Tom Bilse

My wife and I are in the process of replacing our '00 Xterra (190K mi).

I'm strongly leaning toward a crew cab mid-size pickup.

I'd like to get CO members' preference between 4wd and 2wd. Is the price difference for 4wd worth it?

Though we live in a relatively flat terrain area in N. Texas, we plan to keep the vehicle for a while and may need 4wd for "just in case" situations.

Thanks for any input.

Seasons Greetings!

oldcutlass

I sent your a pm. As far as the 2wd vs 4wd, if you have a use for 4wd then I'd run with that. Also a 4wd in Texas is always going to bring more resale as thats the desired truck here in Texas.

RandyS

Lived in Texas for several years, had to use 4wd more than once. I would never own any type of truck that wasn't 4wd.

oldsmobiledave

2wd trucks rapidly depreciate in value vs the same truck equipped with 4wd.

Olds_71_442

Your second sentence is a comment I've made many times over the years. I won't own a 2WD truck.

m371961

After owning and driving 2 wheel drive pickups for 30 years in all weather, I got my first 4x4. After that one I will never buy a 2 wheel drive pickup again.
But if you want better fuel economy, never go off hardtop, no snow, no boat ramps, and don't care about re-sale, then get a 2 wheeler.
Get stuck once, and you will regret it. And if you ever tow anything heavy you will like low range. The ability to back up a trailer at or just above idle is handy.

Oldsmaniac

Some good points brought up. In central NJ we get snow, sometimes a little and rarely a big dumper. When I bought my truck in 05 at the age of 50 I asked myself was there ever a situation I was in that I needed a 4wd. The answer was no. Second question was will I go off road with it, the answer was no. Thirdly do I want to spend the xtra cash for something I dont need and something that will give less gas mileage, the answer was no. Lastly I keep my vehicles forever so resale vale was not a point.

1970cs

I have had a lot more two wheel drive trucks than 4wd, FYI my first 4wd has just been purchased in the last few days.

The 4X4 is for my wife, I can handle 2wd trucks up here in Michigan. Must be weighted with a couple hundred pounds over the rear wheels and tire pressures lowered to 32 PSI.

I will agree with the rest that 4wd retain their values better!

Pat

oldolds88

bought a 2011 gmc ext cab 1500 4x4 to replace my 97 gmc 2wd,5.3 6spd auto, 19mpg hwy. 12 pulling the bass boat. i dont have any problem with getting the boat out of the water now. i vote 4x4

MDchanic

As above, it depends on your planned use.

2WD (or part-time 4WD) will definitely give better gas mileage, and will be simpler to fix if you ever have a problem with the transmission or the dreaded transfer case.

4WD will pull you out of more situations.

That being said, my current truck is a 1990 GMC diesel 2WD ¾ ton, and I've driven it on and off through about six Maine winters (every day through one winter, as my other car needed a head gasket), and I never had a problem with traction. I do not drive off-road and did not need to launch any boats.

My wife and kid both have 4WD vehicles, and I will admit that it requires less skill to get theirs out of snow banks, but you can do fine in normal driving either way.

- Eric

orange442

I have had many 2wd trucks and they would most of what I needed them to do but not everything I wanted to do. I personally kept running into situations where I needed 4wd. I do a lot of hauling cars and parts and many times I had to have help to retrieve a vehicle or just wait till a buddy could help. I have also almost tore up my 2wd trucks trying to get unstuck, whether it be mud or snow. When I bought my 02 GMC Duramax in Dec. 01, I bought a 4x4 because I planned on keeping it for a very long time so I wanted it to be able to do just about anything I would ever need it to do. It has 46k miles on it. I daily drive a 93 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4. I have had to use the 4wd several times so it comes in very handy. They do have a little higher maintenance cost if you need to work on the 4wd specific components but it is worth it to me. Also, one bad thing about owning 4x4's is you are the guy your buddy's call when they get stuck and need to be pulled out.

FMB42

If you're divided between 2x and 4x than I'd go with a 4x. And owning any truck makes you the "go to guy" when your non-truck owning friends need to haul something or move.

