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Traction/weight in the bed for winter driving

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by HardCase, Oct 20, 2008.

  1. Oct 20, 2008 at 12:31 PM
    #21
    Taco's for All

    Taco's for All Well-Known Member

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    I live by Killington Ski Resport and love when I see all the CT, NJ and MA plates coming off the hill with their big 4x4 SUV's missing the stop signs or not knowing that just because they are locked in 4x4 they can still go 65 in 6 inches of snow.

    I myself am going to use 2 sandbags just as a precaution.
     
  2. Oct 20, 2008 at 12:39 PM
    #22
    TacoCo

    TacoCo Aspiring wrench monkey

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    If your rear end is squirrely, you're accelerating too fast, just ease up on the gas. Hell it might even improve your fuel efficiency and certainly will if you don't need to carry around 300lbs of dead weight because you've got heavy foot :p
     
  3. Oct 20, 2008 at 12:42 PM
    #23
    TacoCo

    TacoCo Aspiring wrench monkey

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    Exactly
     
  4. Oct 20, 2008 at 12:44 PM
    #24
    -TRDMAN-

    -TRDMAN- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

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    i also agree 100%!!!!
     
  5. Oct 20, 2008 at 12:50 PM
    #25
    Okkine

    Okkine Well-Known Member

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    Ugh, don't get me started on Taxes. We're paying $4.37/gallon US ($1.15/Liter) for gas in Canada (Vancouver) right now. Was $5.70 back in July. Had the Liberal party won the election last week, they would have brought in a Carbon Tax that would have raised energy prices even more.

    True, knowing how to drive properly in snow/ice is the most important thing, but IF you do know how, then every extra tool (sand/4x4/chains) helps that much more.
     
  6. Oct 20, 2008 at 1:27 PM
    #26
    HardCase

    HardCase [OP] Winter is coming.

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    Thanks guys for all the info. I've got a bed mat so stuff doesn't slide back there too badly. My reg cab is a 4WD, but I don't want to run it in 4WD all the time, talk about sucking gas! I have driven all my life in snow & ice conditions, took driver's ed in the winter here in Montana when I was 14, so am pretty accustomed to driving on slick roads. I just wondered if there was some magic formula for how much weight is needed.....apparently not. I'm going with 4 tubes at 60#@ and will see how that does.

    I also think that the short wheel-base on the regular cabs makes a difference, that they tend to be a bit more finicky on icy roads and more likely to swap ends. Ever drive a Jeep Wrangler on an icy road? That's a recipe for some excitement, but not necessarily the right kind of excitement!
     
  7. Oct 20, 2008 at 1:43 PM
    #27
    Jester243

    Jester243 all I wanted was a god dang picture of a hotdog...

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    some of this, a little of that
    just be carefull, with adding weight more is not always best, you may want to start with 2 or 3 and see how it goes. As far as the short wheel base, YES they are a bit on the exciting side. That put my parents in a ditch last year in their Jeep, made for a long night :(

    -Dan
     
  8. Oct 20, 2008 at 1:51 PM
    #28
    LonghornTaco

    LonghornTaco Can you pass the bailout please?

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    How about tires? I have mud terrain tires - is that really bad in the snow/ice?
     
  9. Oct 20, 2008 at 2:01 PM
    #29
    Taco's for All

    Taco's for All Well-Known Member

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    Last year I ran with Goodyear Wrangler RT/S (All-Terrain) on my Dakota. Never got stuck, but wasn't so much a fan of them in the snow. Because of the tread, it just held the snow in the tread, as there was no where to push it out of the tread. Snow tires are constructed to push the snow out of the tread as you drive. Are you looking at a specific mud terrain tire as most snow tires are rated M&S?
     
  10. Oct 20, 2008 at 2:44 PM
    #30
    TacoCo

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    Those have the big lugs with no siping, right? I would think they wouldn't be as good since they've got fewer biting edges on them.
     
