Probably not much need for 4WD down there unless out swampin'.
Just back from Maui. Good Lord there are a lot of 4WD there! Why? I bet most of them never get off pavement. And there isn' a helluva lot of places one can! Obviously some sort of macho status symbol. Never saw a dirty one either. We drove a Red Mustang Convertable. For the last damned time! Scary! And hard to get into/out of.
46 and raining in Anchorage when we arrived. Wet roads/ rain on ice in places on the 150 mile drive home last night. Slush on ice in the passes. Reduced speed in 4WD with 300 lbs of sand in the back and studded tires on the wife's EL Expedition got us here - no problem!
Would have been a bit hairy with the Ram 3500 4WD, as I'm not running studs. Or much weight in the back as yet- using it for hauling stuff...
As Hot Rod alluded too, the proper way to utilize 4WD (for most of us) is to get you out of the off-road trouble 2WD got you into - not to get you in deeper, farther, before the SHTF! Boat ramps, slick hills, snow, etc.
