4WD and Factory Trailer Package Questions ?

We were set out to buy a used F 150 but ended up buying a new one. Ford had very good incentives, to good to pass up. Ended up with a 2019 4WD and tow package. We decided on 4WD because I wanted to prepared for anything, driving on beaches in Texas, Colorado off road  boondocking etc.  I would also recommend the a tow package, the nice thing about factory tow package is that its already done for you and you won't need to spend more to have it put on. 

We live in 4 season country so AWD/4WD is a good thing to have. I tow with a 2015 Toyota Highlander and love it! We just traded in a 2019 Subaru Ascent because my tow experience with it was awful. Didn’t need an expensive commuter car, got a Rav4 Hybrid and are much happier! We’re not really truck  people so the Highlander is  perfect! Good luck !

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While you've probably given us all the information you have, please note that to give any kind of useful advice, much more information is needed.   First, we'd need to know the tongue weight of the 320 which is an entirely different number from the trailer weight.  Next, we'd need to know if you plan to spend much time in the snow or gnarly off-road.   Will you be taking dogs or other people with you?  Will this be your regular commuter car requiring various size, cost, mileage, comfort compromises or can you dedicate a second family car to fill the 320 duty for outdoor use.  Will you bring kayaks and bikes with you?   

While I have an F150 with the Max Tow package in a crew cab configuration and 4x4, I chose this because I take large dogs with me and need the large back seat, have a tongue weight of close to 500# and wanted a pickup so my gear and mess was separate from the interior both from a mess standpoint and for safety in case of an accident.  A box of Kleenex can kill you at highway speeds so having loose backpacks, grill, chair, etc inside my vehicle was a non-starter.  One visit to a junkyard or one good call as a volunteer fireman to a motor vehicle accident will convince you of this truth.

I have used the 4x4 exactly twice while towing and that was because I was being an idiot and figured that the 4x4 would save my bacon if the maneuver didn't work.  The 4x4 in my case is when I'm not hitched and want to go on service roads or snow in the NE.  Plenty of people do without it and I've questioned whether it's worth the cost and maintenance many times but I have two 4x4 pickups and that's my choice.  Big picture, with a 320, if you don't know whether or not you need it then you probably don't know how to properly use it and should first take an off-road class to learn when/where/how to use it.  I say this because odds are by now that you've not needed an extraction that a 4x4 would have gotten you out of.  And YES, I've taken a long weekend 4x4 class taught in Vermont by a company that trains National Geographic teams to drive in very remote places.  If nothing else, the class itself is a blast as the final evolution is no pedals backwards down a hill and placing your vehicle between two trees after making it through a course where the vehicle is at a 50-degree angle.   

SO to answer your question, you probably don't need it but if you do, nothing else short of a 3rd party extraction will get you out of the bind.  But you don't need it for normal use and getting into and out of campgrounds.   The Boondock TAB just means you won't get the trailer hung-up on normal service roads but not that it will serve you in real off-roading.  I have a Boondock as well and it was worth the extra 1".

While I'm not sure if the tongue weight or tow capacity meets your new 320 till you post that data, if you like the Jeep, take a look at the new Jeep Gladiator.  Otherwise check out any of the small pickups such as the Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma as you don't need the size of an F150.  That said, the best vehicle out there bar none is the F150 but I'm biased.   If you absolutely must carry all your gear inside your vehicle and don't care about being killed by flying equipment, there are plenty of SUV's to choose from and the Trailhawk has gotten many strong recommendations across multiple forums for different applications.  

Lastly, getting the tow package means different things from each manufacturer.  Usually it means you get a built-in hitch, hitch wiring and the all important trailer controller which avoids the need to install a 3rd party device that measures your speed using an accelerometer.  There are usually additional packages that add Tow/Haul buttons that adjust transmission loads to help with hills while towing and in case of really great companies like Ford, add additional cooling, mirrors and other mechanical suspension supports.  For a 320, much of the Max Tow equipment is overkill so getting a trailer controller is all you need.

I bought a lightly used, low mileage, 2016 Nissan Frontier SV 4x4 CrewCab with tow package last year.  I love it.  Nissan states tow rating 6,100 to 6,500 (although I don't know what makes that 4,000 lb difference).   I bought a trailer brake controller from e-trailer that came with the vehicle specific plug & play wiring for my vehicle and had a trailer specialty shop mount it and run the wires.  Easy peazy.  It tows my 320S like a dream even in the Colorado mountains (I live near Denver).  No sway, doesn't drop the rear end of the truck, etc.  Towed this summer in a high wind and while big rigs in front of me had their trailers getting buffeted by the wind, I was very stable.  Very comfortable ride.  I would never buy a 2 wheel drive in Colorado--they are too hard to sell if you want to & you never know if you are going to need a little 4 wheel drive if you ever go off the paved roads.

Another plus with 4WD is that you might have a wider range of gears, ie: you might have a low-low ('granny gear'), which can be very helpful in going very slowly up a pitted dirt road, for example when boondocking... You probably would not have that option with AWD.

OneWurldGurl1 said:

Thanks everyone for your comments, they gave me lots to think about. 4ncar about my "Rubi" I was shocked when I checked on resale value! so even though it makes me feel sick to even think about it, I'm now leaning towards selling it and getting a new 4x4 Colorado.
 I really don't need 2 cars, and not having a car payment for the new truck would be nice. Also, I drive the jeep about once a week to run errands and every now and then for a quick trip.
 The truck I would be driving 100's of miles every few weeks to go camping. After thinking about that fact for a bit, I can't see any point in keeping the Rubi, other than I love it. 

I feel your pain, as I miss all of my jeeps, but I’ll get another eventually! shocked good, or shocked bad??