I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup

[ROUSTABOUT]

My wife wants me to buy a new, or at least newer, truck. She keeps finding me trucks, all 2WD. I told her 4WD is a must. 2WD just won't pull stuff like 4WD. And the 4WD trucks have a low range, at least all the ones I would consider. Low range and 4WD has helped me tug all sorts of trees and other stuff where I want it.
Eric

I've got a pile of old Ford hi boys around here. They do all I need.

 

[Hay Dude]

Lots of boys plow up north in a 2wd with a posi rear. I do love 4x4 but don't discount a 2wd with a posi. A stock 4x4 will spin two anyways. I've welded a few sets of spider gears in my time. In fact I have an Isuzu with 113k on it. I'm going to weld it up and use as my side by side around here.

I have seen maybe ONE up north (where I live) in the last 30 years unless its a 2WD dump truck with a box of salt/anti skid for weight.
Im sure theres a few, but I’d pity anyone plowing anything hilly in 2WD. The locker would lock and the arse end would just screw out from underneath of you unless chains.
Ive been plowing for 30+ years.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I have seen maybe ONE up north (where I live) in the last 30 years unless its a 2WD dump truck with a box of salt/anti skid for weight.
Im sure theres a few, but I’d pity anyone plowing anything hilly in 2WD. The locker would lock and the arse end would just screw out from underneath of you unless chains.
Ive been plowing for 30+ years.

I saw several from here to Alaska. I drove the whole way in a 75 hi boy. Reading about lockers a lot of people want a locker because they know another plow guy and he uses weight in rear and a locker. Even a lot of the 4x4 guys advise to plow in 4x2 and use 4x4 if you happen to get blade hung up in pile. And I'm not arguing, we just discussing. I really hate having a tight posi in slick conditions. Last year they gave me a bad looking 4x4 suburban with a winch and a posi rear. Ha, 4x4 no working. The winch saved my tail 3 times that week. I didn't dare get out of the ruts either. Because of what you just mentioned. Selectable is the best.

 

[DK35vince]

I have seen maybe ONE up north (where I live) in the last 30 years unless its a 2WD dump truck with a box of salt/anti skid for weight.
Im sure theres a few, but I’d pity anyone plowing anything hilly in 2WD. The locker would lock and the arse end would just screw out from underneath of you unless chains.
Ive been plowing for 30+ years.

Same here.
I don't know of anyone in our area that plows with a 2wd truck except for maybe a few township single axles with 8 tons of salt/antiskid in the dump bed

 

[Hay Dude]

I saw several from here to Alaska. I drove the whole way in a 75 hi boy. Reading about lockers a lot of people want a locker because they know another plow guy and he uses weight in rear and a locker. Even a lot of the 4x4 guys advise to plow in 4x2 and use 4x4 if you happen to get blade hung up in pile.

I agree with plowing in 4x2 when the plowing is in a flat area with little chance of getting stuck. I do that fairly often.
However I would not stack snow in 2WD and wait to get hung up. Thats a recipe for getting stuck, even after switching to 4WD. When you stack, sometimes you lift some of the weight off the front axle. If you get hung up on a snow pile, chances are your plow is up on a snow bank and no longer weighting-down your front axle. That can reduce traction on the front tires.
Whenever you off road or plow snow, you go to 4WD before theres a chance of getting hung up. I been plowing snow since some of you were in little boy pants

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I agree with plowing in 4x2 when the plowing is in a flat area with little chance of getting stuck. I do that fairly often.
However I would not stack snow in 2WD and wait to get hung up. Thats a recipe for getting stuck, even after switching to 4WD. When you stack, sometimes you lift some of the weight off the front axle. If you get hung up on a snow pile, chances are your plow is up on a snow bank and no longer weighting-down your front axle.
Whenever you off road or plow snow, you go to 4WD before theres a chance of getting hung up.

Yes but you have to understand were talking about younger fellas that still have that dig all day enthusiasm. The whole time thinking it just don't get any better than this.

 

[Hay Dude]

Yes but you have to understand were talking about younger fellas that still have that dig all day enthusiasm. The whole time thinking it just don't get any better than this.

You know youth and exuberance DO take a lot of chances.
I got stuck pretty good stacking one time. Never again.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

You know youth and exuberance do take a lot of chances.
I got stuck pretty good stacking one time. Never again.

