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I have always said I would not buy another truck/car that was not a 4x4. That being said I have found a 2000 f-350 dually 7.3 powerstroke with 78000 miles for good price. I live in Maryland and will be towing a 2008 Cobia 256 express about 8400 full and trailered. How important is 4 wheel drive to you guys? I am in the military and have to worry about getting stationed in a colder place that gets much more snow and have seen some bad things at the ramp. Any thoughts would be great.
4x4 would deffinately be prefered for those steep ramps. But with a dually you have more traction than a single rear wheel, so for 90% of the ramps you would be fine. Depends on the ramps that you'll be using. Also if you KNEW for sure that you would have to deal with snowy ramps you would probabbly want to go 4x4.
If you live in Maryland you will defnitely need 4 wheel drive. I'm in MN and there are times in the winter when my F-250 has to be in 4wd just to get across the intersection before the light turns back to red.
I live in Long Island NY and have a 1998 ford explorer 4 wheel drive that I can honestly say I use 5-6 times a year. The 1 or 2 snow/ ice storms that we get and then putting the boat in and pulling it ant the end of the season. depending on which ramp and the tide it can get slippery and steep. I also go on the beach (average 1 trip per year) and 4wd is manditory. I would also perfer a truck with it. Good luck!
pick up a 12k winch, you can mount it on the front or rig it to fit into a a front receiver hitch. This is cheap insurance for a 2wd truck and winches are great tools for all kinds of jobs around the property.
Thanks for the advise guys. I am going to take a look at it to see the what it looks like. I have talked to a couple other guys that said I should be fine and I like the winch idea.
2wd is Ok 95% of the time but if you're stuck you won't care what the percentage is. At low tide your rear axle is in the slime but the front end is usually on dry pavement. Don't get fooled by the awesome look of the dually axle. The weight on the tire footprint is divided up between 4 tires instead of 2 so the traction is less than you think. A winch is a good idea but finding an anchor point at the boat ramp may be tricky, although if you're blocking the ramp the guy waiting behind you will probably let you hook onto to his truck or maybe even his wife to get you out of his way. Once you get out on the open road you'll find that NOTHING tows like a dually. Most of the swaying comes from sidewall flex and with 4 tires the rig will tow like a dream. That's my 2, Good luck.
__________________ Ed Panzella
"BAITS MOTEL"
2450 MAYCRAFT PILOTHOUSE
Higganum, Ct
I have 3/4 ton HD with positraction. On slime or gravel can't pull my boat out. 2550 Hydra sport WA with twin 200 johnsons. It is heavy. I only put in at one local location and use my son-in-laws 4WD to haul out. Good observation about weight distribution on two versus 4 rear tires and the snow is also a separate issue since I don't think you would be doing a lot of boating than, but unless you can always pick your ramps I would give 4 wheel drive serious consideration. I wish I had.
The winch will not work that well either. The only way it will work is if the anchor point or object is heavier than your rig. If it isn't, it will pull what ever you have anchored to down tha ramp with you.
The only time you need 4 wheel drive is when you need it. I use 4 low every time I pull my boat out, nice ramp or not. It puts less strain on the whole drive train.
A few more reasons I have 4x4.......because I never want to be the ding dong with his whole family jumping up and down on the bed, putting wet towels down, finding sand to put down, putting rocks infront of the rear tires, waiting for the tide to come in, having someone with 4x4 pull me out, or having a picture of my truck end up as the start of a "Should have had 4x4" thread with the front bumber just showing from the water.
In the grand scheme of owning and maintaining a truck, boat and trailer, is the 4 wheel drive option really that expensive????
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4x4 would deffinately be prefered for those steep ramps. But with a dually you have more traction than a single rear wheel, so for 90% of the ramps you would be fine. Depends on the ramps that you'll be using. Also if you KNEW for sure that you would have to deal with snowy ramps you would probabbly want to go 4x4.
Your wrong about having more traction because it is a dually, you really have less traction, I know you would think that with four tires yo have more but what happen is you end up with not enough weight on those four tires.
People who pull travel trailers have problems with traction in soft dirt with their dually.
