Any regrets not getting 4x4

[Jako]

There is 2 wheel drive and 2 wheel parking, 2 wheel drive is doable in snow but may limit your parking options. I've used my 4 wheel drive for parking my trucks in spots that would not work with 2 wheel only and in spots that many all WD cars and SUVs would have a degree of difficulty.

 

[Scram1500]

4x2's have their place and it's around the equator on pavement. Wet grass and a slight incline can stump a 2wd

 

[Royalist_Ram]

With a truck I always go 4x4, I mean it’s 2WD/RWD most of the time anyways lol. I live in the snow belt tho, and it’s basically required. If ya live in like Florida, Southern Cali, or the Southwest (mainly NM and AZ), I guess you could get away with 4x2, some people never need it. Saves weight for stuff too.

 

[OldMarine]

My feeling is....you might as well get a 4x4 when you buy a truck because the extra $ you pay for it over a 4x2, comes back to you when you trade or sell.

 

[saylor]

went from 2 2wd trucks to 2 4wd trucks - its the whole reason im here in this forum even... im fixing to move innawoods and the 2wd got stuck 1st time we went up there so they had to go.

so i very much regretted not having 4x4s as i was laying out the money to exchange 2 perfectly good 2WD trucks for 4WD trucks.

but now that i have a 4wd i probably wont ever buy a 2wd truck again.

 

[Mirowpl]

First of all, growing up only a few wealthy farmers had 4wd trucks. My father grew up on a farm and they had no 4wd trucks. Somehow they made it all work in mI’d, snow, whatever. I learned how to drive a rear wheel drive car in the snow cause that is all we had. No one had 4wd or wad vehicles as hardly anyone could afford the, As it has been said here by a few other member, you just need to be smart when driving a 2wd in bad weather. That said, I also teamed to see more 4wd vehicles on the side of the interstate in bad weather than 2wd as the drivers think they can do any with the 4wd. All of this said , my first two ram truck were 2wd. Lived in a large city in NC towed a 20ft boat and even owned a mountain cabin, but didn’t really need 4wd. No on my 3rd ram and this time purchased a 4wd, cause I have moved to a rural part of the state with bad roads, a lot of dirt roads, and tear to go out into fields helping my farmer friends. So felt like I might actually need 4wd. And yes, after 3 months of ownership I have used 4wd 4 times, mainly to tow something out of the mud or snow we have recently had. I never regretted having 2wd. And I was able to sell these witho any issues quickly. Hope this helps.

 

[Yangster]

Interesting read on 4X4's. I just ordered a 2021 1500 Limited Longhorn with almost every option EXCEPT 4X4 and Sunroof. I live in the Atlanta burbs and am an old fart. Will never drive in snow again or go off road. Since this should be last ordered vehicle, I wanted comfort and utility. So it was 4X2, air suspension, and all the packages. I've had sunroofs on my last 10 vehicles and the only time it gets opened is when my daughter borrows it. Heck, even the cover never gets opened! I'm such an old fart! LOL

 

[Mirowpl]

Interesting read on 4X4's. I just ordered a 2021 1500 Limited Longhorn with almost every option EXCEPT 4X4 and Sunroof. I live in the Atlanta burbs and am an old fart. Will never drive in snow again or go off road. Since this should be last ordered vehicle, I wanted comfort and utility. So it was 4X2, air suspension, and all the packages. I've had sunroofs on my last 10 vehicles and the only time it gets opened is when my daughter borrows it. Heck, even the cover never gets opened! I'm such an old fart! LOl

i am an old fart too!

 

[Jako]

I'm getting there (old fart).

 

[Willwork4truck]

I had a couple of 2wd trucks here in Ohio, I took them through all kinds of winter weather and never got stuck, just need to keep good tires and put some weight over the rear axle. That said I wouldn't go back to a 4x2 truck after have several 4x4 trucks. It's nice to be able to just accelerate in ice/snow without having to constantly feather the throttle to get going.

Yeah you’d think that all the years farmers, ranchers and ordinary Joes who didn’t have 4x were able to get around without it don’t count... But then they actually grew up being taught how to drive properly with what they had as opposed to pushing a button and thinking they have a tank.

I still see more 4x’s in the ditches than you’d think should be.
Some of it is basic physics with weight, speed, proper tires (you nearly always had “mud and snow” tires on the back of a pickup and didn’t rotate them). Today people use “all season” tires that don’t have crap for traction and then think that the 4x will get them through anything.
Oh well, it’s called “live and learn”...

Did I buy it, yes.
“Cause’ why?”
”Wife”
”Does it ever get used?”
”No, she doesn’t drive in bad weather.”

 

[BigD]

Interesting read on 4X4's. I just ordered a 2021 1500 Limited Longhorn with almost every option EXCEPT 4X4 and Sunroof. I live in the Atlanta burbs and am an old fart. Will never drive in snow again or go off road. Since this should be last ordered vehicle, I wanted comfort and utility. So it was 4X2, air suspension, and all the packages. I've had sunroofs on my last 10 vehicles and the only time it gets opened is when my daughter borrows it. Heck, even the cover never gets opened! I'm such an old fart! LOL

Isn't it snowing in Atlanta right now ? I agree about the sunroofs. Hate them. The wind noise is so loud u can't hear the radio & I hate having the sun beat on my bald head.

 

[BigD]

I guess I'd rather not have to change my tires every winter & then have to store tires in my garage until next spring. I won't even buy front wheel drive anymore. It's either AWD or 4x4. Even if I only use it twice a year, it's worth it to me. Plus resale value is night & day difference. Same reason I'd never buy a V-6 or quad cab. The resale value.

