No, this isn't the mother of all noob 4x4 questions...

I've always been of the philosophy that I don't want to wait until I get stuck to engage 4wd. So, typically, if I'm off pavement, unless I'm on just a dirt road, I'm in at least 4hi. If it gets burlier, I'll engage my rear locker. If I REALLY need to get over something, I go into 4 lo. But I've wheeled with people who seem to think that only using 4wd when you have to somehow makes you tougher.

So, I'm curious as to when you guys decide to engage 4wd. Those with lockers, same idea - when do you decide to lock? Do you "prepare" or wait until you've lost traction and then try again?

 

i try to use it as sparingly as possible (on road) unless my butt slips out a little bit. i drive in the snow almost all winter, and lock the hubs. but i will only use 4hi if i feel really uncomfortable on ice/snow. Off road, i use 4hi pretty much the whole time unless im climbing/descending steep stuff, then the 4lo is used. tough obstacles usually warrant 4lo as well. no lockers unfortunately. but if i had them it'd be used only i couldnt do it open.

 

I am a better safe than sorry type of person, so I engage the appropriate level of 4wd mode based on what i assume could happen in the upcoming obstacles. For example if it looks like i could lose a front and rear tire, i lock the rear before heading in. Sometimes waiting for that locker to enagage is too long when you need it asap. Bombin in to everything in 2WD and then beatin the piss out of it until you decide 4WD is needed only leads to damage. On roads in the winter I have no problem stayin in 4High (which is awd for 99 4Runner)and goin to 4HiLow when it gets really sketchy.
If i know I need a 14mm socket for my oil pan I dont try a 12mm first!

 

I don't leave the road much so when I do and there is a chance I could lose traction I switch to 4-high. I also like to keep the hubs locked and use 4-high to get going on roads in the snow, and then switch to 2-high before I get going very fast.

Rob

 

On road--when it rains and snows i go 4hi--the road are slick here in Texas when it rains

Off Road--2 WD--then 4hi then 4lo depending on the conditions i am in

 

2wd all the time onroad...no matter if its snowing or raining or whatever.

and i ONLY engage 4hi if im slowly bloggin down...or 4low for goin up hills

 

Everything but the tamest of stuff I drop into low range, I have a Detroit so I'm locked all the time anyway, no choice there. Dirt roads with mud and such or light snow I leave it in 2 hi.

 

I stay in 2wd on roads unless there's snow, which is basically 2 or 3 times a year. Or, really heavy rains that cause a lot of pooling and flash flood situations

I'm in 4 low in all off pavement situations, unless I need to go faster than 20mph i.e. dirt & gravel roads. Then I'm probably in 4 high, unless I'm not really planning on wheeling, then my hubs would be unlocked, so I wouldn't bother changing from 2wd

 

on regular roads 2wd... offroad at the local mudpit its 2wd all the way down into the canyon. until either i get stuck. or i am going to tackle something that i know needs 4wd. or to climb something. otherwise a yota does really well in 2wd. crossing streams with big rocks 2wd. light mud. climbing small hills. all 2wd unlocked. now that its locked.. .oh my... 2wd everything! till i get stuck!! then 4wd!

 

It depends on what im doing. If im going through deep sloppy mud i just start in 4hi/open. If im playing in the dirt or going up hillclimbs or whatnot i will try anything in 2WD first just for fun. You can always back down a hillclimb and try again. A lot of the time i will try really technical climbs in 2L/2H with the rear locked. If im just running trails i rarely need 4wd unless im getting over a big rock or obstacle, so i dont use it unless i reach those points. Hell now days even when im in any type of mud other then absolute gunk, or when im doing water crossings i just use 2WD if its a spot ive been to before. But that really depends on how beefy your rear tires are.

 

I usually go into 4H as soon as I leave pavement and air down the tires. I find driving in 4WD is easier even on mild trails where 2WD would do. Rides smoother on washboard gravel and the front tires tend to climb over small rocks and ruts in 4WD while they want to bounce off in 2WD.

 

90% of my 4wheel drive use is in the winter. i put that thing in 4hi whenever im driving in the snow. what i hate the most about people with a 4x4 is when they dont use it. i drive all day at work, and if you only knew how many dumb a$$ people dont use there 4wheel drive in the snow around here. there tring to pull away from a stop light or stop sign and just sitting there spinning there tires. if you r 1 of thoes people you should have saved your money and got a 2wheel drive rig. from the stories iv seen on this board i think all of us love to put our rigs in 4wheel.

 

Same goes for me. I love seeing what my truck can do with 2 wheels. And its pretty far. Usualyy I splash into sum mud in 2 wheel going very fast, with hubs locked and see if I can make it through, if I feel myself start to bog down, I slap that stick into 4hi, and she slways makes it. I only use 4lo if its a hill with ruts, so I can have more control, and time to save if she wants to kick to the side. Or if tires are going to be leaving the ground.

 

x2

 

I've done both, wait until I absolutely need to put it in 4wheel, and put it in 4wheel as soon as I leave pavement. I mostly use 4High because I tend to rev it high and don't want to mess anything up. Both ways work but the more cautious way it putting it in 4wheel as soon as you leave pavement. You never know what could happen, or what you could drive into

 

Not to start a flame fest, but that can actually damage your transfer case. Unless your vehicle is "AWD" it is NOT designed to be driven with 4 wheel drive on pavement. Straight lines is fine, but taking turns causes the gears to bind inside the transfer case. AWD vehicles have a sort of 3rd differential. (This is all as far as I'm aware)

I personally DO NOT engage 4 wheel drive on the street unless I am stuck, and then disengage it as soon as possible. I am one of those "dumb a$$ people that don't use the 4wheel drive in the snow." It is very easy to control a rear wheel drive truck/SUV etc. in the snow, you just have to know how to drive it for those conditions.

 

I only use 4 Wheel Drive when it looks cool!

 

in the Tacoma, if the roads are icy or snowy i will lock the hubs before driving and go in and out of 4wd whenever necessary

in the 4runner i run 2low for most of the trails that i go on and if needed i can engage the front axle, or go into double low if big rocks get in my way

 

i lock my hubs in and once my truck startes to dig i hit the 4wd, but if i still dont get out then the ARB and then i always have gotten out(knock on wood)

 

I have been known to use 4hi on pavement on rare occasions but not normally.
my 4wd theory is this:

put it in 4hi when I get to the trail
drive until I am in trouble
put it in 4lo
get the heck out

I view 4 low as a means of getting my stupid a$$ out of whatever mess I have ended myself up in. I never continue on once I have reached that point because if I get stuck in 4lo... thats it! no winch.. usually alone... better to go home with a little pride!