4 wheel drive or 2 wheel with locking dif

[Bob_Young]

Not sure my limited experience will help Highloader, but FWIW:

My tow vehicle is a 2WD Dodge CTD (Ram 2500) with stick shift.. If I have to park the trailer on grass and there's the least amount of dew in the morning, I'm stuck...even with an empty trailer Same thing if the earth isn't perfectly dry. Many's the time I had to change plans because I didn't have 4WD on the Dodge. It doesn't have a locking rear or a limited slip; but for that I'm glad....see below. With that heavy engine up front, I'd probably be stuck even if I did.

My old '95 F150 is 4WD with limited slip in back. It has neither the guts or the gears to do serious towing. In 4WD it will go anywhere with nary a complaint. But in 2WD on a slippery surface (snow, ice) it immediately tries to swap ends when given the least amount of throttle...it's downright treacherous. It's so predictable, I've used it to make Zero Turn Radius 180's in slush: 1)Out of 4WD 2)goose the throttle 3)Wait for it to swap ends 4)Back in 4WD at 180 deg. 5)Takeoff in the direction you came from. Came in handy late one night when I got lost in a bad part of Indianapolis in a snowstorm
Bob

 

[workinallthetime]

before i owned a 4 wheel drive i would always put lockers in my truck and swore by them, now i have 4 wheel drive and a locker and swear by it. lockers are great for most situations but when the situation gets bad nothing beats knowing you can keep going. lockers are better then opens, 4x4 with a locker is even better. sure you wont always need it but it helps in resale and on a cold winters night.

 

[sodamo]

Can't add much to the technical aspects of the discussion, but... had my GMC Sierra 3500, Duramax/Allison 4X4 for about 6 weeks and love it. Got the crew cab and long body. Parking at Walmart is usually a challenge.

My dogs love the rear seat, my wife is getting real good driving it to the covered pickup area at Home Depot, and I'll never get really great mileage as we don't have highway driving and the last 1.5 miles to the house is almost 1000 ft elevation climb.

David

 

[HighLoader]

At this point I am leaning toward getting 4wd. All the feed back is great! My tractor is 4wd so I am thinking my truck ought to be too. When I get my truck I will take some pictures and post them for everyone. I will have all of you to thank for helping me spend the extra for the 4wd. ....and for all the times I won't be stuck in the mud or snow with three clostraphobic horses in a horse trailer and my wife coming unglued!

Brian

 

[Builder]

I had a 90 K series Blazer for about 4yrs. In 4 yrs of winter driving I NEVER used 4wd for daily driving (Snow belt area of NE Ohio). The G80 locking diff did quit well. I would engage 4wd thelp prevent tearing up a soft yard when I need to drive through one. The only time that I used 4wd when it was truely necessary was when I was to lazy to walk through snow plowed up blocking a driveway that I wanted to access one cold winter day. (I should note that my neighbor, who does snowplowing and bought the Blazer from me, said it worked really well for him this past winter.)

For the Envoy (w/G80) that we still own I had my wife put it in A4wd on snowy days. I would use 4wd on snowy days when I needed to cross a busy road. That was until I replaced the original tires at 50,000 miles. The new tires have made a big difference. I also use 4wd just like I did with the Blazer, but due to the shorter turning radius I have to be careful with binding.

If money is not an issue then the extra price for 4wd could be a cheap, time saving purchase if the need for 4wd should arrive.

Kurt

Neither of your trucks were equipped with G-80 locking rears.

The G-80 is an 11.5" locking rear developed for the GM HD pickups. Before the G-80 (pre '01) GM had a GM in house 14 bolt rear.

Much too big for a Blazer or Envoy..... Your Envoy probably has about a 9" rear and your Blazer, if you were lucky, had a 14 bolt, but might have been smaller.

 

[workinallthetime]

G80
Axle Positraction Limited Slip
G86
Axle Limited Slip

positraction is what gm calls a locker
limited slip is the other clutch driven one that releases at a certain rpm.
GT4
Axle Rear 3.73 Ratio
GT5
Axle Rear 4.10 Ratio
GU5
Axle Rear 3.23 Ratio
GU6
Axle Rear 3.42 Ratio
rear axel selection and gearing
g80 is listed for the envoy,

sorry l39 but g80 is just a designation for locking rear diff not axel size and the "new" rear diffs came out with the 99 new body style due to 1 out of 4 of the old diffs were noisy. the plant was worn out. i put a locker in my 92 and 95 2 wheel drive trucks straight from gm inventory. as far as i can go back 1998 and get a list of rpo codes the g80 is listed as a positraction rear diff. used to be that the z71 trucks all came with a locker, it was part of the package. when i ordered my 99 i made sure it had the g80 and since it was a 3/4 ton it had a 9 1/2 rear diff. now you can have a 8.6,9.5,10, and a 11.5 inch rear diff.
have fun all

 

[Builder]

I'll be darned. I stand corrected. Never new a "Envoy" (small SUV) came with a "G80". Thought it was an HD exclusive...... apologies to Kurt !!!!!

So G80 means locker, not an 11.5" rear.

 

[wushaw]

One little note on the 11.5 is it is made by American Axle and Dodge also uses it but without the drain plug in the bottom ( nuts IMHO ).

Oh yea 4WD is a great option to have, I use it in my Jeep fairly often.

 

[RollTideRam]

You will be glad you got a 4wd or mad you got a 2wd. When it rains, I have to use 4wd just to get hooked up to my trailer. Even with the locker, the gm truck is still only 3 wheel drive. I think only the Dodge Power Wagon has selectable lockers front and rear. I just wish they were affordable. JC

 

[KICK]

At this point I am leaning toward getting 4wd. All the feed back is great! My tractor is 4wd so I am thinking my truck ought to be too. When I get my truck I will take some pictures and post them for everyone. I will have all of you to thank for helping me spend the extra for the 4wd. ....and for all the times I won't be stuck in the mud or snow with three clostraphobic horses in a horse trailer and my wife coming unglued!

Brian

if ya pull a trailer in the mud and the snow, you should be able to answer your own question about what to get.