When I bought my Jeep GC 12+ years ago my rationale was "I live in Dallas, I have zero use for 4WD".

Then I moved to Denver and wished I had it the couple of times a year it snowed a lot. I made it around without it but I was terrified a few times when the roads were 110% crap and you couldn't see past the hood.

When we bought my wife a new car we got her an AWD infiniti because she had a 75 mile r/t commute to work and we felt it was a safe car that didn't look like a Subaru. We've never regretted her AWD car and it is our go-to in during the few ice days in Dallas.

Flash forward multiple years and I'm in the market for a pickup.

I want bells and whistles. My GC is spartan and I miss the fancy crap. I admit it. I drive my wife's car then I drive mine and stare at my radio waiting for the around view monitor to start when I put the car in reverse.

I like gadgets.

From a price standpoint I can get a crapload of gadgets for the difference in price b/w a 2WD and 4WD, but I still remember wanting a 4WD vehicle when I needed one.

It looks like 90% of the 1/2 ton pickups are 4WD that I see in DFW. I'm 99% sure that 99% of them don't need nor ever use 4WD. I bet that easily 75% of them when they do use it are doing it at the wrong time and will blow their car up some day if they keep it.

Having said all of that - can you give me a reason why I should suck it up and pay for 4WD (part time as Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Ram all are)? I have this stigma where I see a 2WD large pickup and think it's going to spin out at the first drop of rain.

It's mental I know, but tell me why you love/need 4WD. I don't tow a boat (maybe someday but definitely not on the priority list). I don't off road (maybe if I owned a Jeep wrangler ~maybe~ I'd do it for fun), and I drive to/from virtually everything on paved roads.

For those of you like me would you spend the $ on your next truck for 4WD?

Though an expensive option, it is perhaps the only option that does not depreciate during ownership.

To me I don't think I'll ever own a truck that's 2wd. I live in Houston and rarely ever use it but it is piece-of-mind when I may need it or think I may need it. I may use it every 2yrs but it's nice when I have to drive to Iowa in the winters or even dallas.

Great info CEPHd! I hadn't thought of that.

I do drive cars for 10+ years so I don't know if it really matters then. If it does matter I can afford new cars I'm just a cheap ******* that generally buys nice then uses until it falls apart.

maintenance is more expensive
more parts to go bad
fuel mileage suffers

I sometimes wish my F250 was a 4x4, but that would have helped no more than 2 times since I bought it in 2008... absolutely not worth it. Would it be nice in the snow... sure, but a good set of Michelins does good enough.

I was very glad I didn't have a front axle this past weekend when I changed rotors and wheel bearings.

pickups are way too expensive these days, it's quite sad. If someone could come into the market with a $20,000 3/4 ton they'd win.

If you're in DFW I don't see why you wouldn't get your money's worth if you are keeping it 10 years. We've gotten at least 2-5 good ice storms a year every year over the past 5-7 years. Unless you don't mind sitting at home and you have a job that you don't need to make it to the office I don't see why you wouldn't want to get 4x4 if you are in the market for a loaded truck anyways.

I came from a 2wd truck and did many snow/ice storms (puckered up) in it over the years but I bought a 4wd last year. It was nice to be able to get up my driveway without salt and busting ice. Not to mention that year we got the massive cobblestone crap. I had to drive my wife's Camry, no way a 2wd pickup was worth anything that year.

Houston I'd prob have second thoughts. We get enough crap in DFW for me to at least justify it.

Plus it's awesome to pull off at a light and be 3/4 of a mile down the road while all the 2 wheelers are still trying to feather the throttle to get moving.

I think appearance is what sells most people on 4WD trucks. The few inches of height advantage makes them look a lot more "macho" than the 2WD versions.

quote:

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I think appearance is what sells most people on 4WD trucks. The few inches of height advantage makes them look a lot more "Bad Arse" than the 2WD versions.

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FIFY

4WD depreciates very little as stated above.

