@john-putnam My rule as far as that goes is never take the rig farther off the road than your standard tow truck can reach. I get paid top dollar to hike.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
Best 2wheel drive i worked out of was a chevy astro van. Best 4wd was a isuzu trooper II
Last 18 years ford e350 extended van
IMHO, modern AWD is a tricky little ...er to get one's head around as to whether it is actually 4WD, per se, of the type to get you out of mud, or even to get traction on gravel or snow.
From what I gather from running my BWM X5 is that AWD is really there as part of the dynamic stability control (DSC) (or traction control) which combines the ability to put power to any of the four wheels that aren't loosing traction, plus?ÿbraking (via the ABS) to any of the four wheels that are loosing traction.?ÿ
Correctly, manufacturers say that DSC should always be on - it stops you getting out of control. However, on the BMW, and I assume most AWD and DSC vehicles, there's a button to turn it off.
So, why would one turn it off? Drifting and burnouts would need it off. But there are a number of scenarios where you can get easily stuck, thinking its 4WD, such as soft sand - if all the wheels start loosing traction then ABS will come into effect on all wheels and lock them up, thus preventing movement. Same in deep snow. So apparently the answer there in slow speed sticky situations is to turn off DSC. This doesn't turn off AWD (I don't think one can do that - it's always on), it just turns off the braking function of stability control.
The tricky bit with the BMW is that when you turn off DSC, an orange warning light comes on the dash that from memory has "4X" and a rollover arrow in it, and many folk have mistakenly thought they are turning on 4WD (or AWD) when in fact they have actually turned off stability control, which could be very dangerous at speed and/or cornering.
I tried to imbue that knowledge to my teammates once, that 4 wheel drive is get out of and back to where the 2 wheel drive stopped working so well. They listened a few times.?ÿ Another Time, Dave, calls from across the valley stating he was stuck and needed help.?ÿ
I asked " Have you been digging for an hour yet?"?ÿ
His answer:" No Why? Are you coming to help me or what?"?ÿ
Me: "Yeah, give me a call after you've been digging for an hour, because I'm working right now and need to get back to my truck so?ÿ can come help you". SIlence.
When I showed up, he's laying in the bed of the truck, rear axle buried, (wait for it) and drinking a soda.
I walked up to the front of the truck and noticed the hubs weren't locked.
"Hey Dave, Did you try locking the hubs yet?"
D: " So thats why we were getting such crappy mileage, some idiot left the hubs locked for the past month..."
True story.
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Those are cool. I've seen them in new f150s. Out of my price range for the time being though. We just bought a house and it's been an expensive month.?ÿ
@350rocketmike?ÿ
Combined with a fiberglass truck lid they offer visibility to the rear and nobody knows what's in the bed.?ÿ?ÿ
A good setup for ease of use for a solo surveyor.
@jitterboogie To really get a truck buried up to the running boards, it really helps having 4WD so you can get more tires digging. Unless your really prepared for self rescue, winch, traction mats, shovels and the man power, best solution is to just not push your luck and get stuck in the first place. This I speak to from experience.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
I have the fiberglass cap (same height as the truck cab) and the windows are tinted black so you can't see in, but I can't see out the back in the rear view. It is a good way that I know I left it open if I can see behind me. Lol
I'm in pretty good physical shape but it still sucks climbing onto the tailgate and partway into the box to get some old rubber boots or other stuff I rarely use from the front of the box.?ÿ
I'd love to have the slider. Other than that my truck is pretty ideal for the construction layout I do. I usually only have to calc stuff when the office forgets to do it.?ÿ
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In mountainous states, where it snows often, you need 4WD just to get out of your driveway
@warrenward It??s winter half the year here. If it??s not AWD or 4WD, it should be parked for that half of the year. There a few intersections around Anchorage that are on a slight incline and they get iced up pretty good from cars idling at the light, which when it turns green, every front wheel drive car without studs are near hopelessly stuck.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
I would never go without 4wd again for surveying here. Even construction sites in the winter you can get stuck trying to park out of the road.?ÿ
Also I do have to change fluids on front diff, transfer case, plus the usual fluids, but other than that this truck hasn't even needed a u joint in 209k miles so far. 16 years old.?ÿ
I've thought about it for years, actually.?ÿ Would love one of the tall models and make it a mobile office too.?ÿ?ÿ
I know a company that uses those little transit vans. Keep in mind they are intended for pavement driving and not heavy equipment. That company said each one has had parts break and not a great vehicle. ?ÿOn a Chevy 1500 you??ll have typical wear items and transmission at 140,000 or later.
and AWD is meant for pavement driving, 4WD for off road
This is what I heard from Cogeco drivers using them when I worked at a Goodyear garage. And they wore out front tires really fast as the weight in the back made them spin really easy trying to pull away.?ÿ
The larger transit should be a much more solid vehicle hopefully.?ÿ
I call those new style vans euro trash
14" tires and unibody construction no thanks
When I was a graduate surveyor the office manager thought that all graduates should get were 2wd vehicles as the often 10 minutes the 4wd would save was undone by the 2 hours it took to go find the farmer and their tractor to pull you out. Of course I did get to find out on several jobs he was probably right.
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Granted some jobs are impossible without 4wd but those are less than the field staff would like to admit. And usually on those jobs the ATV gets you much further than a 4wd truck/van ever could.