|
I don't think there's necessarily a right or wrong choice on this topic. If we didn't have 4x4 we could probably get towed out by a neighbor, friend, or commercial operator if needed.
However, we have been in situations where I had no expectation that I'd need 4x4 to get out of. One was a few years ago when on the road driving a two-laner in South Carolina. For a long forgotten why reason I pulled over onto the grass shoulder. Probably a potty stop or something. I did not realize how much rain they'd had in that area. The grass was beautiful, the shoulder smooth and level. But darned if we didn't just spin rear wheels when we went to take off again. 4x4 got us out of there but I'm sure the SC highway dept was not happy with what we did to the shoulder.
Another time, in Virginia, we set up for a month in a very nice site. The site was gravel but the access to the backin site was grass. We got so much rain that month that when we went to leave, you guessed it, nothing but spinning rear tires until we put it in 4x4. We stopped at the office and let them know we tore up that section. They said they were planning to gravel it because that's not the first time it's happened.
My point is we can easily avoid situations where it's obvious 4x4 is or will be required. The value of the 4x4 to us is for those times we were caught unexpectedly in those situations. Maybe others are better at figuring that out in advance.
In any case, I don't think 4x4 is an absolute necessity. There's always another way out. It may just not be as convenient as having 4x4. Just my opinion, anyhow.
On edit, I neglected to mention the many terrific experiences we've had and scenery we've seen simply because we could take some of the backroads and easier 4x4 roads. We do not have a dually, which would have somewhat limited that.
|