New to 4WD, give me the basics please

I am new to 4WD and would appreciate any brief advice on what not to do, when to use it, when to use 4L vs 4H, if you do such-and-such it would be catastrophic, lessons you've learned, etc. Any primer, like don't turn sharp on dry pavement. What can I do that would be seriously wrong? What can I do that I might not know I could do?

I know I have to be stopped and in neutral to go into 4L. I read that you should drive in 4WD at least 10 miles per month. I'm still going through the manual and trying to study up.

My specs say: 6-Spd Automatic Trans w/Sequential Shift 4WDemand Part-Time 4WD w/Elec Controlled Transfer Case, A-TRAC & Auto LSD TripleTech.

 

You can switch between 2h and 4h any speed up to 62. Should be on surface that allows slippage when in 4h; rain, snow, dirt, sand, etc
I try to do the 10 miles a month in 4h, usually wait for rainy day.
Must be stopped and in neutral to engage 4h. Have not used it yet on this truck, only had since July.

 

You can engage 4H while driving to engage 4L you must stop and put the truck in neutral. Use 4H in slippery surfaces and use 4L when stuck or in very difficult situations. For maintenance you should engage 4H in slippery surfaces or on a straight road for 10 miles a month. After doing the 4H maintenance I engage 4L and make sure it engages. This will make sure everything stays freed up and lubricated.

 

When descending a steep hill use engine braking by manually shifting gears down. This is more effective in 4Lo.

if the fastest you can go on a trail is 15 mph, then you should be in 4Lo.

 

Can the differential be locked and unlocked?

 

Not on a tundra. There is no locking diff. It does have a simulated limited slip through use of the brakes.

If you are going to be going slow/crawling don't do it in 4 Hi. You will overheat your transmission. Slow speeds (less than 20 mph) you should use 4 Lo. Don't turn on dry surfaces while in 4WD or you can bind things up and cause damage.

4 wheel drive does not mean 4 wheel stop! You must still drive slower for poor weather conditions. Handling is adversely affected by 4WD; your turns will be wider than in 2WD.

 

Foot on pedal hammer down!!

 

4wd lo is useful for launching and towing your boat up the slippery boat ramp.

 

Also I don’t know if this is truly normal or not (as I was told it is) but my tranny shifts hard between gears in 4wd LO even in snow....since it was new. Thankfully I rarely use it and when I do, I keep it in first most of the time.

 

Depending on what your doing off road I almost always hold down the traction control till it’s completely off.

 

We usually start in 4Hi so that if the truck is stuck, there's still 4Lo as an option. We don't usually launch from a ramp, though.

 

I usually stop and go in reverse if I've been in 4wd for extended periods. Especially after being in 4lo. Its an old school thing but I still do it.
I was always told if you have to floor it in 4hi in the snow put it in 4lo, from experience it seems to be better

 

You go in reverse while still in 4L before switching to 4H or 2WD?

 

I've used mine once.

Parked on side of snowy road at the dog park, went off road a bit, knew I was stuck a bit. Walked dog and came back and put it in 4LO.

Got out in no time and put it back in 4HI for the rest of the trip back home in snow.

 

Ill clarify I do this after turning off the 4wd. Not necessary but is kinda a habit from owning old trucks. It was said it unbinds the gears after running

 

Yup, I do the same thing, old habits die hard.

 

Haven’t done this but I might start. Can’t hurt.

 

Same on reverse after coming out of 4wd. I always back up a little bit. Makes me feel better at least lol

 

It would be best to find a dirt road and get to know the dynamics of 4wd before needing it. 4lo is a very tight ratio use it cautiously until you get used to it.

 

Put it in 4wd before you need it. It's a lot easier to keep yourself from getting stuck than to get yourself unstuck. Also as soon as the road starts getting covered in snow, it goes into 4wd now. I used to like to play around a little bit and see how well it would drive in 2wd on snow. Then I hit a bump on the highway one day and in the blink of an eye, I was heading across 4 lanes of hwy towards a concrete median. Over corrected and ended up getting t-boned by another car. Luckily, we were only going 40 mph and I had almost corrected it again so I didn't really feel the impact, but it could have turned out really badly. I don't take the chance anymore.

 

Yup...use it before you need it.

We paid for 4WD, might as well take advantage of it.

 

That’s one reason I wish Toyota put in something like auto 4wd so you don’t have to worry especially if the road is a mix of snow/ice and bare asphalt.

 

Fingers crossed for the next gen. Every other full size truck has it now.

 

The reason you used to have to drive in reverse when coming out of 4WD was to unlock the "auto locking" hubs. It was an American truck thing.

 

I bought my Tundra last year. It's a 4x4 but I have yet to switch it to 4H or 4L yet. Guess I better do that to make sure it's working properly...

 

A timely question since this is also my first truck. This may be obvious to the veterans of truck 4WD but it wasn't for me coming from an AWD Toyota Highlander. You can drive all day in an AWD Highlander and not really tell. The first snow we got, I put the truck in 4WD High to perform the periodic recommended maintenance of 4WD. All seemed fine. When I made a really tight turn into a parking spot I could feel tons of drag from the rear tire and thought something was wrong. My friend explained that is how the 4WD system works on a truck and this "drag", when making a really tight turn, is normal. The roads were covered with snow and you could still feel this drag when turning tight.

 

“American” because it was practically impossible to find on a Tacoma back in 95 when it first came out (at least for the gulf states). Back then non-abs brakes and manual hubs were the norm.

 

Nope. Never had that issue in slippery snow with my Tundra. You’re f**ked. J/K.

Seriously, tho I’d avoid tight turns (full lock) in 4wd as it is likely to bind a little.

 

Yeah, I had actually turned my 4wd off because it was bin

Are you talking about auto locking hubs? My 91 4Runner had auto locking hubs on it. Did they not put them on the Tacomas back then?

 

Yeah, back in 95 when the Tacoma came out, it was nearly impossible to find that option in the Southern trucks (it was a listed option). I’m sure that changed in the next few years. Hell even manual crank windows weren’t that rare.