Put your wife/girlfriend back there, but don't tell her why, you don't want to make her mad.

 

Hey guys, thanks again for taking the time to reply. I think I'm going to go with the sandbag route with about 300 lbs for weight. For my undercarriage I'm going to spray used motor oil on everything. I already have mudding tires.. I figure they should do alright with snow.

Thanks again everyone, I really appriciate it. =)

 

Mud tires plain suck for driving on snow covered roads. They are designed to float, and float they do. There is very little traction available with them, but once you leave the pavement they are good in the snow, as you float well. Believe me when I say mud tires are not good winter tires.

As far as the weight, I never use my bed for much since it's too high up to load anything in. I just load it up with snow. Hard packed snow weighs 30lbs per cubic foot (so they say), and as the season progresses it will pack even thicker than that. That allows me to get 1 ton of weight in the back at least.

 

Mud tires are not that great in the snow. You need the sippes of an all terrain or snow tire

 

Yes i agree with the previos post as well, you will not like the mud tires in the winter. The rubber is generally too hard on mud tires and does not have sippes in them like DeiselBrad Said, you will find that you will skate all over the road with them on even with weight in the bed. They will do good in the deep snow but will be terrible on ice of any sort.

But if you are stuck with running them in the winter just let some air out of them about 10lbs should help for traction with the weight in the bed and just be damn careful on corners and stops. Good Luck

 

No offense to those that use studs. but I have been running all season tires for 28 years and been siping them for the last 15 and I get around great in 2 wheel drive and that is over the mtn.s on black ice,& snow pack at all different temps. I would never consider going with studs again, I think the traction is way better with siping.Especially when you consider how the stud tips wear out and at high speeds tires tend to throw the studs.

 

I guess that depends on the studded tires tho, I've driven mine at well over 75mph and they never threw any studs... Tires were Big-O Bigfoot.

 

Hey Bill, I am originally from North Dakota and have been driving 2 wheelers since I learned how to drive. Generally I use 6-8 sandbags in the bed directly over the axle. It is a little overkill, but I really like the way the studs in the rear tires bite. Sandbags are cheap and easy to move around if you need more room in the bed to use the truck for what it is ment for. Another benefit to sandbags is that you can bust one open if you get stuck on ice and use it for traction. The downside is that if you get the commercially filled ones you will only get two seasons out of them before the plastic tube breaks down. Another option is to get some old tractor innertubes and fill them with sand. They last quite a bit longer and a sand pit will usually let you fill them for next to nothing if they know what you are using the sand for. Just cut up the innertube, tye one side, fill then tye the other side with wire. Concrete slabs work great if you want to take the time to make them. Also, the type of tires you have will make a big difference. You want to be sure to keep decent (at least 50% tread) M+S rated tires on your truck, preferably a all terrain type tire which is more aggressive on the back. I have always kept a set of "winter tires" for the drive axle which consist of either a all terain type or a mud type tire and are usually studed (they make a HUGE difference on ice and compact snow). Most tire shops and junk yards have steel wheels they will sell you for cheap for this purpose. Contrary to what some write, you cannot have to much traction. If you place the weight in your bumper or next to the endgate chances are you will take too much weight off your front wheels and you will push yourself into the curb or ditch because the front tire won't grab like it should.

Hope this helps,
Joe

 

Bill, I have used studs for over 20 years and have never thrown one. I currently use Goodyear Workhorse Xtra Grip tires which are studded and are the best tires I have used for winter driving. The tread really bites in the snow and mud, while the studs provide unbelievable traction on compact snow and ice when you have weight in the back. With these tires and knowing how to drive in the conditions, I have gotten my f250 2wd through places 4wd trucks have gotten stuck. I have had several friends who went with siping and the biggest downside I have seen is that sand gets in the siping which wears them out fairly quickly. It may not happen to all of them, but I have not been impressed. Siping works but at the expence of tire life.

What part of the north did you move to?

