Any regrets not getting 4x4

[ColoradoCub]

No, sounds like my limits are higher than yours and you need the crutch of 4WD to do what I can with 2WD.
Secondly, I've already said there's situations where 4x4 would be beneficial, you should try reading

You should change your screen name to “Ricky Bobby”!

 

[Glenn54]

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​

Any of you have any knowledge of what the cost would be to change out the differential to a locker for 2WD? I suspect it would be more than I'd be willing to spend but I'd be interested to know. Thanks.

 

[BowDown]

You should change your screen name to “Ricky Bobby”!

If you ain't first you're last

 

[BowDown]

Any of you have any knowledge of what the cost would be to change out the differential to a locker for 2WD? I suspect it would be more than I'd be willing to spend but I'd be interested to know. Thanks.

On my previous truck, it was $800 or so to rebuild the rear end reusing the same diff and gears. Assuming inflation, call it $950 now plus the cost of the locker since everything you're doing is the same as a rebuild.
You might be cheaper and easier getting the whole rear axle from a wrecked truck

 

[ColoradoCub]

If you ain't first you're last

 

[Glenn54]

On my previous truck, it was $800 or so to rebuild the rear end reusing the same diff and gears. Assuming inflation, call it $950 now plus the cost of the locker since everything you're doing is the same as a rebuild.
You might be cheaper and easier getting the whole rear axle from a wrecked truck

I wonder if something like this would work? Cost seems reasonable.

Detroit Truetrac 917A730 | 9.25 in. Differential | Ram 1500 | 2011-2020 | JEGS

 

[bucolic]

Being in upstate NY I would not want a 2wd truck. 4WD is used a fair amount. I grew up with rear-wheel drive cars and would always love to go out in the snow with them and slide around the corners, do donuts in the parking lot, and just screw around. Young and dumb!

Having said that I often do think of the old two-wheel drive standard cab trucks I had. Here is a Ford I had that I bought for $500 bucks and $50 for the cap. Drove that truck for 3 years but never back and forth to work. It was strictly weekend adventures.

2 Wheel drive standard cab. Something was comforting on those trucks. The small cab with the sliding window right behind your head. You just reached back and slid it open! A cloth bench seat and your girl would slide over and sit in the middle next to you! Vent doors down by the floor that blew all the crap from down there around the truck the first time you opened them after the winter. The good ole column shifter P R N D 2 1. And the small cab just heating up toasty warm quickly due to the small size. The seat folded forward and you would fill the space back there with all kinds of junk! Plain old AM radio also and crank windows. Simple. and didn't give a crap if sticks dragged across it driving down a logging trail.

Sometimes I think of picking one up but then the hassle of another vehicle to insure and store stops me. Maybe someday I'll move to the shore and just revert back to an old beater 2wd truck. Sounds pretty good somedays

 

[Glenn54]

Being in upstate NY I would not want a 2wd truck. 4WD is used a fair amount. I grew up with rear-wheel drive cars and would always love to go out in the snow with them and slide around the corners, do donuts in the parking lot, and just screw around. Young and dumb!

Having said that I often do think of the old two-wheel drive standard cab trucks I had. Here is a Ford I had that I bought for $500 bucks and $50 for the cap. Drove that truck for 3 years but never back and forth to work. It was strictly weekend adventures.

2 Wheel drive standard cab. Something was comforting on those trucks. The small cab with the sliding window right behind your head. You just reached back and slid it open! A cloth bench seat and your girl would slide over and sit in the middle next to you! Vent doors down by the floor that blew all the crap from down there around the truck the first time you opened them after the winter. The good ole column shifter P R N D 2 1. And the small cab just heating up toasty warm quickly due to the small size. The seat folded forward and you would fill the space back there with all kinds of junk! Plain old AM radio also and crank windows. Simple. and didn't give a crap if sticks dragged across it driving down a logging trail.

Sometimes I think of picking one up but then the hassle of another vehicle to insure and store stops me. Maybe someday I'll move to the shore and just revert back to an old beater 2wd truck. Sounds pretty good somedays

View attachment 83441

I like your old Ford. What year model? Here's my 95 F150. Well, I've given it to my Granddaughter for now, maybe forever.

 

[bucolic]

I like your old Ford. What year model? Here's my 95 F150. Well, I've given it to my Granddaughter for now, maybe forever.

It was a long time ago! It was a mid 80's I think but I can't remember the exact year. That 95 of yours is one well taken care of vehicle! Your granddaughter is a lucky girl!

 

[Glenn54]

It was a long time ago! It was a mid 80's I think but I can't remember the exact year. That 95 of yours is one well taken care of vehicle! Your granddaughter is a lucky girl!

Thanks. She's incredible. Smart(full ride scholarship), driven and a great person.

 

[Aseras]

Lottsa chest-thumping...LOL.

Given EQUAL drivers, and EQUAL tires, 4wd will give you more capability. Then, of course, you can opine on whether you (or they?) need that capability.

If you want to debate which factor is most important, well, I'd say the driver is always the determining factor in whether a vehicle gets stuck or not. The tires and driveline just let that driver go more or less far to that point.

