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2wd vs 4wd trucks??

C

Casey in Ky

Member
Ok, so heres a question. Do any of you guys actually have 2wd farm trucks?? And if so, how useful are they really?? My first 2 trucks as a kid were 2wd"s and seems like I was always slippin", slidin", spinnin", and eventually stuck. Now I know some of it was "youthful indiscretion" to coin a popular phrase, but during the winter time around here, it seems like its either knee deep mud or snow. Even after a little rain, just about anytime of year, it can be a chore to get a 2wd truck just out to the barn(another curse of hill country).

Casey
 
Right now we've got a 1995 F-250 and a '65 GMC 4000 w/ a 12 yard dump body. Both are 2wd. Don't have any problem with either one. But then, I plan ahead and don't use them in situations where it would be a problem. They are mostly for hauling stuff on roads, to and from the farm. For getting around here, we use one of three different tractors. When things get nasty in the winter, my preferred place to be is in the house with my feet up enjoying the heat from the woodstove. I would definitely get a 4wd if I didn't have the tractors.

Christopher
 
I'll say this, when you travel with 2WD because you have no other choice, you learn a lot about HOW to drive.

Those days are long over for me, but the lessons learned never leave you.
 
In the day there were very few 4wd trucks. We always got by with 2wd. Today it is hard to find a 2wd.
That said I have a 2wd pickup. I have yet to get stuck with it. Knock on wood. It DOES have positraction and I do load it heavy when it snows it gets around fine. It is a city truck. The few times I could have used 4wd I got by with planning and forward thinking. 4wd would have been nice for about 10 ft. But for every day commuting I prefer the ride and handling of a 2wd.
If I were buying a FARM Pick up truck I would not be without 4wd. No point in NOT having it for that application.A large truck not so much and a MUCh higher cost..
 
We have put hundreds of thousands of miles on three different two wheel drive 3/4 ton farm trucks up here in NE Wisconsin, operating year round. We haul cow feed, sileage and gravity wagons, pull start tractors, etc. with little difficulty.

One must keep good tires on the truck and have about 1,000# behind the rear axle in demanding situations.

No doubt four wheel drive is better, but it is amazing what a properly weighted two wheeler can go through. Up until about 1975, four wheel drives were very uncommon, and there were a whole lot more arms then than there are now.


Glenn F.
 
Funny how time changes things... I grew up on a farm in KY in the 60"s and 70"s. 4WD trucks were rare except for an occasional Jeep, Dad had a 2WD pickup, 1/2 ton, and a 1 1/2 ton flatbed and my uncle had a short dually flatbed. It was amazing how much we were able to do with "only" a 2WD, year-round, mud, snow, whatever and our land was/is very hilly. We Rarely got stuck and if we did, we got a tractor and pulled it out, in short, we made do with what we had. About the mid-70"s 4WDs started showing up in large numbers and were considered the "cat"s meow". Dad bought a new "77 4WD and we wondered how we ever made it without one. We quickly discovered a stuck 4WD was not as easy to pull out:) Nowadays if you don"t have a diesel dually you"re not "up with the times"! It all comes down to YOUR perspective and what you grew up with. I did learn a LOT about 2WD driving on slick surfaces, something probably you won"t learn as fast in a 4WD. A 2WD driven properly will get the job done but a 4WD will do it more easily. I guess it"s more of a convenience now because they"re so plentiful but "back in the day" 2WD was all we had.
 
Our "main" farm truck is a '79 heavy duty 3/4 ton 2 wheel drive with a 4 speed transmission. It does almost all of our pulling as it is equipped with a heavy duty bumper and a gooseneck trailer hitch. In Minnesota weather, it can require a little planing to keep from getting stuck. We also have a '94 1/2 ton 4x4 that we use for plowing snow, but it sees very little towing as it is just to light built and also has an automatic transmission which I don't like for towing. As other have said, a new 4x4 would be nice, but this one does the job just fine, and there are no payments to be made on it!
 
Definitely, definitely have a 2 wd truck. Haul about 8000 square bales with it a year. It is lower-I can put 53 bales on it without getting my feet off the ground. also have a 4-wd; it is higher, more tippy on steep ground-don't use it much.
 
