I was wondering if having 4 wheel drive has any attributes toward the towing efficiency of a peticular truck over a 2 wheel drive other than the obvious boat ramp answer. Maybe not the forum for this but anyone have an idea of the mpg difference between 2 and four wheel trucks?

Better mpg on the highway with the 2-wheel drive but much better manuverability with the 4-wheel drive when parking your trailer.

the only time I towed a heavy load in 4wd was when I took my camper snow skiing and got hit by a storm. then again I was only doing about 20mph and that always eats up fuel

If you go to the dunes you will get stuck with 2wd hell you might get stuck with 4wd :anitoof:

I've used 4wd many times turning my gooseneck very tightly on soft ground or loose gravel. Takes a lot of traction to turn a loaded tandum dual gooseneck very tight. I imagine a tri axle would be worse though. It is also wouth its weight in gold pulling out of fields and driving across jobsites with the trailer.

I often have to manuver my dump trailer on jobsites with only inches to spare - in mud or wet grass. Having the 4wd Lo option is great for putting it where I want to without any sudden speed manuvers.

I have towed my Trail Bay Travel trailer with both a 3/4 ton Suburban and my Dmax. I agree that 4wd Lo is excellent for backing the trailer up a hill into a campsite. Without it, I doubt that I could have gotten the trailer into the site.

I agree, I had to back up this 15K beauty last weekend into a tight campsight in the woods slightly uphill on rocky loose ground, and 4 wheel drive was a MUST.

http://www.heartlandrvs.com/media/images/gallery/09_CY_3950_ext_front_door_side.jpg

I often have to manuver my dump trailer on jobsites with only inches to spare - in mud or wet grass. Having the 4wd Lo option is great for putting it where I want to without any sudden speed manuvers.
X2, 4X4 sometimes is crutial when loading and unloading large equipment too. I had my truck take off down a hill once after forgetting to put it in 4X4 when loading my excavator, weight on the rear of the trailer lightened up the rear of the truck and away it skidded. Parking brake does nothing for this!!!!
I have also needed 4X4 for steep inclines on dirt/gravel when towing heavy loads, a 2X4 would have given me a hell of a ride.

I have seen a pic of the aftermath of going down a hill like you mentioned when loading a tractor and it wasn't pretty. Just picture a really bad jacknife into the side of your brand new 08 and you can take it from there

If you go to the dunes you will get stuck with 2wd hell you might get stuck with 4wd :anitoof:
x2, i have gotten stuck plenty of times even with 4x4

I would never buy a truck without 4x4. 4x4 is like a seat belt- most of the time it is something you don't need. But when you need it your sure glad you have it.

Its a must if you want to get to those good camp sites or head to Pismo.

4x4 is the way to go. I would never own a 2wd vehicle again, and I live in urban Southern California. We travel the Grapevine (I-5 south to LA) and have been caught in snowstorms that kept 2wd vehicle stuck for hours, backed into camping spaces using low range that I would not have made in 2wd (even in some developed campgrounds) with our 33.5 foot Montana travel trailer. We have ATVs and go out to the desert.

The fuel use difference is minimal.

Just MHO.

4x4 while towing on dry pavement is really not needed and will just result in wasted fuel. Probably 1-2 mpg. Not horrible,but noticable. I did it accidentally after spinning on wet grass over clay, stuck it in 4x4 and drove out.... forgetting to hit 2wd ! 100 miles later was wondering why the mpg's were a touch lower than on the way out. Do'h!!

That was pulling 9000.

jb

I should have clarified that by "fuel difference being minimal" I meant that the 4wd front axle weight and transfer case, while not engaged, does not increase the drag on the vehicle all that much out of proportion to the benefit of having 4wd.

I have been brave enough to tow my trailer down the road in 4wd, but I guess if I were caught in a snow storm, I would try (I can only imagine how an 'un - tire - chained' trailer would react in the snow though).

4x4s a must. And if you plan on going anywhere you might possibly get stuck, a winch is worth its weight in not gold but diamond. My dad got his f350 (yes, it had four by four) stuck while pulling a fifth wheel with a boat. Then he went and bought a winch the next day.

