2WD vs 4WD

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If this is for a week or two, no blizzards occur, and you will not stroke out if you have to do a little work 2WD, will be fine. You need normal size tires, chains, shovel, high lift jack, and enough foresight to not get into trouble.

Discretion is the better part of valor. About 20 years ago a buddy and I were antelope hunting. I was driving the F250, and he wanted to check out a spot we had been to years prior. I refused to drive there. He made a comment that I would have done it years prior. I said I hoped I had gotten smarter.
We went back to camp, he left on his ATV, and came limping back with a smashed rifle, badly bent ATV and multiple bruises.
His only comment was, "At least you got smarter."
 
For those who run around in the snow and ice in the mountain lands in Colorado; is 4WD mandatory to get up & down forest service dirt roads, or would 2WD and chains be sufficient?

I live in northern Utah, our forest service roads are gated and locked through the middle of winter. My answer is yes your rig should have 4wd, and be a workhorse not a show car. It's a lot easier to lock in hubs than put on chains but I always have a full set of chains and tow straps and a winch and a couple 5-ton come-alongs (this helps with the weight that MTY mentioned). Ice, snow, mud coupled with weather that changes fast. I wouldn't risk it anymore. Just my 2¢.
 
I have a 4WD F350 and the differential lock has got me out of a jam a few times.
 
I used to own a 1958 VW Microbus and helped out a lot of 4WDs for years. I think it was the VW had great ground clearance and about 60% of weight in the rear drive wheels. Wish I still had that old VW it's now worth about $13K.
 
One thing I might mention, I had a f150 2WD. I had a locker installed and while not as good as 4WD, it did great on bad desert roads. I regarded it as a "poor man's 4WD". It got destroyed in my second major accident (both times were from drooling morons turning left in front of me).
 
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When I was on a really clay type road In Northern Arizona when I got caught in the middle of a downpour scouting for an upcoming elk hunt I finally was able to “jump” the 4 inch rise to get off the road in my clay packed tires and take a break and wonder if I’d ever get out in my 4X4 with chains when a rancher in a 2 wheel drive Ford (no chains) pulled up to ask if I needed help. I said no thanks and he just went on down the muddy road. It humbled me. In a nutshell I’d say it may be the vehicle but it may be the driver! LOL
 
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I would say why limit yourself on where you can go. There are definitions on what is 4wd.

I have an lx570 with a 12klb winch. There have been a couple situations where I drove in on a clear road. Only to have trees fall to block the road. I have pulled and winched them out of the way.

I believe you prep for the 5% not the 95%.

I just feel it gives me more options.
 
A bit of knowledge about your vehicle can go a long way, for instance turning off the traction control when you get in bad conditions. When a wheel starts to slip in mud or snow the TC will cut the power to that wheel essentially ensuring you are stuck. Same thing with an open differential(limited slip), when a wheel starts to spin it will transfer all the power to that wheel. On the rear axle you can sometime "trick" an open differential by applying the emergency brake to simulate getting traction and the diff will apply power to that wheel again. You often times will see a 4WD stuck in the mud and only a front left and rear right tire is spinning, that is an open diff in action. Locking differentials is the price difference between a Jeep Wrangler and the higher priced Rubicon that comes with front and rear lockers. The Dodge Power Wagon is available with F&R lockers also. My 1998 4runner has front and rear locking differentials and my other vehicle is a 2007 Subaru Forest that is full time AWD that is 50/50 front rear power and that thing amazes me some of the terrain it can cover, from super soft, light sand(where you sink when you stop), to snow and mud. There is a reason when you pull into a ski resort that half of the cars are Subaru. I beat the heck out of mine and will get another when this one meets its end.
 
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4 wheel drive for me in upstate NY. Also in ADK. Also carry tow straps and a come-along. Summer isn`t as bad on forest roads. I have a friend who likes to drive when we hunt and he has a FWD Honda and in winter it has 4 snows but at times it is real iffy. Give me a 4 wheeler anytime.
 
Having owned 2wd and 4wd pickups I would never go back to 2wd.

Could I do 90-95 percent of what I do with a 2wd, absolutely. But that 5-10% would sure be a monster headache.

Here are what I used 4wd or auto 4wd for.

Icy roads
Frosty roads
Driving in fields in snow or mud
Crappy and rough trails
Ice fishing
Pulling out other vehicles - did 3 last week, in town during a blizzard
In and out of the lake with the boat on slick or poor boat ramps
Driving minimum maintenance roads.

Multiple times a week all winter long I just turn the knob to auto 4wd when driving on slick roads. 4wd for ice fishing.

Summer it’s 3-4 times a month, especially after June when the ramps get a little moss on them at the lake.

Fall for deer, pheasant and goose hunting at different times.