YEARS AGO WHEN THERE WERE ONLY A FEW CHOICES FOR A FOUR WHEEL DRIVE, MANY TWO WHEEL DRIVE CAME WITH POSITRACTION OR FOR ABOUT 150.00 DOLLARS EXTRA YOU COULD GET IT, WHEN MORE FOUR WHEELERS STARTED COMING GUESS WHAT NO MORE POSITRACTION FOR 2 WHEEL DRIVE,I WAS GETTING MY 2 WHEEL DRIVE 2006 CHEVY SERVICED THE OTHER DAY, AND THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID IF YOU GET A NEW PICK UP TWO 2 WHEEL TRUCKS HAVE POSITRACTION NOW, IMAGINE THAT, I SAID NOT SELLING VERY MANY 30,000.00 PLUS 4 WHEELERS ? HE JUST SMILED AND WALKED AWAY, ASK YOUR OVER 60 FRIENDS YA SURE !!!
 
YEARS AGO WHEN THERE WERE ONLY A FEW CHOICES FOR A FOUR WHEEL DRIVE, MANY TWO WHEEL DRIVE CAME WITH POSITRACTION OR FOR ABOUT 150.00 DOLLARS EXTRA YOU COULD GET IT, WHEN MORE FOUR WHEELERS STARTED COMING GUESS WHAT NO MORE POSITRACTION FOR 2 WHEEL DRIVE,I WAS GETTING MY 2 WHEEL DRIVE 2006 CHEVY SERVICED THE OTHER DAY, AND THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID IF YOU GET A NEW PICK UP TWO 2 WHEEL TRUCKS HAVE POSITRACTION NOW, IMAGINE THAT, I SAID NOT SELLING VERY MANY 30,000.00 PLUS 4 WHEELERS ? HE JUST SMILED AND WALKED AWAY, ASK YOUR OVER 60 FRIENDS YA SURE !!!
 
UP here I couldn't survive without 4wd. It is nearly/entirely impossible to make it out of my driveway in the winter in 2wd, let alone get into the fields and haul things around.

To me its one of those things I would rather have and not need, then need and not have.
 
My 95 Cummins 5 speed has PoSITIVE TRACTION REAREND ,,,. As long as I don't let that hummin Cummins sit too long in the fertile loam and Let the front end settle in nice and comfy as wheel CHOCKS,, I can usually go ,,, Especially with a trailer and load on the pickup ... For several years because it used not rain here after the 4th of July , I could pull 165 bu. loaded Gravity flow wagons across the field,and bring them home , NOT THIS YEAR ! ... Don't own a 4 wheeldrive , Got turned offYears ago BY the COSTLY PLASTIC GEAR RICE BUNNY TRASH repairs that GM and FORD started putting in their junk (trucks ) ,,, BORG WARNER lock outs are the only way to go . when you have to repair the plastic ricechitt ..Oriental JUnkrust buckets are worse ,,(hi performance /SHORT LIFE ) ..who NEEDS 4 wheel drive and all the EXPENSIVE/UPKEEP . Figure if its that dam muddy , I don't need to be out there slopping up the fields causing unnecessary erosion ... go get a tractor ,, Andfurthermore the NEXT dam 4wheeler in my corn field i catch joy riding I will smash to bits and roll into a tincan, sell for scrap ! ,Then send it to china so it can come BACK to Walmart as suburban wife yard bait TRASH ...
 
all my farm trucks are now 2 wd, i had 4x4s in the past but only used the feature a few days a year, when i learned to drive 4x4's were a rarity and as a concequence we learned how to drive, i live in a mountainous area that recieves snow so we learned to how to drive even better, as well as what tire chains were for,in the worst snow days of the year we still did fine, we had enough sence to stay home, now people with very minimal driving ability wonder why they get wrecked in bad weather in a 4x4, because they dont realize they cant stop or turn any better than a 2 wd
 
several years ago I worked for a billboard company that ran 2 1989 Ford F-250s. One was ext cab 2 wheel and one was std. cab 4 wheel. I had to drive into some low land flood plain to get to a sign just outside our town and almost made it in the ext cab 2 wheeler. I called a co-worker who had the 4X4 to come pull me out and he couldn't even get to where I had the 2 wheeler stuck!! I couldn't see him for the trees and walked back to tell him NOTto drive in my ruts. He was out of the ruts but sitting on top spinning and stuck! I took the reins and was able to get the 4X4 out and he took it back to the shop and got the digger/derrick truck. We ran cable off the paved road down through the trees and pulled the 2 wheeler sideways up out of its ruts and I drove it out. The only reason it was stuck is it had a huge drop bumper on it and that bumper was dragging the mud. once out of its ruts it came out on its own. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it myself!! Yes, the two wheeler had a posi trac.
 
