If you don't off-road, but you live in a place that snows..

Exactly ... I've always thought of it as "tractor mode" ... similar to the "crawl control" they're touting on the 2016 ORs.

 

Total rubbish

 

I live in PA...which, gets our fair share of snow. I've always had either 4WD or FWD/2WD.

I've had about 2-3 different front wheel drive cars that kicked ass in the snow. I had this little 1993 Mazda Protege that I bought new. That thing drove me to & from work 25 miles away in the worst of snowing conditions. It was an awesome car in the snow. I need a truck for other things.....I have 4WD and wouldn't live without it.

I don't care what you drive or what tires you run....ANYTHING that's only 2WD REAR wheel drive...sucks in the snow!!!

Hell...my truck fishtails in corners on slightly wet roads (probably a little greasy too).

If my tires are on their last 20% of wear, I sometimes put 200+ lbs in the bed for extra weight since the tires aren't as good anymore. But other than that....4WD all the time in the snow.

 

You folks get some seriously slippy snow in PA

 

Absolute truth!

On extreme icy conditions (memories coming back to me)h - like, ice storm 2" of freezing rain.... stuck at work and trying to get home...I remember driving over the white line on the side of the road just to get 2 tires on some snow that was leftover from snow plow. My God...that trip was 25miles and took 2 hours!!!

 

Perhaps I drive like grandma....

If you're on the highway and its icy (or anywhere icy for that matter).... you should be going PDS (pretty damn slow). Going PDS and utilizing your 4x4 for engine braking. You shouldn't be using your brakes at all.....unless you need to come to a complete stop (after slowly down to less than a crawl). The engine braking can get you down to a pretty slow speed (and keep it there) in a controlled manner. You want to avoid 'abrupt' changes - like, using your brakes.

Cuz...if you're going too fast and feel the need to use your brakes, the ABS is gonna be pulsating like a MOFO. You can't steer for crap when the ABS is pulsatting. You're better off slowing down, engine brake, and being able to steer.

 

This ^^

If it's icy, you shouldn't be using your brakes to slow down. @steeds Howdy from Whitefish! make it down here at all?

 

Can you get around in a 2WD truck in snow , yes

Is a 4x4 truck more capable in snow , yes

/thread

 

BTDT ... 42 mile commute took 3 hrs ... pucker factor the whole trip.

And you do

* *

 

I work on the hill in the winter and ride no less than 70 days per year. Maybe we'll have one (or more) at the Bierstube this winter Glacier Park had snow at high elevations yesterday afternoon when a front moved through.

 

Probably 75% of my "justification" for owning a 4wd is driving in snow. Let me explain. I live about 25 miles from work. My job requires me, or ONE other person who works for me to unlock the building, turn off the alarms, and power up the building an hour or so before everyone else gets there. In 26+ years, I have NEVER been late. It is a prerequisite of the job to be able to be on time and always there when needed.

I live on a back road, with 2 steep uphills, and 2 steep downhills before I hit the main road. Once on the main road, it is the LAST stretch of paved road in the county that gets plowed when it snows....LITERALLY.....the last. My daily drive consists of 15+ miles on those roads. The balance is on interstate highways in open country that have been known to get a few drifts from time to time. (Highway I travel is the "Gene Snyder Freeway"....Locals refer to it as the "Gene Slider") We occasionally get heavy snows. Last year we got a 17"er....Largest single day snow event in my time was 22". It's not Uncommon to get 8" or 9" snows. Once we got 33" in 2-1/2 days. On an unplowed highway, that may be navigable in a 2wd, but DEPENDIBLY navigable....? Not so much. So there's my justification.

The other 25% is divided between the fact that in 43 years of driving, I've never NOT owned a 4wd......combined with the fact that since I own one, I can go PLAY with it when I want. The wife and I LOVE camping, exploring back roads (all year 'round) and with 43 years of 4-wheeling in my blood, when I see a dirt road or a trail I've never been on, the truck has been known to just turn in on it's own!

But I tell the wife I HAVE to have it because of snow. So far that's worked out real well!

And if you're gonna drive a 4wd, you might just as well drive the BEST!

TACOMA! (On my 4th one!)

 

I live in Western Mass. Last year we had 80+" of snow. In many cases, the clearance under my truck combined with 4x4 got me home before the plows came so I could snow blow the driveway and such for my wife. Her FWD did a great job and she's super careful driving, but sometimes the snow was just too deep for her car. So why not get a Jeep? I had one and loved it a while back, but try going to Home Depot for anything larger than a box of screws. Add to that the ability to pull my small camper and load the truck with coolers, ez ups, firewood, etc. and it makes sense for my lifestyle to own this Tacoma. I'll never go without at least one 4x4 in my driveway.

 

16 or you will be kicking your self in the ass

 

I'd get the 15

 

I know you could get around in 2WD if thats the only option. I have had and driven a 4WD something for twenty five years now. I will never own a 2WD again. I push a plow with my truck so thats a good reason to go 4WD, and have it if you need it.

 

^ This! My 2005 Camry V6 with a set of Blizzak's was solid. Studless tires but rarely did I ever have slide issues. It had to be pretty damn icy to make that car slide (though I did slide thru a stoplight once @ 35mph - thankfully everyone saw me coming). Used to watch guys with their giant lifted diesels slide all over while I passed right on by them. Was pretty pathetic actually.

 

Living in AK, winter driving knowledge is a must. But to reiterate the previous posts, 4wd/AWD is meant to help control the vehicle's forward traction. So less slipping when accelerating, but when you are slowing down, inertia is inertia and the only thing you can do to avoid sliding is slowing down early/ driving slower. 4wd might help you avoid some accidents in certain situations, where you have room to drive around, but there's no substitute for driving slow. If these situations sound familiar, 4wd could be for you. If not, 2wd will serve you just fine.

 

That's half the fun! But yea, light on the throttle and lots of space between you and the car in front.

Most roads are plowed decent here and I pretty much only use it if it's snowing or in backing down a steep boat ramp.

 

I'm 3 miles from the nearest pavement, and without 4WD, I'd have been stuck out here in the woods even longer then I was this last Winter. I couldn't even get to my backup woodshed without it!

 

Back the the original post...

Do you need 4WD if you live where it snows? No, but it makes it a hell of a lot easier to deal with the snow. I will always have at least one AWD/4WD vehicle that I can use to get around in the snow. Plenty of people here drive FWD/RWD vehicles in the snow but you'll usually hear them complain about how the roads are terrible and how they got stuck, etc. The truth is, the roads are usually only terrible while the storm is going on and the plows clear up the main roads pretty quickly after the storm. If you live in a populated area and your house is close to a main road then you're usually fine. However if your house is more out in the woods and/or you have a steep driveway, then 4WD becomes more of a necessity.

If you're like me who often has to be out driving in the storm because I'm the one who takes care of everyone else, well you need to know you have the capability to get wherever you need to go. Many of the houses in my family have steep driveways and they can be quite tricky even when plowed. If I'm out in the storm I don't want to be "that guy" who caused a wreck, blocked a road or otherwise posed a risk to other drivers because they were not using the right equipment for the job, so to speak.