[overlander64]

Greetings BeBop!

Three of my last five tow vehicles have been 4X4, and my current K2500 Suburban will likely be my last 4X4 tow vehicle. The last two imparticular have been maintenance nightmares - - both are/were GMs - - the '95 had the typicaly manual shifted transfer case - - the '99 has the electronic controlled automatic transfer case. In both cases the transfer cases have been repair headaches - - the current Suburban requires an electronic circuit board for the transfer case every 12,000 to 17,000 miles at a cost of more than $700.00 for each occurrence if the last replacement was more than 12,000 miles in the past (my GM dealer gave me a break on the cost of the most recent replacement as he charged only $575.00)- - so far at 133,000 miles there have been 8 replacements with all but three being replaced under warranty. For the two times in the past ten years that I have needed 4X4 for RVing, the additional expense simply wouldn't have been worth the modest convenience - - up until 2000, I needed 4X4 to insure that I could get to work during the Wisconsin winters - - within the next few weeks I will be officially moved back to far Southern Illinois where 4X4 is rarely if ever necessary.

Quite honestly, in the twenty plus years that I have been RVing, I have found a limited slip rear differential to be far more useful than any of my three 4X4 tow vehicles (two of the three 4X4s also had rear limited slip differentials). I know that when my current Suburban is replaced that it will be with a similar model, but one being of 4X2 configuration - - that time is still at least 170,000 miles away. I rarely if ever boondock, and the only times that I have actually used 4X4 with either of my coaches was when entering or exiting International Rallys - - and even then, they have tractors available to assist in moving trailers for those with 2X4 or 4X4s that weren't working.

Good luck with your tow vehicle selection!

Kevin