I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup

[CalG]

You should try out the Hurlimann Prince line of tractors. 335-435-445- (Now the D-F Agro Kid line)

Rear diff lock at the pedal, Front diff lock via hydraulic , Plus front to rear locking at the press of a button (Electric solenoid accuated hydraulic) .

Talk about billy Goat! ;-)

 

[Bearsixty7]

I know RWD with a true locker is better than 4wd with opens for not getting stuck

If I'm paying for 4wd I want a locking rear and center. The only way you get stuck with that set up is to be on the frame. Most people don't want to hear their 4wd system is crap but I've seen it on many a slippery boat ramp. 2wd with a locker drives out and 4wd with no lockers sends all the power to one wheel.

What 4x4 vehicle in 4WD mode sent all power to one wheel?

I do vaguely remember some pickups in the 70's or 80' (I think it was dodge) may have had an open center diff in 4HI and might have done what you are saying, but put them in 4LO and the center diff was locked guaranteeing at least 1 front and 1 rear tire received power. But all the Pickups since the late 80's early 90's do not have a center diff.

 

[TMGT]

For simplicity and reliability I prefer the Torsen differential over a locking or std limited slip for everything but full on off road applications.

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[Bearsixty7]

For simplicity and reliability I prefer the Torsen differential over a locking or std limited slip for everything but full on off road applications.

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I remember reading about those back in the 80's, seemed like the end all be all differential. Are they still made and does any vehicle come with them OEM?

 

[ovrszd]

I owned my last 2wd truck in 1988 I think. Might have been 1989.

 

[TMGT]

I remember reading about those back in the 80's, seemed like the end all be all differential. Are they still made and does any vehicle come with them OEM?

Dodge/ ram has been using them for years (my 07 has one) a lot of other manufacturers use them also including Honda/ acura for their performance models starting back in the 90's.

We used them a lot in drag racing with fwd as they would still let you turn.

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[jyoutz]

Dude... a LSD isn't the same as a push button solid locked differential.

That is still a very poor second choice compared to 4wd. I’m a forester, so I guess I can say that I’m a professional off road driver. I do this every day for a living, and some of the mountain logging roads I travel are unsuited for 2wd even when dry. It’s just silly to even suggest that one rear axle compares to the pulling power (and steering assist) of having a drive axle weighted by the engine. We quit buying 2wd trucks for forestry use back in the 1980s. I recall starting my career in the 1980s and having one of the few 4wds my agency had assigned to me. During the wet seasons and winter, I spent a good part of my day rescuing the folks driving the 2wd trucks. A locking rear diff is better than nothing, but it’s nonsense to suggest that it’s equal to 4wd.

 

[jyoutz]

What about a 2wd tractor?

They are fine for mowing, and doing things when it’s not muddy or snowy. Most of the old style 2wd tractors spent their winters with chains on the rear wheels.

 

[not2old]

I remember reading about those back in the 80's, seemed like the end all be all differential. Are they still made and does any vehicle come with them OEM?

My 1998 V70R (all wheel drive) Volvo came with a Torsen diff and even though it only has 4" of ground clearance is noticeably better in the snow than my 1990 F250 4x4

 

[Hay Dude]

The ONLY place I can think of where 2WD might equal or slightly better 4WD is on really slippery ice BUT, the 2WD would have to have CHAINS on it and at least 1000lbs in the bed.
The chains would bite into the ice that even a 4WD may spin out on.

But how many of us are in that situation enough to justify running around with chains on a 2WD and all the other situations where 4WD is superior to a 2WD with a locker?

Its like 50 situations to 1 where the slippery topography favored 4WD over 2WD with a locker AND chains. For that reason 4WD is the clear choice. Even if it was 3 situations to 1, I’d go with 4WD over 2WD with locker

 

[jjeff]

In the UP anyway once in a while you might run across a "camp beater" oversized rear tires, tire chains, 2wd, with a plow, about a pallet of CMU and any other junk one can find in the bed. So It must work good enough plowing a two track. These trucks never leave the woods.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Never has 4 wheel vehicle until I was 65 in 2017 when I bought 105K 2010 Subaru Forester. In 2018 bought 205K mileage F-150 4WD with the 10K tow package. Both have made believer out of me.

