Pre-runners ?

I can agree with that. If you wheel in 4wd all the time and get stuck, then you don't have many options left. Locker and/or 4LO sometimes help, but after that it's winch time! I haven't had ANY situation where I got stuck and 4LO saved me. Usually you need momentum and 4LO doesn't cut it. If you have a tall obstacle to get over, then maybe the low range torque helps, but not mud, snow or probably sand either. I used to go to 4LO just for the locker before doing the locker mod.

Now if you wheel in 2wd, then you can use 4wd to get out. Just make sure to switch back to 2wd when free. With the locker mod I usually wheel in 2wd with the locker on for an extra bit of traction without going in and out of 4HI all the damn time.

 

That's the same statement that's been made about 10 times in this thread alone, not to mention many others. I'll use the same answer: Does the driver of a Honda Accord need it?

I'll assume you're looking at it from the point of view of someone who goes off road, so I understand your point, but I don't therefore I don't need it.

 

Hey neighbor, you poor bastard, I would like to see the snow one day, damn you guys get hammered, you make national news all the time, never once have I ever heard crying for help from the gov. My hats off to you guys, but if you need a hand, you know where I'm at.

 

Well I left in the late nineties, now in the hills near Binghamton (near pierced tiger and Don G)and 'only' get about 100 inches a year. Finger lake effect not as impressive as the 3 inch an hour 'plume' off Lake Ontario. I still head up often, as my sled is up there at my buddy's place. They got 3 ft up there now.

 

Last year I was mesmerized by all the snow that Mexico, N.Y was getting, holy crow ! That was just sick.

 

well that was more directed to people that may encounter situations where 4wd would help more often than someone living in a city somewhere. my prerunner sucked in the snow and it was almost useless and downright dangerous on ice, but with the jeep now i still have to be careful but i'm not spinning around everytime i turn...and yes, honda accord drivers need 4wd more than anyone else if they're canadian

 

And that's exactly the point: You don't need it if you don't encounter those situations. I simply won't encounter conditions that will require 4WD here in SC and neither will the thousands of others driving Honda Accords or Nissan Altima's or etc.

BTW, 4WD on ice only means you have 4 wheels spinning instead of 2 (been there, done that). I've seen plenty of 4WD vehicles in the ditches on the sides of NJ roads.

 

i know i still slid into a bigass curb this morning, but 4wd is safer than 2wd as long as you're still careful driving around...i know that 4wd doesn't mean you can stop faster

 

I have found many times over that the tires make more difference than the drivetrain unless you are going off-road. I had my PreRunner up in the snow of New Mexico and Colorado just this past month. I don't have a locker or LSD, and I was able to navigate snowy roads without issue. Traction and experience, that is all it takes.

 

and balls sometimes lol

 

I feel you are right 007, the company truck I drive is a 2wd F-150 with a open diff. I got a set of really good snow tires (Mastercraft) and was able to traverse the snow and slushy roads and mud filled job sites without many white knuckle moments. Oh yeah TuRDTACO and a pair big of balls !

 

Got that covered. Next requirement?

 

+1, exactly.

 

ok but if you use your truck as a truck not an accord you may run into non-4wheeling situations where 4wd helps...ever seen a mud slide?.....snow drifting like 3 feet when only 6" on ground? i mean hell if you haul wood in the truck and get on hill in wet grass 4wd is required sometimes i dunno to me if you want a pretty little thing to drive around town...buy a car...if you want a truck...buy 4wd

 

i agree with you tacozilla, which is why i'd never buy an xrunner...if i'm buying a truck, i want it to be able to do anything i want it to, i shouldn't have to worry about doing something a normal truck would do...buy a truck to use it like a truck, not like an accord

 

Exactly! Sure you can probably get off wet grass in 2wd, but at what cost? Digging ruts through you mother-in-law's yard after dropping something off for her? Something as simple as that is why I like the option of 4wd. Switch it on, get going, don't tear up the lawn.

That's also one of the reasons I went with bigger/wider tires. Less PSI foot print so less impact on the trails I ride, and less chance for sinking into soft ground.

 

and poo

 

38,000 miles on my 07 PreRunner, and I have yet to need 4WD - even in the snow in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado. 210,000 miles on my 94 Suburban (in the mountains of Nederland, Colorado), and I never needed 4WD. I had a 74 Scout for a few years that I drove on the trails in Colorado, and I only put it in 4WD twice. That was just to make sure it worked.

My next truck will be 4WD because I plan on looking for trouble, but I have yet to have it find me.

 

What's your point? I have 189,000 on my 2WD Corolla.....

Doesn't mean 4WD isn't useful or "needed" to maintain better control. Or to be able to go where you want without saying "....I wonder if the plows have been through yet...." I've gotten by for 12 years without 4wd... HOWEVER, it meant I had to wait for roads to be plowed, avoid certain roads, and plot a route based on what roads would be cleared. Now with 4wd I just get in and go without having to worry about that.

 

Just had a situation this weekend to contradict this! Freezing rain/sleet/snow for 2 days with warm weather during the day = lawns and driveways became skating rinks. I had to help a buddy tow a truck to his brother's house and we could barely stand or even walk across his driveway and lawn without falling. Truck in 2wd was worthless. His truck wouldn't even back up from the house in 2WD (open diff Ford F150), and required 4wd. Same with me circling his lawn to pick up tools from the barn and positioning the auto-transport later.

Ice on roads is different, I know. But either way it helps to have 4 wheels pulling instead of 2.