I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup

   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #111  
I’m a retired land surveyor and am also a professional, AT GETTING STUCK. I worked for the same company for over 35 years and we always had 2 wheel drive vehicles until the last 10 years. We had some crap vehicles also, LTD station wagon, Astro van, S10 pickups, all 2 wheel drive. At some point in this area 2 wheel drive pickups became very hard to sell, probably mid 1990’s and I think dealers more or less forced out hand on leasing 4 wd. I personally wouldn’t be without it.

Lockers or limited slip? I currently own a F150 with a locker. I like it better and I’ve had both. You just pull out on the 4wd knob, it only engages below 20 mph and kicks out if you are going faster.
 
   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #112  
The last 2WD Pickup I owned was a 1957 Chevy Stepside I bought from a Cop in KC in 1979. 3 speed on the column with a straight 6. I loved that truck. Been a 4WD owner since about 1982
 
   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #113  
Not Toyota, this time I went for the Mitsubishi Triton GSR, this and the one below it are the only ones with AWD, I have had Nissan in the past and will never buy another one, always something breaking down.
The Triton has everything, climate control, traction control, collision avoidance, lane departure warning, heated seats, electric seats, leather, quite comfortable and I went for the optional roller tonneau which locks with the central locking, even the other half likes it.
 
   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #114  
2WD pickups are unsaleable in New England.

We load the rear of our van for winter traction.
I went from
89 Dodge w150 4wd 15years 243k short bed best truck I ever had.
2004 Tundra double cab 4wd beutiful smoother than a caddie but way too thirsty, the only truck I ever traded at 37k
2007 Tacoma access cab 2wd, nervous in winter?? put Nokian Hakkapeliitta Tires and 290#s of steel plate in bed. No slipping at stop signs, no anti lock brake activation, I can take ramps at 45mph during snow storms. Now if I go off the road i will not be able to come back through a snow bank with 2wd but I find with these tires and the low stance of my truck, the stability is amazing. I ended up puting these on the wifes minivan and the son's Corolla. It's like night and day. BUT with out the wieght and tires I go nowhere in the snow.
2015 Tacoma Access cab same setup

These tires will improve your vans traction 75% with some wieght added. The winter compound goes all the way thru the thread unlike some other brands that only have the winter compound half way down and then the ALL SEASON compound starts. This does make a difference. I do not work for the company but I have been happy with every set I have purchased. You cannot run these in warm weather though, winter use only for the ones I buy.
 
   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #115  
Some coworkers of mine have been cursed with a Ford Transit van for their daily driver. It's a full size van. It got stuck in less than an inch of snow. They couldn't get it out of the parking lot. Had to leave it there and borrow someone else's smaller van. The thing is just way too light in the rear. And that's with 400# of salt bags in the back.
 
   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #116  
Some coworkers of mine have been cursed with a Ford Transit van for their daily driver. It's a full size van. It got stuck in less than an inch of snow. They couldn't get it out of the parking lot. Had to leave it there and borrow someone else's smaller van. The thing is just way too light in the rear. And that's with 400# of salt bags in the back.

Big diesel pickups are the worst as far as light in the rear. A Cummins weighs 1100 lb - twice the weight of a gas engine. I found to my dismay that if the front tires are in anything soft and you try to back up, the rear tires don't have enough weight on them to back up. Have to use 4wd and have the front tires help.

But I detest the new electric-engaging transfer cases. I want a manual lever that I can pull and KNOW that it is now in 4wd. Here's a screen shot some guy posted after getting stuck in his new electric-everything 4wd:
Bronco disabled.jpg


He ended up getting pulled out by a couple Jeeps, and no idea why the "system" suddenly decided to disable 4wd.
 
   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #117  
When I first got the 2003 Suburban last May/June I was playing around with the transfer case selector buttons. They would not engage 4wd. And I made the mistake of attempting to put it into neutral as well. Then I was stuck in the driveway. A quick google search showed the most likely cause was a corroded ground wire bolted to the frame directly under the driver's area. So I found it, took it off, cleaned it up, and all was well. Also read in the manual that putting the transfer case in neutral is a complex operation, only to be used if you want to tow the vehicle with all 4 wheels on the ground. If you mess around with the buttons too many times in too short of a time period, it goes into a protection mode that puts a significant time delay between allowing button pushes to protect things. So, Read
The
Furnished
Manual
As they say. Works fine now that I understand it.

For the Auto4WD, 2H, 4H, N, and 4L, a lever might not work. It's all solenoid driven, as far as I can tell. No way for a mechanical linkage to activate it.
 