I have 2 trucks that are 2wd, a chevy dually that I pull my gooseneck trailers and a F150 that is my parts getter truck. I've got 2 4x4 trucks, a Dodge that is my newest and a Nissan that is used as a 4 wheeler to check cows and fences. I went a lot of years without a 4x4 but after the winters we had in the late 70's I decided I needed to keep at least 1 4x4.
 
Haven't owned a 2wd truck since 1970, do not start a tractor in winter except to load hay double hi. I feed on 4 farms about 7 mi apart a hay speer & now an unroller on the 86GMC one ton takes the place of a 35-60,000$ tractor in 1/4 the time. Yeah you can go many places with 2wd but you can't do anything but look then go back for the tractor to get the wagons across the creek, setting by the woodstove is not an option here.
 
When I started reading this I was thinking I could not live with out my 4x4. But in reality it is an expensive luxury. On the farm we have 2 Chevy 1500 4x4 a Dodge 3500 Diesel dully 4x4 a jeep and the wife’s Exploder 4x4. Her truck was in for service and the dealer gave us an F150 to drive for the week. It was just 2 wheel drive. I was surprised how well I got around in it. As I read this thread I was reminded of my child hood and all the two wheel drives we had. I did not get my first 4x4 until 1980. I will say that the 4x4s will keep you from tearing things up. My kids have learned that a stuck 4x4 is a lot more work to get out and they cost a lot more to fix. We have 3 two wheel drive F550s dumps that we use for plowing snow and they do well but I would never want to take them on soft ground.

Bill
 
We never had a 4wd until December of 1976.  There were just not that many around in Central Mo. then.  We bought two 1977 Ford F-150's that year.  I still have them both.  One 2wd, one 4wd.The 4wd is pretty much toast.  The 2wd is in the shed and waiting on me to install the rebuilt carb, then it will be going again.After 1977, we never  bought another 2wd.  Now I have a buddy in Arkansas and he wont own a 4wd.  Says he can go anywhere he needs with 2.  He is in Poinsette county.  Flat ground.Gene
 
A 2WD truck is totally useless for farming here in hilly SE MN. When I was in high school I had a 70 Chevy 4X2. It was OK if I stayed on paved roads in the summer but try to go off road on green grass or anything else and I would soon be stuck. I now have a 1978 K20 chore truck. In the winter I often chain all four wheels and still get stuck from time to time. My main truck is a 4X4 Silverado. It has a locking rear differential and at times that causes more trouble that it helps. If I'm on a side hill and one rear wheel starts to slip it will lockup and with both wheels spinning the rear will slide sideways causing loss of control.
 
We never had a 4wd growing up. I remember my dad's 1969 Dodge and 1973 Ford, then a Datsun diesel in the early 80's. In 1984 we got a well used Chevy 4wd. If we needed to go out in the fields you took a tractor or walked. Now, we both have them but in retrospect they are an expensive luxury. A 2wd and an atv to check the cows would cost a lot less. Even with hay deliveries I'd be better off with a 2wd, now I take my 4wd Dodge and end up getting stuck going placed I shoulding with 8-9 tons on hay behind me.
 
I have 2 two wheel drives and one four wheel drive here in NW Iowa. I have needed the four wheel drive maybe once in the last five years. I'm on the farm but we're lucky to live in a county that plows the roads right away after it snows and I live on a good flat well graveled road. We just haven't had any hard snowy winters for maybe 25 years so getting around hasn't been a problem. Hard surface roads are 1 1/2 miles away in three directions.Jim
 
I have three Chevy half ton 4X4s, '78, '85, and '89.

The '78 is an old beater with a snow plow on it. I no longer bother to put plates or insurance on it, just use it off road around the farm.

The '85 is sitting by the road with a "For Sale" sign on it.

The '89 is an extended cab long box, and my main pickup. At that, I only put maybe 3,000 miles a year on it.

I wouldn't buy anything but 4X4 for no other reason than that I live out in the country in Nebraska. Although when the roads are bad but passable, I feel more comfortable in my fwd Olds 88 than in a pickup.
 
