I am shopping for a used vehicle to serve as a tow vehicle for a smallish travel trailer and perhaps a jet ski at some point. I would guestimate that most of our travel will be in the southern states in the foreseeable future. I would expect that 4wd would be needed next to never, but I've always viewed it as nice to have just in case for that one time it may come in handy.

I have found a nice 2wd Tahoe for a very reasonable price and wanted to get some input as to whether I should keep looking for a 4wd instead. Not set on a Tahoe specifically. Open to other suggestions.

Thanks!

It sounds like 2WD should be fine.

No need for 4wd, make sure that Tahoe has the G80 locking rear end

My opinion is that it's better to have it and not need it.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
No need for 4wd, make sure that Tahoe has the G80 locking rear end

It does appear to.

Some boat ramps you'll be glad you have it.

At low tide some boat ramps can be slippery so best to have 4 wheel drive for those occasions. I've been stuck at the bottom of a slick boat ramp and had to have another truck help pull me up the ramp so when it was time for a new truck I didn't consider anything else other than 4 wheel drive. I've also used 4 wheel drive during a heavy rain so there are times when it comes in handy plus better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

If you are going to be launching any kind of watercraft then, in my opinion, you do need 4 wheel drive. I personally could never justify purchasing a 2 wheel drive truck, regardless of the savings. There’s just too much chance that you might want to use it in an area where 4 wheel drive would come in handy. I’ve seen trucks have difficulty on slippery grass before under certain circumstances and have seen trucks needing to engage 4 wheel drive on boat launches numerous times.

The disadvantages of four wheel drive are higher initial cost, slight drop in fuel economy and possible additional maintenance costs. I have driven two wheel drive half tons for 50 years. I have pulled car trailers loaded, 18 foot inboard outboards and two horse trailers and two wheel drive has met the need every time. I never had trouble launching boats that weighed 3500 pounds with trailer. A jet ski and trailer weigh very little. I finally bought a four wheel drive the very last time only for the reason that if we had to get to town for an emergency during a snow/ice event, it might be helpful. The front end of the four wheel drive rides harder and the fuel mileage is lower on the new truck. This is just my experience. Others may feel differently.

No. It costs more up front, it costs more to maintain, it decreases your fuel economy, and the extra weight eats into your payload and towing capabilities. In 50,000 miles of towing a 10,000lb travel trailer, 14,500lb 5th wheel, and 9,000lb boat, including launching and retrieving the boat, I have yet to need 4wd. During the other 46,000 miles of non-towing, I haven't needed 4wd. That's 96,000 miles combined on my F350 and 4wd was a waste of money.

I did get my truck and 5th wheel stuck once on my property. I was able to unhitch the 5th wheel and drive the truck out, but in 4wd I was unable to move the 5th wheel. It cost $300 to have a tow truck pullout the truck hitched to the 5th wheel.

My truck has never seen snow, but I spent 20 years in Wisconsin and driven rwd, fwd, and 4wd. I got stuck with all three and a snow shovel was far more useful than 4wd.

On our ATVs, I've found 4wd great on fine powdery sand. Without 4wd, the rear wheels start to dig holes before the front wheels start rolling. Also, if you hit that kind of sand on the move and try to steer, the front wheels have a tendency to plow rather that change the direction you are traveling. 4wd solves both issues. Works the same in mud. When going over downed trees, 2wd just shoves the front tires into the tree where in 4wd the front tires lift the front over the tree while the rears push. Once the fronts are over the tree, they pull while the rears lift the rear end over the tree.

ATVs and trucks are a bit of an apples and oranges comparison, but I can get a 700lb ATV unstuck a whole lot easier than my 8,000lb F350 so I've used the ATVs to test the limits of 2wd. There are situations where 4wd is a necessity. In fact, Beancooker posted a video of such a case, but on paved roads with no snow it's a waste of money.

Maybe on the occasional boat ramp although I wonder if a bag of sand wouldn't fix that. My boat and trailer weigh 9,000lbs and I haven't needed it at the ramps in Michigan or Florida that I've been to. Maybe it's the design of my trailer, but my rear tires barely get wet. I've launched/retrieved PWC, a 14' Alumicraft, 16' Lund, 21' Compac, 17' Carolina Skiff, etc. and not needed 4wd.