   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #118  
I went from
89 Dodge w150 4wd 15years 243k short bed best truck I ever had.
2004 Tundra double cab 4wd beutiful smoother than a caddie but way too thirsty, the only truck I ever traded at 37k
2007 Tacoma access cab 2wd, nervous in winter?? put Nokian Hakkapeliitta Tires and 290#s of steel plate in bed. No slipping at stop signs, no anti lock brake activation, I can take ramps at 45mph during snow storms. Now if I go off the road i will not be able to come back through a snow bank with 2wd but I find with these tires and the low stance of my truck, the stability is amazing. I ended up puting these on the wifes minivan and the son's Corolla. It's like night and day. BUT with out the wieght and tires I go nowhere in the snow.
2015 Tacoma Access cab same setup

These tires will improve your vans traction 75% with some wieght added. The winter compound goes all the way thru the thread unlike some other brands that only have the winter compound half way down and then the ALL SEASON compound starts. This does make a difference. I do not work for the company but I have been happy with every set I have purchased. You cannot run these in warm weather though, winter use only for the ones I buy.
Hakkapalitas work good for smaller vehicles. But full size vehicles..... not so well.

They are good on ice. But plug up and don't shed the snow out of the tread on heavier vehicles turning the tires into racing slicks. I figure it's the extra weight of the vehicle driving the snow into the tread.

Back when I lived and worked in Vermont, my boss was talked into putting a set of hakkapalitas on a 3/4 ton work van that we had.

Those tires turned the van into a bob sled on snow.

We lasted about a week with them on the van before it went back to the tire shop.

Now they worked great and as intended on my Ford ranger. But after the experience with the 3/4 ton work van, I would never put another set on a half ton or larger vehicle.
 
   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #119  
When I first got the 2003 Suburban last May/June I was playing around with the transfer case selector buttons. They would not engage 4wd. And I made the mistake of attempting to put it into neutral as well. Then I was stuck in the driveway. A quick google search showed the most likely cause was a corroded ground wire bolted to the frame directly under the driver's area. So I found it, took it off, cleaned it up, and all was well. Also read in the manual that putting the transfer case in neutral is a complex operation, only to be used if you want to tow the vehicle with all 4 wheels on the ground. If you mess around with the buttons too many times in too short of a time period, it goes into a protection mode that puts a significant time delay between allowing button pushes to protect things. So, Read
The
Furnished
Manual
As they say. Works fine now that I understand it.

For the Auto4WD, 2H, 4H, N, and 4L, a lever might not work. It's all solenoid driven, as far as I can tell. No way for a mechanical linkage to activate it.
When I first got the 2003 Suburban last May/June I was playing around with the transfer case selector buttons. They would not engage 4wd. And I made the mistake of attempting to put it into neutral as well. Then I was stuck in the driveway. A quick google search showed the most likely cause was a corroded ground wire bolted to the frame directly under the driver's area. So I found it, took it off, cleaned it up, and all was well. Also read in the manual that putting the transfer case in neutral is a complex operation, only to be used if you want to tow the vehicle with all 4 wheels on the ground. If you mess around with the buttons too many times in too short of a time period, it goes into a protection mode that puts a significant time delay between allowing button pushes to protect things. So, Read
The
Furnished
Manual
As they say. Works fine now that I understand it.

For the Auto4WD, 2H, 4H, N, and 4L, a lever might not work. It's all solenoid driven, as far as I can tell. No way for a mechanical linkage to activate it.
Well that sounds slightly confusing. I figure after 40 years gm hopefully has this figured out, 100k miles never a problem with 4x4 I shift it and it's in 4wd, what a great concept! push buttons are great for a VCR not a truck driveline imo.
 

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   / I have owned my last 2 wheel drive pickup #120  
My dad farmed for 40 plus years and never owned a 4x4 and never got stuck. I always tried to get him to buy a 4x4 but he wouldn’t. I said dad, you’ll get stuck in a wet field without it. He said no I won’t because if the field is wet enough to get stuck in it’s too wet to work in…..

im totally with you. I got a 2020 2wd Tahoe stuck on 3” of snow on a flat asphalt parking lot last week. These new vehicles with traction control will not let you floor it / Rick it back and forth to get yourself out. Push button/knobs for gear selectors should be outlawed and column shifters should be mandatory!
You're right about traction control. I have very steep hill to go up on our driveway. It was snow covered the other day and I tried to go up it in my 2018 Mazda 3 with manual transmission. The first time I tried in 2nd gear which is what I use when it's dry. That didn't work and I had to back down. I took a run at it in 1st gear and just barely made it to the top with it sounding like it was bogging down. The next time I tried it I turned the traction control off and it went right up with little trouble. Electronic traction control is helpful in certain situations but it's not always best.

Kevin
 

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