Any regrets not getting 4x4

[BowDown]

4WD does little to nothing with icey conditions. I'm talking about snow. As I said prior I knew it was gonna slide prior to me even turning, my hand was literally on the switches for the TC. And well yeah obvi, you will rarely if ever need it in Texas. But to say it's a crutch is just a blanket statement for people who get 100 more inches of snow compared to you guys down south.

Like I said above, 100" of snow is a different argument and Id make a different decision, for my area, no and no regrets. My crutch statement was better articulated by @Willwork4truck "Decades ago when there were manual hubs, a driver would go along until he lost traction/got stuck then engage the hubs and get out. Now I‘m not saying its not useful or helpful, just saying that it isnt the cure-all that clueless younger drivers think it is."

 

[Royalist_Ram]

Like I said above, 100" of snow is a different argument and Id make a different decision, for my area, no and no regrets. My crutch statement was better articulated by @Willwork4truck "Decades ago when there were manual hubs, a driver would go along until he lost traction/got stuck then engage the hubs and get out. Now I‘m not saying its not useful or helpful, just saying that it isnt the cure-all that clueless younger drivers think it is."

Yeah, like here's our HD for example. 4WD is necessary here. Texas, not so much.

 

[jdmartin]

Growing up no one ever had 4WD. Virtually all cars and trucks were RWD except for the few rare people that had a Datsun or a Toyota. You drove around with sandbags in your trunk and swapped tires twice a year. If if was bad enough you just didn't go out, but most people just drove around on snow tires and chains. So 4WD was never in my consciousness, and my first few trucks were 2WD. Then I moved down to the mountains 30 years ago. The first winter there I spent half the winter walking home from the graveyard; there were 2 big hills you had to pull right off the main road, and regardless of tires I could never pull the second hill, so I had to roll back downhill into a graveyard's gravel road and walk home from there. That was the last time I didn't have a truck with 4WD. In fact, my road has a sign on it warning of the need for chains or 4WD; next time I think of it I'll post up a picture.

As far as buying one today, there's virtually no benefit to not having 4WD. The systems are automatic, the fuel penalty is practically nothing, and the resale is better. And since I started buying 4WD trucks I have never had to buy winter tires again, which saves me that cost of at least swapping tires twice a year.

 

[Aseras]

You only regret not getting 4wd when you get stuck. Especially if it happens often. Sometimes you can avoid it, sometimes not. I had a extremely hard time finding a Longhorn ecodiesel 4x4 with rambox. Tons of limited and longhorn 2wd in Florida.

My first truck/new car was a 2wd 2000 Dakota Longbed, which I still have. When I was in Oregon for a few years I had to run studded snows, and put 800lbs of sand in the bed to be able to get around without spinning around. There are certainly places and times you need 4wd when it is not just a convenience for peace of mind.

There's plenty of times 4wd and the best tires won't help either. Those are the days you stay home or go another way, not try and risk your safety.

 

[SD Rebel]

Where I live, you can get around 365 days a year without 4WD, even off-roading, if you have good A/T and a locker, you can do fine. However, everyone has 4WD so they don't get made fun of

 

[Willwork4truck]

Growing up no one ever had 4WD. Virtually all cars and trucks were RWD except for the few rare people that had a Datsun or a Toyota. You drove around with sandbags in your trunk and swapped tires twice a year. If if was bad enough you just didn't go out, but most people just drove around on snow tires and chains. So 4WD was never in my consciousness, and my first few trucks were 2WD. Then I moved down to the mountains 30 years ago. The first winter there I spent half the winter walking home from the graveyard; there were 2 big hills you had to pull right off the main road, and regardless of tires I could never pull the second hill, so I had to roll back downhill into a graveyard's gravel road and walk home from there. That was the last time I didn't have a truck with 4WD. In fact, my road has a sign on it warning of the need for chains or 4WD; next time I think of it I'll post up a picture.

As far as buying one today, there's virtually no benefit to not having 4WD. The systems are automatic, the fuel penalty is practically nothing, and the resale is better. And since I started buying 4WD trucks I have never had to buy winter tires again, which saves me that cost of at least swapping tires twice a year.

Dang jd, you must be old... just sayin’...

 

[Rupp]

I purchased a 4X4 thinking it would rust shut before I ever needed it. We had a surprise 5" snow storm last night so I ran out to play. I played in 2 wheel drive and was totally surprised how well the new traction control works and makes me think I really didn't need 4X4. I stopped on a fair sized hill and slowly accelerated and it hardly spun at all and when it did it shifted back and forth between the back wheels. So the newer traction control systems nearly mitigate the need for 4X4 for many. My problem is my truck is so new and shinny there's no way I would take it off road. I now realize I should have bought an older used truck so I wouldn't be so picky.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Where I live, you can get around 365 days a year without 4WD, even off-roading, if you have good A/T and a locker, you can do fine. However, everyone has 4WD so they don't get made fun of

Ha what fun is that?
The days of plowin’ through a muddy road, fishtailing left and right, twin rooster tails of mud flying up out the back...
Now these youngsters with their auto 4x4 just never had that kinda’ fun! (Course’ they didn’t bury their trucks down to the frame that often either...)