The same would happen on a boat ramp. Saw a dually not long ago just spinning his tires trying to pull a 26 foot boat out of the water. No traction. I backed in and pulled my boat with no problem. I have a 1500 series Ram. I do use my 4x4 only because Dodge was so thoughtful that they did not include a limited slip rear end. One of these days I will have a limited slip installed.
The winch will not work that well either. The only way it will work is if the anchor point or object is heavier than your rig. If it isn't, it will pull what ever you have anchored to down that ramp with you.
The only time you need 4 wheel drive is when you need it. I use 4 low every time I pull my boat out, nice ramp or not. It puts less strain on the whole drive train.
A few more reasons I have 4x4.......because I never want to be the ding dong with his whole family jumping up and down on the bed, putting wet towels down, finding sand to put down, putting rocks infront of the rear tires, waiting for the tide to come in, having someone with 4x4 pull me out, or having a picture of my truck end up as the start of a "Should have had 4x4" thread with the front bumber just showing from the water.
In the grand scheme of owning and maintaining a truck, boat and trailer, is the 4 wheel drive option really that expensive????
Awesome Advice!
I made the mistake of buying a 4x2 with all these "you don't need 4x4" advice. It was during low tide and the rear end was slipping. It required the admiral in the truck and me in the boat with all 600HP of outboard pushing to get the whole rig out of water. All it took was one time to make me switch to 4x4. Now with 4x4 - I simply drive the boat onto the bunk, lock the eye bow winch, jump in the truck, engage 4x4 and out she comes with zero hesitation.
I love my F250 diesel 4X2 it has a limited slip rear and pulls the boat great. However at least a couple times a year I wish it were a 4X4 even on nice ramps when they are busy and wet I have been seen smoking the tires up a ramp. Next Truck will have 4X4 no questions and I will bumper to bumper pull against a dually any day they do not have more traction they can carry more axle weight for 5th wheel and goose neck trailers that is what they are for.
I pull a old Phoenix that loaded weighs around 8500 lbs. When I come up some steep ramps as I get to the crest the boat unweights the rear of the truck and causes loss of traction. I now lock the hubs and idle up in 4x4 Low with NO PROBLEM. If you can afford to purchase a 4x4 do it!!! You never know when you will need it and murphy's law dictates like most folks, when you have a problem there won't be anybody around to help.
I tow a 24' grady with a 2wd 1 ton dually, and with a 4wd. The 4wd is far superior to the 2wd on the ramp. On a steep ramp near my house, I have found that 4low gives better control and stopping power to keep from dunking the trailer. I still chock both front and rear wheels, since when the Grady begins to come off the trailer there is a tendency for the rear to hop a little bit.
Coming out of the water, 4low gives good power up the ramp, without alot of tire spinning.
Oh yeah, the ramp is gravel except for the last twenty feet, which is concrete. The concrete portion is at the tide line, so there is a hard surface. If the tide is real low, some have come off the concrete onto the sandy, silty bottom. A real treat, especially if you are waiting to launch next.
If you have a steep ramp I would only get the 4x4. It is a lot for the the rear to push a heavy diesel engine up the hill without any wieght in the bed of the truck. I have a dodge with an antislip differential and it has a difficult time at our steep ramp on the river in 2wd. However it is a steep ramp and I have the extended cab with a long bed, which places the rear axle even further away from any real wieght. I actaully have better luck with a shorter wheel base gas engine if comparing them both in 2wd. I am assuming the reason is because of the weight difference.
On the other side if you don't need 4wd on your ramp now then you probably will not use it if you had a 4wd. But if you use it ocassionally then you will hate the day that you need it and your truck doesn't have it.
I have never owned a dually.
I like 4 x 4 and will always own one for the reason's posted and will add that it may save the day if you need to pull off the road on a soft shoulder. I have a GMC with the locking rear and still use 4x4 everytime I park my boat beside the house to save twin tire burn marks in the grass. Diesel trucks have a lot of weight forward.
Do I Need 4 wheel drive? 
Awesome Advice!
It was during low tide and the rear end was slipping. It required the admiral in the truck and me in the boat with all 600HP of outboard pushing to get the whole rig out of water. All it took was one time to make me switch to 4x4. Now with 4x4 - I simply drive the boat onto the bunk, lock the eye bow winch, jump in the truck, engage 4x4 and out she comes with zero hesitation. 
