How much weight is enough?

[Lefty]

How about a refrigerator? Will that do for winter weight?

Perfect. Maybe throw some sand in there too, just in case you get stuck.

 

[sgtsandman]

Those are illegal in most states unless you are a US Mail carrier

AJ

It depends on the State. PA allows studded tires after November 15th and must be removed by April 15th. As far as whether they are worth it depends where you live in PA. North of I-80, it might. Southwestern PA doesn't get enough constant road coverage to make them worth it. The last time I got studded snow tires, the studs were worn out after only one season.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Perfect. Maybe throw some sand in there too, just in case you get stuck.

But that takes away room for beer and deer meat….

 

[Josh B]

It really isn't so much the weight as it is learning how to drive. As I've said before one foolish driver will put you in trouble deep, and fast, and drive on never looking back.

I grew up in the south and in early high school my truck was a motor bike. Needless to say one could not lean into many turns on snow without learning better. Snow or ice never kept me from getting where I needed to go.
The E300 van empty got stuck in a half inch of mud, but after loading it down with enough schtuff to make it look like a cabin on wheels it got me to where I wanted to go. A 73 one ton cargo van with a straight six 300 and a C6 transmission, and 16.5 inch wheels
Had an 10 ft behind the drivers seat and put an easy chair there, and a full size box spring and mattress behind that, a row of boxes along the back with tools and other junk, got to be near home sweet home.
I was working on a power plant in East Texas and driving home on weekends. Across the lake from the plant was a very rustic campground which could only be distinguished by the coffee can nailed to a post by the two ruts leading in that said $5 W Electric, 3$ without. Actually I had no TV at that time, and it was very rare I ever did, a coffee maker, and a front row seat watching a power plant across the lake.
One weekend we got an ice storm while I was at home and Monday morning I left 4 hours early and got there 2 hours late. When I walked in the office door the superintendent said "We're not working today". Oh well! I went to town and hit the 1st coffee shop I saw at some hotel and sat at a table in front of a country looking gal.
She was a truck driver who would been long gone if not for her truck needing some repair, and asked if I could take her to cash a check at the truck stop. There were two I knew, one 20 miles east and one 20 miles west, so we took off. The one east didn't do her brand of check, whatever the deal was so I headed back west.

The interstate was slick in spots but not really too bad, but when we got there and I had to take a service road towards the truck stop, I was hoping to keep a steady 15/20 mph (if that) due to a slope ahead when all a sudden this lousy goof @#**^#@!! driver crawled right out in front of me and I was in a bind!
The options suddenly became.... rear end the dork, head-on the approaching driver, or take a sharp left, across a curb into the ice covered grass, into a 20 ft ditch (about 60ft wide) so soon after going across the curb I floored it going down one side (thankfully it was apparently grass under the ice and snow, and not rock) and kept it floored up the other side till it began to slow and then began making a U-turn and floored it back down as much as I could get out of it, and going up the other side.
As I began to reach the summit an began turning alongside the road, it lined up perfect and I eased it off the curb and back onto the service road, heading in the Opposite direction.

If you cannot do things like that on an impromptu basis best to stay off the road till it clears

That gal spent the rest of the day trying to get me to drive a truck for her, which wasn't new to me but I never wanted a job like that, they go everywhere but don't get to really see much of anything cause they're in the warehouse district till it's time to go, and then on to the next one.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

I might put a couple 100lb bags of sand in the wife's truck, it is 4wd but every little bit helps. I usually do not put any in mine and don't feel that I need it.

My F250 is absolutely terrible in the snow though. That one needs weight, and a lot of it. I went out breaking trail last weekend in it and it was all over the place... even with a pair of full size Bronco axles, a 200lb log and two Christmas trees in the back. I'm guessing that was about 800lbs +/- and not enough. Mud tires don't help matters. I hate driving that truck in the winter... empty is too light and it slides all over, loaded down is too much and it just digs in and sinks. There is no happy medium. I hope I never get stuck in that fat pig.



They are a seasonal item here, legal from like October to May or something like that.