Now I was a 4WD EV.

 

[Jstpssng]

The ONLY place I can think of where 2WD might equal or slightly better 4WD is on really slippery ice BUT, the 2WD would have to have CHAINS on it and at least 1000lbs in the bed.
The chains would bite into the ice that even a 4WD may spin out on.

But when you put chains on the 4WD it evens out again. I've seen times when I got out to put the chains on and just shutting the door made the truck slide off into the ditch. Then it really helps to have a chain on at least one of the front tires.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I couldn't get into my old driveway with a loaded dump trailer (7ton total) in 2wd, '07 Dodge 2500 diesel, learned my lesson to lock the front hubs before going up the hill!

I had the same thing happen bringing in my last load of hay last October on our private road. Short 10% grade on dry loose gravel that I made just fine with the first 4 loads. Had to back down to a lessor grade and then switch 4wd to get up the hill.
This winter the road has been covered with snow, but as long as the temperature stayed below the mid 20s, all I needed was two wheel drive even on the grades. The exception being where the private road hits the county road. It's uphill and a semi-blind corner so I want to be moving and not spinning when I pull out.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Most people don't want to hear their 4wd system is crap but I've seen it on many a slippery boat ramp. 2wd with a locker drives out and 4wd with no lockers sends all the power to one wheel.

You would be confusing All Wheel Drive with 4 wheel drive. All wheel drive or a full time 4 wheel drive has a differential in the transfer case to allow the front and rear axles to turn at different speeds needed for cornering. In four wheel drive that differential is either locked or doesn't exist and the power is divided equally between the two axles. Without a LSD on any axle it becomes at worst a 2 wheel drive locker with one wheel on each axle spinning.

 

[Farmer495]

I know RWD with a true locker is better than 4wd with opens for not getting stuck

If I'm paying for 4wd I want a locking rear and center. The only way you get stuck with that set up is to be on the frame. Most people don't want to hear their 4wd system is crap but I've seen it on many a slippery boat ramp. 2wd with a locker drives out and 4wd with no lockers sends all the power to one wheel

If you are seeing a 4x4 truck spinning one rear wheel and not the front, likely not engaging, too many wires, vacuum lines etc. I had a vacuum hub seize, truck said it was in 4x4, but no power going to front wheels as open diff only would spin the axle that had the seized hub.

Any true 4x4 truck even with with open diffs will always power one front and one rear wheel with in 4 high or 4 low. An AWD vehicle might send power to one wheel.

Some of the more expensive 4x4 systems that offer a "full time 4x4" (Like 4A setting) might either spin one front and one rear, but they still have the "lock" option of 4H for example.

I drove many a snowy road and muddy yard with 2wd trucks, manual & automatic, open and locking/LSDs, Loaded weight in the bed for years every winter.

Current 4x4 truck when in 2wd with LSD will sit and dig holes with both rear wheels spinning....shift front axle in and you are moving.

 

[TMGT]

You would be confusing All Wheel Drive with 4 wheel drive. All wheel drive or a full time 4 wheel drive has a differential in the transfer case to allow the front and rear axles to turn at different speeds needed for cornering. In four wheel drive that differential is either locked or doesn't exist and the power is divided equally between the two axles. Without a LSD on any axle it becomes at worst a 2 wheel drive locker with one wheel on each axle spinning.

There are a number of selectable 4wd systems in trucks now that use an open center diff and rely on the braking system for power distribution and don't have a low range. A lot of awd system use a electronically controlled clutch or viscous coupling for the front/rear power distribution (at least the better ones).

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[jyoutz]

My 1998 V70R (all wheel drive) Volvo came with a Torsen diff and even though it only has 4" of ground clearance is noticeably better in the snow than my 1990 F250 4x4

AWD are indeed better than 4wd on paved roads when the snow isn’t too deep. It falls apart when the snow gets deep.

 

[Hay Dude]

AWD are indeed better than 4wd on paved roads when the snow isn’t too deep. It falls apart when the snow gets deep.

Or ground clearance over rocks, deep ruts off road once the frame is on the ground, its not good

 

[Garandman]

2WD pickups are unsaleable in New England.

We load the rear of our van for winter traction.