I have always owned pickups. My first was a 2wd, next 3 were 4wd, and my current one is a 2wd. I only miss the 4wd a day or two a year, when we have enough snow to make the drive to work tough. We just don’t get enough snow anymore, here in western NY, to justify driving a 4wd year round.
When it comes to getting stuck, I had that happen more often with the 4wd’s, mostly through overconfidence and going where I shouldn’t have been.
My last 4wd (which I gave to my father in law to keep his Adirondack retirement community snowplowed over the winter), did come in handy for me one time.
The rear driveshaft broke off from corrosion, while I was at a boat launch. I reached under and pulled the hanging shaft out of the transfer case and tossed it into the box. I shifted into 4x4 and used the truck in front-wheel drive to retrieve my boat. I drove the truck over to a weld shop and had the broken shaft repaired. That was 6 years ago and it’s still going strong.
In these days, of rising fuel prices and parts scarcity, I am happier with the simpler, lighter and more fuel-efficient 2wd pickup. I keep it in the pole barn thru the winter though, and have a front wheel drive suv to get me back and forth to work.
I still use my last 4wd a few times each fall, when I am up at my in-laws hunting. It works great for that, up there on the logging roads.
