Aint nothin wrong with having fun with your 2wd ...But I gotta say, challenge someone who knows what they are doing in their 4wd then follow them around off road for a bit and you'll be stuck and watching him drive away in no time. I drive off road for a living and there's no way a 2wd would get where I go on a daily basis. Not trying to start a pissing match....just being realistic.

If you get someone brave/stupid enough, you can a get a 2wd vehicle a lot of places you wouldn't think they'd go (We tested this in college with a friends Toyota Corolla on a mountain on the outskirts of town). But when it comes down to it, its 4wd or turn around and find a different route for where I go.

All that being said, I'm all for getting out in your truck, no matter what it is, and having some fun outside of civilization

 

^completely agree!

Oh yea I dont think anyone said you had to be 4wd and not 2wd to offroad, apparently the main discrimination with 2wd trucks are that you are not supposed to lift them rather than off road them apparently! haha not true tho, as it would come in handy enjoying the non pavement areas!

 

I live in southern California, and I specifically made sure mine didn't have 4WD. Extra up front travel, better mpg, less components to break on the dunes. No one really wheels 4x4 trails in fullsize pickups, I'd take the YJ out for that. 2WDs blow away 4wd in Baja, and that's good enough for me.

 

I was surprised by an ice storm a couple years ago while at work. My truck is a 2WD with the long wheel base (SCAB Longbed) and still has the original tires with about 49K miles on it at that time. They still had over a quarter of an inch of tread on them. It normally takes me about 20 minutes to get home, but that night it took me over 2 hours. The roads were so slick, that when I tried to turn, it would just go in a straight line. When I finally got home, I couldn't get it in the driveway - I tried everything including driving through the grass, but once on my concrete driveway, I couldn't steer it (it would only go in a straight line). Finally, I got out of the truck and my wife helped me push the truck sideways onto the driveway by hand. That was last time I drove my truck in the winter.

 

i used to take my dad old 88 chevy 1500 off roading long bed extended cab it was about 19 feet long....i got that ****er stuck called a buddy that had a 98 lariat f150 4x4 we snapped his tow rope tryen to get me out...he had to go back home and get chains and we finnaly got it out

tiny pic but this is what it looked like after

 

Y'all are crazy. If you really want to get anywhere in real mud and more extreme rocky hills you NEED 4x4. I've had the wannabe-4x4 2x4 and now have a 4x4. Not even close.

 

Do you take your personal truck and actually run it in Baja Mexico? Or are you calling driving on the sand or down a gravel road at 50 mph "baja"?

There are WAY more uses for 4x4 than on a dedicated trail. My 4x4 blows away 2WDs on just about anything that causes a truck/vehicle to lose traction when you need it most. Not saying 2wds cant get you by in certain situations but lets be realistic.....there's getting by and then there's having the right tool for the job.
If your truck is a pavement princess dressed as a functional off road capable truck and that works for you then great. But those who think 4x4 is not necessary have never done any real offroading.

As for the dunes.....I'd take the sport quad out for that

 

Well said.

 

4x4 down here simply isn't needed. At Johnson valley offroad park doing the prerunner trails, I have much more peace of mind knowing I have less to break up front. Plus I get better mileage getting there. For snow, mud, sure - a 4x4 is better. But I have never once wished my truck was 4x4. That's what the jeep is for. Do I race baja? No. But I love the prerunning trails and 2wd is the tried and true formula.

 

4x4 is of course superior to needed uses such as icy roads, trails, off road functions, but they two are limited as well. They are not strong in some instances, more parts to have issues with and even sometimes reliability, esp if rough wheeling, ifs 4x4s that is. But. I know if I really needed it I would have gotten it for my daily driving purposes. I think if I want to offroad something Ill go get a 8-10 year old 4x4 in decent shape for such use. I know driving my 2wd during the winter here in Georgia when the roads iced a couple of times, I hated my truck, ridiculous.. that and getting stuck in front yard in a weird spot loosing traction.. I def coulda used 4x4 but thats what two to three occurrences in the 3 years Ive had it not to bad. Ive been there with 4x4 trucks, didnt need it when I had it for dd. But currently looking for a trail machine for on the side uses.

 

No one never said you can't offroad, but for what a lot of us wheel a 2wd is going to never get you out of the parking lot or park road. Of course, different types of wheeling allow a 2wd. It's amazing the travel they can get out of a 2wd on a pre runner set up

I've done a lot of trails in 2wd, going down every thing is not the issue. It's coming back up where 4wd is a must unless you have some one with a winch or a long recovery strap to pull you up. A properly built 2wd will surprise you how far they will go, but it in the end will only get you so far.

Saying that, my truck is 4wd so i can get to camp sites with my land cruiser on its trailer After a good rain, some park roads have some mild mud and with that weight behind it 4wd is nice so we aren't having to spin the tires and rut up a road every one else has to travel to get there.

 

Nothing wrong with that

I do know however that for me....2wd is not even an option in a truck.

 

I chose 4x4 over 2wd for 3 reasons.

1. Ohio Winter, my street is never plowed and you need it to get out, to the main road.
2. Holds its value better
3. Better suspension and ground clearance