Author Topic: Trucks RWD vs 4WD (Read 6270 times)

Turbo Bob · « **on:** December 21, 2009, 12:55:14 am »

If you were just using a truck for light duties, home renovation, longer family trips (quad cab) etc, and also in the snow, would you need 4WD? Or would RWD be OK?

Or is RWD pretty useless in the snow without any weight in the back? I know nothing about trucks so just wondered if RWD trucks are just used for lowering and drag racing or if they are pretty practical too.

SAM, if you see this thread, what was the RAM you got, was it RWD or 4WD?

natski · « **Reply #1 on:** December 21, 2009, 01:35:32 am »

i have owned several pick up trucks and have driven many different brands
if you need to get some place and its snowing 4 wd is the only way to go , the nice thing about 4 wd is you can most times turn it off to save fuel when in normal nice weather driving .
i own a toyota tacoma crew cab at present 4 wd and love this truck v6 power is plenty and it also is a standard tranny . my wife drives it often and also loves the truck, previous to it we had a gmc seirra 4wd extended cab p/u 4 wd drive , now it had the 350 cubic inch motor in it and was excellent on fuel for what it was , was auto tranny , we purchased it new in 1995 and it never went back to the dealer for anything not once , it had 2 minor recalls by gm . we put well over 350,000 km on that truck , it still had the original u joints in the drive line, original constant velocity joints , ball joints ect ect a well made truck . when we sold it a couple years ago we got 5000 $ for it from the mechanic that did normal maintenance to the truck for all those years. i did replace the gas tank and gas lines as they finally rusted out .
as for 2 wheel drive weight or no weight buy good snow tires all the way around put a couple bags of sand in the back ( so much for cargo space ) and go easy like you would in a car you will do fine , they do not have anywhere near the traction a 4 wd has in my view and or the control in snow conditions , they are light in the rear and will spin easy and or get stuck if you use a heavy foot
the reason we had quad cabs is to move the family up and down to the cottage every weekend in winter for snowmobiling and summer also every weekend and all holidays , we are a family of four, my son who is 16 and is 6 ft 3 ( supposed to be 6ft 7 when he finishes growing ) and a daughter is 5 ft 11 , i,m 6 ft 3 and the pretty one is 5 ft 7 , we also have 3 Siberian huskies to haul around with us plus the junk for the weekend so quad cabs and 4 wd were the only safe way to go for us and i swear by them

PJungnitsch · « **Reply #2 on:** December 21, 2009, 01:38:25 am »

Grew up with RWD trucks on the farm. That's basically all people drove at one time, unless you were working in the bush.

With good tires my RWD Mazda has done fine, I did change to studded this Nov as the Hat tends to be icy and hilly, and bought some emergency tire chains. One particularly steep hill here last winter I spun out half way up with my X-Ice's and had to back all the way down, not fun. Saskatoon, which is much flatter, was never a problem. Noticed to in BC that heavy wet snow was much more difficult than the cold dry stuff common in the Prairies.

I am driving 4WD's for work, and it is really, really nice to have, especially with the crappy winter tires we drive on. Very few RWD trucks sold new now. They have far worse traction than a FWD car and the extra price on a new truck of 4WD is not much. If I buy a new truck 4WD will be on it for sure.

Buying used it's not so simple, as badly treated 4WD's can be money pits.

airbalancer · « **Reply #3 on:** December 21, 2009, 07:08:05 am »

for the cost difference get a 4x4, you makeup the cost o resell
Sir Sam partner is a landscaper and i belive does snow plowing so he has a 4x4

tpl · « **Reply #4 on:** December 21, 2009, 07:15:35 am »

Just to be clear. You'all are talking about 4WD not AWD right?.
As I understand 4WD that means no centre differential, just diffs on each axle. So 4WD not to be used at speed or for long distance on dry roads.

Turbo Bob · « **Reply #5 on:** December 21, 2009, 07:50:40 am »

So what is the difference between 4WD and AWD?

Is that true, most trucks sold are 4WD now?

tpl · « **Reply #6 on:** December 21, 2009, 08:02:57 am »

True AWD always has a centre differential, Torsen, Viscous, computer controlled clutches... you name it. So that all the wheels can receive power all the time regardless of speed or road surface with no "wind up" front to rear.

natski · « **Reply #7 on:** December 21, 2009, 08:30:45 am »

awd is a constant traction your engine is constantly working ( using gas ) to turn those tires in whatever conditions
4 wd you can turn off or on as conditions demand or you demand , the rear wheels move the vehicle when not in 4wd like a normal truck, you can shift it in and out now a day at the push of a button on dash or maybe still some that there is a shifter on the floor to move it in or out of 4wd.
in my gmc the shifter was on the floor and i could up to 80 kms a hour shift it into 4 wd high range with no issues the same is true with my tacoma

blur911 · « **Reply #8 on:** December 21, 2009, 08:31:33 am »

2WD is found on a lot of work trucks that have a load of something in the back at all times.

