Now I'm a believer

[shaper]

I have never wanted a 4x4, didn't need one, didn't want one, waste of money. But.... About three weeks ago I went to my favorite shopping place. The metal recycle yard. My Sunday School teachers wife is the manager there, she calls me if they get a Chevy. truck in. She called so I went to look. It turned out to be a 1989 Chev. 1500 Cheyenne 4x4, with a 700R4 trans. and 305 TBI engine. At first I said no way. Then I thought, I could part it out and get double what I paid for it. So, I drove it home for $822. No reverse and it had been beat up and neglected. A friend in church got his brother in law to rebuild the transmission for $300. A little care, tune up, exhaust pipe, shocks, and it is running great. A big storm came through last night and took out the tops of a couple of maple trees in the front yard. The road was blocked so I started to get the tractor, but thought I would see what the truck could do. As soon as I dropped it into 4 wheel drive it lurched as started pulling the tree top up a incline. I never touched the accelerator but it cleared the incline and took the tree head into the woods. Ok, it has earned a place in my stable. I'm sold.

[country gent]

Dad always had a 4 wheel drive on the farm for field work and pulling wagons. We had them before they were popular and well known. Those old Dodges pulled and worked better than any 2 wheel drive truck, and sometimes better than the 2 wheel drive trctors did. Bt back then our "big" tractor was 45-50 horse LOL. In snow they were great here in Ohio.

[HeavyMetal]

It's amazing what they can do when you need them, LOL!

Being in LA I look around the freeway's and laugh at all the soccer mom's driving 4x4's that I know will never go off road or even get parked on the lawn!

So your somewhat right, they can be a waste of money, but as you found out in the end they can become someones treasure!

I have had the chance to buy a couple 4x4's but really don't need one in LA, However retirement is just a decade away and I will not stay in Calif.

So staying on top of the used car market is a small hobby until then.

[shooterbob]

I have had all types from monster show trucks to little bitty 4x4s and they all serve a purpose....my favorite all time was a 88 Suzuki Samurai that was like a mountain goat. Could pull trucks 3 times it size out.of the river sand and never got stuck once...oh wait yea I buried it past the head lights in black mud once, very funny story. Save that one for later lol. But you never know when you will need one.

[Ithaca Gunner]

I just got one myself, a '99 Chevy S-10 4x4. Tried out the 4x4 yesterday on a wet grassy hill, drove right up there without spinning a wheel, something my '69 GMC 3/4 ton 2 wheel drive won't do, and I don't need a big truck these days so the old GMC may go up for sale.

[Artful]

I Always try to remember use 2 wd to go until you can't then 4 wd to get out and back. Saves those really stuck need help stories.

[jmort]

Love the TBI, have had 1988s, current one is one ton dually. They just work. I have to have a 4x4 where I live and for what I do and my 1998 Ford F150 works well. My favorite 4x4 was my all wheel drive minivan which laughed at ice and snow, not for off road but even on or off road, it never came close to getting struck with street tires.

[Sweetpea]

I have no use for a 2wd truck...

I may reside on an asphalt street, but I LIVE in the mountains!

[Love Life]

4X4 is a must have for me. Allows me to get places I wouldn't be able to without it.

[chsparkman]

It's amazing what they can do when you need them, LOL!

Being in LA I look around the freeway's and laugh at all the soccer mom's driving 4x4's that I know will never go off road or even get parked on the lawn!

So your somewhat right, they can be a waste of money, but as you found out in the end they can become someones treasure!

I have had the chance to buy a couple 4x4's but really don't need one in LA, However retirement is just a decade away and I will not stay in Calif.

So staying on top of the used car market is a small hobby until then.
When I lived in Riverside I Got a lot of use out of my 4x4 in the Angeles and San Bernardino national forests.

[starmac]

I am the other way around, I have zero use for a two wheel drive and haven't owned one for about 30 years, except for a little ranger I used for a parts chasing rig.

[freebullet]

2 wheel drive is useless to me unless the vehicle only has 2 wheels.

[Leslie Sapp]

use 2 wd to go until you can't then 4 wd to get out and back

As boy who grew up in the Florida swamps, my philosophy is this:
"4WD is to get me out of stuff I was stupid enough to drive into in 2WD."

It took a couple of 8-10 mile hikes through the swamp, walking/wading out to hitchhike along a road that was still in the middle of nowhere before I understood this thoroughly. :)

[jakec]

Im a believer too. Heres my jeep. 1 ton axles and 38s. 107425

[frkelly74]

Well, as it happens we just got a 00 expedition. I have had it in 4W Low once and found it to be a real hauler for moving the travel trailer around in the yard. It took me a minute to figure out how to get back to normal though. It seems the park lockout switch is worn and would not allow the transmission to shift out. Neutral did work though. So for 40 winters I have always thought it might be nice to have 4WD about once or twice a year. Now we are going to Florida and we have a 4WD . Isn't life a funny thing?

[osteodoc08]

It's kinda like the saying

"I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it"

Having a 4WD pickup has helped me out tons of times from navigating icy and snowy roads with inclines where others were spinning and sliding off, to getting back to hunting camp, to pulling my stuck Polaris Ranger out to pulling my stuck buddies out.

Now having said that, a good winch.......

[firefly1957]

I need to get a 4X4 i would like an older one that is reliable standard cab pickup would be best for me with the road commissions doing less and less i need it to get out in the winter i would also like to hit some back woods hunting and fishing spots. I had 4X4 trucks in the past i did find they can get me twice as stuck at times!

[starmac]

Twice as stuck, is what the winch is for. lol I would love to have a brand new 76 ford F250 4X4. They were as simplae as they could possibly and a new one would last me until I didn't have any more use for one.

[Mtnfolk75]

I've lived and worked in mountain communities since 1986. I have lived in a cabin in the Sequoia National Forest since 2000. I've always had a 4x4 ;) My current is a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with a 10k Smitty-Bilt. I winch it about 5 times a year to get into my home. All my UTV/ATV's are also 4x4's with winches, they average about 10 times a year each of winch use. My last 2wd truck was a commuter for when I assigned to the Jail downtown. I then lived in Tehachapi, CA, a mountain community that had a State Hwy though it, 100 mile round trip commute, when I retired it went away. Have only owned one 2wd ATV, it didn't last but a couple of months before it went down the hill. My 4x4 UTV/ATV's get some pretty hard use, especially in the winter.

[MaryB]

I miss my 79 GMC Jimmy, in 4 low lock it was almost impossible to get it stuck in snow. Wanted a 4wd pickup this time around but what I got for my wrecked car wouldn't swing one.