Sick of this snow. I need a freaking four wheel drive. All that money into my axle and I still can't do jack in the snow. Sure, put 600 lbs in the bed and I can crawl through the white sky crap but and God forbid I actually try to use my brakes.

Freaking snow. STOP SNOWING!!!!!!!!


I will say I'm impressed with how the truck does actually handle the snow, but it's still scary not having four wheel drive. I couldn't stop the truck yesterday and went right out into the main drag. Fortunately no vehicles were coming my way.

 

I have a 85 F150 that struggles to pull and then will get stuck in wet grass. I decided a 4WD was needed. I just got a 89 F250 4WD. I did think about some sandbags in the back of the 2WD, though. However, I can stay home in snow. My problem is getting stuck in the grass after a rain. I usually have tools in the truck then and I don't really want to carry around a bed full of sand or something.

How would having a 4WD help your braking situation?

 

with a 4x4 you can gear down & slow yourself downhill, but in a panic stop situation on snow & ice it won't help at all. The best thing is to get some good snow tires.

 

Hi Kevin!

My truck used to get stuck in wet grass too. With the locking diff and mud tires my truck can even go through a bit of mud now. Wet grass is no longer a thought!

But as for snow and ice? Well, you can just shut it down. Forget it.

A 4x4 wouldn't help my braking I reckon. But it would help me steer. My truck wants to go STRAIGHT in some situations when I need to TURN! Very frightening when you're close to a cliff like I was yesterday!

I'm just frusterated. I hate that after all the time and money my truck is still just a 4x2 and a little bit of snow can keep me locked down.

Got any pictures of your rig Kev?

 

I put a locker in the rear of my 4x2 truck and it still would not go up a muddy hill with a trailer behind it, so I tossed that and converted to 4x4.

 

Good tires really help a 2wd in the snow.

I used to drive an E250 work van in the snow, we only used firestone commercial AT tires (very HD) and the thing had over 1500lbs of weight in it. Didnt get stuck all to often.

Also turn off OD when driving in the snow, once you let off the gas it gears down super easy and will slow you down quite well.

 

Thanks for the replies!

CJM, thanks for the OD tip. I let my egine do a lot of the braking, especially going down hill!

 

Given a thought to a second set of winter tires, like studded tires? or maybe a set of chains? I haven't driven a 2wd yet that if properly equipped couldn't make it over our worst mountain passes.

 

Your welcome Bill.

 

Howdy howdy!

Do you think "winter" tires would do better than my "mud" tires? What do you think about studded tires? My old man said he never thought studs did much to help. My tires can take studs.

And can you tell me how chains work exactly? For instance, under what conditions would I legally be allowed to run chains? Is there a limited speed to driving with chains? (I don't go over 60-mph in this stuff anyway).

I added more weight to the box today and took the truck out. The truck did 100% better (as long as I kept it slow). I reckon I didn't have enough traction weight. Still I would feel a lot safer if I had a four wheel drive!

 

4x4 just gets ya stuck deeper in, Bill.

I like my 4x4, though beyond using it to get up hills or in really deep snow, I don't use it much. Handy to have when needed.

Tire choice, as mentioned, is important. Just changing the stock 235's to 31x10.50's on my 4x4 made a difference for the worse.

 

Heya Bob!

What exactly got worse when you increased your tire size? I wouldn't think it would hurt traction all that much!

I already planned on going down to stock when I did buy new tires. I don't like how that six handles the bigger tires.

 

The narrower the tire, the better it will be in the snow. When I switched to the 31's, they sort of plow through the snow, as opposed to getting a good bite, if that makes sense. Feels like the truck is floating over it, and it definitely felt more stable with the smaller tires.

I wouldn't call it unsafe, and it may just be a characteristic of these tires (Good Year RT/S). They're not very aggressive.

 

I don't know where you are at but studs save our lives up here in the northwest.

There are specific laws that vary state to state for studs and chains. Some states outlaw both. Other like WA, allow studs from a certain date in the fall to a date in the spring ( I don't know it off hand.)

Chains work wonders in the deep stuff and on ice. My work van is 2wd and can go anywhere when I chain up.
If you have to use chains, you shouldn't be doing over 45 anyway.

 

Is getting stuck on wet grass or a little bit of mud something just the F-150s had problems with? My 2wd F-250 has no problem with wet grass or mud as long as the mud isn't like 2 feet deep. I will admit that if I had to keep it to lower gears I'd get stuck, but everytime I get in some decent mud I just stick it in 5th gear and let it eat. LOL