M2 4x4 Caveats

[FOURWHL]

How are beaches and wet grass not considered offroading. I think everybody understands were not talking about rock crawling here. But when you leave the designated roadway you are by definition off road [emoji2369]

[Magnatudes]

Originally Posted by FOURWHL

How are beaches and wet grass not considered offroading. I think everybody understands were not talking about rock crawling here. But when you leave the designated roadway you are by definition off road [emoji2369]

OK man! You da expert! I guess by definition all campgrounds that are not your parking lot pavement stalls are considered offroad as well. I must have slipped on a wet paved boat ramp at Bullfrog, or the like, and could have bumped my head cuz it seems like I was later working my way to a primitive shoreline campsite creeping up & down a dirt road/trail at Stanton Creek to meet up with the boat. So yeah, by your definition, I was offroading! Sorry, my bad. I must have misread some of the postings in this thread.

[PremierPOWER]

Originally Posted by FOURWHL

How are beaches and wet grass not considered offroading. I think everybody understands were not talking about rock crawling here. But when you leave the designated roadway you are by definition off road [emoji2369]

Sure, if you want to be technical and 100% literal, then beaches and grass are not on the road and therefore technically off-road. The people making the statements that RV’s aren’t made to go off-roading are talking about the sport of off-roading. Driving on sand or wet grass isn’t going to damage the RV, but having 4wd would certainly be nice.

My sister and her BF have a 2020 Renegade Verona. They got stuck on the beach over the winter. 4wd would have certainly been beneficial.

Honestly, I’m not even sure why the anti 4x4 RV crowd is commenting on this thread? BC asked for people who would be willing to lose some things in favor of gaining 4wd. Stop clogging a thread that some of us actually care about. I want an M2 based 4x4 super C so bad that back after Dynamax stopped offering 4wd, I offered to write BC a personal check for $10k just to allow me to have the option to pay for the optional Freightliner 4x4. Unless you’re actually wanting this feature, please shut up and go post elsewhere.

[Magnatudes]

Originally Posted by PremierPOWER

Sure, if you want to be technical and 100% literal, then beaches and grass are not on the road and therefore technically off-road. The people making the statements that RV’s aren’t made to go off-roading are talking about the sport of off-roading. Driving on sand or wet grass isn’t going to damage the RV, but having 4wd would certainly be nice.

Honestly, I’m not even sure why the anti 4x4 RV crowd is commenting on this thread? BC asked for people who would be willing to lose some things in favor of gaining 4wd. Stop clogging a thread that some of us actually care about.

Unless you’re actually wanting this feature, please shut up and go post elsewhere.

I agree 100%.

Be careful, some folks on this forum get overly sensitive, or jump in without reading the whole thread and either pontificate about their superior wisdom or race to have your controversial post deleted. In this particular thread, like you said, it is the "sports-like offroader" crowd that chimes in poopooing the gist of the thread.

I believe there is a market for 4x4 M2 motorhomes... boondockers, racetrack spectators, lakefront camps, winter mountain travelers, boat haulers, backroad explorers,...

[FOURWHL]

Originally Posted by Magnatudes

[emoji106] I agree 100%.

Be careful, some folks on this forum get overly sensitive, or jump in without reading the whole thread and either pontificate about their superior wisdom or race to have your controversial post deleted. In this particular thread, like you said, it is the "sports-like offroader" crowd that chimes in poopooing the gist of the thread.

I believe there is a market for 4x4 M2 motorhomes... boondockers, racetrack spectators, lakefront camps, winter mountain travelers, boat haulers, backroad explorers,...

Are people really launching boats with a 40 foot RV?! (Outside of the video where the dog hits the shifter and sinks the RV)

Other than that I regularly do everything else on that list with RWD [emoji2369]

[Magnatudes]

Originally Posted by FOURWHL

Are people really launching boats with a 40 foot RV?! [emoji2369]

Who said anything about a 40ft 4x4? That seems useless.

With that long of a wheelbase and rear overhang you could never get that thru places such as backcountry county roads, logging roads, hunting roads, utility service roads, dirt track access roads, primitive campsite roads with short steep hilltops or short steep dips.

I launched with a Country Coach pusher for years. It had an HMH airbag suspension that would allow me to raise the coach manually to crawl over rough trails. Unfortunately, manually adjustable suspension airbags are not available on an M2. So to compensate, a 4x4 suspension as you see on M2 utility trucks have more ground clearance.

But to answer your question, I have seen land yachts launching boats all of the time. Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Lake Mohave, Lake Havasu... to name a few.

A 32ft M2 4x4 is reasonable for launching a boat, especially if it has a front hitch.

[PremierPOWER]

Originally Posted by FOURWHL

Are people really launching boats with a 40 foot RV?! (Outside of the video where the dog hits the shifter and sinks the RV)

Other than that I regularly do everything else on that list with RWD [emoji2369]

So you have some magic RWD that will get out of what my 4x4 could not in the pictures I posted earlier?

We get it, you don’t want to buy a 4wd RV. Guess what, if they end up offering it you don’t have to buy it. Imagine that.

[TrailWayz]

This thread is starting to get a real "Twitter" vibe.

