4wd needed at boat ramp?
 

Bought a luxury car last year thinking I’d be back to weekly travel (2 hour drive to/from Atlanta airport). Well, that’s not happening, thankfully. Being more home-bound, considering trading it on a new Tacoma as I have no need for a full sized truck and it’ll tow 6200 lbs. And no other vehicle seems to hold its value better. Used ones cost as much or more than new these days.

But...new ones are scarce. Local dealer has what I want, but only in 2wd. Granted they have limited slip diffs, but still a bit concerned about pulling our tritoon out of the lake for service, etc.

Long story short...should I hold out for 4wd...could be a while, and that’s ok...or is 2wd goind to be adequate?

Depends on the ramp you use.....

The ramp where I go fishing has no slippery mud and the rise over run is less than 1:12 ... hardly a ramp, I've actually seen someone in a wheel chair wheel up and down it.

There is another ramp that I've been to on the Santa Fe river where I actually walk down next to the ramp on the dirt, using switch backs. Drops 10 feet in about 10 feet of travel. Never seen someone actually try to launch a boat off a trailer there, most are using kayaks/canoes/SUPs and tote 'em down to the water.

Not sure what your ramp looks like but my concern would be what happens when the bottom of the ramp is slick?

I’ve seen trailer setups with a tongue extension (typically for a sailboat). That might enable you to keep the tires on dry ground but I would hate to see you on one of those boat ramp bloopers videos on YouTube.

2wd "park" and E-brakes are a trap on steep, mossy concrete.

Yup....visited some of the boating forums also. Many say 2wd is fine, especially in fresh water, concrete ramps (like ours)...and then someone posts a horror story. I honestly have no need whatsoever for 4wd except for once a year boat service. I tend to think 4wd might pay for itself come resale time too. Guess I’ll hold out.

If it’s any consolation, the hype on Toyota trucks is warranted. I drove my brothers 7 year old, 170,000 mile tundra with the no ***ks given V8 and it pulled strong. No squeaks or rattles inside or out. And the last 50,000 were in fleet service.

You don't need it until you do.

Ha! Guess that sums it up.

Agreed. Better to have it and not need it than the other way around.

Yup.

Make sure you get the locking center differential...TRD model for Toyota.

I won't tow without 4x4 based on many, many years of experience with horse trailers on wet grass, hay fields, boat ramps, gravel pits, flat bed towing with a tractor load, etc.

Not "might".... will. If resale is a consideration I'd hold out for the 4wd. And do you "need" 4wd at the ramp? Probably not... but isn't it nice knowing if you need it you have it? It's kinda like me up here in OH. Do I really "need" 4wd or AWD.. Not for the most part but when I do need it, it's damn nice having it.

And there is a reason the dealer only has a 2 wheel drive left.

Get a 4x4.
You will never say: "Gee I wish this was a two wheel drive".

My truck has manual front hubs. I will often use low range without locking the hubs just for the low gearing when climbing up the ramp.
Damp ramp? Lock the hubs.

If the boat has a dual engines the leverage when the hull comes out of the water is substantial. I've seen big time wheel spin @ Site six Lake Havasu AZ.

BTW, people line the docks there in the afternoon to watch boats get pulled out of the water and have problems. Crowd goes crazy and you are all over Facebook & YouTube. You use that ramp, you best have your act together.

No not needed. Someone with a 4x4 should be available to help ease you up an algae slick boat ramp.

That stuff is ice slick. It’s where I fall down.

4x4 all the way.

It’s like insurance. You carry it for what might happen.

Don’t wait until you have a problem before engaging four-wheel-drive on a boat ramp. Do it before you back down the ramp. Have help, so that someone is in the vehicle with a foot on the brakes the whole time.

Or end up on YouTube.

Back where I used to live, there are a lot of smaller lakes that didn’t have a huge amount of activity and you might find you were the only vehicle at the boat ramp at any given time.

