mflinehan

After having my new 2013 f150 for half a winter in South Dakota I've come to find that it out performs my 1992 Chevy 1500 in the snow hands down. I even found I didn't ever need 4 wheel drive at all this year in the Ford.
Is anyone out there using a 2wd f150 in snowy states?
Do you regret not having 4x4?
What does everyone think.
Mind you our winters are long and we usually have snow from November left in march.

SkiSmuggs

I wouldn't be without 4WD. I need it just to pull my fifth wheel through the yard without tearing the yard up. And, although I could probably jiggle out when stuck in the snow, it is so much quicker just to put it in 4WD. Even the slightest acceleration on a snowy uphill sends the rear end heading for the ditch. I commute 70 miles a day and can't imagine doing it without 4WD.

mflinehan

I've seen your other post and appreciate your opinion on this. I manage rental properties, and do pest spraying in the summer months. I have a 4x4 2013 f150 for that. I was just trying to see if I could squeezing by in 2wd for my personal vehicle, and save the money.

brulaz

Just remember that the "part-time" 4x4 you have in your new truck can only be used when the roads are very slippery. Otherwise you'll burn up the transfer case.

Around here, they clean up and salt the paved roads so fast that I never really used the 4x4 in my old truck. But there are still icy patches here and there in the shady areas. What I want is "full-time" 4x4 for partial snow/ice covered roads. But that only comes on the Lariat and above AFAIK and wasn't even an option back in 2011.

So we got the FX2. I see other guys running 4x2's with snow tires, but mine has Michelin LTX MS/2's which are supposed to be pretty good too. Doesn't really matter that much right now though as the truck spends most of its time in Florida during the winter.

SkiSmuggs

I talked to an old guy at the dealer who said he just didn't see the need for 4WD and had only owned 2WD trucks, so it can be done. I'm on my 3rd 4WD truck here and all of them would have been stuck without. As for the comments about burning out the transfer case, I always do parking lots in 2WD and you won't burn out anything on (mostly) straight roads.
Just read my post and realized the "old guy" was probably my age.

dpellter

I've lived in New England all my life and there is a way to drive a 2 WD vehicle in the snow. But it's a real pain and most of the time it's other idiot drivers that will cause you go get stuck. Avoid the hassle and stress! Get all wheel drive, you only live once.

tomb1269

Drive a Ford Ranger 4x2 with open diff and F150 4x4 with limited slip. The Limited slip will walk side ways much faster than the open. The 4x4 however corners much better in the snow. There is a lot to be said when that front axles pulling in a corner or as you bounding down snow covered and snow pack roads. Never been to SD but I know that I-95 tends to have snow pack in mid Feb. up around Bangor ME whether it snow the day before or a week earlier and I assume the same could be the case in SD. Also our fords are not like GMs and others, when we are disengaged we are completely disengaged like the old manual locking hubs, our trucks have a vaccum set of wheel ends that dissengage us from the front axle so we are not getting the parastic loss of turning the front axle in 2wd. The only thing is the added weight of the 4x4 system, which is only 300 or 400 lbs at most.

ecobeest

Given that I tow in the winter 4X4 is a necessity for me. Luckily I live in an area of Ontario that doesn't get extreme amounts of snow, but it is nice to know it is there. Just this past weekend on my first outing with our new fifth wheel I'd have likely gotten horribly stuck in the mud without 4x4.

As the old saying goes get stuck with 4x2 and get unstuck with 4x4.

billf

I live in the desert Southwest, and everything that isn't paved is sand of one kind or another. I've found 4x4 to be very useful (if not necessary) often enough that I wouldn't want to be without it.

I got a 2012 Lariat with the on-demand all wheel drive, and I like it a lot for street driving. For example, when taking off from a dead stop with and empty bed the rear tires don't spin out like they used to. The AWD is also great on all the gravel and "dirt" roads.

It didn't snow here this last winter (sometimes it does) so I can't comment on 4x4 or AWD on ice and snow.