[FOURWHL]

Originally Posted by PremierPOWER

So you have some magic RWD that will get out of what my 4x4 could not in the pictures I posted earlier?

We get it, you don’t want to buy a 4wd RV. Guess what, if they end up offering it you don’t have to buy it. Imagine that.

I'm not saying I've never been stuck, or even that if one were offered I wouldn't buy one. The point trying to get across is that 4x4 is not mandatory to do any of this. Would it be nice? Maybe, that's what this thread was originally meant to set out to explore.

Have I gotten stuck? Hell yes. Every time I do I learn something that helps me later. Just a month ago I got stuck in 1" of snow because I stopped on an upslope. That lesson helped twice since, once where I successfully escaped a campground covered in 12" of snow. With the trailer in tow.

I'll happily drive out on the beach at lake Powell or corpus Christi because I know what to avoid to get stuck

All I'm saying is 4x4 isn't going to magically open many doors.

[FOURWHL]

Originally Posted by FOURWHL

I'm not saying I've never been stuck, or even that if one were offered I wouldn't buy one. The point trying to get across is that 4x4 is not mandatory to do any of this. Would it be nice? Maybe, that's what this thread was originally meant to set out to explore.

Have I gotten stuck? Hell yes. Every time I do I learn something that helps me later. Just a month ago I got stuck in 1" of snow because I stopped on an upslope. That lesson helped twice since, once where I successfully escaped a campground covered in 12" of snow. With the trailer in tow.

I'll happily drive out on the beach at lake Powell or corpus Christi because I know what to avoid to get stuck

All I'm saying is 4x4 isn't going to magically open many doors.

Forgot to attach the photo

[PremierPOWER]

There are a lot of options and features on RV’s that aren’t mandatory, but are nice to have. This is no different than any of them.

[FOURWHL]

Originally Posted by PremierPOWER

There are a lot of options and features on RV’s that aren’t mandatory, but are nice to have. This is no different than any of them.

Totally agree there.

[Magnatudes]

Originally Posted by PremierPOWER

There are a lot of options and features on RV’s that aren’t mandatory, but are nice to have. This is no different than any of them.

Some young folks here are such highly-experienced travelers that they have an answer for everything. Now we are talking about how wise some are with their ability to avoid getting stuck. Like this is all about getting stuck. I guess having a non-mandatory 4x4 has no other justifiable use because it has been proven at Page on a beach or an escape from a parking lot campground after a snowfall. Unfortunately, some have never experienced pulling a 10K lb boat out of the water upslope on a massive & wet concrete boat launch where 40 footers are making U-turns all day long.

If it doesn't have a 50 amp receptacle, water hookups & dump, convenience store with a laundry mat, a heated pool and WiFi, it is therefore not a place for a M2 RV. 4x4 is not mandatory. Getting to a primitive shoreline, is not always the same as driving onto a flat compacted beach. Sometimes having a bit more ground clearance for those newly traveled backroads makes a difference especially when you know you got 4x4 to work with. It's how some of us would feel more assured of not getting into a bind.

Personally, I wouldn't hold my breadth for a Dynamax 4x4 M2. Been there, done that. It really doesn't fit their cookie cutter business model.

[CyberShanks]

Personally, I'd consider the 4wd m2 beneficial for things like boon-docking, towing in slick circumstances and getting out of a campsite we may have sunk in during heavy rain. Would never consider taking it down a 'trail', that's what Jeeps are for.


As far as caveat of not having 6th gear, since that is the 2nd overdrive getting lost, one could expect fuel mileage to be worse. Is 6th gone due to primary drive-train length limit or too much torque input for the tcase itself?


Thanks,
Jim

[Desert Boat]

Originally Posted by Magnatudes

Personally, I wouldn't hold my breadth for a Dynamax 4x4 M2. Been there, done that. It really doesn't fit their cookie cutter business model.

They have almost completely transitioned the 5s to 4x4, which is what the market told them they wanted.

(Having gotten one of the last 4x2, I had to really think about camping now vs waiting for a 4x4).

If the market is there and they can do it to their design lexicon, I suspect they will follow through. Right now appears the M2 4x4 might still have a few too many tradeoffs. My $ is on Brian to eventually bring FL around.

[seels]

I think there is an appeal for a 4x4 freightliner. The smaller tank and the lack of the 6th gear would not matter as much if someone is buying it more for boondocking than to run across the country. Maybe even a more serious off-roading RV type of vehicle. To give a specific example, part of the reason what I am looking at the Isata 5 is so I can take it for a week hunting trip up the Golden Road in Maine like I did when I was a kid. If you don't know what the Golden Road is, look it up.

[bclemens]

lol...I like coming in after some time away, its like watching a soap opera. People start throwing things at one another, then those people make up and become friends and then find a common enemy to throw new things at.

[Bill Davis]

I think this post has run its course.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by Bill Davis

I think this post has run its course.

Maybe we can do it like a Kickstarter. I'll post up the pricing, once we get enough takers, we'll build them.

I just got an updated quote today from FL today, so I'll see where it would shake out.

[toothdoc]

Hi Brian. I'll be interested in a M2-106 4x4 with the 8.9L Cummings or DD8 with 20K towing capacity on a 32 feet long length