Truck snow tires

[Name Redacted]

How capable will a 2wd F150 (crew cab short bed) with real snow tires (not studded) be? Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Basically useless anywhere near ski country. Weight in the bed would help, but still sucks. BITD I drove a 2wd Ranger all over the place though, with shitty tires, and rarely got stuck anywhere. You just have to drive very carefully, which sucks.

[Harry]

[emoji637];[emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji639]][emoji638][emoji639][emoji639][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji637]]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji639]][emoji637]]How capable will a [emoji638]wd F[emoji637][emoji6[emoji640][emoji637]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]]] (crew cab short bed) with real snow tires (not studded) be?


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I’ve got non-studded Cooper Snow Claws on my Ford Bronco, great in snow. I was running around Jackson and Big Sky in 2WD for several weeks during heavy snow, only used [emoji640]wd for the stretch between Ashton and West Yellowstone.

I think you will be fine. [emoji638]WD with real winter tires is far better than [emoji640]wd with any non-winter tire.


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[Danno]

Basically useless anywhere near ski country. Weight in the bed would help, but still sucks. BITD I drove a 2wd Ranger all over the place though, with shitty tires, and rarely got stuck anywhere. You just have to drive very carefully, which sucks.

You also have to park really carefully, as even the smallest incline can make those tires spin.

[nickwm21]

Thanks all - I figure general arterial driving will be more than fine. Slowing/Stopping will be fine. It will just be those operations that need that front wheel power, like steep driveways or [emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji637]]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]]]deg turns into parking spots, where I’ll have an issue and will have to be super smart about it...


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[Going Coastal]

My lessons learned from driving a RWD Tundra in Juneau for 9yrs.

1. Good snow tires. I purchased my truck in FL and it was the dumbest possible vehicle for AK. Finding 20in snow tires was expensive, but the Blizzaks were a night and day difference from the all seasons. AT tires will often have a snow rating, but they wont be as good as a dedicated winter tire when it comes to 2wd.

2. Lots of weight. I kept a minimum 300lbs of sand bags over the rear axle. The sand will also help when you inevitably get stuck. It makes a huge difference.

3. Avoid stopping on inclines, and just give up completely on backing up an incline. After I had tires/weight I had issues 3 times, and you quickly learn your traction limits.

4. Recovery gear and knowing your truck. Carry a recovery strap, chains, and traction boards. Read the manual about your limited slip and how to activate it, the Tundras was ridiculously complicated.

I can't say it was perfect, but I can only remember a couple times where i had to hitch a ride because I knew my truck wouldn't make it.

[XXX-er]

My ski bud long time local tells me that back in the day the first road to the ski area was built in 1969 with several thousand $ of seed money from the rotary club, back then nobody had 4x4 there would be plowing of a main forestry rd for mining or forestry to the skihill cutoff but the steepest last 6 kms of road only got plowed once a week so somehow people made do

[Djongo Unchained]

Better than sand or kitty litter for traction?
Wood stove pellets...
Cheaper at 7 bucks for 40 pounds, bigger chunks for better traction, biodegradable from melted snow.

2wd in snow conditions is about being wary of problem areas, thats all. Great snow tires make it waaaay easier too.

[XXX-er]

I used to work with one of my people in Vangroovy who would put 100 lbs of rice in the trunk of his Wolwo ( he couldn't say Volvo ) for traction at the end of the winter they would cook the rice and eat it

[Name Redacted]

You can drive a 2wd truck all over the place, especially with some good snow tires one it. But you will just have to think about it more, and throw more weight in the bed, and stuff like that. Where there is a will, there is a way. That's all I can say. You won't die immediately, but you will pucker your butthole more often than if you had 4wd.

[byates1]

Agreed ^ w both dj etc.

Good tires and patience will get you a long way down the road.

[El Chupacabra]

My take is that a RWD pickup with winter tires is pretty near useless in mountain snow driving unless you put a LOT of weight in the bed. Like 1000 # or more.

Without heavily weighting the bed - - on flat lands, minimal amount of snow, maybe OK. Driving up mountain roads to ski areas, good luck.

If this question is a disguised "should I buy this 2WD pickup that I found a deal on, and can I get away with 2WD in winter if I buy snow tires" - - just pass, buy a 4WD.

[XXX-er]

Forget the 2x here are so many 4x4 PU's available now days so just get one.

I think back in the day they would load a bunch of weight in a 2x pu bed to get up to the hill

most of it being skiers to push & shovel

[BCMtnHound]

One of my first employers working in the woods only supplied us with half-ton ford 2WD. Chains, shovel/Pulaski, and jack-all in the back, weight was whatever we could find - firewood, building stone, old hardened bags of cement, or if really lucky we had the company Honda big red trike. Boss was cheap, and we learned first how to put on chains in under 5min, get unstuck, and finally not get stuck. This was the late 80’s. We don’t bother with 2WD pickups in the field anymore.

