It has auto, lock and low 4WD. He left it on auto on the way to my place this morning to judge the condition of the roads. He said the roads weren't good. I didn't notice but he felt a little slip on the hill around the corner from me. He locked it in 4WD and Big Six dug in and took over. The only thing about full time 4WD is that it eats gas like a motherfucker.
LOL, my buddy just sent me a text. He came home to a snow covered driveway and got stuck. He went back out and got himself unstuck but he took out a bush in the process.
The problem with automatic 4WD is it may not kick in until
after you start sliding. Too late.
The idea that 4WD takes more gas is one of the biggest myths out there. My first Jeep Grand Cherokee could be switched between rear-wheel-drive, part-time-four-wheel-drive, full-time-four-wheel-drive, and low-range-part-time-four-wheel-drive. Full-time-four-wheel-drive is just all-wheel-drive with a limited slip differential. I drove it extensively in both rear-wheel-drive and full-time-four-wheel-drive, on the same roads and with the same road conditions (that is, in summer). I kept track of my gas mileage and found that there was
absolutely no difference! The reason 4WD appears to get poorer gas mileage is that most people only use it when there is snow on the road. Snow is what kills your gas mileage. Having driven all-wheel-drives for the past decade, I can attest that driving in snow significantly reduces the gas mileage. Still, it is far better (and cheaper) than sliding into something.
To get a four-wheel-drive stuck, you have to drive in snow deep enough that it touches the bottom on your vehicle's chassis, thereby lifting some of the vehicle's weight off of its wheels. This may seem like a lack of traction, but it is really a lack of torque. This is where low-range-four-wheel-drive comes in handy. It greatly increases your vehicle's torque and you can drive through much deeper snow without getting stuck. If your vehicle can switch into low-range-four-wheel-drive without having to move, then it can instantly get your vehicle unstuck. I do not even bother shoveling my driveway. When there is a lot of snow on it, I just put my Grand Cherokee into low-range before backing out of my garage. I have no problem going through the three foot pile left by the snow plow. I then drive in and out of my driveway several times to pack the snow down. I am sure my neighbors hate me.
