With 4wd you get twice as stuck, or stuck twice as far away as 2wd.

 

just this past weekend I got stuck with the 06 4x4 in my sig. my wife had to come get me out with her new 08 durango. it has the two speed transfer case with 4wd,4wheel lock,and 4lo. I know the cummins is heavy, but she was pulling a 5,000lb trailer and had no problem getting me out with the trailer attached. she put it in 4 wd lock,and out I came. thats why I have dodges.

 

Everyone has offered up some very valid ideas, especially from those that pull 5ers. Initially I assumed that backing into gravel, mud, or wet grass could be my greatest potential use for 4wd. However 2wd with limited slip seems like a somewhat viable alternative, granted not anything near equivalent to 4wd, but an option.

The positives to 2wd; fewer potential mechanical issues, better ride, not having to flip axles or make other height accommodations, fewer pounds, and better mileage seem to slightly out weigh the benefits of 4wd for my purposes. Since appearance and resale are not a concern, and I don't intend to do the off-roading thing, the benefit of better 4wd traction versus 2wd limited slip, would be the only positive that 4wd brings to the table. Hence its negatives, relative to the benefits of 2wd, are reason enough to pause and sort things out.

Since I'm in no rush to make the purchase, and as a buyer, the market continues to improve, time's on my side. Thanks again, for all of your input, as your real world experiences provide true value to my decision process.

 

That was exactly the same conclusion & reasoning I came to. Plus it was $4k less, new.
Good luck on your search!

 

But you will get back at least 2k of that at trade in. so in reality the extra uses a 4x4 can give you costs 2k or less. just something else to think about.

 

As a guy who totes a big toy hauler, I am constantly putting my truck in 4LO in order to manuever my toy hauler into far off riding spots. I could probably do most of them with a 4x2 but it would be alot hairier. Plus, I use the truck for hunting and other outdoor kinds of activities that require 4x4. If you go from campsite to campsite and use the very nice sites you will never need 4x4 but if you get onto grass or sand or light mud, the 4x4 is well worth it. Also, my toyhauler works just fine with my truck. I have no lift or anything, but I do have a leveling kit and a little larger than stock tires. Scotty

 

I've only had one 2x4 in 30 years. I use 4wd sparingly, as in only when actually needed, but I spend quite a bit of time in 4wd, living in the north country where we have 7 months of winter and 5 months of damned poor snowmobiling. Like was said, in the north, it's a no-brainer. I find with this Dodge, I spend much more time in 4wd because of the weight of the engine. It's near crippled in the snow without 4wd. Even with limited slip in the rear. Only time it's any good is with 500 lbs or more of weight in the box. The one 2x4 I had was an 80 Chebbie crew cab 1 ton single rear wheel, and just with posi, it would go further than this Dodge will in 4wd! My 78 Suburban's the same. I very seldom have to use the 4wd on it, it's so good in 2wd.

 

I end up using 4x4 a lot. Just last week I took a pile of brush over to my neighbors to burn (he was having a bonfire) and I didn't realize how rutted his field was until I was in it. The grass was a little damp too and I had to put it into 4 wheel to get back out. I might have been able to do 4x2 with a little more effort but why bother? If I would have had my trailer on in those conditions (which would be common) it would have been a guaranteed 4 wheel job.

 

Bear in mind a Mega Cab dually has a lot different weight distribution than a QC SRW. Lot more weight over the back, and 500 lbs less over the front than a 4wd.

I had my truck in a wet field last weekend, when I got on it in 1st gear on purpose to see how it would do, it accelerated, did not just spin. Maybe I have limited slip? It also did well crossing the field bumper pulling 3000 lbs.

I felt that for me the benfits of 2wd outweighed the rarely used (for me) advantage of 4wd.

Plus I keep a 20k tug strap in my truck and my only off roading is typically within a couple 100 yards of my 64 horse Deere


ps- put a locker in the axle and you end up with 2 driving wheels, the same as open diff 4wd rigs.

 

let me throw this in as well...while reading Diesel Power Mag. I seen a switch that "canceled" out 4 Low, in the 2003 and newer trucks, so you can use your low range gears while manuvering around a campground where your normal "high" range gears may be too high. from what i got all you did was flip the switch and then turn it to 4 low then just switch back to 2-wheel and turn the switch off...i dont know exactly how it works, i just seen the add for it. It was in the august issue i believe (i know its still july)

 

I didn't know they made a non 4x4 truck.

 

They're all in Texas.

MikeyB

 

Ohh geeeeesh, please quit embarrassing the other 95 percent of us Texans who drive REAL trucks!



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whoa whoa whoa, Georgia Red clay. gotta have 4x4

 

The owner of the fiver that just acquired the parking spot next to me in the storage area has a RAM 2x4 drw pick-up. Mine is a 4x4 srw. On Sunday, I happeded to be there when he was backing it into the space. Guess what??? Couldn't do it. He had to uncouple and let me do it. My srw 4x4 backed in the spot effortlessly. This is in FL with hard sandy soil - no mud and it was dry. 4x4 for me. PCM