Here's an exercise you can do if you want to "prove" to your wife that the extra cost of 4WD is justified. Go to nada.com and look up used car prices and compare the same vehicle 2WD vs. 4WD. You say you keep your vehicles 10+ years, want a truck, and like the bells and whistles. So here's a 2005 F150 SuperCrew Lariat for example. The only option I changed was 2WD vs. 4WD.

2005 Ford F150 SuperCrew Lariat
200,000 miles

2WD
Clean Trade-In = $8,800
Clean Retail = $11,000

4WD
Clean Trade-In = $10,550
Clean Retail = $13,675


Granted if you finance you pay interest on that additional 4WD option and there may be higher maintenance and repair costs, etc. Don't mention that part to your wife though.

What kind of rear end did the 2wd truck have?

save your money

Just get 20's and the truck looks better if it is 2wd

I use mine all the time, but I work in construction in rural east Texas. That being said, when you drive a 2WD truck you almost never need it. When you drive a 4WD truck, you need it all the time. I pulled a lot of 2WD trucks out of the mud this year on job sites. A lot of the time it was me driving the other truck with a big trailer behind it when it got stuck. 2WD trucks without a trailer will go through more than you think. I've driven at least 120,000 miles in 2WD trucks and never spun one out in the rain. The 4x4 trucks with wide all terrain tires will come around on you much easier in my experience. I've had my 4WD tundra get sideways on me on a wet road and very light throttle unexpectedly.

Also, part time 4x4 is not designed for wet or even snowy roads, it will still wind up your driveline and cause damage. If you're driving on ice, it might help you get traction and control the vehicle under throttle if you know what you are doing, but that is it. I was driving a rental suburban a few years ago in Colorado and hit some black ice in a shadow on a curve and started to skid. I was in auto 4WD and steered away from the skid, then gave it gas and it pulled out of it. Just a natural reaction from all my years of riding four wheelers and driving trucks in the mud. So if you're going to use 4WD for that kind of situation, then I recommend going out and practicing on a slippery surface in a wide open area.

Otherwise, I see no use for 4x4 in a major metropolitan area other than resale value.

Just traded in my 2wd Chevy for a new Tundra and went through the same debate with myself. Settled on 2wd platinum since I had the Chevy for almost 5 years and never once needed 4x4.

Your 2wd truck can get around just fine in the mild ice storms you get in Dallas with a little weight in the rear end. I survived for 10 years in Kansas and Oklahoma with 2wd trucks before I bought a 4wd truck.

When I looked at buying my truck, I found in my price range there was about a $5-7k difference between 2WD & 4WD trucks that were similarly loaded.

So I decided to go with a 2WD and bought a jeep with the savings. I ended up spending $8k on my Jeep, so probably a little more than the difference, but I can plan on buying a 2WD for my daily driver next time as well. For most days, I drive the pickup as my daily, and when the weather is awesome I'll drive the jeep with top off or if it's snowy, with the top on.

Traction control is pretty good on most new trucks IMHO, so I don't see rain causing slipping issues with a 2WD pickup. I found the 2WD pickup provided enough fuel savings to offset the insurance and registration costs for a third vehicle.

If I had to do it again, I would. I like having the third vehicle for lots of reasons, and I'm not afraid to beat it up since its 15 years old and a Jeep. If I had bought different daily driver, like a car, for a daily driver, I probably would have bought an older 4WD pickup for a third vehicle, just to have the tow capacity, 4WD, and extra vehicle.

Just my $0.02 and hope it helps.

I currently have a 4x4 Silverado and TJ. If the weather is icy, I'm in the Jeep because a) the heater is awesome b) the weight is better distributed for driving on ice.

This last snow storm was awesome in my Jeep. I probably had too much fun honestly.

I'd like to get rid of the nice truck I drive and get more of a work truck (older Cummins Ram 4x4, probably) and get a sporty car for fun/nice car. Some of my friends drive luxo-trucks, but you can't barely use them without being afraid to mess it up.

