How often do ya'll use your 4wd at boat ramps?

Never. Just gotta know how to use the e-brake on slippery ones. Been towing boats and used alot of boat ramps in my fishing adventures and I've never had or needed a 4wd truck.

Never

Never used 4x4 on a cement or asphalt ramp. I have also never used the E-brake or needed a bunch of people jumping in the bed of my truck or started in 2nd gear. Just ease on the gas and it will do just fine. For the record this has worked with all my trucks, ranging from 2wd half ton chevy with street tires to 1 ton 4x4 diesel with A/t's.

matt

everytime we launch.


at jacobs creek ramp at canyon if you don't have 4wheel forget it, its too steep

Been to jacobs creek and rebeca creek on the guadalupe, before I even had a 4x4 truck and didnt have any trouble.

It's all about throttle control. I have used 4x4 once one a ramp. It was covered in ice.

It all depends on where and when you fish.

if you air your tires WAY down your can make it at jacobs creek. i've seen umpteen tires get worn out at that ramp. i'd rather just put it in 4 wheel and cruize right up it.


rebecca creek is cake.

A while back a trip to Canyon was enough to push pops over the edge and get a smaller boat. I wasn't there but I heard it wasn't pretty. He was fairly pissed off about it.

If he would have had a 4wd he might still have that 23 Mako.

I had a 4wd when I was a kid and used to try and get stuck on purpose just to see if I could make it in 2wd. Now that I am older I still hunt, fish, pull a boat and I'll never have another 4wd. No need, I don't go off roading or hunt in the mud, don't use chitty ramps either. For most people 4wd is just a toy that cost money. Like everything else, if you have the money and want to spend it go for it. Me, I'll stick with cheaper initial cost, better mileage, and simpler drive train.

I have used but only in certain situations. Once on Travis (very steep), pulled a big heavy boat out at Texoma, and once after an ice storm. I use to launch off the bank in Lavon when it was low and used it there. Since I have been buying trucks with limited slip I have not needed it.

i cannot drive a 2wd, i come across too many situations where i need it. at the ranch not so much, I can take the mule, but when its 20 degrees outside and wet then i'm driving the truck to the blind, forget the mule.

Never, don't have it don't need it.

If you are in snow country you need it. In the south I think it is more of a macho thing. I saw some numbers one time on the percentage that own a 4x4 and never use it. They were very high. Mfgs. like to push it too because of the higher price. I have always had at least one 4x4 in the driveway but not now. Fortunately on the ranch I hunt LS and or a locker will work fine. Gound clearance is the biggest concern.

Every 6 weeks at the Ranch weather I need to or not!

I use mine every time we go to the ranch, lots of loose sand, it is a gamble going down there without it, although we do have a tractor now, but it is much easier to put it in 4 than to walk half a mile and get the tractor, and it is kinda dificult to pull your truck out with the tractor when you are the only one there too, but never used it at a boat ramp.

I know a guy who drives a 3/4 ton crew cab diesel 4x4 truck jacked up on super swampers, has no need for the 4x4 and doesnt own a trailer and he is single... talk about a waste!

I have a 24ft Century that is heavy. On steep ramps I put it four wheel drive just to be safe. Its already paid for. Right now having to launch of the bank It is necessary.

You're right on the money. Ground clearance, the right tires, and driving experience (common sense) is all you need.

The first time you stop at my ranch you will realize that tires ground clearance and experience only get you so far... as the sand swallows you

I have heard that before and ended up digging out 4x4's. Throttle control works.

Don't need 4wd. Just need a compressor. I used to take my 2wd silverado to pismo out in california. EVERYBODY had 4wd. All I did was take my tires down to about 8psi. They float like a boat in the sand. Never got stuck...even pulling my buddy's trailer with 4 quads on it. Good times! When it was time to go back on asphalt, air the tires back up and go.

Every truck I ever owned was 4wd unitl I thought that I didn't need 4wd anymore. My last truck ('03 Dodge) was 2wd and I found myself too limited as to where I could go and when. I got stuck too many times on the beach in Port A. Yeah, I got myself out but had to air down the tires, dig out sand and other BS before getting free.