Yes, but is seems all too common for AWD or 4wd to give "extra" courage to risk something stupid as if it were a shield. When you have a 2wd/rwd truck you know it will get loose in a turn when it is slick if you get on the gas. with 4wd you push it just bit harder because, yes you can. but then if you exceed your luck 4wd, will not magically save you. now you are going faster than you'd ever risk in the 2wd, with a heavier vehicle, now sliding and the result is worse.

 

[BowDown]

I wonder if something like this would work? Cost seems reasonable.

Detroit Truetrac 917A730 | 9.25 in. Differential | Ram 1500 | 2011-2020 | JEGS

I think you'd need a ring and pinion too. IIRC the ring gear is friction welded to the diff so you can't reuse the gears

 

[silver billet]

Yes, but is seems all too common for AWD or 4wd to give "extra" courage to risk something stupid as if it were a shield. When you have a 2wd/rwd truck you know it will get loose in a turn when it is slick if you get on the gas. with 4wd you push it just bit harder because, yes you can. but then if you exceed your luck 4wd, will not magically save you. now you are going faster than you'd ever risk in the 2wd, with a heavier vehicle, now sliding and the result is worse.

How far do you take that logic? Are summers tires better to drive in the snow than winters tires ... "with winter tires you push it just bit harder because, yes you can".

I think you're stretching this way too far. Foolish people will drive foolishly, but that doesn't mean a tool like winter tires, anti lock brakes, or 4wd are worse off just because some guy might push the truck harder than they should.

Put yourself in the argument; you, as a sane and careful driver, are still better off with 4wd than without.

 

[devildodge]

So.

Anyone regret not getting 4wd?

Every one who has 2wd has said No...if you know your limits.

2wd is limited over a 4wd. That is pretty obvious.

But. A 2wd will do 90% of 90% of a person's driving.

If you do the other 10%... you would not consider a 2wd.

If you are considering a 2wd...you would not consider that 10% of the driving.

If I did not have outdoor hobbies...but still needed a truck it would be 2wd and it would serve me well.

I love to explore back roads and live in the Mountains of central PA. I also have to be places without the ability to plan for fair weather.
I use 4wd atleast weekly. I do not mean turn it on. I mean I go somewhere that 4wd is required.

If I took out this enjoyment of getting off the beaten path...i would have a 2wd and not think a second more about it.

Any one regret getting round tires?

 

[Aseras]

How far do you take that logic? Are summers tires better to drive in the snow than winters tires ... "with winter tires you push it just bit harder because, yes you can".

I think you're stretching this way too far. Foolish people will drive foolishly, but that doesn't mean a tool like winter tires, anti lock brakes, or 4wd are worse off just because some guy might push the truck harder than they should.

Put yourself in the argument; you, as a sane and careful driver, are still better off with 4wd than without.

There's several people posted in this thread who would rather have 4wd in the winter than snows. A good all season tire for a light dusting sure. Any snow buildup or icing and those are the ones you see in the ditch. Think about how stupid the average persons seems to be. half of them are dumber than that. Everyone these days is extremely reliant on technology and assumptions and no longer on necessity or skill. Tires ARE majorly better than even 10-20 years ago. Most people's driving skills however have gotten dumbed down and relaxed and they rely on being able to push limits that were impossible a decade or two ago. The vehicles are twice as large, weight much more and so do the people driving them. There's a ton of people who will buy an $80K truck and skimp on tires and run them bald.

 

[ColoradoCub]

All the analogies in the word are irrelevant, 4 wd is way better than 2 Wd....period! End of discussion! Unless of course you only chase groceries in the concrete jungles of America In the Southern Hemisphere.

 

[ColoradoCub]

Yes, but is seems all too common for AWD or 4wd to give "extra" courage to risk something stupid as if it were a shield. When you have a 2wd/rwd truck you know it will get loose in a turn when it is slick if you get on the gas. with 4wd you push it just bit harder because, yes you can. but then if you exceed your luck 4wd, will not magically save you. now you are going faster than you'd ever risk in the 2wd, with a heavier vehicle, now sliding and the result is worse.

No offense but that is about the dumbest thing ive ever read. If you need 4wd or AWD ......you need 4 wd Or AWD..I drive 47 miles to work in 4wd , not because of inflated risk or courage but because I need it. I’m not going to risk having the *** end slipping around on a grade and hoping my traction control kicks in to keep me from getting squirrely, it’s about safety. Try driving in 6” of fresh snow in 2 wd on a highway at 50-60 mph, good luck with that!

 

[devildodge]

 

[SkittleRam]

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.

Agreed, i had this in my GMC and it worked so nice and only when needed.

 

[dlrsavannah]

We bought our 2wd mainly because of the great deal we got while the price of the 4wd was just a little higher than we wanted to go but honestly, living in Savannah and mostly local and highway travel the 4wd just wasn’t needed. The last 30 years all my jobs have been driving, so I’ve driven in all kinds of weather. It’s almost amusing to watch all the idiots driving on the road these days regardless of the weather conditions and end up off the side road in a ditch. After a couple of months of owing our 1500, we were down in Florida and noticed this guy stuck in the mud on the side of road in his F250. I hooked up the tow strap and dragged that thing out with no problem. Pulled an H2 out of a hole too. I love my RAM.