I live in Michigan, where it snows in the winter. Duh!! Well, it's suposed to, anyway. I also go to the U.P. on snowmobile trips. I have a need for 4 wheel drive. I have noticed a lot of people on this site have 4 wheel drive, but they aren't in snowy areas. Why? Do you go off-road? Is it because 4X4's just look better? (Of course they do!!!)

Why have you chosen a 4 wheel drive truck over a 2 wheel drive truck, or, for that matter, a car?

Please note, there is no "wrong" answer. This is not a test. I am just asking for opinions.

 

Well when I bought my truck a month ago I was looking for 2WD because I never thought I would ever go off road, and we get snow storms(big ones) about every 4 years, so i'd never need it.

But NOW that I actually bought my truck, I really want to go offroading so I regret not getting a 4x4.

 

I've got three reasons why I have 2 4x4's:

1) Ford never made a 2wd full sized Bronco, so I had to get a 4x4 by default.
2) I like that they sit higher than a 2wd.
3) The resale value is higher in a 4x4.


Jon
1989 F-150 XL- 4x4, 302, M50D
1995 Bronco Eddie Bauer- 351W, E40D
Finally got around to creating a gallery...check it out

 

Here in Delaware, we usually get some snow in the winter, but not enough to justify 4 wheel drive. Myself, I use my 4X4 to surf fish on our Atlantic beaches. I can fish, while the wife, kids, and grandkids can swim, play horseshoes, frisbee, eat, sleep, or whatever. The truck takes everyone and everything out on the beach, and we make a day out of it. We are planning a trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina next week, and can run the beach there also.

As for others in my area who drive 4X4's. I think it's just because they look cool!

Some also use their 4X4's to go skiing in PA. in the wintertime.

Bru

2002 F150 Super Crew
Black 4X4 Lariat
5.4 Engine Ford Chrome Bars

1979 Bronco 351M 75K orig.

 

4x2 will not under any circumstances pull my boat up a wet ramp... or will it let me pull my boat around my house to where I keep it... so 4x4 is the only choice for me. Other than that... looks pretty sharp.

Robert

 

>
We are planning a trip to the Outer Banks of North
>Carolina next week, and can run the beach there also.
>


I grew up in virginia beach and me and all my friends who had 4x4's would pile everybody that didnt into our trucks and go down there for weekend surfing and camping trips. if youve never been down there, youre in for a TREAT! you can do almost the entire trip from va.beach to hatteras on the beach but you have to be a member of the NC beach buggy asotiation. you can camp on the beach as long as you have a fishing pole cast out into the surf. have fun man!

Enduro.......look at my thread in the suspention forum entitled" why do people lift 4x2's?" you wanna talk about a firestorm......that one's still smoldering! im not sure if you posted in that one or not, but its kinda similar to this thread.

i think most folks buy a truck or suv with 4 wheel drive because its there! i mean....why in the world would you buy one of those huge suvs and not have 4 wheel drive? the U in suv stands for UTILITY right?! it doesnt get more utility that 4x4. most of them never use it but its there for them when they wanna go 80mph on an icy road! some idiots do that anyway 4x4 or not. id say that 80% of folks that buy 4x4's now, should have bought a mini-van. wait.....the mini van isnt trendy, nevermind. trucks and suv's have become a fad(why else would Lincon make a crew cab, have you seen these things? yuk) and these people who have never owned a 4x4 figure if their giong to pay all this money for luxury vehicle(a truck a luxury vehicle? who would have thought?) it might as well have 4 wheel drive!

 

I drive all over the United States, at any time of year, and have seen some of the very worst winter weather on some of the highest passes, so for me 4X4 is a must, along with chains, for all four wheels, and a very strong winch. I have never managed to get stuck either on road or off road, and have 150K on my truck, over half of it in 4 wheel drive. One year I spent 7 months doing an enviromental survey in the wilds of Utah.. I do not think the truck was in 2 wheel drive the whole time.

