4x4 vs 2x4 TV

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Cant Wait

Cant Wait

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 19, 2010
Posts
726
Location
Jamestown, NY
For all the full timing 5th wheelers. How many of you use a 4x4 TV and how many times have us actually HAD to use the 4x4, not including those times you were boondocking? I'm talking regular campgounds and normal highway useagyou
 
I'm not currently full time with a 5ver, but I did pull one for 4+ years. I pulled it with a Dodge Ram diesel dually 4X4 with a six speed manual.  I needed the 4X4 about half a dozen times in 4 years to get me out of a jam with the 5ver.  That is not a lot, but without it I would have needed a tow truck. Once I was high sided in a forested campground and the left side tires of the 5 ver had sunk in rain softened dirt up to the axle. The fiver was inches from hitting a large pine tree. Without the front drive axle I would have damaged the truck and 5ver. Four wheel drive saved my butt big time.  It's your call.
 
We towed 5W's for only three years. No problems for two years, then got stuck three times in one year with our Limited Slip axle tow vehicle.  First time was on a steep gravel hill on a campground road and the gravel just slipped out of the way. Probably could have made with with 4x4. Next two times were on wet grass in clay soil, both slick as ice. Had a 4x4 tow me out the second time, so I know I would have been ok if I had 4x4. Other time I'm not sure - it took a farm tractor to move me and the 11,000 lb trailer.

We were fairly aggressive about where we took the trailer. If I could fit it in, we tried it, and always opted for the wetter waterfront sites when we could.  If we stayed in more "developed" parks, I doubt if I  would have ever needed it.
 
I pull a 5'er with a Dodge 4x4" for about 6 years. I have non aggressive tires for a smooth ride and use 4x4 several times a year.  Every time, I was in grass, on a slope, and it was wet. I couldn't get out in 2 wheel, perhaps because of the tires, but in any event I had to use 4x4.  Downside of 4x4 is you loose some gas mileage, makes bed higher (possible clearance issue) and adds weight to truck but...I also hunt and fish and need a 4x4 (at least that is what I tell myself!).
 
I have used my 4x4 Dodge Diesel three times this year at a campground due to wet weather. I have aggressive tires and they are worth the money.  This is my third truck with 4x4 and will never own a truck without it.
 
I use  the 4 WD option when ever I can, on grave roads, sand ( on a beach ), in snow, mud, rain etc. Have pulled others out of situations who did not have 4 WD and needed it.
DO not use on dry pavement
Howard
 
I only had a problem once, we had an unusually heavy snow fall and I got stuck getting out of my parking stall. More a function of poor tire for winter driving. We chose 2wd so DW could get in and out easier with her arthritis, I am more selective about where I take it than with my previous 4x4's.
 
I have never owned a trailer or 5th wheel but did watch a guy last year trying to get into a level site on grass. It was wet and he was spinning the tires without moving the coach. My guess is a 4X4 would have helped a lot in that situation. It took several running starts before he got back far enough to park.

You may not need it often but, when you do, it will be worth it's weight in gold!!!
 
We bought our first 5ver in 1987 and have always pulled with a 4x2 and have never had a problem even the few times we were caught in snow storms. All it takes is a little common sense. You will get better mileage and the maintenance cost is less with a 4x2.

Denny
 
I guess I should have further qualified the question, I"ll be having a 4x2 Dulley. Thouse of you the had to use your 4x4 was it a dulley or single? , and I'm talking just while towing your 5th wheel?
 
I live and own two cattle ranches in Colorado. I own more than one truck, including one small utility truck on each ranch that is 4WD and almost never leaves the ranch.

None of our other trucks are 4WD. I use Dodge D3500 Commins Diesels, with dual wheels, for all of our trailer pulling, including our Montana 3750FL RV, horse trailers, stock trailers, flat-bed trailers and utility trailers.

For all of our trucks (except the semis) and also the autos, I change tires to winter tires with studs in the Fall and then back to summer tires in the Spring.

We have learned that even in Colorado, proper tires are the key for us, and even if we had 4WD trucks I still would put winter studded tires on every Fall.
 
I like the low range option..even on dry pavement it allows me to park my trailers w/o clutch slippage often w.just idle. no need to engage the front axles and I feel it is better on the whole truck..I'm thinking about using an extra Reese hitch for the front so I can drive my trailers in ..makes parking them a snap.
 
No personal experience but a friend's parents are "half-timers" and they are on their 2nd Dodge 3500 4x2. 1st one was a dually and this one is a SRW. He went with the SRW since he did not like how the dually tracked in the snow. He had 4WD pickups in the past but says he will not go back to 4WD. Only time he would have "had" to use 4WD was about 3 - 4 years ago when he got stuck at Greenlakes State Park here in NY on an uphill grassy site after a rainy weekend. I was there with them - his son in law pulled him and the 5'er out with his 4WD GMC - has not let him live it down to this day!

I do see the convenience of having 4WD but I'm a weekender - I might see it differently if I was never/rarely in the snow and stayed in one place for weeks on end.
 
We have never needed 4WD while towing, however we've driven over jeep roads all over the west.  I've found that by taking it slow and easy, we've been able to easily go some places most folks think only a jeep will go.  To do that, we need to be able to select low range, especially going down long steep trails.  We use our 4WD truck for everything from pulling equipment trailers, travel trailers, and traveling back roads.  I'll always have one 4WD vehicle with a low range transfer case.
 
I have a 2wd, and there have been times I would have liked 4wd, I must admit. The low range helps tremendously when backing a trailer. That said we get by just fine.
 
I can't imagine NOT having the 4X4... Wet grass, snow, mud.... one of these is possible in every point of our country.  Personally, we have had to put the truck in 4X4 a number of times.... and it's a 2011.... so not like it's an in frequent need by our standards.
 
It's pretty difficult to maneuver in 4x4 low on a hard surface without putting a severe strain on the powertrain.  I've done it when launching boats and such when going straight forward or back without turning.  I always take it out of the "locked" position before turning.  The front and rear ends are locked together and doesn't allow the tires on the front and rear in a turn to move at different speeds.  As a result, the tires must slip on the surface.  The heavier the vehicle, the more strain.  That's the reason the truck's owners manuals tell us not to use the 4x4 when on a hard surface.  I've had a 4x4 truck with an 'auto' setting that allows full time use of the 4x4 due to a transfer case that has a special differential built in, however it still could not be used on a hard surface in 4x4 low because the front and rear ends were locked together.
 
BigLarry said:
It's pretty difficult to maneuver in 4x4 low on a hard surface without putting a severe strain on the powertrain.  I've done it when launching boats and such when going straight forward or back without turning.  I always take it out of the "locked" position before turning.  The front and rear ends are locked together and doesn't allow the tires on the front and rear in a turn to move at different speeds.  As a result, the tires must slip on the surface.  The heavier the vehicle, the more strain.  That's the reason the truck's owners manuals tell us not to use the 4x4 when on a hard surface.  I've had a 4x4 truck with an 'auto' setting that allows full time use of the 4x4 due to a transfer case that has a special differential built in, however it still could not be used on a hard surface in 4x4 low because the front and rear ends were locked together.
Click to expand...
Yea agree.... use it when you need to.
 
On the dodge forums, they have posted a fix to use 2WD low, which is ideal for backing up grades with a trailer.
 
4x4 is good great to have available when towing, but there is a substantial cost to it, both upfront and in fuel economy over the long haul. There is no free lunch.
 
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