Canyon Duramax 4wd or 2wd ? - Escape Trailer Owners Community
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Escape Trailer Owners Community > Escape Tech > Towing and Hitching
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 01-30-2018, 02:06 PM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Thousand Oaks, California
Trailer: 2011 Escape 5.0
Posts: 64
Canyon Duramax 4wd or 2wd ?

I’m about to purchase a GMC Canyon to tow my Escape 5.0. Which is best for towing; a
4wd or 2wd? Please explain why.

Thanks, Rick
lzcamper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 02:15 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: North of Danbury, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21C
Posts: 3,033
A 4 wheel drive truck normally has a lower payload weight limit than a two wheel drive truck. This may or may not be an issue with a 5.0 TA towed by a Canyon
steve dunham is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 02:50 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
AKCamper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Juneau, Alaska
Trailer: 2016 Escape 19
Posts: 555
i have only towed our trailer for a couple of years and have towed with both. I think a two wheel drive would work fine most of the time, but I think you might wish you had four wheel drive if stuck in mud or on wet grass though to say nothing about snow. I also think four wheel drive would have a higher resale value. We purchased a four wheel drive Tacoma and although the two wheel drive may get a slight bit better fuel economy and have a slight better towing capacity I feel better knowing that that four wheel drive switch is right there.
AKCamper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 03:34 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
A 2 wheel drive with a limited slip rear is right there in between the two....
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 03:39 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Bluffton, South Carolina
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0TA
Posts: 135
Initial cost won't be offset by resale value

The 4-wheel drive will cost more to purchase and maintain. I doubt these costs will be offset when selling the truck. The reason the payload is lower on the 4wd is because of its additional weight.

I've gotten by driving for 60 years without 4wd, but I seldom drive off-road and avoid snow as much as possible, especially when towing.
D&R_SC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 04:43 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: White Bird, Idaho
Trailer: 2018 Escape 19, "Zen Purple", 2017 4X4 Chevy Colorado/Duramax
Posts: 404
I would think the answer depends on where and when you plan to tow your trailer, and your tolerance to deal with the uncertainty about weather and how it can affect your plans. If you plan to travel only during snow-free months, and never off road or on dirt roads, I'd say you'd be fine with 2WD. Personally, I wouldn't tow with a 2WD, but I live in Idaho and travel in the mountains of the western US and Canada. Snow is possible every month of the year, and I just don't want to have to worry about getting stuck. I was also involved in a non-snow situation where folks had pulled their trailers onto a flat spot just off a dirt road and parked them for an outdoor music event. Two days later, there was a big rainstorm, and people with 2WD trucks couldn't budge their trailers, they were totally stuck in the mud. Had to get a local rancher to bring his tractor to pull them out. While it is still possible to get stuck with a 4WD vehicle, it does narrow the range of conditions in which you can have a problem. Also if you're towing up a steep dirt road, 4WD can prevent your rear tires from spinning out and fish-tailing. Again, it depends on when and where you're planning to take your trailer, and whether you'll be boondocking off paved roads or staying in RV parks. Either way, if you go with a 2WD, I'd definitely carry tire chains and know how to use them. Hope this helps!
salmo7000 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 05:26 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
advenas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Spokane, Washington
Trailer: 2017 Escape 17B/2021 F150 w/ 3.5 Ecoboost
Posts: 368
For years I drove two wheel drive trucks. Always had to carry chains in the winter and even then it was iffy sometimes unless I had a bunch of weight in the back....which shot my gas mileage. Then I switched to an AWD vehicle for my every day driver and a 4WD truck for my TV. Won't go back. Snow? No problem. Bad road? No problem. Just don't get cocky when the road says 4WD only since it's likely REALLY terrible in bad weather. So I make my camping choices wisely given forecast conditions.
__________________
Rick
advenas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 10:55 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
Quote:
Originally Posted by D&R_MA View Post
The 4-wheel drive will cost more to purchase and maintain. I doubt these costs will be offset when selling the truck.
It will certainly cost more, but I would expect that trying to sell a two-wheel-drive Canyon or Colorado here would be frustrating... you would be begging anyone to take it. Only 5 of the 70 current-generation Colorados and Canyons listed in this area on AutoTrader.ca are 2WD, and half of them are base "work trucks". It depends on the local market.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 11:00 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
It will certainly cost more, but I would expect that trying to sell a two-wheel-drive Canyon or Colorado here would be frustrating... you would be begging anyone to take it. It depends on the local market.
Local market should change now that Suncor is deploying self-driving haul trucks in the oil ( tar ) sands.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 11:19 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
Local market should change now that Suncor is deploying self-driving haul trucks in the oil ( tar ) sands.

