4x4 Vs. Locking rear diff

You see , that's the problem , you think this thread is about what you need rather than what the OP needs .

 

x1000!

 

WHAAT?? Where we're going we don't need roads!

 

No traffic here......but a pretty nice Mall.

Thanks for playing though.

 

My last job had me driving work vans through the woods. They were all 2WD with tractionloc differentials. The day i got pulled out of a small mudhole by a fucking old Dodge Caravan with AWD I learned 4WD/AWD>RWD. I remember one time I got stuck in some grass in that van, it was just a little damp, we had General Grabbers on the back of the van and still got stuck all the time.

 

The OP does not NEED a 4WD. I have a friend who lives in Tahoe and never had a 4WD and doesn't pine for one. Its simply for those who want to feel invincible or make a few dollars plowing driveways. or hobby drivers ho love to play in the dirt.

When I ask him about the snow he says If its snowing THAT bad there is no reason to leave the house. Everything is closed. Only people who drive in that crap are those who are doing it becasue they can rather then necessity. and probably snow plow drivers. Most people just stay home until the roads are safe in a few hours. You people talk as if everyone who lives where it snows has a 4WD or is snowbound for the entire Winter in their cabins....LOL

News Flash ....There is life without a 4WD even where it snows....

 

Its not about invincibility its about ease... and safety

If you own a boat you really don't need life preservers if you can swim but it would make survival easier and safer in case your boat sinks

sure he doesn't need it... but it would make it easier and safer... whereas YOU really don't need it... since you live in a warm area and don't offroad

 

lol...I just knew this thread would eventually have people bickering.

Some people need 4wd, others don't. As for the OP living in a snowy region, he is better off with 4wd. I lived in the snow belt for the first 29 years of my life, and believe me - 4wd made your life a lot easier. I would not live there again without it. Now that I live in the southwest where it doesn't snow, I don't have it. Simple as that. Saved myself $3 on the price of the truck, and don't have a transfer case and extra diff to maintain.

 

This is for you Kingfrog , you probably haven't read it yet .

 

I think he will be fine with the PreRunner. Based on my own experience in the snow without 4WD or a locker.

My offical advice would be forget the truck and keep the car......or not

 

Someone was going to trade him the Prerunner for the Suby .

I guess you still haven't read it .

Nice edit BTW

 

wtf is your deal with this notion of invincibility?

Its not about invincibility its about safety and ease... having a 4wd will make it safer and easier to get around in a snowy environment.

I mean sure I could dig a nail out with a freaking screw driver but wouldn't be easier to use a hammer?

 

OP, there you go; your final word from a man who lives in South Carolina, but has a friend in Tahoe.

You don't need 4WD - if it's snowing that bad and they've put on the chain controls - just stay home.

Are you OK with that change in lifestyle?

 

More often than not the Prerunner is the first one to get stuck, but saying theres never a situation a locked Prerunner can outperform the open 4x4 is BS. Ive had many situations where theres an off camber hill where you have a tire or two off the ground and my locked Prerunner can make it up where a open 4x4 is just spinning the tires away.

 

For the amount of snow they get in Tahoe and the length of time it actually snows. he doesn't NEED a 4WD Tahoe has 300 days a year of sunshine!! Its not like he is living in the arctic!! LOL When it snows THAT bad. you stay home. Even with 4WD its not guaranteed you will be able to drive though 3 feet of snow to your destination and when you get there drive though 5 feet on the way home. LOL throw some chains on the rears a few bags of sand in the back and you are good to go.

 

I have to, almost everyday in the winter. Where nothing is flat, here, I have to put in 4wd just to get out of parkinglots; sure I could use momentum and some more skill, but what about all the other traffic out there... can't just charge everywhere you go. There's no way in hell I'm stopping at 5am on my way to work to put on chains for 10 miles then take them back off everyday, 2-3 times a day.

In all honesty, my sisters FWD honda civic does beter in the snow than my taco does in 2wd. And believe me, I'm not new to driving in snow, wrecked a couple vehicles learning what not to do over the last 15 years of driving in it. Just last weekend I got to pass on I80 during a big storm only because I had 4WD; all the 2wd trucks and cars had to turn around and probably rent motel rooms for the next 24hrs while I went snowboarding all day and then got to drive home. Plus, around here, some roads get plowed and some don't; who wants to be that asshole driving down a clean street with chains on just because the next turn might not be plowed yet.

And I do agree that 4wd isn't any garuntee, I see at least 10 new 4wd suvs rolled off the side of the highway every winter becasue they're going too fast. The fact is that even with 1" of snow on the highway, with incline, the taco isn't going anywhere.

 

BLASPHEMY I say BLASPHEMY

 

Truckee-Tahoe get a 4x4

 

^x2