Also, depending on the angle and depth of the ramp, I sometimes have to back the boat in until my rear tires are in the water. Some of those ramps are mossy and slick. My boat is big and heavy.

Anyway, in '07 I went back to 4wd with my current truck. I haven't regretted it one bit. No more getting stuck on the beach or the ramp. Sometimes I run Padre Island Nat. Seashore down to Big Shell Beach or the Mansfield Cut. Also, I can go anywhere on the deerlease, in any conditions and don't worry about getting stuck. No more 2wd for me.

You can do alot in a 2wd with know how, but you can do alot more in a 4wd with the same know how.

Dads pickup is the only one that isnt 4x4, and it is the last one we pick to head down to the ranch in. You say drop the air to 8lbs, well Why when you dont have to. I know how to drive, and when you get to pick where you go and at what rate of speed that is great, but when you have to stop here, or have to slow down here or have to go somewhere else it makes a big difference in your ability to get by with a 2wd.

only if the ramp is icy. 2 years ago was the last time.

i do use it weekly to help get my boat in our warehouse at work...seeing as i have to drive half my truck off an incline when backing it in the doors.

nice to have it when needed, it would suck to not have it and need it. i wont ever own another truck that isnt 4x4.

I only went to pismo twice and I know alot of guys who went more than I did who taught me about airing down the tires. I can't justify spending $5,000 extra for 4wd when I am only going to have maybe 2 chances to use it a year (and in reality I'd rather chip in an extra $30 in gas than 5 grand on 4wd when I know I can get away without it by hitching a ride with a friend). This is why me and alot of my buddy's did the 8 psi trick. Sand is easy in 2wd with tires almost falt.....mud on the other hand....I have never needed 4wd because of some of the tricks I have learned in 2wd. I'm smart enough not to put myself in a circumstance where I need 4wd in a 2wd truck.

Yes I understand that...

but your answer is oh if you know what your doing you can do whatever in 2wd, but you cant, you can stop before you get stuck, yes that is true, but if there is something you have to do on the other side and your not just driving for fun then you will learn the hard way.

Hence the reason I stated this.

It is like anything else you buy. You buy it because you use it and can justify it or you buy it because you have the money and want it. I think a majority of people fall in the latter category. Of course that is what keeps businesses in business.

True dat.

I enjoyed being able to go up hills last winter while two wheel drive trucks were sliding into the ditch. Not the reason I bought a 4x4 in this climate but was nice...

I have a Tacoma 4x4 and the 4wd has saved me from several accidents in icy conditions plus it is nice to have the option for any bad ramp conditions. We used to share a lake house at Fork and had our own private ramp but dirt road leading to it. When dry no issue but when wet 2wd was a problem.

My truck is in very good shape but a 1996 so I am thinking about another new Tacoma at some point and pretty sure it will be another 4wd but not crazy about what they cost these days.

I wouldnt own a pickup that wasnt 4x4. Resale will make up the difference in what you spent.

exactly!

i put alot of miles on my trucks, when i sell or trade off i get top dollar cause their 4x4's.

with the mileage on one of my trucks, dealer wasnt' even interested in the trade, until he found out it was 4wheel

Never used it at a normal ramp. Launching river boats into the trinity river on some property my boss has near Grapeland we've used 4wd, a winch, and a trackhoe at times lol. I've always just eased out of the ramp with no issues. I do use my truck on pipelines a lot though so I always own 4x4 trucks. Nothing like being down on a pad 5 miles off the highway and the rain has washed the fresh cut road out and you can't get out in your work truck.

Y'all ever think about those exact things when you buy a used truck?

yeah, but a 4wheel drive is always gonna be worth more than a 2 wheel, not to mention my lifestyle dictates I need a 4 wheel drive.

unless i wanna get stuck i have to have one

I understand the lifestyle thing. But that is not what is quoted.

Y'all were stating that the resale was a good reason to buy a 4wd. Well, you pay for it upfront so the resale is break even at best.