I think it'll do fine for you. If you happen to get one wheel into some soft ground the locking rear diff should keep you going. If you ever plan to be in high elevation like I-70 in Colorado when there could be snow have a set of chains with you. (Do practice putting them on though).

I’ve seen wet grass and stop 2wd truck/trailers cold. If you stick to paved campgrounds and freshwater launches 2wd should be fine. I wouldn’t consider a 2wd vehicle.

I was in that quandry last year when buying my Tacoma. After looking back at the 25 years I've lived in SC and the 26 years before that in Washington State. I can only count 2 major times I needed 4 WD both out in the NW and those times I could have just stayed home.
Here in SC I can do everything I need to with the 2WD and if needed I put about 500 pounds in the bed of the truck and since it has a locking rear diff I've not had any issues. Now if I was up in the Northern states or younger I'd think more of a 4 WD.

I would do the same thing if I had to buy another truck.

I've had both over a wide variety of decades, conditions and excuses pro & con.

In my youth lack of 4x4 caused a steep learning curve of what/how 2wd can be reliable in various off-road conditions. 1st CJ2 taught 4x4 can be helpful in getting really stuck, or not stuck at all.

I live in country & life style where 4x4 may be necessary for only 20' out of 100 miles. I won't be without 4x4, although the locking differential is a necessity whether 2x4 or 4x4.

There have been a handful of times over the past 40 years, where 4x4 probably saved my life, and I'm talking state highway travel. I don't care what the extra cost projection may be. Much of the 4x4 cost is recovered in higher resale to those who want it.

Good luck making your choice. I'm on the verge of buying new rig myself & it will be 4x4. The real question, is 'at what cost, and how often is it really useful' to justify the additional $.

If I lived down south and stayed there year round I wouldn't consider 4x4.

Being as I live in a place that gets repeatedly pounded by Noreasters and do a lot of winter driving, 4x4 is a must. There have been a few times on a slick boat ramp that I was quite happy to have it.

Probably use 4C couple times a year for just a few minutes, usually hunting.

A must have for my truck for the insurance

I drove 2wd trucks for many years and I rarely encountered a need for 4wd but when I did it really sucked not having it, so in that way it's kind of like insurance. Like others here have said, make sure you have some sort of locking or limited slip differential. Its embarrassing to have you're wheels spinning in wet grass or loose dirt, I've been there before.

When I high school in the 80s I worked in a garage and had an extremely negative view of 4wd. Didn’t want that extra maintenance. Maybe that was more of an issue then.

Bought a 2001 4wd 6 cylinder manual Tacoma new because we needed it with the ranch. Never had any issues with the 4wd. When it was totaled and needed to be replaced, didn’t like the new body style so found an ‘03 basically the same and it is still rocking on, never any issue with the 4wd. When the kids got bigger, sold the pre-Tacoma extra cab with a shell that had been used for carting kids & dogs and Mama’s sedan and replaced them with an ‘11 four door Tacoma (6 cylinder auto). We got 4wd just in case we needed to use it for something on the ranch. Again, never any maintenance issues with the 4wd. All of these trucks have towed and hauled stuff over dirt and gravel roads on a 900+ acre ranch that would (as the old timer who helped us with a lot of the grading said) probably be 3,000 acres if you could grab the sides and stretch it out flat. The valley floor falls at 3-5% and that is the “level” part. I do a lot in two wheel drive, but towing on dirt or gravel, particularly uphill, calls for 4wd.

These trucks (probably most if not all pickups) are very light in the back. I wouldn’t want to be pulling a boat or jet ski up a wet ramp, much less a mossy or slimy one, without 4wd. I wouldn’t be afraid of the maintenance of Tacoma 4wd either.

Depending on how much you expect to use the jet and what ramps your using you might get away with 2wd, but I wouldn’t even try it.

With a choice between the two, 4WD. The fractional loss of mileage and extra maintenance is far exceeded by the ability when you really NEED it.

Out here on the ranch I would not want a truck without 4WD. Many a time flipping the 4WD switch has saved me a lot of headache when pulling a trailer on soft ground. Years ago I had a 27' Grady White on a 6-wheel tandem trailer. We launched it from improved ramps many times over 7 years. Every time I pulled it out I said to myself, "damn, I should have got the 4WD".