 

[mikeru82]

What did the road tell you prior to the slide? That's part of knowing how to drive, being able to read the road and knowing what's going to happen prior to it happening, for instance, on ice when I need to make a turn. I'm looking at the crown of the road, previous tire tracks and where fresh snow/ice is. I'll enter the turn on the opposite side of the crown so I minimize sliding, I'll also drive in the fresh snow with no tire tracks which helps to eliminate sliding. I've survived every ice and snow storm Dallas has had in 2WD, remember the Jerry World Ice SuperBowl of 2011, I had no issues driving around Dallas and that was ice.
4WD can help but I don't find it necessary and I do find it and other driving aids a crutch for bad driving and bad decision making

You make some good points here. Driver experience is more important than 2wd vs 4wd, and there is no substitute for experience and skill when driving in bad weather. To say that it's a crutch for bad driving and decision making can be true, but as a blanket statement, isn't being fair those of us with decades of winter driving experience. I see it this way, 4wd is kind of like studded snow tires, giving some people confidence and better capability, while making other people feel like they can drive like normal in any conditions. The latter are the dangerous ones, and are usually the people you see in the ditches or in accidents.

 

[Aseras]

Ha what fun is that?
The days of plowin’ through a muddy road, fishtailing left and right, twin rooster tails of mud flying up out the back...
Now these youngsters with their auto 4x4 just never had that kinda’ fun! (Course’ they didn’t bury their trucks down to the frame that often either...)

View attachment 83172

If you are doing that crap you need buddies and winches.

 

[Granite2WD]

Yeah where the hell did you find a 2wd truck in Cleveland? Of the almost 17,000 new Trucks in a 150 mile radius of me, only 210 are RWD...That's about 1%.

They are rare! I think there were 2 crew cab rwds within 250 miles of me when I searched through Ram's website.

 

[Royalist_Ram]

They are rare! I think there were 2 crew cab rwds within 250 miles of me when I searched through Ram's website.

Yeah that's crazy dude.

 

[SD Rebel]

Yeah that's crazy dude.

It's a regional thing, other places it's the other way around.

 

[Granite2WD]

I agree that 3k compared to the total cost of the truck is minor, but for me, it all adds up. For my monthly payment 3k is more like 50 to 60 bucks a month and when you add in fuel savings and reduced maintenance, it's something I'm willing to exclude so I can spend that money somewhere else. I also don't have a lot of faith in FCA engineering and the fewer parts that can break, the better.

1) You only save just over $3000 for not getting a 4X4 and at the price we pay for these vehicles $30 extra a month is peanuts..

2) Yes a 2 wheel drive can get around if need be. I live in the snow belt, went to college where we talked about snow in feet not inches, and drove a 78 montecarlo 60 plus miles round trip every other day. Heavy a$$ car but it made it...When I got my 4X4 and didn’t worry about the a$$ kicking out I was hooked.

3) My neighbor has a 454 SS and it would make no sense to have it as a 4X4. Its a street truck, fast as hell and sits in a pole barn all winter.

 

[SkittleRam]

All my prior trucks have been 2WD and I never really regretted that, however that was until I needed to sell it, resale is much better with 4x4, so my Ram is my first 4WD and I have not really noticed any reasons to not have it.

 

[jdmartin]

Dang jd, you must be old... just sayin’...

Hahahaha, the 70's wasn't *that* long ago!

 

[JJRamTX]

If you tow a boat, and in my case a boat that weighs lots more than the truck, 4x4 is a must. Slippery boat ramps with anything greater than 13 Degree angle and you will regret not having 4 wheel drive very quickly. Side note, I pulled a 2 wheel drive expedition with his boat up a ramp in 4 wheel low creeper gear with him in neutral (well over 14,000 plus my truck 6080, over 10 Tons)

 

[Willwork4truck]

Lots of reasons to like a 4x4... It's just not as necessary as some would think.
Full disclosure, I've owned mostly trucks since 1974, and more have been 4x than not, yet I have plenty of reasons to not own one, all terrain/climate or job dependent. Resale is better, I agree.

Parts complexity, increased service requirements and a bit lower mpg's (and payload) are the cons. Anyone who doesn't think that they are more costly to own obviously never had or heard of codes being thrown saying "service 4x4 system" that end up costing the owner $1-2K.

My 2015 F150 (I only owned it a year and a half) never saw the front end engaged. Never. The current 2019 Ram 1500 is now 21 months old, same thing. All depends on what the truck is primarily used for.

One other advantage for the 4x2 is not having such a tall truck that you have to use a step assist to get up into the bed... Long gone are the days of reaching over the side to get something unless you are like 6'4".

I still think that the GM G80 rear diff (it's an Eaton, right?) is the type of mechanical locker that all three domestic brands should have. Nice and simple, no unrealistically low engagement speed limits, no electronics to futz up.

The YT vid below is actually a 4x RAM yet he shows at the 2:00 mark why having a rear locker would have likely gotten the truck out:

RAM 1500 Open Differentials SUCK Off Road (You'll Get Stuck) | Real World 4x4 Testing​

 

[BowDown]

If you tow a boat, and in my case a boat that weighs lots more than the truck, 4x4 is a must. Slippery boat ramps with anything greater than 13 Degree angle and you will regret not having 4 wheel drive very quickly. Side note, I pulled a 2 wheel drive expedition with his boat up a ramp in 4 wheel low creeper gear with him in neutral (well over 14,000 plus my truck 6080, over 10 Tons)

View attachment 83180

Thats the one reason i contemplated getting 4x4 then a friend that has a boat told me about the 2 happiest days in a boat owners life. Still want a Midnight Express though

 

[Willwork4truck]

Thats the one reason i contemplated getting 4x4 then a friend that has a boat told me about the 2 happiest days in a boat owners life. Still want a Midnight Express though

Boat = Bust out another thousand, bankruptcy on a trailer, bend over and takeit