Terrain Mode

[Brian Ball]

Just purchased a 2020 Custom, it's a beautiful truck, but several days ago I noticed that I dont have 4 lo, "sigle tranfer case" anyways not a huge deal but how well does the "tearrin mode" mimc 4 lo? 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Brian Ball

[mandrewbot3k]

From my understanding they aren’t very comparable. What you’re getting with terrain mode is electronic braking when the gas is released. So you aren’t moving your foot back and forth. Really more for crawling then anything else.


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[Thomcat]

The off road mode/terrain electronic control button in place of 4Lo on the panel of a single transfer case closely mimics the shift points and gear ratios of 4Lo in a two speed case, but of course without the same torque supplied by 4Lo.

 

[SilveradoRST]

Interested to see real-world use reviews of Terrain Mode.  So many posts I read here say 4lo is a must.   I personally don’t need it (at least I don’t think I do).  

[Thomcat]

Had a two speed transfer case on my Avalanche 3LT, and Z71s and my '17 Z71. I've launched boats, pulled trees off roads, climbed out of swales and even dragged a piece of Jersey wall in low gears while in 4Hi. Never used 4Lo once and no idea if they even worked in any of the vehicles, came with the packages.....yhe idea of slow crawl or stop to engage a non synchro gear for 4Lo went out with my '62 Nova's 3 speed Muncie. Might be useful for rock crawling, but then again wouldn't be doing that in a Silverado......I'd reserve that for a rentalJeep with full coverage.

[Brian Ball]

Thanks guy's

[madconcept]

Getting a 2 speed transfer case was only available on z71 package I believe...at least in the trims I was looking at RST and Elevation.

I wanted the Max Trailering option which only came with the single speed transfer case.

[Sam Gough]

Has anyone tried the terrain mode yet? I only yesterday realized i didn’t have 4lo but this weird terrain control. Im wondering how aware I need to be about the weather and switch to my jeep for deep snow. Living at 7200’ can be challenging.

[Holcomb j]

Just had to use terrain mode on my 2021 silverado custom. It spun all 4 wheels.  It worked to back up my 30 foot camper in soft grass area and dug in good. Left some nice tracks in my brother in laws yard lol

[Gangly]

Terrain Mode is a great option for those without 4Lo.  It will mimic the efforts of 4 low using brake control, throttle control, and transmission controls.  However, you wont get the torque multiplication down low and you wont get the finer drivetrain control that comes with 4Lo but everybody has different uses for their 4WD and some will never need the 4 low option.  I never thought I would need it but I bought it anyways and LOVE it. 

 

I was on a crushed rock driveway backing a very heavy trailer up and over a concrete slab and couldn't get the trailer up and over the slab (approx 6" height) in 2WD, the tires just spun on the crushed rock.  I put it in 4WD Hi and had the same problem, just with all four wheels turning.  The trailer would start to go over the slab but then the tires would spin and all traction would be lost.  The engine had to rev to get the power needed, but having to rev the engine just resulted in spinning the tires.  I placed the truck in 4 low to see if it would make any difference and was amazed at the result.  Once placed into 4-Lo, I gave it barely any gas at all and the truck walked the trailer right up and over the slab without so much as a hiccup from the tires.  All that torque right off idle made all the difference in the world and allowed for a controlled ascent up and over the slab without blowing the tires away and losing grip.

 

Without 4-Lo, I would not have been able to get the traction needed, or the down low power required, to get the trailer up and over the slab in a controlled manner.  Without being able to do that I would have had to drop multiple trailer loads (3 dump trucks worth) of dirt 25 yards away from the intended location, shovel it by hand into a wheel burrow, and haul the dirt by hand with my old/gimpy self to its final location which would have cost me an additional 2 days of back breaking (for me) work. 

 

The 4-Lo paid for itself 10 times over that day and there was no way I could have done the task in a timely or efficient manner without it.  Again though, to each their own and some 4WD's will never see a dirt road in their life and never need 4Lo for anything other their camp fire talk with the guys.  However, I look at it like a 4WD in general though, you never need it until you do, and by then its too late if you don't have it.  We all have budgets, so I completely understand operating within a set budget, but if you can squeeze that feature in, you will thank yourself if you ever come across the situation where there is nobody available to help and that one feature could save the day or weekend for you.

Edited November 30, 2021 by Gangly