RWD vs. 4WD and additional newbie questions -

[ca1212]

So I am looking at buying a Ranger here in Southern California for use as a daily driver and occasional off road use. This would mean most of my truck's use would be a short drive to work, about 20% light off road use (i.e. Forest Service dirt roads, fire roads, tracks out in the desert) and very rarely driving on snowy but plowed roads. I do not intend to do any crazy rock crawling or flying around the desert at 80 MPH.

Locally, a 4WD Ranger costs about 5k more than a comparable RWD Ranger (same mileage, year, features). Do you think that with my intended use it is worth spending the extra money for a 4WD truck, or will a RWD suffice for what I want to do? How capable has your RWD Ranger been off road? I have also seen recommendations to get a RWD Ranger and then have an ARB air locker added for improved functionality off road - any thoughts?

I'm currently looking for 2007+ extended cab V6 Rangers with less than 100,000 miles, which puts me in the 10-20k range depending on 4WD or RWD and mileage. Roughly what kind of a lifespan could I expect from a truck in this range?

Thanks!

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

RWD in a pickup only has limited weight on rear wheels if bed is empty, so you will lose traction easier.
Some RWD Rangers did come with Limited Slip(posi-traction) rear axles, which really helps
You can see if rear axle is L/S by just looking at the drivers door tag: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/axle_codes.shtml

Under AXLE on tag, 2 numbers is OPEN, only 1 rear wheel gets power
A letter and a number means limited slip, L/S, both rear wheels get power

4WD's main benefit in a pickup is the weight of the engine gives front wheels more traction, and the laws of physics, it is easier to PULL a load than to PUSH a load.
Rear wheels are pushing the truck
Front wheels are pulling the truck, this is also why FWD cars do well on low traction roads, i.e. snow, because they are PULLING the vehicle and have weight on the front wheels.

If you just need the higher ground clearance a truck provides for off road travel then RWD will be just fine.

You can get stuck with 4WD or RWD, lol.

 

[Doofy]

Ridiculous pricing! $7K-$11K average cost from a dealer. Do some homework and shop around. Try kbb or nada as a reference.

 

[MastuhWaffles]

If its any consolation I drove up a rocky road to the top of the mountain in Colorado with RWD.
All I have is a limited slip.

 

[jsh13]

I have over 250k mostly SoCal miles on my rwd Edge model, quite a few on dirt roads like you mention. Drove all over the Alabama Hills area and sketchy tracks in CO where I had to move brush out of the way to continue. Only got stuck once on a dark night in a very sandy area at Mono Lake. Traction-Lok would be nice but I have yet to do that.


JeffH

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

It really depends...

I spent around 8 years driving a 2000 ext cab Ranger with the 3.0L, manual trans and RWD. For most of those years, it had an open rear axle and also for most of those years, it was my only transportation. I did just fine with it.... after I put good tires on it. Tires with a very aggressive AT tread pattern were the order of the day. If I could jamb my fingers down in between the tread blocks on a new set of tires and the tips of my fingers could hit bottom and I liked the looks of the tread, it was my choice for tires. Of course, none of those patterns are available anymore, lol. I also bought a good set of V-bar tire chains for it (there's a company in PA that makes them, IIRC it's Tirechains.com). Good tire chains can make a world of difference off-road or in bad weather conditions, even on a RWD. Your speed is limited with them, but they work.

That said.... my primary vehicle is now an F-150 (4.9L, manual trans) 4x4. I stuffed a Lock-Right in the rear axle about a year after I got it (had it 7ish years now) and I love having the 4x4 when I need it. I still run aggressive AT tires and most of the time, 4x4 isn't needed, but when the back is digging or the front is sliding, it's nice to be able to yank the magic lever and make the front start pulling it's weight. As far as what brand of tires I'm currently running, take a look at the tread pattern and you'll understand what I mean when I say aggressive AT... I'm running Mastercraft Courser CT tires.

 

[Shran]

For your purposes and location there is probably not a good reason to spend any extra money on a 4x4.

I drove 2wd pickups all over the place in the winter for years. A couple sandbags in the back and some decent tires makes a huge difference. I used to take my old 96 2wd Ranger out hunting on back roads in the hills in the winter... went through a lot of snow, never got stuck, but I don't try and push my luck either.

 

[tcbaklash]

I've lived in the mountains and I've lived on the coast in California. The thing I've noticed between the two is that in populated areas, all roads go to something. In the mountains, you're going to have a lot of roads and trails that don't go anywhere in particular or they bypass another road for some arbitrary reason. They weren't created by someone with a bulldozer, they were created by the first guy who drove through it. The only maintenance they get is when someone with a 4x4 kills the plants by driving through. You might get lost, you might not be able to make it back the way you came with 2WD, and in this case you would need 4WD.

Southern California is pretty highly populated area. You don't get heavy snow in the mountains, you barely even get rain. I would opt for 2WD if you're hitting service roads and the desert.

 

[RonD]

And if you are adventurous then you can get the 2WD and also a portable winch and add some frame hooks.
Good "get out of jail...cheap" card, leave it at home and take it when going off road