I knew a girl that had to call a tow truck because her 2wd vehicle got pulled out into the water. All you could see was the antenna ball. Of course, it may have been the fact that it was an AMC Gremlin and not that it was 2wd.

I have seen so many people get stuck on wet/slippery ramps, it makes a good commercial for 4x4. I have also been in a low water level situation where the tires of the boat trailer dropped off the end of the ramp, and without 4x4, I would have needed help.

Keep in mind pick up trucks are pretty light over the rear axle, I have spun the tires on my 7000lb 2500hd with LSD pulling my friends 4500lb boat & trailer up a ramp, I usually put it into 4wd low range with no prob then. Yes hold out for 4wd.

They get even lighter in the ass end when the flotation of the tires comes into play when they get submerged…

Hold out, 4wd can do everything 2wd can do but, 2wd can't do everything 4wd can do. Better to have it and not need/use it, then to need it and not have it.

So is there any consensus yet?

Considering you can get stuck in wet grass in 2wd. Yeah 4wd is a must....

I pulled out a family from India out in Jackson Wyoming over the weekend that pulled over to look at horses. Shoulder was just soft enough and they were stuck. For how long they were waiting for a tow truck. Spend the money on 4wd for the peace of mind aspect.

It pretty much comes down to the ramp itself. We have ramps that a minicooper will pull a container ship up. Others that you need a Cat D9 dozer to pull a canoe up. All depends n the surface, steepness, condition at the time etc...

Id still rather have the 4wd vs 2wd

I'll never own a 2 WD truck, launching a boat or not. And pulling it out with wet tires? You're asking for trouble

Lol, yeah, if he’s listening…

This, a few years ago, we were at the track, it rained really hard most of the weekend (and I ended up sick as a dog) when people hooked up to their trailers, the ones with 2wd just spun, several got stuck, and when I started to leave, same thing, until I shifted into 4wl and crawled right out.
Last Oktoberfest, it rained had the day before, a Noble driving a brand new Ford ranger, pulling a tiny trailer to haul his go cart ( already unloaded) got stuck just driving across a damp grass field :eek:
Hold out for a 4X4.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1631125249.jpg

Well, dealership was able to locate a 4wd TRD OR with the options I want...and the right color. Will be about two weeks before it’s here but it’s a done deal. 4wd it is.

I just wish you guys were a little more decisive about it!

Thanks again for the confirmation. .

Now that it's settled ... 2WD would have prolly been fine :D!

Compromise, go 3wd :)

Honestly, if it is being used but once per year as the op says it will, it is possible to rent 4wd trucks. Far cheaper, and lets one perhaps purchase a vehicle that can satisfy more than a once per year event.

If we want to get technical. A 4x4 is actually only 2 wd with open diffs

Absolutely. I had a 1994 Defender 90 without a locking diff. It looked like it could drive over the Pyrenees, but I could get the thing stuck in the drainage fields around my farm.

One wheel in the air, standard 45 degree approach. Stuck is a relative term...I could always slide back.

Diff lock is key.

:D.

a RWD with lockers is fairly effective on a boatramp.

This ^
Paying a premium for a 4x4 if not needed 99% of the time is not good planning. Of course they do get better resale if that is your concern. I have personally seen many 2 WD vehicles pull a boat off the ramp, also seen episodes where only 4 WD works.

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Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I’m not buying a truck for the sole purpose of taking the boat in for service once each year. Last I heard, it can be driven for other things too. Ok, just being a smart ass. ;)

But, if there was any doubt in my mind, Byron’s post above erased it. I’d rather carry around an unused differential to avoid being the subject of more of Byron’s photos. And, 4x4 Tacoma’s hold their value quite well...so really no cost involved.

Tritoon is pretty light - if it's that much of a concern - launch at high tide and you won't have an issue - I have a 2WD F150 - and a boat - and I know how to drive both

You can have both luxury, sports car performance, 4x4 and towing capability…a Porsche Cayenne.

Do they make a 4WD boat? 🤪