Casey, I have had a 4x4 trucks under me for 30 yrs. In that time I have had 4 2x4 to work out of and play too......
1, a new 82 GMC after college, My primary dating rig when I was chasing skirts. No real work done in this truck, just late night driving chasing skirts.
2, 86 F-150 S-cab got it after I totaled my 82 GMC. Had it when I got married. Later Sold it for another 4x4 truck. A little work but still mainly chasing skirts too.
3, F-350, Super Camper Special,460,w/Auto,4:10 gears, One gooseneck trailer pulling truck!!! work out of it for 9 yrs. with Monster mudders it was almost unstopable.
4, last 2x4 truck my Wife and I got a deal on super clean low miles 87 Chevy Suburban. Later sold it, to get a 04 4x4 Ford Expedition. Currently have 3 4x4s, the 4x4 system will always bring the cost of the system back to you at trade-in or private sale. Providing you haven't just ragged out the truck to where it is just a pile of junk.
Yes, 2 wheelers will do a lot of work, But why have a 2 wheeler spinning when a 4-wheeler will do the work with less effort and soil and pasture grass torn up. My thoughts!
Later,
John A.
 
Grandpa always said that a 4 wheel drive just got you further off the road before you got stuck.
I cut and sell a lot of firewood, cut hay on rented ground in the summer. I almost never use the 4 wheel drive accept in the winter. Usually try to use it as a backup. Operate in 2 wheel, use 4 wheel as a way to get out when having problems. In the winter when cutting and delivering there is always 3 or 4 times a year where I wouldn"t finish the job without 4 wheel drive. But would probably just deliver on a different day (snowy roads) or go to the woods with the tractor/trailer if I only had 2 wheel drive.
 
I have two 4WD trucks 94 Ford Ranger an 94 F-250 an both of my atv's are 4WD That being said my dad had an 1984 F-150 2WD with a inline 6 strait shift an he could go any where he wanted to He ran mud an snow tire on the back year round Sold it at 300k But they don't make them like they use to anymore
 
To me the 4WD thing is way over rated.I have a 2WD
Ranger that I use 90% of the time on the farm and does just fine.The other 10% is split between a Isuzu 4WD pickup and a S10 4WD pickup.I don't like drving a 4WD on the road other than just short trips.
 
Have now and have had both. In our hilly region on the NY/PA border? A no brainer. 4x4 wins every time.

I don't understand these folks who say that 4-wheel drive will only get you in more trouble. Getting in trouble with a truck has a lot to do with common sense (or lack of it).
 
We several 4 wheel drive pickups here on the farm. You could not give me a 2 wheel drive. Life is too short to put up with a 2 wheel drive. I sure there are places, like down south, where they would be ok.
 
I don't understand these folks who say that 4-wheel drive will only get you in more trouble. Getting in trouble with a truck has a lot to do with common sense (or lack of it).
Click to expand...

I don't get it either, with a sensible driver the 4x4 shouldn't get you into any more trouble.

UP here we have a lot of hills and get on the order of 20+ feet of snow in the winter, so 2wd's just sit at the bottom and don't go anyplace, not that 4x4 is unstoppable; but those front tires pulling helps tremendously. Then strap a trailer behind the truck and the 2wd's start moving backwards...
 
Here in michigan we have what I call Go - No Go days.

10" snow overnight 2wd No Go.
10" snow overnight 4x4 go "Where's every one at I made it ok."

When I need to get to my business, well I have to Go.

Everything I own is 4wd.

I have had 2wds and they were ok. But hook on to a loaded gravity wagon on damp ground and so much for that. I hate getting pulled out by the combine.

I also would hate having to ride the Skidoo 399 nordic snowmobile to work 10 miles.

Joe
 
On a bear hunting trip to Canada one of our guides used a 4WD truck and another a 2WD that he had equipped with extra large wheels and off-road tires. He liked to boast that he could go thru just as much with 2WD as the other guide could with 4. Snow or mud. From what I could see, he was right.
 
Casey,

Where are you located? I live in Greenup County.

These fellers who claim they like or even prefer a 2 wd, evidently haven't spent too much time wading the mud back to the house or to the neighbors so somebody can come snake them out.

I have a neighbor up the road who (being a tightwad) refused to buy a 4 wd truck or tractor and instead fed his cattle every winter while riding an open station MF tractor...while freezing his cojones off.

At age 60, he suddenly got smart, or his brain thawed out....and he bought a 4 wd truck and a cabbed 4 wd JD loader tractor! I asked him if he was going to feed this winter on his old Ferguson tractor and he just grinned at me.

It takes a while for the stupid to wear off some people and when it finally does, they wonder why they cheated themselves for so long.
 
Never did worry too much about not being able to go. Its not being able to stop that make the white knuckle moments. Have both kinds and don't see any difference in stopping power.
Joe
 
We bought our first 4wd here on the ranch in '67, before that it had been all 2wd's clear back to the days of the Model A Fords. Grandad DID make that same statement about a 4x4 giving false confidence and making a person drive where they shouldn't....but I think he was referring more to my brothers and myself and other clueless hired help than he was to himself!

