Turning radius of 4WD in non-slick conditions?

I have a lot of experience driving in snow, and with my previous SUV I had the option of 2HI/AWD/4Hi/4LO. A majority of the time, AWD was totally fine and I only needed 4HI in 8" of snow.

I just got my Tacoma a few weeks ago, and was wondering what the turning radius of the 4WD system is in non-slick conditions. It's not uncommon for me to go from driving in 3-4 inches of snow, to driving on nothing but wet pavement in a 100ft distance. And I really don't feel like switching between 2HI and 4HI a hundred times during my drive.

Would 4WD bind up taking a left at a stoplight? I obviously plan on turning it off in a parking lot, my neighborhood, etc. I've just never had this issue because I've always had the luxury of AWD.

 

Depending how fast you're going and how sharp you turn to make said left.

 

You’ll be fine making left turns at a stoplight.

 

Turning from a gravel road onto a blacktop road is about the limit in 4wd. You'll feel a bind. Anything more than that you'll get skipping of a tire.

At a stoplight, you'd see a litttle less binding while turning at an intersection.

 

3 miles

Kidding. There is no practical turn radius that would not cause the system to either have wheel slip or bind up. The same is true of every part time four-wheel-drive vehical ever produced.

 

In the old days when transfer cases had real shift leavers on them it was much easier to go in and out of 4wd. You could also use 2 Low by not locking the front hubs.
More "progress".

 

It’s still pretty damn easy to just turn a switch to cycle in and out of 4wd. Don’t disagree about the mechanical simplicity though.

 

Taking a left at a stop light will be fine. Taking a right at a stop light my cause a bit of an issue as it's a much tighter radius.