Winter Drivers & Weight

4hi

 

just shovel snow into the bed and that shoould be enough wieght if anyone is looking for weight in it. but if you park in the garage like i do, that no good idea....anyone know the wieight and wieight distrubtion 50/50 or 60/40 for teh dbl cab...

 

always 4hi, hlo is just for towing

 

I don't use weight either and it gets snowy here in MN. I usually go to an empty parking lot right after the first heavy snow fall and practice my drifts. Seriously... you have to know how to control a drift and use it when you can, as safely as you can.

 

i agree as i do the same...in my 91 626 i used to go down a 5 lane highway( 5 lane one way) and literally fly down the hghway doing 360's. of course at like 2 or 3 am when there are multiple inches of snow on the road

 

my wife and i leave ours 'loaded for bear'
as we go out at the spur of the moment on a given day to gold pan, we leave all our gear in the back under the A.R.E. cap. At the scales all gear weighs in at about 300 to 400 lbs. Also in that weight is about 100 pounds of bug-out gear. We have a tent, blankets, food and water for several days. We are always ready for adventure. (and Tsunami evacuations off the Oregon Coast ; )

we like the ride much better with the weight back there on our TRD sport

 

Thanks!

So when would you use 2HI?

 

for driving on paved roads or cleared roads....most all drving in mormal weather is 2hi....4hi is for when 4x4 is needed such as lots of water in slippery conditions, snowy icy conditions, off roading through mudy terrain, and 4Lo is for when you are towing heavy loads, hills with loads, or rock crawlin.

 

Gotcha... Thanks for the info!

 

I keep 240lbs of tube sand between my tailgate and bed extender for the winter months.

I live at 9500 feet in the CO mountains.

 

I keep a couple of tubes just in case sand is needed to get thrown on somebody's icy driveway, the tubes stay dry under the tonneau & the truck seems ride a little nicer too..less jumpy on the frost heaves.

 

I've never entertained the idea of weight in the pick up bed. Adding weight will only increase your braking distances. The real problem is traction, where the rubber meets the road. Purchase the right tread compound for conditions i.e. snow tires. My wife used to drive a f150 4x4 without snow tires, sure the vehicle acclerated better but stopping was always exciting. After I installed snow tires we hardly used 4wd.

It's all personal perference and evaluating your driving environment. My truck (2wd Ranger) and her's (2wd Taco) are on paved roads 95% of the time in a flat (Grand Forks, ND) driving environment. For the folks in the mountains I can understand the use of chains, given the stupid grades of some of the roads. I've driven my Ranger in 8-10" of fresh powder with Blizzaks with no weight in the bed and it handled fine. In fact I could routinely out accelerate FWD vehicle simply because I had snow tires.

I've learned 4wd is a luxury you pay for every time you back out of your driveway, and in my case when you use it only 5% of the time, not worth the extra cost. Yeah, a snow tire package will cost you $1000-$1500 but it's a small price to pay for real traction in the winter and you won't have to take a mileage hit for using 4WD or adding weight in the bed.

www.tirerack.com has some great videos of snow tires in action, against all-season and summer tires using BMW 328i's in a HOCKEY RINK

 

i never used weight in either of my tacoma's,my first was a 99 2wd.but i got used to driving with 2wd car's 81 z28 89 isuzu impulse turbo 92 mr2 turbo.i just never felt it was needed i just got used to slidding around.good snow tires are a must i think i used wintermarks don't remember the brand though great winter tire.

 

We take a trip over the Sierras every winter where they get a LOT of snow. I usually put 200 pounds right over the rear wheels. Works great every time.

 

2006 Tacoma Access Cab, Sport, Auto, 4x4...

Never had any weight in the back, and didn't use 4wd unless I could no longer move. I use 4wd to get me out of situations, not into them. Anyway, I thought the stock Bridgestone Dueler HTs stuck like glue to icy or snowy roads. BTW, I live in Fairbanks, Alaska. Snow from October through April usually.

 

I have 3 70lb sand tubes I finagle into an H over the rear axle. I made it through a couple 300" + winters using a 2wd ranger back in college, and never had a problem. If I did, the sand would be there to hopefully get me out. Always had a shovel too!

Over the axle is the best place (put the weight where you want it).

 

Usually 4hi. I only use 4low when in really serious conditions like snow up past the bumper

 

Was this a poll for Prerunners? Rain / Snow do not bother 4x4's

 

Oddly enough i just got back from the beach and got a couple hundred pounds of sand.lol. I used winter tires last winter but still found myself constantly having to put the truck in four wheel drive to get out of every driveway and it got on my nerves alot so this year I'm studding my winter tires and using the sand bags. Remember the beds of these trucks are plastic and don't have any weight to them. And plus i'm from Newfoundland and winters are hell here.

 

i can see with a 2dr or access cab maybe needing weight, but with the dbl cab sb, i dont see it being an issue. i mean, i find it hard to spin the rear wheels as it is...