I was good at throwing chains on my 2wd’s, maybe 15-20 minutes tops and lots of times a lot quicker, but there is no delay in flipping the switch.
Agree with above. Plus -- In Wyoming always carried a ratcheting farm jack for off road strapped to front and a winch.. Drove in 2WD until "stuck" then switch to 4WD to continue. Deep ruts/holes use winch if something to hook to but in high desert oftimes not so use jack. Lift vehicle up a few feet and then push off jack to the side. Usually one jack & push did it. Also, if anticipate mud &/or snow pick up 10-12 50 # bags of gravel and line up in bed over rear axle. Mostly just for weight but also can use to improve 'bite' under tires.
 
Have owned 4WD vehicles for over 50 years. Presently own a 2011 Toyota Tacoma 4WD. That truck is helpless compared to my 1994 Toyota pickup bought in1996.

1994 4 banger pickup with:

Two Lock Right lockers
Tweaked engine control module
Headers and cat back exhaust
Line X bed liner
Demountable 8,000 pound winch

5zSYNH3l.jpg
 
She had planned to go, and look around at the city wide garage sale at the Fairgrounds. When she woke up this morning it wasn't snowing. Shortly, it began to snow; she called her sister, and her sister said she wasn't interested in going out in the snow, and driving clear across town. So, wife decided not to go. As the morning grew later, she kept going over to the window, and looking out. Knowing she wanted to go to the sale, i offered to take her, in my 4wd. She turned me down because she knew a garage sale is about the last place in my desires to be. She kept going over to the window, and looking out. Once again i offered to take her.

She turned me down once again. Then i said she could just drive her self; it wouldn't be that bad. She said no, she wasn't interested in driving across town in the snow. Once again she went, and looked out the window, so i offered to go out, and clean off her 4wd, and start it for her; she handed me her keys. The frost was quite thick on the windshield; it took at least ten minutes to thaw. She left, and went to the sale alone.

Me; had a nap.

Upon her return she said she had to shift into 4wd almost right away. She said none of the streets were plowed, so 4wd was required, and it wasn't an easy trip through town.

At the show she found an old ceramic bank just like the one the boy had as a child, and spent a dollar. No doubt she already has a birthday gift for him. She had nice visits with old friends, and walked around in a whole building full of old junk.

The snow got deeper whilst she was in the Fairgrounds, so the trip home was somewhat more difficult than the trip away. She also had to stop, get out, and get the ice off the wipers, because she couldn't see. Her 4wd took her across town over unplowed roads, and back.

She seems rejuvenated now, sitting there at the dining table working on taxes.
 
I had a 4WD bout never had the need to use it.
This I do know.
Things break.
Suppose in your two wheel drive, your universal joint fails or something happens to the drive shaft? You can disconnect the drive shaft, put the truck in 4WD (using the front wheels) and go home. Slowly, but going…
 
I had a 4WD bout never had the need to use it.
This I do know.
Things break.
Suppose in your two wheel drive, your universal joint fails or something happens to the drive shaft? You can disconnect the drive shaft, put the truck in 4WD (using the front wheels) and go home. Slowly, but going…
I’ve gotten home twice like that. I’ve never owned a vehicle that wasn’t 4-wheel drive but I’m pretty sure that I can manage to get stuck in anything.
The first time my parents met my wife it was when they had me invite her for dinner. I missed it because I’d headed into the woods that afternoon with a friend, we got stuck and didn’t get out until 10 pm that night. However, that was around 1990 and we’re still married.
 
In the mountains I hunt in Idaho, 2wd is fine in September and usually through October. For my preferred ml hunt, in November, there's enough snow that 4wd becomes indispensable. I feel comfortable pushing through up to about a foot of snow, with my old Silverado with the stock 16 inch sized tires. The key is to have good snow tires.
I also carry a saw, in case a tree falls across the road.
 
I have a 2 wd Colorado I drove 4 1/2 hours (225 Miles) in a snow storm this morning. 8 vehicles in the ditch and not a 4 wd. Score 1 for those guys.
 
It will probably depend on what you are doing, where you are going, the conditions etc. I'm in Michigan. My dad always told me there was nowhere in the state you could go to justify needing a 4 wheel drive vehicle. I proved him wrong too many times as a teenager. Every vehicle we have is a 4 wheel drive. And they have come in handy the most when we weren't expecting it. So I guess my answer to you question without really knowing what situations you may run into is, having a 4x4 is cheap insurance if the need arises.

We also have a nice towing insurance package that covers any vehicle we are in. They will bring us gas, tires (and change them), tow up to 100 miles for each tow, provide extra vehicles if we have a bunch of people needing rides and tow a trailer if our tow rigs break down. And we use a good number of those tows each year.

Jon.
 

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