4WD for dummies

[shifty]

I'm probably forfeiting some rights to my man card asking this question, but screw it, you only live once and a person can't know or do everything. Little story to build up to the question though.

I sold my C1500 recently to buy my next project. A whole 3 days passed before I needed to haul something. So I traded my DD hybrid for a ultra-low-mile an '06 Tundra because Dad a 2nd-gen and I really liked the way it drove. Walked out the door on a trade with cash in hand, can't beat that.

Thing is, it's 4WD. I've always lived in the SE USA, it's easier to find 2WD so all my off-roading was on 3- and 4-wheel ATVs. Out of 40-something cars I owned, all 2WD. Dad always said it was "just extra sh*t to break you'll never use" so I never bothered.

So, here I am. I've got a 4WD truck, although the guy selling it was pretty adamant, "it's actually more like AWD, not a 4x4..."

As embarrassing as it is, I figure if I can safely ask anywhere, it's here.

Anyone wanna share "All the things I wish someone would've taught me about 4WD trucks but never did"?

I'm most interested in understanding two things: (1) 4hi/4lo/2hi or the differences in those modes versus what I drive in regularly, and (2) is there anything I should absolutely never do if I want to not f-up my drivetrain?

I understand two things already: I know how to put the truck in 1st gear lo, and I know for some (all?) mode changes you need to put the truck in neutral first and wait for something to happen.

It's not lost on me that I can just RTFM from the glove box. But as any of us with common sense know, book smart and common sense smart are two very, very different things.