Me and the family will be moving up north where there will be snow. I have no experience with snow. Is there some kind of "kit" I should carry? A shovel and kitty litter? I do know with snow comes mud.

I'm not sure what to expect. I've lived my whole life down south. How should I treat ice and snow and mud?

An obvious answer is a winch but I'm not ready to put out the $$$ for that yet (the main reason being I wouldn't want to have a big ole' winch hanging on to the front end of my 2WD).

Wouldn't a shovel dig me out of mud or snow?

What I'm asking is this; How do I get out of mud / snow if for some reason I find myself in it, and how do I handle Ice?
I ordered a rear locker tonight.

Buying a 4x4 is not an option right now.

Thanks guys. Just wanting some knowledge here.

 

A locker is probably not such a good idea. If it locks up going around a corner it'll spin you around faster than you can react, especially if you've never driven in snow or ice before. Your best option is to put some weight in the bed over the rear tires, sand bags work well and can double as a traction aid if they aren't frozen solid. Some good snow tires will also help. Tire chains are useful if its deep enough to need them.

You don't really handle ice unless you have studded tires or chains, even then you're kind of just along for the ride if you hit a patch of ice.

 

The first thing i suggest you do, is goin into a big emtpy parking lot with snow or ice on it, and slide around in your truck, yea its fun, but you also need to learn how your truck reacts and slides, and how to counter the slides and how to control them as well....

Carry your normal stuff, but a set of chains will be good, sand bags have 2 uses already mentioned, kitty litter works too, but is light so offers no extra weight really.

Carry a blanket and always have atleast a jacket in the truck, if you break down or get stuck, you will get cold FAST.

Makeing sure the heater works good, and the weather stripping is good all around the truck is another good idea, keeps the heat in and the cold out....

Usually the mud comes after the snow... If its cold enough for snow, its to cold for mud, since the ground will freeze solid, its just the spring run off that creates lots of extra water, which means lots of mud.

4wd is nice, but not neccesary.

I strongly suggest sliding around in a parking lot, dont just sit there and be wreckless about it, so your not drawing to much attention... But it is very usefull to know how your truck will react and what to do when it starts to slide... Also when driving leave alot more room than normal, as it takes longer to slow down.

People in 4wd's are very bad about this, they get this common mis conception that since they have a 4wd they dont have to worry about the weather, but the only thing 4wd does is help you get going, and on some occasions can help your steering, when it comes to stopping they slide just as much as a 2wd...

 

Where are you moving anyways? I think the most important thing you should have is a shovel. You can get out of anything with a shovel and enough time. If your going to be in snow alot invest in some studded tires and sand bags. Truckin pretty much covered mud, but if it comes down to it, shovel your way out.

As for ice, in my opinion just try not to lock up the brakes. If you hit ice let off the throttle and just try to get control. If you must brake slowly. As Truckin said you might try an empty parking lot to get a feel for some snow. Just find one with no poles in it.

 

x2 on locker being a bad idea (unless its selectable then just dont lock it in when its slick) sanbags shovel i say sleeping blankets for every seat in the truck if possible cell phone is a good idea in case of breakdown that way you dont freeze waitin 4 someone to pass...go REALLY easy on the brakes (AS WELL AS THE SKINNY PEDAL) and avoid sudden change in momentum even if the road looks good and dry it could have a thin layer of frost or black ice thats just as deadly if not worse than snow and ice...watch out for steep hills and bridges but they usually keep those pretty sanded

 

While I am not advocating it either, a locker in snow isn't THAT bad. However, all the changes in driving all at once could be a recipe for disaster. Getting the locker is ok, but maybe hold off on installing it until you are comfortable with ice and snow. Like previously stated, go test it out somewhere. Have fun.

Here's what I know: slow input for steering, braking and gas. Very light corrections, and the worse it is, the smaller the inputs should be. Carry a ****** strap. There is nothing worse than someone being willing to help and neither of you having a way to attach the vehicles. Don't rely on the other guy. Also, siping helps a little. I personally don't have any tires siped, but those who do swear by it. Probably if I did it, I would never go back.