 

No offense to flamebuster or anyone else, but in 25 years of running studs, I've never thrown one, and I have been known to exceed 75mph on occasion. The few that have ever gone missing most probably got torn out during towing out a stuck vehicle onto pavement, burnouts and associated horseplay, etc.... (I had to tow the Granada to it's resting place, approx. 1/8 mile, on gravel and broken macadam--with the LF suspension on the Granada collapsed, unibody sitting on the ground up front. First I had to turn it 90 degrees, on a paved driveway, by yanking it sideways, with my 2x4 F-150--yes, there was wheelspin. And over 9-10 winters, on those tires--still not worn out--I really doubt I'm missing 2-3 studs. They really do NOT come out easily, IME.)

And the tips have not "worn out" any faster than they were designed to-IOW, they always protruded out beyond the rubber an 1/8" of an inch or so.

And I'm sorry, but rubber, even a soft compound, even with extra "siping," cannot generate even equal traction to steel studs, which are biting into the ice, (as opposed to looking for traction on top of the ice) let alone superior traction. When you see the light scratch-marks on the driveway, the following summer, you know you had steel-to-concrete traction, (in other words, through the ice, and/or embedded into the ice, like a mountain climber's "ice crampons") and that's hard to beat (in a low-speed situation, anyway).

OTOH, I've watched non-studded tires slowly slide down an icy drive.

Whatever works for you, though, Bill. You're getting a lot of good advice here, from the folks.

Oh--FYI: Mercedes-Benz, Audi and probably a number of other car companies that know a thing or two about handling and road-holding actually ONLY recommend putting studded tires on all four wheels, at least in their rear-drive vehicles. I believe this is done to prevent a differential in traction, front to rear, that would be inconsistent with the car's normal handling dynamics. Personally, I've never felt the need to stud all four tires, though it obviously would be a plus in both turning and stopping power, too. I just slow down a little, and one just naturally adjusts to the increased rear wheel authority, over the non-studded fronts.

Just felt the need to mention what the "experts" that know how to win Le Mans and other historic racing venues feel is the safest practice. The final decision is obviously yours. Of course, if those companies ever built something that handled as poorly as a pickup truck, (compared to, say, an S-Class or an A8) they'd probably be too afraid to sell it--LOL.

Good luck.

 

Sand or cat litter placed over the rear axle will do fine. I normally would fill 4-5 five gallon buckets and tie them in.

Tim

 

the reason manufacturers recomend winter tread on all 4 wheels is because with your real aggressive snow tires, on a front wheel drive vehicle, it will make it harder to handle with them just on the front. due to the fact the rear tires are not as aggressive. it basically makes it like a rear wheel drive vehicle. you hit the gas and turn the wheel and the back end will kick out.
and only in about 1-2 inches of snow do mud tires kinda suck. but when there is that lil of snow, im screwing around in it and there isnt even enough snow to get stuck anyways. but ime mud tires work great from 3-4 inches up. all the way to several feet if you have the clearance for it

 

I guess I can agree to that. On the road though, most of the times the snow hasn't gotten more than a few inches, but on the occasion it has I've been glad to be running mud tires. Its a matter of personal preference really, I like to be able to get through deep snow if I have too, cause sometimes they don't plow our road for quite some time.

We got a stock 08 F-150 4wd that has difficulties in a foot of snow, but usually gets out. It runs all season tires. In shallow snow it works much better, whereas my truck don't have problems in almost 2 feet of snow, since it mostly floats, but it handles badly in shallow snow. I like to sacrifice the ability to handle in shallow snow, to know that I can get through pretty well anything.

Running the all seasons on the 08 we don't use any weight, and it handles excellent, 2wd or 4wd in snow. But with my flotation tires weight makes all the difference. There's another thought too. The wider and bigger your tires are, the more weight you will need to make them bite well.

All this talk of snow and driving is getting me excited lol. I love the winter.

 

This is why I love this site. Everyone wants to help. It's amazing. I hope this site never goes under.

Anyway, I'm taking mental notes. I think I'm just going to go with the sandbag route. I can't afford snow tires so the mudders will stay. I'm still looking for work. Thanks everyone!

Oh and by the way to the man who asked, I moved to WVA. There's lots of hills and bridges here and that's why I'm worried about the ice. I'm not too worried about snow - it's the ice that has me nervous.

 

If the ice worries you then the extra weight will do no good, Only chains or studded tires help on ice