I’m not sure what your reasons for avoiding the 4WD might be, but I think maybe you should revisit that.
There’s no doubt that seasonal tires would help and so would some sandbags in the bed. Even with that solution though you can’t do it on the fly. With 4WD, you could turn it on the moment you need it even if you hadn’t anticipated the need beforehand.
I’ve had RWD SUVs with a rear locker that handled well in many conditions, but the backend weight was always there for me. I prefer the ride of RWD but I find that a selectable 4WD with a 2WD option is fine too. In my last pickup I was using 4WD when I never needed to in my SUVs. The primary examples are pulling out into fast traffic on a wet roadway or having to pull away from a damp spot on a grassy hill in the middle of the summer. These are times when you can’t just magically switch to the right tires and add weight to the bed, but you can instantly engage 4WD.
Additionally, the hassle of swapping, the extra expense of replacing two sets of truck ($$$$) tires and having to store them is enough for me to go for 4WD.
Good luck.