Somebody here a while back pointed out that mud tires are crap in snow. I seem to recall him saying that All Terrain tires were better. Personally, a studded winter tire would be my choice.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

Funny. We had an F25o at work too. Same damn problem, even on wet streets.

My Ranger was like that. I forget what tires it had on the back, fairly new tires I think, but HORRIBLE traction. Wet grass, all they would do was spin. Snow and ice? Again, just spin. I think they were some sort of Khumo tire. It had better tires on the front, I probably should have switched them (I forget what tires they were, but I had the same on the front of my Taurus, and found that I liked them).

 

[Shran]

Somebody here a while back pointed out that mud tires are crap in snow. I seem to recall him saying that All Terrain tires were better. Personally, a studded winter tire would be my choice.

Yeah they are typically not great. I think if you air down it helps... in deep snow I have always had the best luck with narrow ATs and even street tires. They don't dig in.

Contrary to what you would think, big huge wide balloon tires don't work well in snow either. My buddy had a set of worn out 40x14.5x15 Gumbo Monster Mudders on his early Bronco - that thing would just sink in, my Ranger on 35" BFG MTs would run circles around it.

 

[oldgeek]

I put about 250lbs in the back last winter. I was more impressed on how it improved the ride.

I was offered a 4X8 sheet of 3/8" thick steel. Cutting it to fit the bed would bring it to about 300lbs. Still contemplating that.

 

[sgtsandman]

Somebody here a while back pointed out that mud tires are crap in snow. I seem to recall him saying that All Terrain tires were better. Personally, a studded winter tire would be my choice.

That was probably me. I agree with the winter tires being the better choice.

The studs are going to depend where you live. If you don’t have enough regular snow cover on the roads, the studs won’t last long. Where you live, the studs would be a no brainer.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I've been running studded winters on my truck for a year now. Not every day but fairly regular. Studs are still fine. I don't understand why some provinces and states have a rule about not running them in summer. It doesn't damage the road. And it's much more likely a stone will get launched than a stud.

 

[Josh B]

I bought a car with studs on it in Nashville and that thing did some humming going down the road, specially on the highway. I couldn't see how it would be good on a cement surface

 

[Lefty]

Yeah they are typically not great. I think if you air down it helps... in deep snow I have always had the best luck with narrow ATs and even street tires. They don't dig in.

Contrary to what you would think, big huge wide balloon tires don't work well in snow either. My buddy had a set of worn out 40x14.5x15 Gumbo Monster Mudders on his early Bronco - that thing would just sink in, my Ranger on 35" BFG MTs would run circles around it.

You are right. Wider is better, but only up to a point. Too wide can make the problem worse. A friend of mine made that mistake on his Mustang Cobra. he keeps it garaged over the winter.

 

[Lefty]

I put about 250lbs in the back last winter. I was more impressed on how it improved the ride.

I was offered a 4X8 sheet of 3/8" thick steel. Cutting it to fit the bed would bring it to about 300lbs. Still contemplating that.

That's what I did. Yes it made a big difference.

 

[sgtsandman]

I've been running studded winters on my truck for a year now. Not every day but fairly regular. Studs are still fine. I don't understand why some provinces and states have a rule about not running them in summer. It doesn't damage the road. And it's much more likely a stone will get launched than a stud.

I can’t speak for every state but PA insists they damage the roads but do allow them with restrictions since there are areas that get a lot of snow and also have a lot of rural roads that don’t get the salt bath like the more populated areas.

It is very possible that there is different quality and materials in the studs used as well. All I know is in the general area that I live, studs are a waste of money based on the last set of tires I had with them installed. Chains or cables would be a better investment, though way less convenient.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

That was probably me. I agree with the winter tires being the better choice.

The studs are going to depend where you live. If you don’t have enough regular snow cover on the roads, the studs won’t last long. Where you live, the studs would be a no brainer.

You're right about them being a no brainer here in Saskatchewan. I absolutely LOVED my studded winter tires (Firestone Winterforce). I couldn't drive circles around a 4x4, but I could certainly drive circles around people on all seasons.