Since you CURRENTLY drive a 4x4, you should be able to answer your own question. Do you use 4x4 on your current vehicle? Have you needed it? If so, get 4x4... Only you can answer this question since nobody here knows what the conditions are like where you live, what the roads are like, what kind of offroading you do etc... Asking here is pretty pointless to be honest. If you think you might need one, get one. Easy.

 

Never said he'd wish he had it, but realize how valuable it CAN be in certain situations.

I don't have time to sit there spinning my tires waiting for traction when I can twist a **** and take off like a bat outta hell haha :p

I've had my truck for a month and 4WD already came in handy for me a couple of times.

 

You seem to have some casual possible uses for it so if you can afford the price difference I would get it. You'll get all or some of it back when you sell or trade-in someday.

 

100% 4x4, wouldn't even consider 2wd in your situation. I've only used it a couple times but its come in handy for sure.

 

^^^This lol

I can absolutely get away with 2x4 if I wanted (drove a 2001 mustang as my first car through multiple winters).....but the truck in 4x4 can do everything faster / easier / less stressful.

 

If he just used his truck for day to day driving im sure he can make a 2wd work in snowy conditions(wont be the best experience though) but he does go off the beaten path and probably uses some sketchy boat ramps so 4x4 is a must imo.

You're absolutely right but a pick up in 2wd on a slick road is going to *** slide like a **** where as a pick up in 4wd will just continue on his merry way.

yep!

 

If you need 4WD for a light dusting of snow over a surface with reasonable traction, either you have inappropriate tires or you don't know how to drive. If we're talking a light dusting of snow on top of a layer of slush that froze into ice, that's a different story and probably one of the most exciting times to drive (and/or get out of a truck...I may or may not have fallen on my *** getting out of multiple vehicles over the years in such conditions because my snow tires gripped well enough that I didn't realize my hiking boots wouldn't).

No, it engages two points of traction for adding forward or rearward momentum (ie for driving); the two points of traction are already there for stopping and turning, although stopping with limited traction will probably happen faster in 4WD than 2WD.

...but won't stop or turn much better than a similarly equipped 2WD, so if you don't keep that in mind when choosing your speed, the 4WD pickup will also continue on its merry way right into the ditch.

One other thing: if you're off the beaten path, 4x4 (and especially 4 low) will often let you get in and out of spots with far less excitement (and ground damage) than 2WD will, and 4Lo is great for speed control on speed descents. One of the few places I've found I needed 4WD in town is parking my sled trailer in my driveway—it's a tight fit, with a really tight turn from the alley, so precision is important and I can't use momentum to overcome the plow berm and slight uphill into the driveway.

To the original point, having a magic **** is nice, and if the payload and pricing hit doesn't matter, I'd definitely go for it. But especially with an e-locker available, it's much more of a nice-to-have than a necessity for any of the uses the original post cited. Also, "snow country up here in North Jersey" made me chuckle.

 

I live in Northern MD and I got a 2wd for the simple reason that if it is so bad on the roads I need 4wd I dont nee3d to be on the roads. I dont have a job where I HAVE to go out in really bad driving conditions. To me anyway that is the overriding factor of whether you NEED 4wd or not.Wanting it is something else again.

 

Engage/Add - Tomato/Tomoto

Lol 2WD shouldn't be looked at as a safety feature, ie; if you can't drive in 2WD don't drive at all"

My old Hyundai Accent had better traction in the snow than ANY 2WD truck simply because it was front wheel dr.

An old '04 2WD f150 XL work truck I drove would get stuck in an inch of snow, and I never got the accent stuck once.

You shouldn't have to add 400lbs of cinder blocks just to be able to pull out of your driveway haha.

But you're right about turning and stopping, 4WD won't do much of anything to help, that's what winter tires are for.

The last time we had snow up here, it was 3 days of freezing rain that accumulated to almost 8 inches of solid snow/ice mix, and 4WD was definitely required to be able to get going anywhere.

And despite what anyone may claim, I know how to drive, whether it's cars, trucks, dump trucks, bobcat's, front end loaders, trailers of all shapes and sizes haha

 

I've just started spending more time on this forum and have already noticed a 'select few' that like to reign on every parade. Seems like they sit in hiding and wait for an opportunity to be a d**k.