2WD. I grew up on 3 miles of dirt road. I mudded a 67 Impala up and down that for three years and never had a 4wd until I was nearly 40. If you know how to drive, a 2wd will get you 95% of the places you want to go

AWD or save your money.

Same situation when my 4x4 truck was stolen and totaled last year, and all of a sudden I was needing a replacement. Bells and whistles versus 4x4. I stopped and counted 2, maybe three times I'd used the 4WD in the previous 4-5 years. Used it a lot before then when we used to go get drun.. uh, go camping way out on Big Shell, but grew out of it.

I opted for creature comforts and now use those everyday.

If your worried about snow and ice on normal road driving, then get a fwd car. Over six years of PA winters, the most sure footed vehicle I drove was a Buick lesabre with a set of snow tires. Better than my 4wd Tahoe, better than my awd Yukon.

Also, as far as winter tires go, Bridgestone blizzak's are the real deal.

If you can't already justify the 4x4 then don't get it. From what you're saying it doesn't sound like you would ever go anywhere you'd use it.

Saying you want it for the ice in few days is dumb IMO. I grew up outside of ft worth and my friends and I would drive around on the ice in our 4x4s and watch people crash. Point of the story is for 1-2 times a year(last year was not a normal occurrence) it's safer in Dallas to work from home and avoid the idiots who can't drive on the ice. No point in having your 4x4 (which only helps you go not stop) totaled cause someone else can't control their vehicle.

And all 4x4s aren't created equal. If you go 3/4 you have to look at solid front axle vs ifs. Personally I think my ford ifs systems have been much worse than my Chevy ifs systems (several hubs have failed)

If you like bells and whistles get those.

Nowadays most trucks have an Auto 4WD setting as well as hi and low.
I'll always buy 4WDs because it's saved my butt a few times. Well worth it. (plus of course it looks better).

I took a turn from cement to asphalt in a slight drizzle and the back in came around faster than I can force any of my other RWD cars putting me nose up out of a ditch. Luckily, I put it in 4x4 and crawled out. Next thing you know, two 2WD trucks did the same thing, barely missing each other. Luckily I was still there to pull them out.
So... To me it's worth it.

I've purchased two 4x4 trucks now, and the wife's Grand Cherokee is 4x4. We live in Houston.

Do we need it there, no.

However, considering the amounts of rain Houston can get, I feel better knowing that if my wife does something silly with that Hemi, the auto 4x4 on the Jeep will kick in and help keep the car stable.

As for me, I'm an engineer, so having the available utility is a must. I don't use it often, but I'm glad I have it if needed. As others have pointed out, a properly driven 2WD can get you a lot of places, but there is some piece of mind in a 4x4. My parents also live in Amarillo, and you never know when a snow storm is going to roll through. More than once we have been up there around the holidays and it has snowed. We were glad to have the 4x4 available each time.

I also like to explore, so having 4x4 has allowed me to have some fun that I otherwise would not been able to have. I've actually had the GC in 4-Low crawling over rocks in NM. Broke the front axle support too, dammitt. I find it helps give me an excuse to head off into the wilderlands and enjoy nature a bit more.

No one has to justify their spending habits to strangers... Get what you want.

I've never had the need for 4 wheel drive. My truck has always been stable.

Also, for the folks pointing to ice storms as a reason why a 4x4 is needed, it doesn't help much if at all on ice. Snow is a different story.

For my next truck, I'll likely get a 4x4 unless common sense takes over and I decide not to get a 2017 Raptor.

Dill is correct, your money, your choice. But you did ask for advice.

J currently have 4wd, it was good to have as I used to have a farm that absolutely required it. But now, I'm dry land only, and have no need to drag mud. And it snows so seldom, it's not a consideration.

Next pickup will likely be 2wd for the weight, fuel, and maintainece $$$$$ saved.

For my wife's JGC, we opted for the Overland package in a 4x2 drivetrain. If I were buying for me, I would have gotten a Limited 4x4 with the diesel. I'm sure I could get by without it, but I like having 4x4 for slippery boat ramps, occasional ski trips and other stuff.