When to switch "on the fly"

Found a little trail with a little bit of mud today after work and Finally put my truck from 2wd into 4hi today but i was only going 2-5mph. Can someone school me on when I should switch to 4h, what's the mph I can switch and when to switch it from 4h to 2wd? Going back to 2wd do I have to be at a complete stop? Getting prepared for TRR lol

You can switch from 2 to 4hi at any speed. Trick is to ensure that your rear tires aren't spinning faster than the fronts, i.e. Peeling out. Just let off the gas and coast for a couple seconds when you switch from 2 to 4 hi or vice versa. To 4 low is a different story though.

Personally I always come to a complete stop when switching into 4whd or from 4 hi to 4 lo. Less stress that way. Switch on the fly is kinda gimmicky.

I always just let off the gas when I switch to/from 4wd. Some prefer to come to a complete stop beforehand but I've never had any issues doing it while rolling.

I don't stop either but I make sure I am pointed straight, let off gas and less than 50mph. Haven't had an issue yet. Now, if I get stuck on 2, then I am stopped to switch. 4L, need to be stopped and in neutral

Raven13 said:

Personally I always come to a complete stop when switching into 4whd or from 4 hi to 4 lo. Less stress that way. Switch on the fly is kinda gimmicky.

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I go old school as well, especially at the dunes... if I switch while on the fly I don't always get a complete 4WD connection and sometimes hear a popping noise.

If I come to a stop, go to neutral then engage 4WD it's never an issue.

Unless it's an emergency it's always best to stop before engaging/disengaging 4Hi. Like Trick_Raptor said, you can/will get a popping noise and/or partial engagement or disengagement otherwise. It's just not worth it. The IWE system is pretty fragile.

Awesome Info! Ok so what about switching from 4hi back to normal 2wd

Chalk up another old school vote. I always switch while at a dead stop, mainly because when I'm in 4wd HI I usually have my rear locker engaged as well. I prefer to do everything in a still environment to ensure everything goes smoothly and I don't hear any expensive noises. A career in the engineering industry has taught me that regardless of how well it's designed, eventually, shit will fail, so why accelerate the process.

Full stop. Even put it in N.
Wait to give it anything hard till you hear its all engaged.
Unless of course you like to replace IWE's more than once a year