  11. Oct 20, 2008 at 3:07 PM
    #31
    borderbrat

    borderbrat Watching Chris4x4 o.O

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    M/Ts aren't good for winter a) there is no siping and b) the rubber is harder and les pliable than all seasons or true winter tires.
    But all in all if you drive like an idiot the best winter tire isn't going to keep you on the road. drive for conditions give yourself lots of room and be aware of your surroundings just cause you know how to drive in the snow doesn't mean the guy in the F350 behind you does.
     
  12. Oct 20, 2008 at 3:09 PM
    #32
    Janster

    Janster Old & Forgetful

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    OOoooo yeah....

    Back in 2003 - we just bought another Wrangler (stock) after totalling the first one. Took it out one night to a buffet place 30 miles away. It was cold as shit outside - but perfect weather. Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Hit a patch of black ice and it swung around 180 degrees resting in the same lane facing the other direction. What a shitty feeling....HOLD ON and wait for it to stop. I remember my husband saying to me while we were spinning, "We're OK...we're ok" (I was driving). Thank Gawd the car behind us saw it happen and stopped to let us *collect ourselves* and get back on the road.

    I'll never forget that one.....happened so damn fast.
     
  13. Oct 20, 2008 at 3:12 PM
    #33
    Janster

    Janster Old & Forgetful

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    Mud Terrain tires might be good & fun in the fluffy deep stuff....(like offroading in the snow).

    But for daily driving on hard packed snowy roads - forget it.

    I remember driving to work in my 96 tacoma with M/T's on in the snow. Never got stuck.... couldn't turn much either. I remember trying to line myself up for a parking space. My wheel was fully turned but the tires kept plowing straight.
     
  14. Oct 20, 2008 at 3:41 PM
    #34
    beastlytaco

    beastlytaco Well-Known Member

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    i got some advice on here from some guys. Get your truck to an empty parking lot this winter when it snows and see how your truck is going to handle before you attempt to start driving in it. just my 2 cents. :D
     
  15. Oct 20, 2008 at 4:15 PM
    #35
    LonghornTaco

    LonghornTaco Can you pass the bailout please?

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    What if I got the M/Ts siped? Discount Tire has offered that to me for about $14 per tire. May not be the best, but will it be better?
     
  16. Oct 20, 2008 at 5:30 PM
    #36
    wawireguy

    wawireguy Well-Known Member

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    Siping will make the world of difference on your tires. I highly recommend it if they are not all season tires. I wouldn't worry bout weight in the back yet. I'm not sold on it really making a difference at 200lbs or so.. Show me some data.. One poser mentioned a empty parking lot. Good idea. If you want to see what your truck will do on ice try it out. The most dangerous conditions are black ice. Stuff that looks like water when it's bout 30-32 out. This stuff is dangerous. Just hitting the gas at 60mph can spin you out. Just be aware. If it's near freezing and you are on "wet" roads use extreme caution.
     
  17. Oct 20, 2008 at 5:38 PM
    #37
    -TRDMAN-

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    Black ice is even more fun than icey parking lots!!! Winter is time for fun not worring about sand bags!!!!! Haha
     
  18. Oct 20, 2008 at 6:00 PM
    #38
    ImpulseRed008

    ImpulseRed008 Gone But Not Forgotten

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    Exactly!! When I was in Alaska many years ago, the two weeks after the first snow, there were dozens of fender benders. After that people remembered how to drive on the snow and there weren't many accidents.
     
  19. Oct 20, 2008 at 6:08 PM
    #39
    Okkine

    Okkine Well-Known Member

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    Tell that to my mother, who, a few years ago, hit some black ice found herself facing backwards on the highway with a semi coming up behind her. Fortunately the semi was fairly far off, but had he been closer, she would have been toast.

    My first accident was in my aunts Neon when I was 18. A bus stopped to let a passenger off, and left his ass end out in my lane. I hit the black ice, and even with a significant amount of space between us, I still slid right into him. Couldn't do anything but watch it happen.

    Empty parking lots can be alot of fun in the winter. I'm the first to admit that. But a populated street with cars and pedestrians is no place to drive like an idiot.
     
  20. Oct 20, 2008 at 6:16 PM
    #40
    -TRDMAN-

    -TRDMAN- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

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    Wow now... I never said in "populated streets" i live out in the boondocks i would never do stuff like that near other people sorry i should be specific.
     

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