When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hi all,
For launching a boat on a steep ramp, I would like to engage 4wd as I approach the water while reversing. (As opposed to way up in the parking lot) Can I safely engage 4hi while in reverse coasting backwards? Do I need to lock hubs first?
I know that I can engage while moving forward, but I want to avoid being in 4 while making all my corrections while backing the boat up. I’d rather be able to shift into 4 like a few feet from the water.
The hubs generally need to differential action to get them lined up and locked. If you manually lock the hubs and turn the 4wd **** you will have 4wd immediately. If you are backing up turning the wheels back and forth, chances are pretty good the hubs will engage. I would not count on that happening just feet from the water. You will know when you put some torque to it. The hubs can and will engage pretty hard if they hadn't during backing. The auto lock/unlock is anything but immediate. I allow at least 500 feet of driving while sawing at the wheel back and forth to engage or disengage the hubs. It just isn't a great system.
it sounds like I can lock the hubs preemptively and engage 4 after straightening out and begin to descend the ramp while idling and backing down while coasting? This way I can avoid making sharp turns while engaged and keeping the corrections to a minimum.
I never lock the hubs.
I've never had an issue with the ramps I've used in 2WD, but since the truck is a 450 and can slip on wet grass I've gotten in the habit of engaging 4wd once I'm straight and backing down the ramp.
My trailer is a bunk, so I don't have have the winch strap on when backing down, 4wd should eliminate any unwanted movement (such as slipping and stopping)
It really depends on the weight of your boat and the condition of the ramp. I've been pulling my 5,100-lb Monterey with a RWD Expedition all season. I've never had any issues getting up a concrete ramp, but I have some wheelspin when it's wet. I'd be looking for a 4WD model if I had a heavier boat or wanted to use unpaved ramps.
Your Super Duty would probably have a bit less traction on the rear axle than my more balanced Expy, but you may be fine in 2WD if the conditions permit. I'd try the ramp in 2WD unless your boat is much heavier than mine.
I haven't had to engage 4wd when launching or retrieving a boat, whether the ramp is dry or wet, if it's concrete, with any vehicle, ranging from my old Super Duties to my wife's old F150. This has been at several different ramps, some with a very nice low slope, some with high-angle slopes.
If the ramp has been built properly, and your boat is properly balanced on the trailer, there shouldn't be a need. We did have a boat once (an old 22' deck boat) that the owner had it on FAR too small of a trailer so he could pull it with a Ford Ranger, so we put it on a bigger trailer to actually get some tongue weight. We had another boat (18' open bow I/O) that was placed too far back on the trailer and had almost no tongue weight, so I moved the winch forward to get it right.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
