Snow and Off-Roading

I am not real knowledgeable when it comes to off-roading so bear with me... I recently bought a 2010 TRD Sport DC 4x4. I had wanted the Off-Road package, but this was the best I could find in my area and I had a lemon of a Chevy falling apart and I wanted to trade it in before the check engine light came back on and I couldn't get crap for a trade-in on it. Anyways, so I am stuck with the Sport and not the Off-Road TRD. This winter I have realized this truck is worthless in the snow when off-roading. Now I realize it doesn't have decent tires as the tires on it are still the crappy factory ones. So that may make some difference. What I am trying to figure out, is, will the locker that comes with the Off-Road TRD make a huge difference? Our hunting property has some steep hills on it and I can't even get up the flatter of the 3 steep sections let alone the very steep one. My old Colorado could typically get me to the top and I had the Z71 package. My dad's Ranger FX4 Level II got up all the hills while my Tacoma sat at the bottom of the mountain. Will putting off-road tires on my Sport make a huge difference or do I really need to get an off-road TRD for the locker, etc? Or is there anything else that can help me get up steeper dirt roads covered in snow? Thanks...

 

YES tire make all the difference in the world. I too have the sport package and i live in Montana. With good snow tires and a little weight in the bed my truck does great. Get some good tires and i promis you will be like dam this truck is almost unstopable

 

Better tires will make a world of difference. Start there and try the hills again. Could also try chaining up. A good running start helps with steep hills.

 

yes change tires. look in to lockers you can buy them sepertaly

 

as others have said start off with changing out to some real tires.. that should make the difference you are looking for. if that dosn't do it then you can always get an aftermarket rear locker such as an arb... the sport model trucks are still very capable offroad...

 

Better tires and RTFM on the traction modes. There are I believe 7 different traction/drive combos in the TRD Sport and 9 different ones in the OffRoad.

This ain't yer daddy's 4x4...it's got a lot of new electronic woodads which can HELP or HURT you a ton depending on the conditions and whether or not you know how to use them.

 

I find this hard to believe....The Tacoma Sport has the same traction control (TRAC) in 4H as the Off Road model. Anything a Ford Ranger can climb, can be climbed by the Tacoma. (Assuming the Ranger has OEM tires).
The Ranger is at best a 3 wheel drive, whereas the Taco is a true 4 wheel drive.

 

I have a TRD Sport 2wd (with stock tires) and I have no problems in the snow, it actually handles really well. Now with that being said, I also didn't have to any climbing with it so I wouldn't know about that. I would imagine though that a 4x4 shouldn't have any problems in the snow.

 

is it a manual or automatic? in the snow i like to drive a gear lower than normal in order to keep the rpms up and keep from getting bogged down. but also i would look into tires other than the rugged fails

 

My buddy used to have the same truck as your dad's and we would take our trucks down to my farm and do little tests to see which one was the better truck. (my Tacoma always won) There was one field that is faily steep we would race up un 4x4 and 4x2. His Ranger (level II off road) had a limited slip the same as mine but in ever trial going up the hills mine won. Maybe I was a better drive I'm not sure. I do know that his truck had the stock BF Goodrich off road tired and mine had the Grandtrek's so he def had the advantage in tires over me. I did have the power advantage though. Both truck had no added weight in the bed. In 4x4 making it to the top was almost a tie. In 4x2 it was a different storey. He couldn't even move with only one tire spinning. The rear end locked up and both my rear tires were gripping. I had no problem beating him to the top. To me the Ranger was all show with the tires and fender flares. Never once did I see both back tires in the ranger spinning usually only one. Aside from that test we did other tests such as hooking the 2 up with a chain and seeing who could pull the other. Needless to say this was the last time he drove his truck down to my farm and sold it soon afterwards. Buying new tires will make a huge improvement, you wont have any more problems getting up the hills.