Winter driving

[Carlos Murphy]

snow

Best advice anybody can give you, buy a 4X4...

 

[Hahnsb2]

2wd pickups suck. Worthless in the snow.

All Terrain tires suck in the snow too. They pack up and become snowman abdomens. If you want to do your college best then get a Lock Right and Mud Terrains. They have chunky enough tread to throw the snow out of the lugs--and the locker will keep them both churning.

I agree with the lockright but not the mud-terrains unless they're siped, my MTs without siping suck on the hardpack snow, shit's just like ice, all my friends ATs doo alot better in it with the siping.

 

[Mark_88]

I don't know about 2WD vehicles 'sucking' because that's all I've driven and if I get stuck with 2WD it's not likely 4WD is going to make any difference...

I had a 1980 Dodge Ramcharger with 4WD and just for laughs I drove out into the middle of a farmers field that was about 3' of snow...got quite a ways before it bogged down...and there I was in the middle of the night in the middle of a field with no cell phones (they weren't invented yet)...

I managed to free it up by backing out over my tracks, but that was scary...enough to make me not trust 4WD too much...and enough to make me realize how stupid that move really was...

Live and learn...hopefully!

 

[Legend]

It's going to act like a flat-bottomed pirogue. The best advice I have seen was from a lady in Minnesota, who said, Just drive it like it was a boat. You will have no brakes, no traction and little steering. Be very gentle and just nudge it around and when you want to stop, be sure you have enough room to coast (slide) to a stop.

But once you get the hang of it, you will be able to go about anywhere you want. 300# of snow or sand in the back will help a lot. The snow will melt and run out when you don't need it any more, but the sand may be handy to throw a few handfuls in front of the wheels when you need a little extra grip.

 

[Mac]

Be careful what you carry in the bed, made sure it's strapped down or something. A guy at work carried load of firewood for weight, hit a tree, wood came thru the back window and he spent three weeks in the hospital with head injurys. Some people even putting a good snow/mud tire on front also just for steering control.
Mac

 

[mkpecor]

i think the best thing to put in the bed for traction is snow, its safe and you can find it every were.

 

[LearjetMinako]

For winter driving, heres a few of my tips.
1. Carry extra blankets and supplies.
2. Use correct tires for the terrain. M+S tires are usually good for ice. Latitude X-Ice are even better.
3. Put weight in the bed. I use about 200# of sand, placed at the tailgate and to the fender sides.
4. Also remember this, "When in doubt, both feet out. When in spin, both feet in". Basicly, if the rear-end comes loose, no gas, no brakes, no clutch. Let the vehicle stablize itself and use the steering. When all control is lost and the vehicle is spinning, dumping the clutch and mesh the brake. Do everything to stop the spin.
5. And as last tip, learn to drift. While smooth and easy may prevent the truck from sliding. It will eventlly happen. Best to know how to handle it.

 

[Red Ranger]

I too never had a 4 wheel drive vehicle and so far survived. It almost sounds like I should just keep some extra weight in the back of the Ranger and I should be alright. With my '88 F-150 it was a super cab, and so weighed a bit more. I never put any extra in that one. I just noticed That the Ranger is just more squirrelly over pot holes and such. I'm thinking with skinner tires, it will sink through the snow and find something solid.

Some one asked why talk about winter driving in August. It's just something that crossed my mind the other day.

 

[Mark_88]

I used to carry about 150 lbs of stuff in the back...usually sand...and that was enough for my Ranger...I made it up hills in town that most people couldn't climb once the ice started forming...and all I had was a set of worn 'WinterTrak' tires on 15" steel rims...

Now my Zuk, that I figured could go anywhere with 4 WD got stuck on a hill once...had to have my B-in-law push me up off the patch of ice I was on...

Don't get me wrong...I like the idea of having 4WD...but I think it's over-rated for driving on the road...off-road is where it really benefits...and I guess that's why there are so many people making mods to make the stock 4WD vehicles better...

 

[MAKG]

Why are we talking about winter in August?