[nickwm21]

If this question is a disguised "should I buy this 2WD pickup that I found a deal on, and can I get away with 2WD in winter if I buy snow tires" - - just pass, buy a 4WD.

Company vehicle. Selling my rig for various reasons.



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[XXX-er]

Up here > 9 out of 10 trucks especilay interiour of BC are going to be 4x4 and excab or crew cab,

if I see a single cab and or 2x it is very likely from the USA or somebody ordered it like that

[Caucasian Asian]

I grew up driving RWD cars and pickups in the snow.
I now have a 4wd truck but I still drive in 2wd as much as I can. I make it like a challenge to myself.

[XXX-er]

So did I but I will sometimes switch to 4x4 cuz the vehical rides better especilay on washboard so the ride is less rough so it beats the vehical gtes beat uup less and i got it so why not thinks I

[anotherVTskibum]

You also have to park really carefully, as even the smallest incline can make those tires spin.

IMO, this is the worst part of RWD for ski vehicles. You need to be very aware of conditions where you park, particularly pitch and surface; parking nose downhill and trying to back out will result in needing assistance more often than not, and you really want to have a decent space cushion on both sides so you don't make contact if getting out of the space results in sliding.

A great many ski race programs use RWD vans and make it work. I'm sure most coaches would prefer AWD/4WD, but as long as you're sticking to maintained roads and can use your brain, the issues are manageable. Plenty of 4x4 truck owners like pulling stuck vehicles out, so if you have your own tow strap hooked up and wave it at them, you'll probably get a taker if there's much traffic at all.

The only times I can think of where not having 4wd would've changed my ski plans involve either really unusual storms (12"+ of wet slop in Maine), unplowed USFS roads, or trying to earn turns outside of lift season (and thus outside of regular parking lot plowing season).

[XXX-er]

A great many ski race programs use RWD vans and make it work.

they have 15 well trained atheletic kids in good shape to push

[BCMtnHound]

IMO, this is the worst part of RWD for ski vehicles. You need to be very aware of conditions where you park, particularly pitch and surface; parking nose downhill and trying to back out will result in needing assistance more often than not, and you really want to have a decent space cushion on both sides so you don't make contact if getting out of the space results in sliding.

Just like riding a sled in pow.

And a sled is about the perfect weight in the back of a p/u. Sorta sells itself.

[XXX-er]

I'm pretty sure it was a full sized truck with 4x4 but it must have had shitty rubber cuz it was stuck in the ski hill p-lot where you don't wana park on that downhill side cuz you get stuck without studs and i pulled it out with my lowly ranger avec studded haks

[anotherVTskibum]

A great many ski race programs use RWD vans and make it work.

they have 15 well trained atheletic kids in good shape to push

It's a max of 14 athletes pushing, the coach still has to drive. For race trips, you're also not likely to have 14 kids in the van--when each kid has between two and five pairs of skis, plus 150-ish liters of luggage, even eight can be tight. But eight FIS guys is plenty to push a van on mostly level ground. If you drop a wheel into a ditch, that may be another story.

And really, a full van is far less of an issue than an empty one, so the "park a sled in the back" theory isn't without merit.

[XXX-er]

ok then you ^^ tell us how they make it to races and i don't think its with a sled in a 15 passenger

[anotherVTskibum]

ok then you ^^ tell us how they make it to races and i don't think its with a sled in a 15 passenger

Nokians on a loaded van is almost always fine unless you pick a crappy parking spot. Slick roads can be annoyingly requiring of focus when you have varying traction and the ass end will try to step out if you catch a slick spot on a corner; AWD would be so much nicer in that regard (and some places do have AWD vans, and I'm sure I'm not the only coach who is a bit jealous).

If you have second-tier or worn tires, hopefully you're either really good at managing slippage or you've got a friend with a 4x4 and good tires (I'd carry a tow strap in the van with lesser tires).

Trying to deal with an empty van and an inclined driveway sucks. This includes getting to the passenger pickup points at some ski areas.

[Toadman]

My first vehicle was a 4x2 Nissan Hardbody 5 speed. I would throw about 300lbs in the bed and a 40 lb bag of cat litter. I did okay with w/studded winter tires but still carried cables, not chains. I got good at putting those on going up the passes (Snoqualmie, Stevens and Crystal) Personally, if you can get a 4WD PU, that's the best option. But, if not and where you live does not allow studded tires, then get a really good set of winter tires and a set of chains and practice putting them on before the season starts.