When I bought my 2019 RAM from Edwards Ram in Council Bluffs, Iowa, back in 2019, I received the typical car salesman knowledge: “It has 4-wheel drive, and it’s nice.” Ask the salesperson any questions, and you get the glazed-over look of “Can I see your checking account now?”

Being more technical, I did some Googling on the smartphone for an hour or two, but I didn’t find much. In particular, I wanted to find out if I wanted the “4WD AUTO” (BW 48-11) feature with a limited-slip diff or the e-locker option. In the end, I went with the “4WD AUTO” (auto four-wheel drive) option because I knew I mostly needed it on the streets in the winter.

This is now 2025 and it was the best decision. Over the years I’ve gone from 4H/4L, to just 2-wheel drive, back to 4H/4L, and now to 4WD AUTO/4H/4L. I use 4WD AUTO the most and 4H/4L only when in the thick of it (rarely). When it’s snowy or icy out here in the Midwest, I can turn that on with the additional tire traction and no tire grab during steering. I recommend this feature to all drivers in this climate.

But I still didn’t understand how this worked. Was it gears or something else? But lately, I learned the transfer case is a clutch pack, similar to what’s in the transmission. It’s not as beefy as a transfer case with a gear pack and can heat up. But for how I use it most of the time, that’s not an issue.

One hidden tip you have to learn, when you are in the thick of it, is to turn off electronic stability control, but pressing the traction control lever for 5 seconds. You will see an indication message on the dash this has been turned off. You have to be in 4H or 4L to do this. This will remove unnecessary power throttling to the wheels.

If I had gone with the e-locker, I would not have the nice traction during the winter months on the road. Though true grit offroad 4×4 needs would be better. But that’s just not what I use my truck for. Auto allows me to quickly and automatically transition from snow/icy roads to dry roads without issue.