2wheel drive or 4x4

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
B

bobshe

Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2015
Posts
20
Location
mooresville nc
been looking at trucks to tow my 5th wheel,dodge 3500 dually4x4 and the same but with 2wheel drive I see the 2wdr can tow about 650 lbs more,both can handle the weight do most of you use 2 or 4 wheel drives
 
We have always used 4x4, but I'm not sure it matters. I do know the dually isn't much good in snow or muddy places. They just don't do as good as the regular 4wheel drives. We currently have a Ford F350 dually and it pulls our 2006 Montana 5th wheel great. But then so did our plain 4 wheel drive. one difference is with the dually you don't feel it behind you at all and takes hills better. But my husband wishes all the time he didn't have the dually, but he wouldn't do without the 4 wheel drive. Good Luck!
 
4WD has its value, but whether you would ever need it or not is guesswork.  When we towed 5W's, I got stuck three times in one summer towing with a 2WD + Limited Slip differential.  Wet grass was the culprit once, muddy grass another, and loose gravel the 3rd. Two of the 3 times a neighbor with a 4WD truck helped me out. I darn near traded trucks by the end of summer!  But when I got over the frustration, I realized I had never been stick before. And now I can say I haven't been stuck since either. Sometimes crap happens.

But if you drag your RV into wet areas, sandy places (like a beach!), on deeply rutted roads, or into the back country where help would be hard to get, I think having 4WD would be well worthwhile.
 
I had a 2 wheel drive for towing our trailer. I only got stuck one time in the grass at a rally after an all night rain. we camp in state parks and the occasional private campground and all the roads were paved or gravel and never had any issues.
like said above know where you will be camping and decide if you need the 4 wheel drive.
 
What are the chances that you will ever have your fifth wheel off pavement?
Have had both,  current is a 4X2 dually.  Never had a problem towing with it.  Alone it has been places some 4X4 would not venture.  We made it just fine those times.
4X4 will cost you in fuel economy.  Add the extra maintenance costs and compare that to how much you might use 4X4.  Make up your mind then.
 
What are the chances that you will ever have your fifth wheel off pavement?
Click to expand...

Not all campgrounds have paved sites.  We've had issues twice on grass when our motorhome sank into the mud.  One time was in a campground and another was at a friend's house.  If you have the 4WD option I'd take it, all other things being equal.  Better to have it if needed than to wish you had it.

ArdraF
 
My last truck had 4x4 and never needed. This time around I decided against 4x4 because maximum tow capacity was more important, being a dually and not very good in off-road conditions, and not likely to go where 4x4 might be needed. 
 
I have had three different 4x4 and on each one of them I had incidents when I used the 4x4.  When you need it, you will be grateful you have it.  However, all them have been my daily driving truck.  MHO
 
I vote 4X4.  I doubt we will buy another vehicle that isn't either 4x4 or AWD.  Comes in so handy  - maybe not that often but when it does it is worth it.  We live in snow country too though so take my opinion for what it's worth.

T
 
One vote for 4x2. I tow a fifth wheel (14,000lbs) with a 4x2 F250. I like having the extra capacity and have not needed 4x4.  I have owned 4x4 in the past and never used it.
 
Many thing 4x4s are more rugged.. Personally I think that is myth.

On the other hand.. I sometimes like going places where 2wheel drive does not work well.. But never towing.

That is why I finally, after many years of wanting, bought a used JEEP back in 2013... Sadly turned out to be a mistake, but well.. That is a long story. was not Jeep's fault.

I'll buy another some day.
 
I would like 4wd just to get up our steep drive way with the trailer but it is just not practical for us so I put the hammer down and use speed not finesse ;D. My wife is partially disabled and she just manages to get in and out of our side step equipped 2wd without assistance, important when she goes grocery shopping without me tagging along. She tried getting into my buddy's factory stock 4x4, she couldn't manage unaided. We don't normally travel on unimproved roads or into muddy cg's.
 
We have a tendency to park the trailer for a few days and then take trips to nearby areas. Lots of those areas are much more comfortably driven with 4 wheel drive! Gravel or muddy back roads, mountain roads with high slope, and snowy roads are our very favorites. We live in an area where certain local roads require 4 wheel or chains a reasonable amount of time in the winter too.

We do take our truck on longer driving trips because it is so comfortable. Last winter we went to a family wedding that required us to take I-70 through Glenwood Canyon. It was definitely a 4 wheel or chains drive, per CHP requirements. It was slow, but we made it just fine. Nice to put the truck in 4W mode and just keep driving the hills up or down. As to height, you definitely should get running boards. The new Dodge trucks have an option of really low running boards that come down electronically. I am tall enough to,get in the truck with just standard running boards.
 
Used 4x4 for the first time last weekend in the storage lot. Rained like crazy and the grass was wet, without 4wd never would have got her parked. The dually sucks as a 4x4 but.....
 
One thing I didn't see mentioned was that 4X4 set ups usually have a dual range transfer case.  The low range provides very easy speed control while setting up. 
 
One other consideration is how you would be using it after parking your trailer.  When we are camping we really like to explore the back roads and 4 wheel drive roads.  That 4x4 may open up a lot more areas if that would be of interest to you.

Cheryl
 
I think it depends how you plan to use the truck.  Only a few times have I ever used 4WD while pulling a trailer.  However, I'll always have a 4X4.  We take the truck on back roads every chance we get and some of them require 4 wheel drive.  Last week we drove down the beach at the Padre Island Seashore to the 45 mile marker.  Couldn't have done it in a 2WD.  Also, we took the old truck over the Alpine Loop in Colorado several times in the past.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 977 (members: 29, guests: 948)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,973
Posts
1,388,463
Members
137,722
Latest member
RoyL57
Back
Top Bottom