Mudding/4 wheel drive

Ok before i begin i have to say this is my first truck, and this is my first 4x4 system. i was driving lastnight and wanted to know how the 4x4 system worked, so i shifted into nuetral and turned it on. well as i was driving my rpms were really high, and the truck wasnt going fast at all like 40mph at the most, and the engine seemed to be working really hard. once i noticed the rpms were pretty high i stopped and turned off the 4x4 system. my rpms were at about 4700 almost 5000, is this normal, did i do something wrong......? thanks for yalls help

 

Did you put it in four wheel low? if so that is normal, it puts it into a low gear and will make you go slower per/ rpm but gives you a lot more traction. However you should only use it when your going through some really rough stuff. You shouldn't run your four wheel drive on the street too much though use it for the dirt, mud, snow, sand etc, not so good for the transfer case on the pavement.

 

yea, it was in 4 low.....so i cant really go fast when in 4 low, what at 4 high, what is that meant to be used for. because i am suppose to go mudding this upcoming weekend, what would u suggest, any tips, it will be my very first time, any stupid mistakes beginners make that i can watch out for.

 

do your trail in 2 wheel drive. then hit the 4hi when u need it, and if u get stuck or need to climb somthing then 4lo and locker if your an trd offroad..

 

hey, since i am a novice on 4x4 could someone explain each of the gears of the 4x4 system. could u tell me when to use them and what each one means......yea i know.....pretty sad question

 

The 2wd mode is for every day driving, and light off road use, 4wd high is for moderate off road use or on snow, what it does is put drive to all four wheels in a higher gear allowing you to travel at normal speeds like along a snowy road or sandy area. The higher gear means that you can drive almost like normal. The 4wd low gear is for getting unstuck from a bad area or for climbing rocks etc. It is a lower gear that means your motor revs higher for every rotation of your tires. Because the higher rpm means higher horse power, this allows your truck to get a lot more power at the wheels, but you go a lot slower. Imagine putting a manual trans in first gear and gunning it, you don't go very fast but you could probably go up any hill or over most terrain. The transfer case is similar, the low 4wd gear puts more power down through all four wheels getting you unstuck.

 

thanks that is the exact answer i was looking for i appreciate it.

 

Just to add to the answer, first of all almost NEVER put it into four wheel drive on dry pavement, especialy four low, snow is different. Use four high four most four wheel driving situations, four low can also be used to put less stress on your engine and give you more reation time when climibing and descending steep hills.

 

thanks guys your info is most appreciated