Four wheel drive is not the miracle that some people tend to think - look at the crash statistics every spring, where the majority of the serious injuries in winter wrecks has come not in 2x4 as you may expect, but in 4x4 with drivers expecting to do better in bad weather. A 4x4 can get further up the snow road, but he cannot stop any quicker than the 2x4. That simple fact kills many people each winter, where the SUV roars up a mountain pass on snow and ice, 20mph faster than his brakes can cope with. I was on the 385 in California one winter, with a strong blizzard, a CHP vehicle and I were keeping an eye on each other, getting over the pass, when a Bronco with a total fool passed us both, barrelling up the mountain in 12 foot visibility. The CHP I were in radio contact, and just agreed that we should try to keep an eye out for the fool so we could get him out of his wreck when he had it. We could average maybe 5 mph safely so the ascent took us quite a while. Just over the summit, the snow cleared a little, and in the distance we could see some tail lights, not moving, so we went forward a little faster only to find the SUV on it's roof, in the middle of the road, after having slammed into a truck coming up the other side.. The truck driver was shocked but ok, the SUV driver did not survive the impact. SO... 4 wheel drive is only a safeguard in sensible conditions, it is not a magic road gripper.

Wm
'96 F450 White with Grey interior Crew Cab. Banks Turbo, Intercooler and Exhaust,
Power pack Chip, shift kit, Auxiliary transmission, electronic enhanced transmission control,
16 forward and 4 reverse ratios. 340hp 660ft lb 4 wheel drive, 4.10 gears, 12,ooo# winch

 

Well have you ever tried plowing snow into a pile with a 2 wheel drive. And ya they do look cooler in the summer.

 

I bought my Bronco because I have to access some really muddy areas in Southern Arkansas to get to my favorite hunting spots along the Mississippi River. Also, there isn't anything more rewarding than to pull out a stuck Chevrolet with my Bronco. They are just plain fun to drive!

Bronco894x4

 

I bought mine mainly for taking my four wheeler to the sand dunes. That deisle sure does sink in the sand quick. I also need it for the the mud when I'm screwin around. and when your a 21 year old male their is nothin cool about saying you have a 2 wheel drive.



Justin

"Opinions are like a--holes, everyone has one and they all stink!!!"



https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displaythumbnail.php?&photoid=4920&.jpg http://66.179.41.42/gen1/build/realgeneral.jpg

2002 F-350 SC LB 4X4 6SPD PSD. 3.73 gears. 2.5" leviling kit. Rhino lined Bed. Prodigy trailer brake controler. 35x12.5x16.5 BFG A/T. 16.5x10 ultra wheels.

 

High Rate of Fuel Consumption, really I sure didn't buy it for the snow as a great car equipped with good winter tires will preform as good or better than a high center of gravity 4X4. Granted deep snow can be a problem but if you're going where the roads are unplowed you are probably not on a major highway. My wifes SHO with the Blizzaks will tear thru 8-10 inches and if it gets deeper an old fart like me doesn't need to be there. I'll just go get the truck which hates to be used when there is salt on the roads.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 26-Jun-02 AT 03:13 AM (EST)]my dad was a truck driver, and would let me get in the cab and pretend to drive it when I was a little girl. I became fascinated with peterbuilts and macks going down the road. As I grew older, I knew my destiny was to own a truck. Still this day, before I die, I want to drive an 18 wheeler, even if it's a few miles.

My truck is my personality. My truck to me means, free spirit, adventure, ROADHOG (j/k). I am a mother, but not a minivan woman.

We go for a snow drive in the mountains with our dingy chevy friend. I've taken my truck through 3 feet of snow, and lots of mud. I take my teenager out in his gokart, while me and the toddler go offroading in a state offroad park.

I have hauled broken concrete (1000lbs from a driveway), pulled a tree out of my yard, pulled trucks and a tractor out of mud. Pushed broken down trucks out of the road. Haul garbage from the house, hauled horse manure..

And yes, owned and driven by a woman!

 

are you married bigblu? :P

 

Once you have 4X4, odds are you'll never go back to 4X2. I grew up on a dirt road and we also had some bad snows. When I buy a truck, I won't even consider it if it's 4X2. When I want to go someplace I want to go! And yes all of my 4x4's have been used for off road activities, pulling people out and of course the look.

 

Been stuck in mud/grass too many times, while trying to get a trailer full of something out of a field.