4x4 or a 4x2 for camping?

If you were to buy a new tow vehicle (a truck) with camping and traveling in mind, but also wanting to use it as a daily driver, would you buy a 4x4 or a 4x2? Is a 4-wheel drive really necessary for camping and traveling in this great USA?

Would like to hear from you all. Thanks.

[B_and_D]

We bought our 4x4 because part of our property is in a slough, and we need it sometimes to get around during the wet season. We've had enough stuck vehicles to say "enough is enough; the next truck is going to be 4WD".

However, while driving (not towing) through Lassen Natl Park this past trip, it sure was nice to have the 4WD to slip into on a fairly steep hill on a gravel road. It does seem to give you a lot more control.

I think it depends on where you want to go in your travels.

Lou

I bought my first 4x4 about 15 or 20 years ago and hope to never be without one again. I love it. We do dry camping a lot and putting it into 4-Low is awesome. You can creep into the site with the engine at an idle. The tranny seems to lock in and doesn't stall. This lets you go slowly into the site while watching all the corners to not bump into trees or rocks or tree stumps. It also lets me pull out of sand when we go to the Great Sand Dunes where that last bit of the trip is out onto the loose sand to park.

Interestingly, last week, we went over Sonora Pass in the Sierras of California. We were loaded pretty heavy after 4 months working in Ca. I had my GMC Envoy at 10,000 feet, down to 10 MPH in low, floored, and loosing speed on some of the slopes. Bonnie kept reminding me that I could go into 4-Low (which gives a 3:1 gear reduction) if I had to as she kept marveling at the scenery and shooting pictures. I was sweating bullets and will never forget that bit of road.

Then after you park and unhook, you are free to go just about anywhere you want and Bonnie and I find that getting off the highway is pretty interesting.

I hope this helps. JUst be aware that you may find entirely different things make you happy.

Originally Posted by BobRederick

Lou

I bought my first 4x4 about 15 or 20 years ago and hope to never be without one again. I love it. We do dry camping a lot and putting it into 4-Low is awesome. You can creep into the site with the engine at an idle. The tranny seems to lock in and doesn't stall. This lets you go slowly into the site while watching all the corners to not bump into trees or rocks or tree stumps. It also lets me pull out of sand when we go to the Great Sand Dunes where that last bit of the trip is out onto the loose sand to park.

Interestingly, last week, we went over Sonora Pass in the Sierras of California. We were loaded pretty heavy after 4 months working in Ca. I had my GMC Envoy at 10,000 feet, down to 10 MPH in low, floored, and loosing speed on some of the slopes. Bonnie kept reminding me that I could go into 4-Low (which gives a 3:1 gear reduction) if I had to as she kept marveling at the scenery and shooting pictures. I was sweating bullets and will never forget that bit of road.

Then after you park and unhook, you are free to go just about anywhere you want and Bonnie and I find that getting off the highway is pretty interesting.

I hope this helps. JUst be aware that you may find entirely different things make you happy.

Do you tow a TM w/ your 4x4 Envoy? How does it perform? I have the same vehicle and am looking into getting a TM.

Dear SawZ,
I do all of my towing with the Envoy. It works fine for me. I would stay off the Colorado Teeners, though. I have found that when I have to slow below 50 or 40 I am enjoying the scenery so much that I don't notice the lower speeds. Other times, the speed limit is down there anyway. I am pretty happy with the Envoy. That trip over Sonora Pass was the limit of capability, though!!!

Been reflecting on PopBeavers last comments regarding the original post question--4x4 or 4x2 for Camping?--in which he presents another functional advantage to 4WD vehicles in camping, and then concludes with "...us Boy Scouts are always prepared."

I've been around long enough to remember the days 4WD vehicles were not commonplace. I remember the 1945 Jeeps and Land Rovers, and the classic '63 Jeep Wagoneer. In those days not too many working people had the option of owning one of those new fangled 4x4's.

Yet, in those days grown-up Boy Scouts still managed to be prepared when they ventured out in inclement weather, or ventured into the country for a picnic or a night under the stars in the luxury of a Coleman tent. Planning ahead and being aware of one's surroundings, using caution, were all part of being prepared. Additionally, we all carried a tow strap or chain and other common sense aids and tools, a shovel for example. Then too, we were all willing to be a good Samaritans, as well as seek one out, when a helping hand was needed. The truth is that being prepared really starts between the ears--I've seen 4x4's stuck in the mud as well as a 4x4 unable to negotiate a turn on a loose gravel slope.