Many thousands lost their jobs here in the last few years... and still, no one buys 2WD pickups. Take a few former haul truck drivers out of the market and pickup owners will still insist on 4WD... and the most powerful engine they can get, and cabs big enough to carry a whole family while they commute to work solo, etc.

We did have a 2WD pickup, but that was a couple of decades ago. It was also a standard-cab short-box - try to find one of those now!
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2018, 11:31 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
gbaglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
Can't beat my Datsun pickup. Seats for two. No radio. Was asked what colour I wanted and I said I didn't care. Got a yellow one.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
gbaglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2018, 08:51 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
phalaney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: St Louis, Missouri
Trailer: 2017 5.0TA
Posts: 253
Quote:
Originally Posted by lzcamper View Post
I’m about to purchase a GMC Canyon to tow my Escape 5.0. Which is best for towing; a
4wd or 2wd? Please explain why.

Thanks, Rick
"For towing", 99% of the time, no difference. Doing 25 m/h down a freshly ice glazed interstate, f'glass trailer on back, 4 high is necessary.

As for the 80+% of the time you're not towing. If there was such a thing as a burly, limited slip fwd option, then I'd consider it. But pickups, and pickups with heavy diesel engines in particular, have notoriously poor unloaded traction. And even if you don't boonie bash, IMO, you will want to have the extra traction often enough that you will be muttering to yourself if you spin and get stuck.

We've used/needed ours maybe 6 times in the last 5 years. Almost all of those times, we were either in the middle of big cities or were crawling down glazed highways, towing f'glass trailers. Used it without towing one time, a few years ago. I ran errands for family/friends with feet of snow on city streets, when the fall out ran the clearing equipment.

Extra cost/weight/maintenance/slight loss of payload, all true. But it wasn't even a close call for us.
__________________
Peg and Bob
phalaney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2018, 12:45 AM   #13
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Thousand Oaks, California
Trailer: 2011 Escape 5.0
Posts: 64
Thanks to all of you for taking time to answer my question. After missing twice to secure a truck in the past two weeks, I finally purchased a 2wd Canyon crew/long bed with a locking rear differential. Although, a 4wd might offer more “peace of mind”, the 2wd should work just fine for the places I camp.

Thanks again, Rick
lzcamper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2018, 04:21 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
I think you will be pleased with the locking rear performance in slippery weather, my Dakota got me thru the Valentine's Day Snowmaggedon back in 2003, 24" snow
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...2003&FORM=IGRE
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2018, 07:39 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
emers382's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Emerson, Manitoba
Trailer: 2016 Escape 5.0TA, 2022 F150 2.7EB
Posts: 1,848
Quote:
Originally Posted by phalaney View Post
"For towing", 99% of the time, no difference. Doing 25 m/h down a freshly ice glazed interstate, f'glass trailer on back, 4 high is necessary.
We started towing our Escape with an F150 2wd with no snow tires, and it was fine, except will never forget the scary January drive from Sioux Falls SD to KC area on I29, especially once we hit the hills in MO. Fresh snow right lane super slippery, felt a few times I was losing control. Transports flying by in the snow covered left lane at 70mph

Now have a 4wd with snow tires, and although I didn't consider how much payload we'd lose I find as long as I don't fill up the back seat and box with stuff, am within the limit. And the snow tires will still be on when we head to AL, GA, and FL in March. Since having the new truck had one site had to back the trailer uphill starting in a "mudhole" and only made it account 4wd low. YMMV.

Adrian
emers382 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escape Trailer Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:43 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2023 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.