Jamesbo

I haven't been w/o a 4X4 in years love them

RetroRanger

A guy I work w sold his truck and bought a jeep, he missed the hauling capacity of the truck so he bought a trailer. Now he lends out the trailer instead of the truck!

cutlassjoe

Back in 08' I bought my wife her jeep Liberty. She says she will never drive a car again. Now she has her eye on a 2013 jeep Grand Cherokee.....Yikes. After driving the jeep in the snow my next vehicle will be a 4x4 truck, suv for sure.

F-85 4-4-2

I also have a '90 Sierra 2WD. It has seen snow service, but no more. Gets low 20's MPG, no complaints.

BECOTruck4-Oct-2009.jpg?1419950397436http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/y...?1419950397436

66luvr

4X4 for me. I have had occasion to tow sometimes, cars mostly. I have been in a few situations while towing a car on a trailer when I would not have accomplished my goal without being able to put my truck in four wheel drive. Then there is the ease of using it in the snow, and visiting rural areas for various reasons, I would like to always have a 4X4. Not saying I would not own a 2X4 truck possibly, as long as I also have a 4X4.
Yes, I've been stuck in deep snow with a 4X4 (no posi), so I highly recommend posi, or whatever your brand of truck calls it, for the rear, plus if there is some similar option for the front and I had a choice I would have that also.

joe_padavano

When I lived in SoCal, my 2WD Chevy crewcab was fine. I never needed 4WD. Here in NoVA, I live on a farm with a dirt road that rarely gets plowed in winter. I use the 4WD (between the occasional snow and driving in the mud on the farm). Depends on what you need. The 4WD will be more expensive to purchase, operate, and maintain. For example, the front rotors on my 99 Chevy K3500 crewcab dually are behind the hubs. 2WD versions are not. Changing or turning the rotors is a royal PITA. Also, it doesn't matter if it's part time 4wd or not - you will still be dragging all that extra weight around in 2WD mode. And just try changing the trans with a 4WD truck - you've got to remove twice as many driveshafts and the transfer case first. If you don't need it, don't get it. If you do need it, get it.

Fun71

That's the setup I have - 4WD Jeep Wrangler and a 5x8 utility trailer.

Tom Bilse

Thanks for all the responses.

Regarding make/model, I've had a lot of interest in the new GMC Canyon. Though it's a mid-size, it's too long to comfortably fit in our garage (with the few other needed items in front of it - mower, etc.).

Contrary to popular belief, everything in Texas is NOT bigger, most notably our garage.

I'm now interested in the Nissan Frontier, which is shorter (though not by a bunch). Though the current version is somewhat dated, it appears to have a pretty good rep.

Thanks again. Happy New Year!

m371961

Up here in the rust belt I am waiting to see how the 2015 Ford aluminum trucks are gonna be.
The old Nissans were tough. We beat on one as a woods truck. And when you get a vehicle that hasn't changed much in the past few years a lot of the bugs in design have been worked out.

MDchanic

Well said, Joe.

- Eric

oldsmobiledave

A Nissan Frontier? I thought this thread was about buying a truck!

cherokeepeople

yep have to agree i have basically lived on the roads here in iowa for the last 20 yrs.50k a year i started with an 84 chevy 1/2 ton 2wd 6.2 diesel pickup then a cadillac then a 2000 vw tdi.and i have yet to get stuck.one thing my dad used to say "with a 4wd your twice as far from the tractor when you get stuck"

chip-powell

4x4 every time and twice on Sunday

Run to Rund

I chose a Ram 3500 single wheel 4x4, Cummins, Aisin transmission. With the prices today, I wanted to get a truck that would do anything I needed it to do sometime in the future.

oldsmobiledave

I work in the Oil Patch in Western Canada. If you do not have 4WD you do not have a truck. Without 4WD you can not reach the places we drill wells.

oldcutlass

Funny story I had a guy looking for what he said a sturdy well built truck, we couldn't agree on price and he left. He comes back a few weeks later all proud to show off his new truck, a Honda Ridgeline. He goes on and on about how great it is and he wanted to show is what a real truck looked like. After he was done I lifted the door of the little compartment in the bed that looks like you can carry about 5 cases of beer in it. It even hade a drain. I picked up my mobile and acted like I was talking to someone, then pointed to the phone and said the country club up the street wanted their motorized beer chest back.

