Wasn't sure whether to post this in general or here but thought any specifics to my model would be better served here. Got a 23 with 5.0 awesome truck unfortunately I live in the midwest and we're expecting 5 to 7 inches Sunday to Monday. My drive to work is some pretty country roads. This is my first vehicle with 4x4 previously had a fwd car and still have my 08 f150 2wd. I get the basics like not using 4 high on dry pavement. 4 low just to crawl. I don't have the auto 4wd. Should I use it kind of sparingly? If I start to slip traction wise turn it on and then off soon after? From what I can tell you can shift on the fly but the manual isn't much help other than that. Anything I need to watch out for? If it's real rough out can I just roll for 30 mins at normal ish speeds in 4 high? If it's patchy pavement should I just not use it? Lastly do you guys throw weight in your bed regardless? That's what I've done with my 2wd but last winter or two have been mild compared to what there calling for. Any and all tips are appreciated don't want to burn up my truck. Sorry for the clueless post 😂

 

I usually use 4x4 when I feel slippery. The road can be slippery such that in 2nd, the slightest throttle will make the tail wants to kick out, in that situation, I engage 4x4. If it’s just stop sign get & go type of slippery, I don’t mind. Since it’s your first 4x4, one thing caught me off guard in my last truck is that when engaging 4x4, make sure all four wheels are turning at relative constant speed, meaning if your rear tires are spinning but the truck isn’t moving, it would have a hard time get into 4x4. So apply break then engage, if you want to shift on the fly, I usually just let the truck rolling when engaging. The 4H will illuminate in your instrument cluster if successfully engaged. These trucks have pretty good traction control to prevent you spin out. And remember a 4x4 breaks as slow as any other 2wd.

 

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Using 4wd while driving essentially straight or on .minor, turning is ok. But not on sharp turning.
Better to put shift mode in Wet/Snow and benefit from reduced throttle response and more rear Axle traction. The ABS Brake system adds more rear traction under auto control as long as the Rear is not manually E-Locked.
In this mode, if the rear still spins one wheel, put Electric Lock On, only for the time you need it.
If you drive faster than 25 mph in rear lockup, it auto un-locks, until the speed goes below 20 mph.
The features are very Dynamic trying to take care of the traction conditions safely. The driver still has responsibility to use it wisely.
Said another way, no 4wd driving fast because of losing control is possible with front wheels Locked at the same time. Steering gets harder to respond to on dry pavement.
Good luck..

 

can you shift into 4 high at normal speeds? Well reduced from normal normal

 

how do you switch to wet/slippery? The dial only showed sport, eco, tow, and normal I believe

 

I assumed the truck had the features.
2018 XLT has all of them.
I can't look in an Owner Manual because they don't make it available on the Internet website like they used to.
Sorry if yours don't or maybe has a different version of them.
Good luck.

 

yes you can

 

Don't believe mine does I have the xlt but for whatever reason ford limited some features it seems. My buddy has a 17 5.0 Xlt and he can see his trans temp just in the regular menu from what I can tell I gotta use a scan tool or do some extra stuff just to see it

 

Can you use reverse in 4x4?

 

Yes