icantdrive55

My last truck--an '09 XLT SCab--was 2WD with the 3.55 LSD axle. I live in SW Ohio so we do get some snow, but the real problem is black ice. 4WD doesn't really help with those conditions, but a set of 4 studded snow tires sure does!

When I bought the most recent truck, I looked for another 2WD SCab at local dealers. Dealer I typically buy from had over 60 F150s on the lot, but not a single 2WD in ANY configuration. I did a search for the options I wanted within 500 miles and didn't turn up one! Prolly could still have ordered an '18 or waited for a '19, but pulled the trigger on a 4x4. Only negative so far is that it doesn't ride quite as nice as the old truck. I guess I may get some of that money back when I sell it...in about 10 years.

seventyeight

acdii

Do you want to spend $3500 more or less? That is roughly what the difference in price is between 2WD and 4WD, so of course resale will be higher since it costs more to begin with. My last truck was 4WD, and nearly the entire front had to be rebuilt or replaced in less than 30K miles, and I rarely used it except in snow. The IWE are notorious for sticking, engaging when in 2WD, hence spinning the front diff with no load, which is what apparently wrecked the diff in mine. Prior to that truck I had a 14 RWD, LOVED that truck. I drive in upper IL lower WI 5 days a week, in snow, so a set of snow tires took care of that. If the snow was too much for snow tires, then I really didn't need to be on the road to begin with. That truck got wrecked not from snow, but ice, and there is no 4WD in the world that would have prevented it.

I special ordered the truck I have now, in RWD, and it is so much better than my last one, and no front rotating assembly to be concerned about! I also have been driving since the early 80's in RWD cars, in Chicago winters, with All Seasons and not once did I ever get stuck in snow!

I did get my new truck stuck in my driveway two weekends ago after it sank into the soft ground with a trailer attached, oops. My fault though, should have unhitched the moment the wheels slipped and not dug it in with all that weight on the tail. My Bad. The ground was so slick and soft that even a 4WD with the tires I have would have been stuck, that ground was slicker than teflon! I stepped down into it and damn near fell it was so slick. Now that the ground has firmed up I need to try to pull the trailer out as it too had sunk in.

Of course YMMV, but if you aren't taking it anywhere that 4WD is a must, then do you really need it?

ChiefD

This is the ultimate question, but its an easy one for the practical buyer. "Do I need it?" I never truly needed it, so I've never bought it. I do like having the electric locking rear axle, that's a first for me. All of my trucks have been with me in AZ, CA, and OR. Would imagine if it snowed a lot, it would be a different story.

bassJAM

I’ve always had 4WD, and used it to take my trucks off-road for firewood, fishing access and just trail riding so it got used pretty often. Then the 4WD went out on my last truck (crew cab Frontier) due to a wheel speed sensor and due to buying a foreclosed fixer-up home and getting married I never got around to fixing it for 2 years. But I was very impressed with how well that truck did in 2WD with a Truetrac in the rear. During that time we had 2 of the worst winters in recent history where snow was on the ground from basically December through February (in Cincinnati that’s rare) and with 200lbs of weight in the bed I never had a problem; I was actually impressed with how well the truck did in snow still. I even did a couple camping trips where I was off-road for about a mile getting to the camp site in eastern Ohio, the hilly foothills of the Appalachians. I had maybe 500lbs of gear in the bed and that truck just chugged right up every hill and right through each muddy pit.

Knowing how capable 2WD can be with a locker and that an F150 was too wide to fit on most of the trails I frequent, I was considering getting a 2WD with this truck. But like icantdrive55 said there just aren’t any 2WD trucks available in SW Ohio. There’s a ton of farmers and rednecks in the area that do use 4WD, and even more suburbanites and city folk who think they need 4WD for parking in yards for cookouts and the 1” of yearly snow we typically get.

SCORGE

Better to have and not need than need and not have.
If you can afford it, do it

Strad

Thanks for your thoughts. The last 3 post had info I was looking for. People who have always had 4wd and then realized that they didn't really need it.
I am hoping to convince my wife that we should get a travel trailer and go to the national parks. Does pulling a trailer make any difference in your thinking?

bassJAM

If you plan on staying on pavement and flat gravel then no, 4WD won't add anything.

greggebhardt

I also had a bit of trouble deciding until the sales person took me to the FX4 and it was love at first site!

Not sure I will ever use the 4X4, but it is there if needed.

Should I engage the 4X4 every once in a while ?

acdii

I put 4000 miles on pulling my 28' Coleman around with RWD trucks, and since I never plan to go "off road" while camping, not something that would concern me. I will however get some front tow hooks installed on mine, Just In Case!