4wd Q's and maybe probs

I recently purchased a '99 tacoma 4x4 xtra cab. I took it camping this weekend and almost got stuck on a steep boat ramp. I backed down the ramp and unloaded my kayaks from on top of the truck and tried to drive away. I tried in 4hi and 4lo, but it seemed that my 4wd wasn't engaging. The left rear wheel was in some slimey algae and water and the other 3 were on pavement. But only the left wheel was spinning and it seemed no other power was at the other wheels. I was able to get out by having 3 guys stand on my rear bumper to get weight onto the rear wheels. After I started going, it felt like the 4wd was engaged.

Is this normal? I do not have a locking rear diff, so all I could do was put it in 4lo. Did I need to drive a little to get the 4wd to engage? Is there something wrong w/my 4wd? It's my first 4wd vehicle, so I'm not sure if this is normal. Thanks for the help.

Do you have manual hubs? If so were they in the locked posistion? Cory

No, I have auto locking hubs. It's also a manual.

That's normal. Next time engage the 4WD before you back down the ramp. Sometimes you have to move the front wheels some before they engage.

Brian is most likely correct. You need to be moving to allow the gears to engage, the same way you need to roll a few feet to disengage 4WD. But it is also very possible that the algae was not allowing traction even in 4WD. That is when the locker would come in very handy. Even with 4WD if one rear tire is on the algae and the algae was slippery enough to cause the wheel to spin, you would be stuck. Unless the front wheels both had good enough traction to pull you up the ramp. A locker will allow only one of the wheels to have decent traction and still most likely let you get out.

thanks for the info. i was just worried something was wrong w/it. i'm thinking about a locker, but i'm not sure how often i'd use it. i'll mostly use the 4wd on snowy roads and this was a rare situation. thanks again.