A 4x4 or a 4x2 for camping? It all depends........

Here is a link from RV.NET that explores this topic in greater detail. You will read more from those who would never buy a 4x4 as well as from those who would never think of buying anything without the 4x4 capability. Enjoy:

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...g/1/page/1.cfm

I have a friend that works in San Jose and lives in the mountains nearby. In the winter time it is not uncommon for his neighbors to wait until he goes to work and then follow him.

The neighborhood is a private dirt road several miles long. He lives at the end. The first one out in the morning after a storm better have 4wd and a chainsaw. He not only has to cut the tree that fell across the road, but he as to drag it out of the way. If he did have 4wd, then he might be able to drag it with 2wd, but he would spend more time cutting it up into smaller pieces.

When a redwood tree falls across the road it is a fair amount of work to clear it.

I was at home when the Loma Prieta Quake hit, about 5 miles from my house as the crow flies. Though it did not do substantial damage to the houses in my neighborhood I am suer everyone is familiar with what they saw on TV. With 4wd it is just a little easer to get through some situations of closed roads. Some roads not far from my house had a crack in the road that was 3 feet wide and 30 feet deep. That becomes something interesting to drive across or around.

I hope I never have a neighbor ask to borrow my truck to transport a family member to the hospital because the roads are impassible with their car.

Not everyone needs 4wd. But in some locations it sure is nice when some of your friends and neighbors have one.

Lou,
What the others have said is absolutely true, IMHO. However, please note that all of the answers and opinions are based on what they like to do and/or where they like to go. So, you need to determine what works best for you in the places you live and travel.

When we moved to the mountains, where we can have snow on the ground 6 months of the year (and we don't tow in that stuff), we need our 4x4's (a truck and a small SUV) with studded tires just to go to the grocery store and church!

There have been a couple of instances in the past 7 years since we bought our 4x4's that they have gotten us out of difficulty in tall, wet grass as we were backing into a campsite, and another instance when the gravel was not well packed down and the rear tires started to spin as I was backing the trailer into a site that was elevated above the roadway. If those were the only instances for using 4x4 in 7 years, I would not recommend spending the extra money.

However, I have other needs for a 4x4 6 months of the year, so it was money well spent.

I have towed only with full size pickups. Two and Four wheel drive. I got the 4x4 while living in Santa Fe NM. I wanted to get off in the National Forests and do what is sometimes call dispersed camping. I pulled a pop up all over Carson National Forest " two trackin " and used the four wheel drive. The truck was also used in the snow while there. It was not purchased as a " status symbol " but as a work truck. Since moving back east I have learned that the four wheel drive part is not needed. The National Forests here are not conducive to rambling around as there is not much open space as compared to the National Forests out west. Since the vehicle is paid for and sits a great deal of the time I am keeping it. I am sort of attached to it! On my last trip out west I used the four wheel drive only once. Pulling the TM out of a terraced gravel campsite that had a sharp curve that needed to be completed to get out. In a KOA in Kentucky! I have used it pulling the TM out of some state park campsites here in Georgia so as not to " sling gravel " on the TM should the rear tire (on the inside part of any curve) break loose. But since returning to the east that is about it! I could manage just fine without it. I like having that extra layer of traction available at the touch of a button should I need it. When I think about a replacement tow vehicle I do not look at the 4x4's But I do think about some type of automatic positive traction rear axle though.... Did I say that? Quick Honey, take the check book and hide it from me!

I agree with most of the above - as long as you live where there isn't a lot of snow. We have a 4X4 GMC Jimmy because we use the 4 wheel drive a lot in the winter. It has a button labeled "Automatic 4WD" and that button is on most of the winter. 4WD engages when needed. I have engaged 4WD a few times in getting out of areas that are graveled in order to not spray the TM with gravel. One place in particular, I would not have made it out without 4WD. I tried and had to go into 4WD LOW. I for one would not be without it - been there done that and didn't like the consequences. Another thing, in this area, 2WD pickups and SUVs have no resale value.