I had a 2WD F250, about 250lbs of weight in the back, and couldn't get out of our cottage driveway, had to get a friend with an ATV to pull me. Couldn't even get it in my backyard without taking a good run.
Had enough of that and got a F150 4WD, it's almost always in 2WD, but now I don't get stuck everywhere when it snows.
There are few vehicles as useless in sloppy weather as an unladen 2WD pickup.

Even in 4WD though, they are not the best once you're moving, front heavy, steers like a truck, drivetrain windup on tight turns from the lack of a center diff, etc. I'll stick to my quattro or Subaru for going down the highway in inclement weather.

mrthompson · « **Reply #9 on:** December 21, 2009, 08:42:10 am »

I believe some pick up trucks are now offered with a sytem comprising full-time 4WD (bare pavement okay), part-time 4WD (no bare pavement), neutral and 4WD Low. My Cherokee had such a system, and full-time 4WD was great for the ever changing road conditions we face in winter. IIRC, low range is the only four wheel drive mode limited by speed (for obvious reason).

bridgecity · « **Reply #10 on:** December 21, 2009, 10:32:57 am »

Another vote here for 4wd. Obviously, you could get by with 2wd, but 4wd is such a huge advantage that I wouldn't buy a truck without it. In my experience, traction for accelerating in a 2wd truck becomes fairly limited when the roads become slick.

wing · « **Reply #11 on:** December 21, 2009, 10:35:34 am »

Resale on 2WD trucks is horrible! That alone makes it worth get 4WD

tortoise · « **Reply #12 on:** December 21, 2009, 10:46:40 am »

Unless you're buying a used 2WD truck!

For your uses it should be fine. I spent a winter at Fernie in a 2WD Mazda B2500 and never really got stuck. With a little weight in the back it's no problem.

PJungnitsch · « **Reply #13 on:** December 21, 2009, 11:16:31 am »

Quote from: mrthompson on December 21, 2009, 08:42:10 am

I believe some pick up trucks are now offered with a sytem comprising full-time 4WD (bare pavement okay), part-time 4WD (no bare pavement), neutral and 4WD Low. My Cherokee had such a system, and full-time 4WD was great for the ever changing road conditions we face in winter. IIRC, low range is the only four wheel drive mode limited by speed (for obvious reason).

A lot of Chev pickups come with that, and I believe it's an option on high end (Laramie) Dodges. It would seem to be the best system, I certainly wish I had that on the work trucks around town. A mix of glare ice where parking and bare pavement on the streets means constantly shifting in and out of 4WD. And you can't shift when spinning, or bang.

On 2wd, someone here bought a new 2wd Tundra recently, and I believe he mentioned the traction control was very effective in the winter.

ktm525 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 21, 2009, 01:38:02 pm »

I have always had a truck in the garage and would never get a 2WD again. It is just too much of a PIA when the weather is nasty. With my current dirtbike hauler/project hauler/tower/winter commuter (2002 AWD Dodge Dakota) I find it to be awesome in the winter with the AWD. A set of narrow snow tires and it is unstoppable, if it gets truly nasty or I am buried doors deep in a snow bank a quick flick of the switch and the center diff is locked and away I go. . A far cry from my snow tire equipped Datsun p/u I had eons ago..

Go 4WD.

articsteve · « **Reply #15 on:** December 21, 2009, 02:20:23 pm »

If you were just using a truck for light duties, home renovation, longer family trips (quad cab) etc, and also in the snow, would you need 4WD? Or would RWD be OK?

If the unit came with mechanical limited slip on the rear diff you would be fine. It's usually an option.

kardood69 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 21, 2009, 02:53:25 pm »

Another option is to mechanically and electrically couple your current car/cuv with a detachable, as-needed, weekend cargo pod. This way the power and passenger unit can be swapped out as your requirements change, but the pod can be retained.

They sell them at Home Depot.

safristi · « **Reply #17 on:** December 21, 2009, 03:26:03 pm »

..My olde '97!!! Ranger.RWD..freaks my son out......used to FWD..and such......he complains "Damn that truck is L OO>>SEEE inna Winter Dad"......even with wintaahs and a few DEAD BODIES...errr STIFFIES inna back

.....me i likes it ...reminds me of Edinburgh after i got my drovers! licentiousness.....couldn't keep a straight line......in the damp and frost..................they just call me tha panel beetaah.......

sissies U ALL..................GOTH DARNNIT!!!!

Flinter · « **Reply #18 on:** December 21, 2009, 03:50:58 pm »

Back home in Northern Newfoundland, there were two seasons, winter and almost winter

Needless to say, trucks were the norm and many people were able to get around fine in 2wd trucks. However, a good set of snow tires and 300-500lbs of weight in the bed are critical. Without the weight, you will spend more time pushing and shovelling than you will driving. Alot of people carried a snowmobile around in the back for the extra weight as well as a back-up way to get home.

That said, 4wd makes a truck so much more desirable in winter, I can't see myself ever getting a 2wd unless I already had another AWD/4WD vehicle.

safristi · « **Reply #19 on:** December 21, 2009, 04:04:18 pm »

..FLINT'err....not U2...tha FLAME has DYED!!!

..can You still DRIVE 300yards inna WINTER!!!!!