Trucks 4wd or 2wd

[goodoleboy]

We are looking for a Full size used truck in the $5000 range . My wife says i dont need 4wd, but I would like it. We live in Oklahoma and get 10-15 total snow and icy road incidents a year.
My Accord does great in the snow and ice except for those few times the snow really collects on the ground. Then I have a snow plow basically which only has happened once.
Any other benefits of a 4wd besides getting out slippery situations? Does towing capacity increase with 4wd? How much MPG decrease with 4wd on average and are repairs more costly?

 

[Gatorboy]

<font color="blue"> My wife says i dont need 4wd </font>

She is probably correct. Find yourself a 2WD with posi-traction, and you should have no problems. If I'm not mistaken, Oklahoma is fairly flat, so even with that small amount of snow, you shouldn't need 4WD.

If I didn't have property that during certain times of the year gets pretty wet, and rises 100' in elevation over 1200 feet, I wouldn't need 4WD myself.

 

[Egon]

Rated towing capacity will go down due to increased truck weight. The four wheel drive may increase actuall towing ability in some slippery conditions.

Cost of repairs will definetly be greater.

Egon

 

[GRUMPA]

goodoleboy,

When I had mine for the first time I thought it was great, I went everywhere with it. Then reality set in, Oh it went almost everwhere and I got stuck in the snow twice with it. And thats with posi in front and rear. Now I have a 2wd Toyota truck and dont regret owning a 2wd. I get stuck in just as easy in those as with a 4wd.

Mind you I live in the desert and snow is 2hrs north of me and I dont have to drive in it unless I want to. Our place up north the ground is very hard pan (lots of clay) 4wd or 2wd when its wet it wont make a diference, you'll get stuck just as easy if you dont keep up your speed.

I go out to the desert when its cool out almost every weekend and when I have lets say a bale of hay in the back for traction it can go places you wouldnt believe. Granted I use my better judgement on alot of trails but it can go almost where I want it to go. It dosnt have the ground clearence my 4wd did but for what I do I dont miss it at all.

I was always working on the 4wd I had, I bought it used and the previous owners werent as picky as I was. Parts arent cheap for them especially the drive train area. And I dont know what its like where you live but for 5k around here that wont get you much at all but one of those unique fixer-uppers.

Ask me if I'ld own another 4wd and I would turn it down in a second unless it was free. I found with common since or simple logic as my wife puts it (cause it dosent seem to be common anymore) you can go almost anywhere with a 2wd as with a 4wd with our type of a lifestyle.

On a side note: I have pulled more 4wd that got stuck in soft stuff than you can imagine simply because the drivers used poor judgement. Mainly because they tried to go thru it to slowly.

 

[CountryJoe]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue"> I get stuck in just as easy in those as with a 4wd. </font> )</font>

I would say you get stuck easier than those with a 4wd

 

[MikePA]

I have a K1500 (4wd, 350 V8) with a limited slip rear differential. Some observations;

1. The 4wd components have been the ones that need the most service.
2. When the roads are snowy, icy or wet the back end breaks loose easily. Yes, both rear tires will spin.
3. I don't use 4wd in the wet, but do use it in the snow and ice all the time. I've even used it when pulling our horse trailer. It's not unusual for parking at horse events to be in pastures.
4. 4wd doesn't help you stop any better in slippery conditions (not sure how familiar you are with 4wd).
5. It's nice having at least one vehicle with 4wd. Our cars are all front wheel drive.
6. You will never prove to your wife you 'need' 4wd. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Birdhunter1]

I have heard people say mpg's suffer with a 4x4 but I have never noticed it. With trucks that are full time 4x4 (70's and older mostly) this would be an issue but with part time (70's and newer) 4x4's I don't think you would notice a difference. Towing capacity does not increase, in fact as far as towing ratings, 4x4's are lower. When GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) is figured it is figured as gross vehicle, cargo, passengers etc. and 4x4 equipment must be figured in, usually it's a few hundred pounds difference in what they are rated for. Will it actually make a difference, no. If you need to pull a 6000 lb trailer with a truck that is rated for 6600 GVWR or 6800 GVWR you won't notice a bit if difference, same goes for a 6700 lb. trailer with the same truck. Repairs aren't neccesarily more costly for anything else on the truck, but you do have to maintain the 4x4 components. You'll already be repacking bearings on the front end so that won't make a difference but there are u joints in the axles (unless there are CV joints) and u joints in the driveshaft as well as diff case oil. But if these parts are not used regularly (if 4x4 is rarely used) you won't have to deal with these parts very often, however since they are rarely used they are often times forgotten about and instead of servicing ujoints you end up replacing them, again no big deal. Costs of most 4x4 related repairs really aren't too awful expensive, but that is relative to what you consider too expensive compared to I, how often you use it and your means of justifying it.
In general since you said you are wanting to spend $5000 you'll no doubt be looking at used trucks. It's not hard to find an older 4x2 or 4x4 truck for $5k in good shape, you may have to do some light maint/repair but for 5k you should be able to find a good used truck.
I have owned many 4x4 trucks and I keep them well maintained and don't abuse them too bad and haven't had to rob a bank to buy parts. Alot of times you can find aftermarket stuff at good prices or find a salvage yard and you can get most of what you need, if not try ebay. I would justify it.

 

[Birdhunter1]

In reponse to MikePA's post I'm lucky enough not to have a wife to prove things to. That's why I didn't touch on that issue. And also what he said 4x4 doesn't help you stop, but it will help you out of the ditch after you realize the hard way that it really doesn't help you stop.

 

[rozett]

For winter entertainment, I enjoy watching all the soccer mom & dads zooming down the highway in their SUVs at 70 mph in a snow storm. They think because they have 4WD that they can go at any speed. The place that most of them go is off into the pucker brush. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But seriously, Mike gave you some good advice. A nice 2WD with posi would meet your needs well. You'll get a nicer truck for your $5k and you will get better mileage.

I deliver firewood and occasionally pull a horse trailer with my Ford Excursion. It will pull 10K pounds (firewood) with ease. I use the 4WD maybe a dozen times a year. It does add to the maintenance and repair bills, but is nice to have when we have 2 feet of snow.

 

[srs]

With a $5,000 budget you certainly are looking at a used truck as previously mentioned. A 4 X 4 worth $5 K would probably have quite some wear and tear on it. If you can purchase a 2 WD truck and a snow storm is predicted get some type of weight to put in the back of the truck. You'd be surprised how added weight over the wheel wells will greatly improve traction. Also you could put on those temporary emergency snow chains that they sell (or use real snow chains). You'll go anyplace a regular 4 X 4 will go if you have real chains on the truck. My 4 X 4 gets gets real squirrelly in the rear end without any weight in the back.