In a good economy with reasonable gas prices I would agree that resale might be a little better on a 4x4, It is also seasonal. Like buying a boat in the spring. In this economy wiht gas where it is and a lot of bubbas looking for work it might be different.

there aint nothin wrong with bubbas haha I believe 4x4 is personal choice I own one and will try to always have one but I make money with it so it makes since for me to have one thats just my

If you use it it makes perfect sense. I saw a F150 Platinum this morning with the FX4 package and 20's wheels with low profile street tires. First thought was how many it that thing going off the road or even will the 4wd be engaged. Definitely not a Bubba truck more like a commuter.

every time

Yep so if you use it at all it was a good purchase. It is easier to sell a used 4x4 than a 2wd in my opinion. I do use 4x4 hunting or on slick ramps and get some of that $ I paid up front back when I sell it.

i dont have a 4x4, but if i get one again ill probably get it stuck doing something it couldnt handle.
last time i went through mud trails for fun, went through a dried up creek bed, went through a creek bed with water.. all kinds of fun things, climbing things, parking it on big rocks in the front.. ahh good times... i miss that durango.

hunting on some of these ranches, when it does rain they get gumbo'd up pretty good. 4 wheel can make the difference between a 300 yard walk to the blind or one thats 3/4 of a mile.

last time I was caught in a bad rainstorm, I was with a client and his son, his sone had just shot his first buck, which had ran a ways before i was able to catch up to him and put him down.

i grabbed the buck and started down a trail in the direction i thought was right, a short while later i hit the fenceline(and a road) and left the buck in the road and went and retrieved the truck. Load up the buck and hit the gas and all 4 wheels sink. I turn to the father and tell him, "its 50/50 i can get outta this hole, i'll try but I can't promise anything". By some amazing fortune and a few angels pushing i was able to get underway after rocking truck for a minute or two, but things could have been real bad, it was raining pretty hard at that point, it was dark, only flashlight I had was a mediocre one, and camp was about 3 miles away. not to mention that I was not in the spot anyone knew about because i went and picked up the buck so help would have been a long time comming. Cell phone service is nill.

wasn't a life or death situation, but it would have sucked bad, to say the least, having to walk back in the dark,3 miles to camp.

I don't care how good a driver someone thinks they are, when it comes to 4 wheel, when you need it, and don't have it, your attitude changes

I'll have to agree with Fish Hauler that resale is not any sort of reason to buy 4x4. You're going to spend roughly an extra $3000 when you buy it. At best, you're probably talking about $1500-$2000 difference when you sell it. Not only that, you're out $3000 the entire time of ownership (that you could be spending on something else or investing and making money on or whatever), and you're geting worse mileage and taking a higher risk of expensive repairs. Some folks may need 4x4s and some may not, but there is certainly no financial justification for it unless you have a functional need. I won't ever own a 4wd pickup unless my vehicle needs change drastically.

I said all that while owning a 4x4. I wish I could find someone with my pickup in 2wd that was willing to trade. I am still looking for old Dodge, 2wd, single cab ...Cummins of course. Those things get stuck if a duck pee's in the road, but they are milage machines with plenty of power.

My point exactly. I think some people just trick themselves in to thinking they need it or think it is some sort of status symbol. I look at the ones like the guy in the Platinum with 20" street tires and just figure he was trying to impress someone. It is his money and if he wants to waste it I am sure Ford has no problem with that.

We always had them when I was younger, but we launched our boat in the surf down in LA. The best vehicle for launching we ever had was a 4X4 bronco that had been totaled. ripped it up and made it into a big wooden jeep. You could launch anything.

Now, I have no use for one.

Well I probably use mine 20 times a year on average I would guess. I guarantee you I get the same difference in price when I sell it as what it cost and it will sell faster than a 2wd. There is a large market especially in Texas for used 4wd pickups.

As a disclaimer I am talking my personal use. If you are a highway driver and prob don't go to the deer lease or are on slick ramps in the winter I don't see where you would ever use 4x4.

Don't use it much in Texas but I love to get off on 4 wheel drive trails in Colorado and NM. Nothing better than to get away from the people on top a mountain or back in the wilderness and set up camp miles from anyone. So for those 2 - 3 trips a year to the mountains, it is more than worth it to me. To each his own.

