2WD or 4WD?

Well it depends on what your gonna be hauling of more where. If your gonna be highway running with lil chance of seeing more than a gravel lot id say 2wd, less truck weight and less driveline parts to wear out. Unless you get a truck with lock out hubs then that takes care of the driveline turining and if its not turning it doesnt wear out. If your going to be doing oil field hauling or delivery to mine sites not haveing 4x4 is a great way to get laughed at and have your truck drug around behind a d6 dozer like a toy behind a toddler. I would also say 4x4 if your running alot of northern states and canada

 

If your on clean highway mostly, 2wd will get better fuel economy. Lots of snow or offroad, 4wd may be necessary.

 

I've had to use my 4 wheel drive a hand full of times while hauling. Most often when a vehicle we've used as "filler" is being delivered to someone out in the country. Just had that situation in NC. Delivered to a placed that fixes up cars they buy at auction and sells them. The car was inop. We pushed it off the ramps behind his shop. It had rained the day before. You get the picture! I had to use 4 wheel drive to make the loop to get out of his back lot or I would have been calling a tow truck.

The extra 300 lbs (or so) would be nice to have, it would increase the total legal weight I could carry to 17,799 but I don't really want to haul that much. The loads that are dispatched to me are generally around 12k or less. We've had a couple up around 16k.

For example, I picked up 5, 2 inch steel rods 20' long and a 3x3x3 box of large nuts and bolts in Commerce GA going to cell tower in Monkton MD (about 640 miles and 5200 lbs). Picked up a 1959 F100 30 miles away to drop off in Manassas VA (on route). The rods paid $1500, the truck paid $320.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that, no, you will not use 4WD a lot but you need it, you need it. You never know where you're going to be delivering to.


Much Success!
Bill

 

I have had both,,,,I liked the 4X2 for the little better MPG, however after having a 4X4 and THEN later a 4X2, I missed the 4X4 .

I haul to job sites that are usually being excavated and can be sloppy and muddy ! I also have had to pull into alot of grassy hills and sloped ground....These duals SUCK on wet grass and can get stuck really easy , especially with a loaded trailer...

I will most likely never run a 4X4 again, just for these reasons above ....IMHO

 

I have limited slip but I won't go off the road no mpre and haven't for several years they're not going to pay extra if you tear your equipment up.
And I park when weather is bad enough for 4wd it really don't help that much anyway. Just extra parts to repair

 

My dad did hot shotting and had 4wd on his truck.He rarely used it but when he did it was nice to have.Case in point,out in the swamps where the nearest tow truck is 125 miles away.Better to be prepared than not Id say.

 

If I were hotshotting with a 4wd I'd invest in a manual lockout hubs conversion kit. An easy conservative 1mpg gain, I put one of these kits on my 3/4 Ram a few years ago and love it. The dumbest thing ever when they quit making them like that from the factory..

 

X2 on the lock out hub conversion. I'd also install a larger front airdam to direct the air around the truck, rather than under and through the undercarriage. Turboshield has a fancy set up that uses a motor to vary the ground clearance as needed, I just rigged together some angle iron and plastic mudflaps. Shows a couple more mpg on the display while cruising on the highway, I play in the mud too much to see a difference in hand calculated mileage.

 

I run a great deal of Canada in the winter. I will stick with the 4 wd. I had the 2 wd and got stuck in lots many times.