Do i really need 4 wheel drive on my next tow rig??

[ricsrx]

I do drive in the winter and I have used 4 high more than a few times and i like 4 low when parking my trailer in the back lot but do i really need it?

https://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/2440796

what do you think??

BTW i want this to be the last truck i purchase and it will get the cummins w/6sped if it is the right truck

 

[Gravy]

I get my my 2wd van stuck a few times every winter. With duals it will suck worse.

 

[jeeper]

I wouldn't go without 4x4. Even though it is rarely used on the tow vehicle, the times that it is used are VERY important times to have it.
If this is going to be the last tow vehicle you ever buy, it's worth doing it right. I imagine that over the span of the rest of your life you will often regret a 2 wheel drive.

When you build on your property, and have to tow in lumber in the mud you'll wish you had it

 

[I Lean]

I had a really sketchy/scary trip towing over Soldier Summit in a snowstorm once. That alone would convince me to have 4WD as an option.

 

[1adam12]

If your going to swap the drive train just add an axle with it. Just get a good set of chains until then

 

[Kevin B.]

2WD is great for cars that don't leave pavement. A truck that's going to do work, in our climate and terrain, needs to be 4WD imo.

 

[boogie_4wheel]

Growing up in Page Az, my parents always had 2wd dually trucks for horse hauling. 78 Chevy, 86 Ford, 90 Dodge, 93 Ford, 95 Ford, all were 2wd. I also remember getting the 86 stuck on the mountain while getting fire wood, getting the 90 and 93 stuck at rodeo arenas, the 95 stuck at an arena and during an elk hunt. Not many issues over all of those years though.
In 01 dad got a 4wd dually, then moved to New Harmony in 03, then in 04 another 4wd dually, and in 14 another 4wd dually.

Location plays a big factor in this decision in my opinion. My last truck and current truck are 4wd. I've never needed 4wd while towing my camp trailer (close once in Montana at a camp ground), but have used it during the winter or goofing around offroad. If I lived in Vegas or Phoenix, then I probably would have a 2wd truck, but not up here.

And a dually flat out sucks in the snow. The extra flotation keeps the rear axle in the air and it doesn't dig as fast to get a good bite on the ground. The extreme weight bias to the front doesn't help either.

 

[Bart]

I have gone back and forth on that so many times. Yes, I think you could get by, if you don't mind being stuck once or twice a year. We were in Moab this year during the rainy car show weekend, and staying at the Sage. We use the large parking area in the rear which is all dirt road accessible. Leaving on Saturday morning was a full throttle, mud flinging rodeo and I was glad I had 4x4. It was the only time I used it on that Suburban.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I don't have much to add to the discussion other than this:

I've had 2wd passenger cars in the snow (we all have, I'm sure), and with snow tires they outperformed my 4x4s with all-seasons or even mud tires on snow-covered pavement. There's a new breed of all-terrain tires popping up. They're basically snow tires that can be driven year-round without wearing out fast, and they seem to do allright in the dirt too. http://us.coopertire.com/Tires/Light-Truck/Discoverer-A-TW.aspx

If I were forced to drive a 2wd in the winter, I'd want a set of those A-TW tires. Nitto has a version out too, and I've seen a few other companies moving in that direction as well.

 

[BCGPER]

My Dually was two wheel drive. I can tell you this, a dual rear wheel is far worse in the mud and snow than any single wheel. I'd never consider another one with out 4X4.

 

[Rot Box]

Too many close calls for me. I vowed to never own another 2wd pickup.

I had a really sketchy/scary trip towing over Soldier Summit in a snowstorm once. That alone would convince me to have 4WD as an option.

I was in that canyon a few years back during an out of nowhere snowstorm. Traffic was down to a crawl as we neared the summit. A 2wd truck like mine hauling a goose neck started to loose traction. Then he started sliding backwards without traction. Then he lost control sliding backwards without traction. Luckily it slid off the road and stopped. I definitely filled my shorts that day I can't imagine what was going through that dudes head

 

[Kevin B.]