I would never buy a truck without 4x4. 4x4 is like a seat belt- most of the time it is something you don't need. But when you need it your sure glad you have it.

Its a must if you want to get to those good camp sites or head to Pismo.

4x4 is the way to go. I would never own a 2wd vehicle again, and I live in urban Southern California. We travel the Grapevine (I-5 south to LA) and have been caught in snowstorms that kept 2wd vehicle stuck for hours, backed into camping spaces using low range that I would not have made in 2wd (even in some developed campgrounds) with our 33.5 foot Montana travel trailer. We have ATVs and go out to the desert.

The fuel use difference is minimal.

Just MHO.
These folks are absolutely right.

Haail, 2wd is for soccer mom's!!!! Oh ya get a real truck a C4500 or bigger!!!! LOL Dimmer

I just use 4x4 when I hit the sand in the desert. Other then that, I might have to use it to park in the backyard but that is about it.


Andy

Towing a heavy 5th wheel up steep, gravel Forest Service roads is much easier with four wheel drive — it eliminates the digging and chatter of the rear wheels. It also makes crawling rough FS roads much easier to manoeuver and control.

2 wheel drives work just fine, until that one time... and you wish you had a 4x4...I also sometimes need to maneuver a heavy utility on a slippery job site.

My 01 was 2 wheel drive and it got around 12 hauling my TT. My 04 LLY is a 4x4 and it might get 10 with the TT. The 2 mpg loss is well worth knowing you'll probably never get stuck!

Just to add to this, I had an experience this past March where the 4WD was the difference between crashing and making up a hill. People who live in the N. KY/Southern OH area probably remember the snow storm we had beginning of March. It was a Friday, snow was to hit around noon. Took the day off to go just north of Cincy to pick up my new 5th wheel. Snow storm hit about 10am, on the way back south, wreck on I75, just outside Cincy. Stuck on a 1mile long hill, 3 lanes, in a curve, sloped towards the passenger side. Had truck in 2WD, finally start to move, Tractor Trailers and cars all around. I start sliding to the right, almost into a TT as he was taking off, no traction, put it into 4WD, take right off up the hill. If I didn't have 4WD, I would have had some problems. Don't care if you were to only use it once a year, when you need it, you need it. Dad always told me, you can always have not enough truck, but you can never have too much truck:D.

4wd is great for slow speed towing in any kind of loose material. We tow to a lake with about 20 miles of dirt road. Switchbacks and 6000lbs. of boat and the 4wd is great. It really helps on the switchbacks and washboards. No rear end hopping around and when some a-hole comes around the corner onthe wrong side of the road you can safely start and stop again. Now...your conditions may vary and you may never need it. But it's always better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.

4WD, don't leave home without it.

4wd is great for slow speed towing in any kind of loose material. We tow to a lake with about 20 miles of dirt road. Switchbacks and 6000lbs. of boat and the 4wd is great. It really helps on the switchbacks and washboards. No rear end hopping around and when some a-hole comes around the corner onthe wrong side of the road you can safely start and stop again. Now...your conditions may vary and you may never need it. But it's always better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.
apache lake?

apache lake?

Si Senor

Si Senor
i hate that road.. :D
40 foot toyhauler isnt much of a blast there :lol:

i hate that road.. :D
40 foot toyhauler isnt much of a blast there :lol:

40 footer is insane on that road. Sometimes it feels like just the truck won't make some of the turns. You got bigger balls than me to even attempt that. Let me know next time you take the trailer and I'll bring a boat!!!:)

40 footer is insane on that road. Sometimes it feels like just the truck won't make some of the turns. You got bigger balls than me to even attempt that. Let me know next time you take the trailer and I'll bring a boat!!!:)
i'll pull your boat behind my trailer to make it more challenging :lol:

40 feet of trailer and 24' of boat and about 4' of tongue plus the swim deck on back...maybe 30 feet total...call it 70 feet plus truck...that's doable.:eek: We will just need rear wheel steering and lets not forget the 4 wheel drive to keep things on topic.

sorry for off topic, but just hitch your truck to the back of the boat, his to his toyhauler, and push your load up!:D