A lot of good info. Heres my 2 cents;
- 2wd with a auto/manual locker or a truetrac will get you to a lot of places, especially if you stick to semi-maintained roads. throw in some self recovery gear (maxtrax, winch, etc.) and you'd be in
decent shape.
- 3.13 gears will probably be your biggest issue if you run some larger/heavier tires. On the plus side, it cost a lot less to re-gear 1 axle instead of 2. Add a locker while you're at it and save some
money there also.
- Eventually, sooner or later, you will probably find yourself wanting 4wd (even for "just in case" moments).
- If you can, take the truck out to a (populated) local trail/off highway vehicle park(OHV) and drive around a bit. See if it does what you would like it to do, and go from there. If you immediately see
trails that look like you imagine doing now/in the future, and your truck just isn't up to it. It might be worth trading in on a stock 4x4 w/locker. However, if you can go down the trails you want and
feel happy with it then I'd say throw a couple grand into the truck over time and wheel the hell out of it.