He didn't say where he was from. There are places in the world that see winter weather in August. Like New Zealand or Chile.

 

[Shoeboy]

Or Calgary. You may think I'm joking, but it snowed a foot on my birthday once, my birthday is in June, and it snowed on a buddy's birthday, his is in August.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

General advice: (there's been a bit of this already in the thread, but I'll restate some of it based upon what I do in preparation)

1) Snacks/food and something to drink. I keep a pair of MREs, couple bottled waters, and a couple packs of Lance snack crackers in my truck all the time. Should I ever get badly stuck, I'll be relatively comfortable.

2) Change of clothes: I keep a small duffel tucked behind my front seats with a complete change of clothes along with 2 or 3 pairs of socks. I've dug into this kit a number of times for dry socks or a dry shirt or something. I also keep an old set of hiking boots with the clothes.

3) Flashlight with spare batteries... get a good one, something waterproof! (I have a 3-D maglight and a 2 AA maglight in the truck all the time).

4) Shovel. I prefer a spade or at the worst a "coal" shovel. Plastic snowshovels work great for loose snow, but if you have to dig into the snowbank you're stuck in, they arn't gonna work a hoot.

5) Blanket and/or a heavy beach towel. I tend to keep a blanket and a towel in the truck (I've used the towel for drying off when I've gotten caught in the rain an soaked to the skin along with it's intended use. It's also better than nothing for helping keep you warm if you get stranded. I keep a "space blanket" in the truck as well.

6) Among other things I also often keep a small power inverter in my truck with a cellphone charger. I got a big enough inverter that will also power my laptop if I happen to have that with me. And often have a book tucked in somewhere. Stuff to help keep me amused while I wait, if I'd have to wait. I also keep maps, compass, matches, lighter, sturdy knife, first aid kit, and other such items with me as well. And a set of jumper cables, good ones about 12' long.

From my adventures driving a 2wd Ranger....

I usually can't do the trick of filling the bed with snow because I'm always hauling tools and such around with me. And because of always hauling stuff around, I need as much bed space as possible. I've tried having bags or buckets of sand, gravel, or rock salt, but they always take up too much space and if it's a bucket, it's gotta be secured. I've ripped bags open by accident trying to load stuff and was always trying to keep them covered to protect them. Then I hit on a solution... bags of lead shot. They're small (about 6"x10"x1.5") and weigh 25lbs a piece. And they don't move. I throw a couple around each wheelwell, usually in front of or behind, thus leaving the middle of the bed open for gear.

Tires make a big difference. I've tried street tires. I've tried mud tires. I've tried aggressive AT tires. I've tried in different situations too. Street tires bring the suck as far as I'm concerned. Mud tires work GREAT in deep snow or freshly fallen snow as long as it's more than an inch or two, but suck when it's hardpack or ice (especially if you have muds on all four corners). Then I tried a set of Sport King ATs in the winter, an aggressive siped all-terrain. They worked great on hardpack as long as you were easy with the skinny pedal, better than any of the muds I've used. They worked well in deep snow too. Ice they were passable, they worked better than muds for sure.

That said, a set of V-bar chains over muds ruled all. They're a miserable one to get worked on an properly tightened over a set of muds, but will make a 2wd with an open diff act like a tank, I've plowed through snow that went up over the top of my front bumper like that. Oh, yea, less weight is better with mud tires... I only ran about 150 lbs max with muds, usually closer to a hundred or less. The ATs worked good around 250-350lbs.

I pretty much always keep my chains in my truck when winter hits. They can make even junk summer treads work good in snow, they bite MUCH better than studs on ice. But you don't want to run them on dry roads and they don't like speeds over 35mph. FYI, if you're stuck and can't move enough to put the chains on, you can jack up the tire and put the chains on.

 

[2manyfords]

I agree that 2wd Rangers suck in snow.... I have one and avoid using it in the winter when it snows.

The best thing you can do is put lots of weight in the box over the axle and buy a good set of studded winter tires.

Limited slip axles can be dangerous on ice, the rear end will serve out from you when traction is lost.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

2wd + lots of snow...