I don't have much to add to the discussion other than this:

I've had 2wd passenger cars in the snow (we all have, I'm sure), and with snow tires they outperformed my 4x4s with all-seasons or even mud tires on snow-covered pavement. There's a new breed of all-terrain tires popping up. They're basically snow tires that can be driven year-round without wearing out fast, and they seem to do allright in the dirt too. http://us.coopertire.com/Tires/Light-Truck/Discoverer-A-TW.aspx

If I were forced to drive a 2wd in the winter, I'd want a set of those A-TW tires. Nitto has a version out too, and I've seen a few other companies moving in that direction as well.

I'm about ready for tires on the Ford, and I'm thinking really really hard about a set of those ATWs. I think it's down to those or the KO2.

 

[sixstringsteve]

If I did more winter driving, I'd get the ATWs. I'm currently torn between the ST Maxx and the KO2. Both have a fantastic rubber compounds that do great in the snow.

 

[Kevin B.]

Those ST Maxx are sweet too. I'm having a hard time getting over the sidewall bling, but I keep hearing really good reviews on them.

Sorry Ric, I'll shut up about tires in your 2wd/4wd thread now.

 

[BlueWolfFab]

I gotta first say, that that truck is gorgeous, in seemingly excellent aesthetic condition and the manual is just badass. I had a '99 with the 7.3 and manual and loved that truck dearly.

On the 2wd/4wd, you'll "get by" just fine for 95% of everything you ask of it, but that 5% is the make or break for me that means you are either traveling safely through a layer of slush, or you are spun out with a trailer jacknifed into that bed. I think a 2wd truck in Utah is great if you consider it seasonal. And it's been said that Utah's seasons are; almost winter, winter, still winter, and road-construction...

Just my 2¢.

I'm currently driving a 2wd Duramax 4500 (Kodiak) for work right now and even just last week I had a potentially sketchy moment where I was pulling a large tracked skidsteer up a fairly steep dirt incline (with a curve in it even haha). Got as much momentum before the bottom of the hill as I could but at about 3/4 of the way up I lost traction and had to use some skilled braking to keep the trailer straight behind me while backing down the hill to have another run at it. 2nd time I made it up but barely. 4wd would have walked up it.

 

[I Lean]

I forgot, I also got stuck on a boat ramp this June. Taking the boat out of the water--there was enough sand washed onto the boat ramp that my rear wheels just spun when I tried to move forward. Locked the hubs and pulled right out--in a 2WD I would have needed assistance.

 

[Hickey]

With enough weight in the bed, and good tires, a 2wd can do fine in winter conditions. 1k in the bed is a good start. A winch would cover you if you did get stuck.

I spent a lot of time driving single screw trucks (a bigger version of a 2wd dually) in my early career. I used to go to Jackson Hole every week, then drive back with an empty trailer. Lots of snowy roads. You just gotta know your truck, and be aware of changing conditions.

That Ford in the ad is sweet.

 

[ricsrx]

thanks for all the input on this topic, that truck is perfect for what i am looking for (other than 4x4) and i'm trying to talk my self into or just being able to own a 2x and not regret it later, i have alway had a 4x because of the 5% that you need it,

i really appreciate all the towing stories and situations that you all have posted, , it helps remind me of all the driving conditions that i have driven in.

could see that truck with a cummins under the hood, I just about get a wood just thinking about it..

because this will be my last truck it has to be a dually and manual trans, i will either have to convert this truck to 4x4 or spend $5K more and get a 4x4 and convert it to manual trans

https://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/2398168

 

[jeeper]

Run it with the 7.3 for a few years, see if it's worth spending the dollars to add the Cummins, or of you need to find another with 4x4.

 

[mbryson]

The '05 and newer Fords are NICE but are cursed with a pile of a diesel engine. I wonder if a Common Rail Cummins swap in one of those would be incredibly sweet? Personally, I wouldn't swap a 7.3L out to a Cummins but would WANT to swap a 6.0L or 6.4L out for sure.