My next truck will be 4wd for other reasons, but i have never needed 4wd at the ramp, steep or not. Throttle control is key, no need in hammering down the gas to get the boat out of the water. I have never even spun a tire on a ramp and i have a 2wd non-limited slip rearend.

love the 4x4 system on my truck. that auto selection is awesome especially in the rain when you got to get up and go. no spinning or fish tailling. I will never own a truck that isn't 4x4 just how i am i like that if i want to go off road i don't have to worry about getting stuck. don't even need a boat ramp to launch my boat. my truck will go places and do it safer than a 2wd will. just how it is. if you are mostly on the highway i am glad you have a 2wd. i don't care about resale my trucks get beat up so bad it doesn't really apply to me. 4x4 are better for me always. can't wait till i can get another diesel.

I take it you have never put at one of the hill climbs at Travis. If you have a little lightweight Bass Tracker you would be OK but not with a fiberglass boat.

Well, i guess im good then cause i have a Bass Tracker and i dont live in the Austin area.

Anytime I have the urge to say: "Watch 'Is Here!!"

Uhhhhhh......DAILY!

any one lookin to buy a 4x4 lol I am sellin mine ist a 94 dodge 4x4 just PM me

2wd drive at river ramps after a flood is a really good reason to turn around and go home. Something tells me that when the truck keeps moving even when all 4 wheels are stopped you may just want to have 4wd.

I use front/rear lockers and 4x4 when pulling others out. Got 12,000lbs worth of dead pull if that doesn't get it

So far the biggest I've pulled is a 4x4 John Deere tractor stuck in a muddy creek bank. 73:1 crawl ratio works out pretty well.

Every time. I've got it so I use it.

Depends on the weight of the boat really. Some people use it cause they have it, I've pulled my 16ft boat out of every lake its been in just using D with the O/D off. Never spun a tire. A buddy of mine goes to pull my boat out for me one day and spins the tires says the truck can't do it. I get in and pull it right out, its all about the throttle.

"O/D off" isn't going to make any difference until about 50mph.

Putting it into "1" will allow the low clutches to apply and as a whole makes the transmission "stronger" in a low rpm pull range. While it "can do it in D", "1" is better for it..

hmmm.
Can't argue the "throttle control" argument. Ex:my wife pulls the boat out and rarely will spin a tire(if she does, she will reach over and grab 4H) yet, there are many times that others will pull out in the same truck and spin every time. It IS about throttle control and understanding torque on a diesel. Yet, there are times that 4wd comes in pretty handy on a ramp even for an experienced driver.

Every truck I own is 4wd and every truck I purchase in the future will be 4wd.
When you need it, you need it. And I need it quite a bit.

when you manually shift the transmission, it takes the electronics out of it- and the line pressure increases. thus the improved shift quality and less tear on the clutches.

only in the winter when roads are bad

i own a 4X4 and i use it alot threw out the year just never had to use it at the boat ramps though. when im fishing for flatheads i always seem to find them biteing off a muddy trail and theres no option but to have a 4X4 in that mess. yeah i used to play around in the mud but after trying to clean up all the mud its just not worth "playing" any more. another good outcome for owning a 4X4 work gives time and a half on icy days if you show up! =)

My boat trailer has a short tongue on my 14” boat so my rear tires get into the water. Most of the time there is algae and need to use my 4 wheel drive. Just launching it, but loading no 4 wheel drive is needed.

Always had it, always will. From cruising down the beach, pulling out 2wds, or pulling out my Striper 2600 with the short trailer tongue, I've needed it and been glad to have it. At some point I'm going to pull out the factory locker and install ARBs.
Joe

4WD is like having a jackplate on a bay boat. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

Quite a bit. Especially on ramps that don't have the ridges on them. Then when there is chance of some ice forming.

All the time at the local ramp on Chocolate Bayou. Especially at low tide. Slippery with algae and mud, big hole just under the water and really steep.

Says the guy living in Little Elm. I used to live in the metroplex, no real need for 4x4 up there, I agree. Come down to the hill country with the low lake levels and see how well you do with you 2WD.