Bought lessons are the ones best learned. I've learned some hard ones too.

 

[Dftodd]

My 04 f150 was the same way. If it looked at wet grass wrong, it would sit and spin.
That was also the last 2wd truck I've ever owned.

 

[Fixastuff]

I'll take a 2wd drive truck with a locking rear differential over a 4wd truck with open differentials!

 

[Hay Dude]

I'll take a 2wd drive truck with a locking rear differential over a 4wd truck with open differentials!

Yeah it would be better on paved roads Lol

 

[Fixastuff]

Yeah it would be better on paved roads Lol

That's not been my experience. 4wd with open diffs is really 1wd when things get slick or a wheel is in the air offroading.

 

[jyoutz]

Yeah it would be better on paved roads Lol

Dry paved roads

 

[CalG]

I can't get home in many winter days without 4 wheel traction.

The only two wheel rigs I've had were front drive.

A whole list of 4wd pickups. Then For a while I switched to Audi Sedans and a Wagon. They are nice.
Picked up a Toyota Tacoma 4WD pickup last year this time. Works fine. so far ;-)

(the Audi is better driving, but doesn't carry much lumber!

 

[Bearsixty7]

I'll take a 2wd drive truck with a locking rear differential over a 4wd truck with open differentials!

Not me! 4x4 with open diffs will do much better in any situation than a locked 2WD pickup.

The Open 4wd already has weight over one set of drive wheels. For the locked 2wd to be any good would require lots of weight in the bed and then it still won't go where the open 4x4 will.

I can prove this with My Jeep or our F350, both are 4x4 and have selectable rear lockers (Jeep has ARB F&R).
Both can get through more snow or mud or rocky, uneven terrain in 4WD unlocked than they can in 2WD locked, I've have tried it on many occasions just to see how they would perform. Open 4wd beats locked rear axle every time.

The best is Locked F&R 4x4 except on ice, open 4x4 is best.

 

[goeduck]

Duplicate

 

[goeduck]

I'll take a 2wd drive truck with a locking rear differential over a 4wd truck with open differentials!

Why talk about 4WD in 2WD mode? or if talking about 4wd with open diff while in 4WD vs 2WD with a locker or limited slip diff, I would take the 4WD any day. Weight over drive wheels is the reason.

 

[wolc123]

I have always owned pickups. My first was a 2wd, next 3 were 4wd, and my current one is a 2wd. I only miss the 4wd a day or two a year, when we have enough snow to make the drive to work tough. We just don’t get enough snow anymore, here in western NY, to justify driving a 4wd year round.

When it comes to getting stuck, I had that happen more often with the 4wd’s, mostly through overconfidence and going where I shouldn’t have been.

My last 4wd (which I gave to my father in law to keep his Adirondack retirement community snowplowed over the winter), did come in handy for me one time.

The rear driveshaft broke off from corrosion, while I was at a boat launch. I reached under and pulled the hanging shaft out of the transfer case and tossed it into the box. I shifted into 4x4 and used the truck in front-wheel drive to retrieve my boat. I drove the truck over to a weld shop and had the broken shaft repaired. That was 6 years ago and it’s still going strong.

In these days, of rising fuel prices and parts scarcity, I am happier with the simpler, lighter and more fuel-efficient 2wd pickup. I keep it in the pole barn thru the winter though, and have a front wheel drive suv to get me back and forth to work.

I still use my last 4wd a few times each fall, when I am up at my in-laws hunting. It works great for that, up there on the logging roads.

 

[Hay Dude]

That's not been my experience. 4wd with open diffs is really 1wd when things get slick or a wheel is in the air offroading.

Dude….Im trying to be polite, but that is the silliest argument against 4x4 I have ever heard.
And BTW, very few 4x4 trucks come with an open rear diff. Limited slip differentials are like power windows or AC now.
99% of all trucks made for the last 25 years have a factory L/S.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'll take a 2wd drive truck with a locking rear differential over a 4wd truck with open differentials!

I’ll pass. I have both and while the diff lock helps, the 4WD definitely goes better. Just getting from my road onto the highway can be a challenge. I would never be able to do it in 2WD.

Among other things, by the time the differential locks one tire is already spinning. That works about as well as waiting until your stuck, then shifting into 4wd.