MDchanic

Which, while completely true, is entirely irrelevant to the driver who lives in a city or a suburb, rather than an oil field, and never drives off-road.

- Eric

chip-powell

I've said it in previous threads and I'll say it again, if you HAVE to get a 2wd truck, it better be a mid '70's International Harvester. It's the best truck ever made...period.


If you are looking for new, it depends on what you are using it for. Nowadays trucks are more status symbol that actual work vehicle. What will you be using it for? What are the roads like where you live? Is gas mileage an issue? Prices are down right now, but you know that that can not last.
If you are looking at imports, Toyota's traditionally have been the best bet. However, my Mother deals with the lemon laws and handles "buy backs" on recalled cars and trucks. She has told me about a very quiet recall on Toyota trucks from 2000-2010. The frames have been rusting out. Nissan trucks have never been very good for work (but I bet that they are great for going back and forth to soccer practice).

oldsmobiledave

Then a truck is not needed.

MDchanic

Not necessarily.

A truck is for transporting more, larger, or heavier items than you can fit in a car.

You may need to transport lots of junk, whether motorcycles, or job materials, or tools and equipment, or to tow, but not off-road, in which case a 2WD is fine.
For instance, a businessman who needs to deliver bulky items to customers in town would be a fool to spend the extra money, and extra maintenance, on a 4WD pickup instead of buying a 2WD delivery van.

Alternatively, you may live or work on a facsimile of Verdun, but if you don't need to carry a lot of stuff a CJ-5 may be just fine.

- Eric

oldcutlass

There is no correct answer to this age old question, personal preference and depth of wallet usually play a big part in the 2wd vs 4wd conundrum. I've been though all the different truck scenarios over the years an now I waste my money on old cars.

My biggest problem is I won't spend $40, 50, 60k on something I can't live in.

oldsmobiledave

I wish it was only $60k. I looked at a new RAM 3500 dually the other day and the MSRP was only a few bucks short of $90k

Ranzan

Like Dave I was checking out the new F350 last week with a price tag of just shy of 90K fully loaded.. asked the sales guy what a base model goes for and he said mid to high 50s

decided to keep my current truck for the next decade lol

rustyroger

A friend lives in Texas hill country, he runs a construction business and hauls horse trailers to Team Penning meets. He tells me 2WD is all he needs, never got stuck ever.
However when he lived in Missouri 4WD was the only way to get mobile in winter.
What isn't there won't go wrong is a good engineering cliche, like a front diff and transfer case for example.
But get this - the much revered and respected on this forum publication "Consumer Reports" reckoned 4WD trucks had the edge on 2WD for reliability and breakdowns last time I read a copy. Go figure .

Roger.

oldcutlass

In Texas, a 2wd diesel truck is virtually sale proof on the pre-owned market. Trucks outsell cars 3-1. People here use them as family haulers. Most go for the 4x4 1/2 ton as there is not much difference in the price and they like the look better over functionality. Also there is not much difference in fuel economy between a 2wd and 4wd truck. Any gas powered truck will generally provide 250k miles and any diesel 500k miles easily. Most get tired of it and opt for a new truck at just under 100k.

w-30dreamin

Do they still make 2wd trucks? just kidding,but they are more difficult to find.

My first truck was 2wd,didn't work out for winter in the snow,I slid all over the place,was scary at times. My second was 4wd and I fell in love,handles the snow great,no more scary rides. On my third truck and it's 4wd,I would not go back to 2wd.
Off the main roads where i live we don't get snow plows till mid morning,I have to be to work early morning,without 4x4 I would not make it to work when it snows.

66 Olznut

Out here in Sunny So Cal, where it never snows, I've owned both 4x4 and 2wd. Only used the 4x4 for fun, never for anything work related, my current truck is a 2wd, the only problems I've had were with the 4x4 parts, axle seals, transfer cases.

71rocket

Hands down, 4x4 p/u if it's going to see any adverse driving conditions, especially if you live in the country. I farm/ranch in SE Kansas and have to operate in the snow and ice on a yearly basis. When making a turn it's nice to have the front end lead the way, can make it up a hill, can get out of a slick spot. Personally, my life would be more difficult without four wheel drive. Depends on a persons needs. imho.

Had freezing rain yesterday afternoon and will be using it this morning.