I had to sell the only 2WD truck I have ever owned just to be able to continue to fish the lakes I want to fish.

If you have a use for it it is worth it many times over... if you dont then it is just to say you have it.

Personaly I had a 2wd truck for 16 years and never needed 4x4 on a boat ramp and I fished hill country and south texas lakes. We bought a place in south texas in the middle of deep fluffy red sand, now I have a 4x4 and wouldnt trade it for the world.

As far as fishing goes if you dont use mud ramps, fish river ramps that get silted in or some other special situation you dont need 4x4.

I use the heck out of my 4wd during deer season. Especially the past season when we had so much rain. Without 4x4 you couldn't make it to camp, much less get around the pasture.

Back to the question, if you have it, why not. I learned along time ago if your in trouble then have to put in, it it's probably too late. I'll put it in 4 whenever there's any kind of chance of getting in a bind.

Passed a guy in a newer 5.7 tundra 2wd on the way home at 1130 on saturday night. He got stuck trying to go mudding/doing donuts after a couple inches of rain in a plowed field, sure bet he wished he had 4x4

I stopped and asked if he had a tow strap or chain because I didnt, he didnt so I said good luck... I just hope the farmer isnt the one who found him...

I learned a 4 wd will get you where nothing can reach you

IF......I had a 4 wheel drive vehicle

and

IF......I had a nice boat, motor and trailer

.....I would use 4 wheel drive each time I used the ramp with my boat.

If only.

I use it to get up slick boat ramps... While everyone is spinning their tires looking stupid u will look cool and collected. But some good A/T tires on it to those give u alot better traction

Not being rude but that's because u have a really small boat that is light in weight.

Not being rude, but I have a 20' glass boat and used a 2wd truck for 16 years with similar results as CWCW. For all the guys who put it in 2nd gear to pull it out, your problem is throtle control not traction, the tires have the same grip no matter what gear its in. Now I have a 4x4, and while I used the heck out of it on a budies ranch this weekend, I have and more than likely will never use it on a boat ramp.

go to canyon lake and use the ramp at jacobs creek.

you'll quickly appreciate 4 wheel drive at a ramp

You have told me that before, and I have told you before, I fished it before and used a 2wd 94 half ton chevy, never had a problem.

you must have the lightest boat ever or the best 2 wheel drive ever created.

thru 3 trucks and 3 different boats, I've never been able to pull a boat up that ramp in two wheel drive without spinning the tires

knew a guy who had a 21' nautique that would pull it in and out of canyon lake on the tom creek ramp in a 2x4 suburban. if it was busy he would slip a bit but never spin. also knew another guy with a 23' tige that would put it in and out of red's cove at Medina Lake with no problem at all. those are both heavy arse boats on busy, wet, steep ramps pulled out by 2x4 trucks. when medina lake was about 25' low i put and pulled out a 18' boat with my 2x4 300 - 6cyl f150 on the pebble beach ramp which is by far more steep than any of the others with no problem at all. i've since had two 4x4 trucks and have yet to use 4x4 when pulling out a boat.

kinda reminds me of the guys at the beach that hammer down on the throttle when they're in soft sand and sink down 8 inches when all they had to do was give it about 1/5 of the juice to crawl out.



edit: when i had to launch in the rocks at Red's Cove and my exhaust pipe was under water, i did have to use 4x4 to pull out my boat.

i launch at both ramps and agree, both toms creek and reds cove are 2 wheel drive ramps.

same goes for the ramp at the state park at falcon.

jacobs creek is very, very steep, that combined with being wet, you either have to air your tires down to 25 psi or have 4 wheel drive.

I've launched the boat on some icy ramps and was glad I had 4wd

i've never had to use 4wd

I've owned pickups since 1975, my last 2 have been 4wd , I prefer to have em. I have only used 4wd once on an icy boat ramp. Used it a lot in mud and dry sand. Nice to have if you need it.

Can't say I ever have needed it but I wouldn't be without it!

I've had 4WD trucks that only got put into 4WD to turn the lube in the differential. I never actually used it. My new truck is a 2WD because of that. I do have the electronic locking differential though.

i have been using it about twice a week here lately