By the way, all the 2wd's before '67 all were equipped with positraction rearends and usually loaded down with quite a bit of weight(feed sacks, etc) and it IS pretty amazing how well a posi-equipped 2wd will get around compared to a non-posi. The average 4wd pickup, when stuck in snow or mud, only spins one front and one rear tire anyway...but they do have an advantage,
 
I have a 4x4 F-350. Right now i'm using the truck in place of a tractor to pull our hay wagon since the tractor is down. It will go everywhere the tractor does, just I have learned a few things. Weight is your friend, i have gotten closer to being stuck going through the field empty than i have with a trailer loaded with hay. It also has a positrac rear end so i dont put it into 4x4 unless the back wheels are just spinning. I will normally go around in 4x4 low when the hay wagon is really loaded to keep my auto tranny happy. It doesnt like stop and go in soft ground with a load for several hours. But i leave the front hubs unlocked. Sometimes you will get stuck faster if you go straight in with 4x4 because once you have all 4 wheels spinning your in trouble. If you get stuck with 2 wheels spinning, the front are usually on good ground to pull yourself out with.
 
4wd trucks are like tractors with cabs, if you ever have one you will never be with out it. If you never have one you really don't know what your missing. My grandfather and uncle farm together. My uncle bought a new truck about a year ago that was the very first truck ever owned on that farm ever. They never really seen a reason to have one. They are lucky in that most of the "daily" stuff is right there by the house and any time there is snow or deep mud they use a tractor for every thing. I have helped them load calves before, the loading pen is in the middle of a feeding lot so they put the trailer on a tractor, load calves, pull it out to the drive way and put a truck on it. Takes a little time but they always said a little time was worth the price and extra expense of a 4wd.

Dave
 
Before the truck i had now, I had a 2wd dodge 1500. That thing was always getting stuck. I would go to pull out the trailer and the truck would be sliding on wet grass. I'd have to call the boss to come over with his 4x4 dodge to pull me out. Before that I had a 4x4 jeep that would go anywhere. So after the 2wd truck mess, i said no more 2wd for me. I know the dodge would have at least done better if it has positrac.
 
I have always had 4X4. Too many variables here to not have it, mud, snow, wet grass. Have my Uncles '78 F250 2WD use it for a fuel/psrts runner in the summer, when it is dry. Tried to use it to pull wagons and such, but anything off pavement or gravel road just didnt work to well.

For me I wouldnt be without 4WD, the little extra maintaince and cost upfront greatly out weigh the ride and mileage loss.
 
One important thing about most 4x4 is the "low range" transfer case. It somewhat essentually doubles your power. This is very helpful in parking a heavy trailer or while driving in very rough conditions. Much less stresful on many drivetrain components, mainly the clutch or automatic transmission.
 
Where I live, we have snow, sometimes for about 4 months of the year. We used to have 2 wheel drive pickups, but later got a 4wd. The difference: with the 2wd, you had to chain up to go quite often during the winter; I have never chained up the 4wd, even though I have chains for all 4 wheels. I really HATE chaining up!

I have also enjoyed being able to pull other vehicles out of mud with the 4wd. I would not have attempted the same deeds with a 2wd--it would have just got stuck...

While I would never say that I would never buy another 2wd again, for a truck that I would plan to use all year, it better have 4wd. They just work so much better for my needs and are worth the extra money to me. Good luck!
 
Have had both but currently running a GMC 2500HD 2WD.
Keep a bunch of weight in the back and a decent set of tires on it. No problems in the 3 years I've had it.
I pull wagons, trailers, machinery with it. We get snow here in north central WI, no such thing as a "no-go day".
Growing up we had an F250 2 WD as the farm truck and we were quite happy with it.
 
We only had one 4x4 around, and as many as 3 or 4 two wheel drives. The 4x4 was mainly used for taking hay out to the cows. All we had was mid-80s Dodges til about 99, when we got a 98 2500 with a plow and a 96 dakota. The 2 wheel drives were our primary trucks year-round. We are just under 20 miles from the Erie lakeshore. Just had to be smart where you went with the 2 wheel drive. Many mornings I would drive my 87 2-wheel drive dakota up route 19 to school with the snow drifts coming over the hood.

The 2500 was sprung and sway-barred so heavy that the 2 wheel drives would go farther than it would in snow OR mud.
 
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