Yeah, I know- that's what I said...

I cannot imagine anyone buying a medium duty truck with a gasoline engine in it. Low fuel mileage, low torque, high maintenance, short motor life...makes no sense to me.

"The Gas 8.1 4x2 is a great truck with tons of power, an Allison trans and 10g's less money".

We have the Kodiac 4500 2wd. We have not experienced any problems pulling out, even with a wet ramp.

However as stated we try to have the truck full of fuel, especially if one expects a wet ramp. This spring I added an additional 100 gal fuel tank since then, the tires dont even squeek coming out.

4wd is cool for the look, if you like that "Need a ladder" look, but for us, Not needed!

When it comes to pulling, the Kodiak is GREAT!

Thanks for the answers.

For me the Dodge 4500 is the best medium duty truck out there. The Cummins is the best motor hands down and you can get the DPF and EGR deletes for at least 4mpg better fuel mileage. The 6 speed Aisin automatic is now the equal of the Allison. 15" brakes and an exhaust brake too give it the shortest stopping distance of the three. Thicker steel in the frame means far less flex.

silly boaters, plowing snow and pulling boats in the same thread??? too much sun on the forehead. medium duty or class 6-7 trucks will often fare well on launch ramps provided you have TONGUE WEIGHT. most go fast are set up with plenty of tongue weight and unless you have a brutally steep pitch like the state park ramp at lake of the ozarks or have excessive moss, you will do just fine. the 4x4 is alot of extra moving parts to wear and unless you are boating in the snow on frozen lakes, you need not worry. even in snow, you can sandbag the bed of the truck for winter to make those babies stick. go ahead, go big! the only person i would recommend a 4x4 buisness class vehicle for towing would be a transport pro that launches a ton of boats nationwide in any and all circumstances and has to travel in the mountains in the winter for a living.

I transport boats so I am at different ramps with different boats daily. As Tug Boat says, this is when you need 4X4. But if you're boat is set up right on your trailer, wnd your truck has enough weight over the back tires it is not neccessary. I just bought a new truck and I didn't even look for 4X2, Been on too many ramps with big boats spinning my back tires, especially with float on trailers.

I prefer to hit a button or pull a lever than worry about setting up the truck to make it up a wet sea weed covered ramp.