Yeah, my wife's step-dad has a '93... drove it all over when he was a plumber. Even in the ice/snow over the mountains, but he also put studs on all four wheel and never took it off road - now it looks like it's been beat, just like any other truck. Would I do that with any Lightning - NO. I would baby that thing and only use it for drag racing or cruising

-Kerry

 

Everyone talks about mud or snow,Try sand!

Yes,I have sunk my truck up to the axles in sand once,and not just me,but a buddy of mine as well. Both are 4X2 and he has a B2 with a 2.9L and 3.73 gears,my 300 was useless with 2.73 but 2 hours later we both got out. Long story as to how but thats for anouther time.

Would we have gotten stuck that long if we had 4X4,Probably not.

Point is,even if you think a surface is solid,better make sure again. That sand was solid as a rock,obviously not.

 

Lets hear how you got out. I'm curious now.

 

Alright,heres how it all happened.

There was a place him and I wanted to go,so we walked down the hill to check to see if the surface was solid enough,it was so he went first. Well,He sunk and got stuck,not thinking I went down to get him. I have a chain in my toolbox which is about 10 ft long,well I went for him and I had a 4X8' sheet of wood in my bed I was using as a bedliner,no sooner I get there I sink. So we get the wood out of my truck and put it under his rear wheels THINKING it will help. Hell no it does'nt. He just spins his wheels and tears my wood up. So we start digging. He got out some and got a ways then went back down again. So we start getting my truck out,we do and I don't sink when I get infront of him,So I chain him to pull him out,after 5 ft. or so,we go down,this time,we start throwing crap under our wheels to get out,digging,you name it. Not to mention a few of my friends were out there with us. We're pulling each other out,He can't really drive off road so why he went I still dont know. But anyway,we do this for about two hours,then after we get out,damn headlight falls out on his truck,the plastic broke and it wont stay in and it burns the hell out of me when I try to get it back in.

The whole time,I completely forgot about letting air out of our tires,or anything like that. I have a 12V air compressor in my truck and the lower gears in my C-6 don't work. They do but its like your in drive,no grunt anymore,You have to go through the gears manually but it drives likes its in..well...drive.

But I think if we both had 4X4,We wouldn't of got stuck that badly.

I might of left some details out,hell this happened months and months ago. Since then,Lesson learned. For me anyway,I dont know about him.

 

Sounds like that was quite the time! Was there beer involved? Because if there was beer involved, it may have been a tad more fun!

 

Nah,Him and I both belive you should'nt be drunk and have controll of a 3K+ LBS. machine at the same time.

 

Sand is worst then mud. Especisaly in the spring when it just starts to thaw. Still if you traverse it that much by a 4 wheeler. They cost about they same as the 4X4 option on a pickup.

 

You need 4x4 just to get up my side yard. IMO grass is worse than snow. I have pull more than my fair share of 5th wheels off the wet grass, especially duallies. But that said if you limit yourself to pavement, live where it doesn't snow or flood 2x4 is fine.

 

I used 4x4 a few times a year, but when I haul sleds up to WI, some of the town roads are used as trails so 4x4 is a nesseccity. Add resale to that and I'd say its a great deal....

 

I never said a 4wd is a necessity but it sure as hell is a NICE-ITY. and your right I shouldn't have been out the far, i hit a short mud hole only to find out that the field at the other end was worse than the mud hole....it was just hidden by "grass". Turned out the "grass" was peat Moss...........yup it was a muck field. Buried the truck to the frame. On the walk back to solid ground I realized how deep I was when every other step i sank to my knees (I was 6'3" at the time). Then I realized the trouble i was in when the kid who's parents owned the field pointed out that with every step you could watch a wave go through the field.......what a day that was haha.

 

Having been stuck out on sandy dunes........you better have a 4X4 to get out of trouble!
I've use my 2005 F150 4x4 countless of times to pull guys out of situations where they shouldn't be!
Their thinking a once or twice outing a year without 4 on the dirt shouldn't be a great sweat?
Just my 4 cents!
Later,
GunsGirlsFordTrucks

 

Now this seems a little short sighted in my opinion. I currently have a 2011 Explorer 4WD with a towing capacity of 5,000LBS. I am looking to buy a new camper that weights 6500LBS and looking to trade in my truck for an f150. I can get a 4x2 for 7,000$ less than the 4x4 and both will tow upwards of 9,400LBS. I will tow my trailer 10-12 times per summer and the rest of the time (winter and summer) it will be used as our main family vehicle, basically to drive around on pavement in regular conditions. The rare time that I am caught in a snow storm or in mud i'd probably miss the 4WD of my explorer but other than that, why wouldnt I save $7,000? I want to make a decision in the next few days about buying the 4x4 or 4x2, I really like the price tag on the 4x2, wondering if it will work just fine for my needs... (it has the rear slip differential as well).

Thanks for any and all input,
EG

 

I had a 2wd truck and I will never have another one unless its rare or free. But then againI like to go off pavement

 

I decided to dish out the extra 7,000$ and go for the FX4 vs. the FX2, mostly because theyre used and I like the color and options better on the FX4 but this way I get the 4x4 if and when I need it. Thanks for everyones replies.

Cheers,