 

[Willwork4truck]

I guess I'd rather not have to change my tires every winter & then have to store tires in my garage until next spring. I won't even buy front wheel drive anymore. It's either AWD or 4x4. Even if I only use it twice a year, it's worth it to me. Plus resale value is night & day difference. Same reason I'd never buy a V-6 or quad cab. The resale value.

Its true that you should consider resale in everything thats spendy be it a car/truck, boat, house, whatever. 4x gives you the option of moving to a different area of the country and the truck not being a ‘unicorn’, same with trailer towing packages and such. There are areas of the country (like Idahoe, the Dakotas, Montana etc) where the RAM dealers hardly even order into their stock anything not 4x with towing...

 

[Royalist_Ram]

Its true that you should consider resale in everything thats spendy be it a car/truck, boat, house, whatever. 4x gives you the option of moving to a different area of the country and the truck not being a ‘unicorn’, same with trailer towing packages and such. There are areas of the country (like Idahoe, the Dakotas, Montana etc) where the RAM dealers hardly even order into their stock anything not 4x with towing...

Yeah same here in Cleveland, RWD trucks are extremely rare new. Same with cars and suvs with options for awd, you’ll normally always see them that way.

 

[NorthStar]

Its true that you should consider resale in everything thats spendy be it a car/truck, boat, house, whatever. 4x gives you the option of moving to a different area of the country and the truck not being a ‘unicorn’, same with trailer towing packages and such. There are areas of the country (like Idahoe, the Dakotas, Montana etc) where the RAM dealers hardly even order into their stock anything not 4x with towing...

Same with Alaska...that why I always drove a 2WD as folks would move up there (especially military transfers) and get next to nothing when trading a 2WD for a 4WD. Dealers up there NEVER ordered a 2WD as they would sit on the lot forever. I could pick up a nearly new 2WD for pennies on the dollar but also knew resale was crap so drove them until the wheels fell off.

Keep in mind that all the Alaska State Troopers back then drove rear wheel cars (Fury, Matador, and as of late the Crown Vic) until they started buying the AWD Tahoe/Expedition. They were the only 2WD folks who got in a hurry on the snow and ice back then!

 

[mikeru82]

I learned how to drive in the snow in RWD cars. My first two trucks were RWD. I rarely had trouble getting around in winter. Carried about half a ton of sand bags in the bed, and used winter tires. I know how to drive a RWD truck or car in those conditions. Having said that, I will never own another 2WD truck unless I move to Phoenix or someplace like that LOL. Just because I can do something, doesn't mean I want to do it.

 

[Willwork4truck]

I learned how to drive in the snow in RWD cars. My first two trucks were RWD. I rarely had trouble getting around in winter. Carried about half a ton of sand bags in the bed, and used winter tires. I know how to drive a RWD truck or car in those conditions. Having said that, I will never own another 2WD truck unless I move to Phoenix or someplace like that LOL. Just because I can do something, doesn't mean I want to do it.

Ha ha. We even had our AWD Ford SUV while in Phoenix for 5 years... but then that was due to Flagstaff!

 

[sandman98]

4x4 with every truck i've bought. my truck is my peace of mind for when i NEED to get to work, even if the weather is uncooperative.

 

[Quint]

Grew up driving a 70s crappy RWD mustang. Funny to drive. My brother eventually had a stick Toyota Celica with FWD. Both were a blast to drive in the snow because they had snow brakes (emergency brake those from the south). If I wasn't snow braking around a turn, I just wasn't having fun. IMO - When you have RWD it just means that you have less traction for starting from a stop. However, I always felt safer on turns with my drive wheels in the rear. You can play the throttle to adjust your tailspin but in FWD your steering wheels are also your drive wheels. Lose that traction on a turn and you just slide straight into the pole/fence/car/ditch in front of you.

I use my 4x4 constantly in Minnesota. Even in the city, there has been a consistent layer of snow/ice on the streets for the last two months. Just this weekend I was pulling my snowmobile trailer through lake snow. In the summer, I usually need it to pull my boat out of the slippery/steep boat ramps.

 

[Willwork4truck]

If it were just me I'd take a mechanical locker rear diff 4x2 over an open diff 4x4. Basically all you have with an open diff 4x is 1 wheel in the front and 1 wheel in the back getting power, sometimes not even that. At least the mechanical locker assures you of both rears pushing.

The less weight and simplicity of the drivetrain, for the few times I'd likely ever need it, makes for that choice.
Now with all of the computerized wheel spin/traction control aids this can be different.

An older post (2013) from an auto forum said: (Begin copied post): "After having 2 different Chevy 4WD trucks running Blizzaks I found 4WD not needed most of the time, although fun. So, I went back to 2WD with 4 Bizzaks, and locking diff that the 4WD trucks didn't have. Sure it would be nice to have 4WD once in a while, but the 2WD works great with 4 winter tires. I would take a 2WD with winter tires over 4WD with regular tires any day in the snow. I can pull away from most 4WD vehicles running all seasons in the snow. Plus 4WD is no advantage for stopping and turning, which is half the battle in the winter. I like 2WD even more when the roads are clear. It mostly comes down to the right tires for the conditions, and after using winter tires every year for 20 years now, it is the ONLY way in winter!" (End copied post)

Like the guy said, a 4x2 equipped with true winter tires can better a 4x with "all-season", (which are mostly crap).

Now due to the wife driving by herself, I buy 4x auto and put weight in the bed (320# of sandbags in front of/over the rear axle, 8 bags x 40#).