4 Wheel drive question

May sound like a stupid ? But....

What does 4 low do that 4 high doesn't? Other then speed.
Does 4 low offer what kind of advantages?

Nope, just lower gear ratio, I plow snow in low range, in my mind it’s easier on the auto trans.

4 low is geared lower for more power/traction without spinning.

My little mini truck will haul a lot of firewood but fully loaded it pulls in low because high would burn out the clutch quickly.

4 low and a manual tranny is great for hauling hay. Just put in 4 low and leave the window rolled down or put a 4-8 year old in to steer then you can walk alongside and stack the trailer.

4 Low is good for going over very rough ground. You can creep over stuff. Easier on suspension. Lots of torque.

Not all 4WD vehicles had/have low range. The old International Scouts had low range but the newer Scout 2s did not.

But if going through snow / mud, what is the benefit?

None really that I can think of. I wouldn't want to put one in low range in snow. Would be harder to feel the road and you sure don't need it for pulling power on ice/snow.

Someone said they used low range to plow snow. I can see that, you need power for that.

4 low blocks anti spin mode out in both my 15' Chevy pu.
And also in 17' Jeep that I got with out hitting the traction control button.

(Super crawl speed)

I plow in low range also. In my simple mind I think there is more fluid moving in the transmission at a given speed vs. using high range. I would be interested in hearing facts for or against this from those who are in the know.
Another thing I like is less usage of the brakes as I near the push pile. When backing up I bump it into neutral after the truck has slowed a bit, from the gearing, then it’s just a little brake peddle to get it stopped. It does seem to shift a bit harder, not sure if that is a terrible thing, when at a full stop.

… 4 low is for after you’ve got stuck in 4 high … come along while in 4 low 1st gear after that

… you ain’t been in many binds sound like

low is to slow crawl and pull

like first gear on a tractor

I use 4 low for pulling stuff like others said. I've skidded trees and sheds and used it pull out a lot of stuck trucks, those are the main things I use it for anyway. I have also pulled stumps, moved big rocks and pulled trees as they are being sawed down so they fall in a safe direction.

If you're trying to back a load on a trailer with a manual transmission drop it into low and it will save you a clutch.

Nope not even once.

This^^^^ When you’re by yourself a long ways back in, your sphincter is as tight as Fort Knox and you’re in the 3rd stage, you completely understand you are stuck!!!!

Yep

… wasn’t aimed at you Mad-Mike … directed towards the ol boy that made this post to ask what 4 low was for lol

… but I imagine you knew that

4-wheel high = hold my sippy cup
4-wheel low = hold my beer

my 98 ranger didnt have a lot of torque in 4 hi. those old willys, the first 4wd readily available after ww2 only had a 4 cylinder engine. you needed 4 low for the torque. those low gears are still handy with a manual transmission, manual is nice for steep hills. i much prefer a manual and the 4 low option for getting back in that rough stuff.

Those are the only times I’ve used four wheel low.

4 low and lock outs is a good combo for a high geared manual, then the drivetrain doesn’t get all bound up on dry ground. For mud you don’t want 4 low, the faster the tires spin and clean out the better. But once stuck use Savel’s method.

Low range gives you more torque, also allows you to crawl slower. I drive in low range most of the time in the snow, it saves on the clutch (or on the transmission if you drive one of those newfangled trannys) plus it goes a lot better. You can back off on the throttle in low and the truck will just chug along by itself without spinning, instead of killing the motor or spinning out like it will in high. Also, putting it in low gives you twice as many gear options, I drive in 4 lo, 2nd gear; in the snow more than any other gear probably. A little lower than 4 hi, 1st gear, but not so "get out and walk alongside" low as 4 lo 1st gear.

When i used to feed cattle in the winter,put the pickup in low range,and get on
the back cut the bails open. That is what i used it for,and climbing up steep ridges.

BUT 4 wheel low can get you stuck where 4 wheel high won't Problem with 4 low is tire speed. You pull up to a boggy mud hole that's about 20 plus feet long go to 4 low and you increase chances to bottom out. You hit it wide open in high bust right threw it
Case in point mud bog racers. They want max speed and high wheel speed to get thru stretches.

In the high country I use low to bust drifts as it has the pulling power to keep the power to the drivetrain, add a posi and it goes even better. But if you high center your breaking out the shovels then.

High center in snow winch is my first choice

Magnifies engine torque through gearing..

If you look at most fairly serious off-roading 4 low is used for control.

4 hi let’s you cruise at decent speed and momentum becomes your friend to keep going. You can roll up a big hill or make it across a low spot to next dry ground or thru a snow drift to the wind swept dirt. All good until momentum is not your friend and you lose control, can’t maintain your line and end up going down a ravine, into tree etc or you try to blow thru deep sniw or mud and rip out thousands of dollars worth of suspension etc.

You can run thru relatively deep mud like up to the rims in hi but when you get to complicated obstacles with deeper ruts, holes, rocks, ledges etc 4 hi isn’t always your friend. That’s especially true if you’re by yourself or first in a group. Picking your line of approach is first task. 4 lol let’s you go in slow and try to move forward with no tire spin. In the old days that was the art form of great off-roaders. There’s a reason that crawl type features exist on vehicles now—-basically 4 lo traction control. Computer can drive you across lots of stuff (at a snails pace) by limiting spin. But there can be a time when you may benefit from spin. As a rule you get more immediate torque response on the low side vs the hi side and that’s often all that’s needed for tires to hook up. But there’s lots of misguided thoughts that if your tires spin they’ll clean out etc. Reality is full on mud terrains will likely clean and often do so with little spin. But the all terrains that 95% of non off-road rigs are setting on won’t clean regardless of how much throttle you give them.

If you plan to get thru really nasty places you’ll be relying on more than just four wheel drive from tires to suspension to rear end gearing. But if you get that deep in you better be running a rig with at least one locker on either front or rear if not both. Open diffs whether in hi or lo only have so much to offer if the terrain is less than level.

Perhaps this has already been mentioned in so many other words, but have seen some trucks........a Ford comes to mind, that even 1st gear is geared up so much that it is running faster than you want to go and at idle engine speed, does not have the torque to pull a heavy load. Floor it to get engine revved enough to pull the load and you are going way to fast. 4 Low gears all that way down. A true granny low. And then a higher speeds, still has torque to pull loads without having to rev the engine to red line in low end regular gears.

Ask JERRY !!! LOL

Cathryn might post another pic .

I really like the posi rear end switch on my f-150,it comes in handy in the rough stuff.
Good tires very important part of off road driving.

I have to laugh when you Southern guys talk about driving I’ve seen you gents on the news in inch of snow thinking the more gas the better. LOL

BnB, did you get a satisfactory answer yet? I feel like maybe you were trying to make a point that us folks missed. ???

You guys must all be flat-landers.

The main purpose of 4Low for me is safety. When descending a steep grade in wet slippery snow, and where one side of the narrow logging road drops into an abyss, I then used 4Low in 1st or 2nd gear (depending on the grade), so that I don't have to use my brakes. As long as the wheels keep turning while under power, in low range, and no brakes are applied, I have good control and the truck won't start tabogganing down the road or off the cliff.

you said it better than i could waggler

Trucks need to come with a manual transmission OPTION...period.