Where are you moving to?

 

Thanks everyone! I do appreciate all of the information.

So here's what I've got; Carry a shovel, sand bags, a couple planks so I can back out, I already carry a tow strap and a little jack but I don't know how well it would do in mud though. I would think it would just sink down and not lift my truck up?

Okay so how many bags of sand do I need to carry concerning traction? Also, how much weight should I have in my bed?

We're not 100% sure yet but we're aiming for Alabama. We've had enough of these hurricains and humidity. I know Alabama isn't supposed to be REAL cold, you have to keep in mind the coldest it gets here is maybe 40 degrees. We don't get snow and we don't get ice. I'm real nervous about snow and ice.

The locker won't be a problem. I plan on driving very slow and very carefully in harsh weather (like normal), and the locker doesn't engage untill one tire starts spinning faster than the other. More than anything it's just insurance in case I find myself in an un-planned muddy situation. I know a 4x2 won't make it very far, but an open diff won't make it far at all.

I've already got decent tires. They are Dayton MT's (mudders).

 

mud tires are not very good on ice or hard packed snow, there are people here that will argue that to death but I'm from northern minnesota, a couple hundred miles from canada and thats how it is. The best ice tires you can buy are like bridegstone blizzaks and other studless snow tires, check out tirerack.com My boss puts these on all his personal and shop vehicles for the winter and on the worst days all those vehicles corner like they are on rails, and stop and go like its not slippery, mean while my swampers are real scary, your Daytons will be better than swampers though.

 

Does it even snow in Alabama?

I don't know about weights or anything, I've always had 4wd so never had to worry about it.

 

you shouldn't need much at all that far south. i'm in the chicago area, and my 2000 f150 2x4 auto. was more fun than anything. i had bfg long trails. great onroad tire. on heavier mornings i would have as much as 450lbs against the tail gate. slight improvement. then again there were times when i got caught at school and during the day 4-5 inches fell. with nothing in the bed. all you gotta do is take it easy, when you feel it slide out of behind you let off the gas and keep the fronts pointed where you want to go.
i will admit this once i found a good chunk of ice during a corner comming into a parking lot, all 4 tires were sliding, and i knew uder that snow pile was a 5 inch curb that could have folded my front tire under, so i aimed the fronts to climb over it. buy the time the truck stoped the rear axle was at the curb and the piece of plastic was cracked. thats it. i threw it in reverse backed off the pile and walked in to work.

best advice i've heard is take it easy, let the idiots tailgate or pass you. youll see them in the ditch later.

i know its been said but find an empty parking lot with as few poles as possible, they tend to sneak up on you!!

if you get a chance spend a winter in a northern state youll never be afraid of any kind of moisture on the road again.

 

Yup keep your front wheels pointed in the direction you want to go...
Big thing right there...

 

Lots of good suggestions. I'd also try posting in one of the chapter forums of where you are moving too. They'll know the most about the terrain and how to handle it.

But the best word of advise is keep your speeds slow, don't tail gate and drive defensive.

 

In my truck i had 2 100lb bags of sand. they were big, and heavy, but wouldnt slide around the bed, ontop of that, i had a custom 1/4" plate steel rear bumper in the rear, that thing weighed like 700 lb's easy.

 

Thanks again everyone, I'm eating the info up.

I didn't make myself clear, sorry! We'll be moving to the very top of Alabama, on the border of Tn at LEAST. Wherever we do end up moving to it will be cold with snow.

If anybody else has anything to add, don't hesitate. I really do appriciate the information.

 

lockers and deep lug tires are really slippery on ice and hard pack snow. lockers are good for deep snow and mud however. I am a big fan of finding an empty parking lot when it does snow because nothing beats experiance. siping the tires works wonders on hard pack snow and ice. best driving technique for winter is going slow. also I would get a block heater and make sure the antifreeze is up to snuff.