4x2 Off Road Capability

My reaction is that your test of capability was very limited in scope. I’m guessing you could have done all the same things in a Corolla. The only benefits a 2wd pickup generally has off-road over a fwd car are 1) ground clearance, 2) taller tires, 3) durability, and 4) a more robust suspension. Traction is not among them.

 

No.

 

Just look it all the 4wd trd or that are sold. I'd bet most wouldn't ever have a need for them.

 

I didn’t ask a question.

 

I see that as different than buying an “off-road” truck that is 2wd with a rear diff locker. I’m still looking for a good explanation of why one would buy that instead of a 4wd. I see the locker as secondary to 4wd. Albeit, I was once stuck in 4wd in my 2016 SR5 in 4lo and I got out by switching to 2wd AutoLsd. Regardless, with a 4x4 OR you have a much better traction control system. The only time I use AutoLsd is when I’m parallel parked on a city street with ice up against the curb. It’s easier to hit the AutoLsd button then switching to 4hi and then back to 2hi.


Maybe I don’t understand because I don’t have any deserts in my state. Idk.

 

I wasn't answering anything.

 

@Brian422 @pdaddy

 

Pretty capable if you know how to pick a line and have good tires. 2wd real short coming is on hills and wet surfaces.

Most of the people that comment probably never tried to off-road in 2wd. You can become a much better line picker and driver that way lol.

 

Just build a killer mall crawler dude and leave it at that!

 

That's what I'm doing. Then one day I can hand it down to my son when he's old enuff. He'll be appreciative that dad gave him something to sell to put towards a 4x4.

 

I think if toyota installed a locker in their 2wd tacoma their would be as much a need for 4wd.

 

I have definitely driven 2wd trucks off road. My first two automobiles were both Datsun 2wd pickups. In any case, anyone that has driven both a rwd pickup and a fwd car in a state where it snows knows that unloaded pickups in 2wd are helpless in comparison.

I things are a bit different in the dry states out west. From what I have seen much of the off roading is done in terrain where traction is in good supply (eg on dry rocks). The same is not true in wetter states. This might partly explain our difference in opinions about the capability of a 2wd pickup.

 

Snow would definitely be a huge factor in deciding between a 4X4 and 2wd. I grew up in the north with plenty of snow and now live in the southeast where there is virtually none. When I first moved here I was adamant that there was no point in getting a truck or SUV if it wasn't 4wd. Took years to let go of that thought. I've had my Prerunner for about 15 years, put over 100k miles on it and have only needed the locker twice (I forgot when I posted previously that I had only needed it once, lol) once in sand and once in snow. Had a freak snowstorm that dumped several inches all over metro Atlanta and even after several days there was inches of snow in some places, I had the misfortune of getting stopped on a hill in traffic in one of those spots! I had been making it up the hill ok until a red light stopped everyone and I was about in the middle. I sat there sweating just knowing I was screwed (also had no weight in the back) and sure enough, when traffic started moving I was just spinning. Put the locker on and still basically had to keep it almost floored but I did make it up. If I lived somewhere that had regular snow I would most likely have 4wd.

 

My 1985 Toyota 2WD SR5 pick up in snow was VERY scary. Spun it once, down hill. Hang on baby! Studs and sand it the bed made it marginally driveable.

 

mY 2wd CaN Go ANyWHere YOur 4x4 Can gO

 

Those older 2wd small pickups with no bed weight were too light, and poorly balanced on slick roads. You really learned how to drive a pickup truck like them back in the day. They weren't a truck you could just hop in and go during a snowstorm.

 

I drove from Kirkland WA down to Grants Pass OR (normally a 6-7 hour drive) in 1992, snowing the whole way on I-5 in my SR-5. I just threw my underwear away and got junkyard seats after that experience.

 

2019 SR5 2wd, Camburg UCAs, Fox 2.5 DSC all around, Deaver J66 Rear, and Falken Wildpeak. gets me everywhere I wanna go play. Definitely planning on a rear locker when I re-gear.
So far all the fun SoCal Fireroads, desert, and Pismo dunes have been fun