

We have the same chassis, only difference being I'm still on my original transmission, in part because I have an extra gear box for 4x4 (4-LO) that I use in 4x2. I can back up any trailer I want without fear of overheating the transmission. He will only put his construction trailer in pull through situations, so he doesn't end up buying a 4th transmission.

For a tow vehicle with an automatic transmission, the 4-LO is worth having, as long there are manual hubs to keep the front axle unlocked, or some type of electrical switch override that enables the transfer case to be engaged alone.

If there is any slight penalty in weight or mileage, it has been more than repaid in saving iffy automatic transmissions, and/or weak clutches (or weak quadriceps muscles) in manuals.

Hey IB
We saw something like this is Alaska a few years ago

I was thinking a train was more than a two wheel drive so. Wow it snowed a lot. Chevman