Winter is coming...

The coldest spot on earth is Portage & Main in January. Been there, done that. Enjoy your fall, nothing like it when it is nice.

Take Care

Bob

 

Snow? WTH is that? We get freezing rain a few days out of the year. Not very driveable with any vehicle. A few years ago we took our AWD MDX around town after being stuck inside for 48 hours. It did surprisingly well. Probably past at least 50 ditched vehicles around town. Amazing how many people I'd see still driving around with 2WD short bed Chevrolet's and the sort (err, a 1WD). Just stuck at the bottom of slight inclines. If I only had the General Lee horn when I passed them at 10MPH...

 

I made this last night for under $20. Bags of sand can rip and make a mess. I wanted something that will last, can be easily removed and doesn't need straps.
It's approx. 220lbs

 

Not the tires pictured on my truck (old pic) but for the last 3 years my BF Goodrich Commercial T/A Traction tires have truly been fantastic and saved my ass big time last year in particular. Ok, you want to read a story....

Rural setting 4 lanes (2 each way) I came around a curve and traffic was stopped and for some reason all lanes were filled going outbound (my direction) with 3' high snow banks on each side. We (I) was f'd and knew full well I could be sitting here for the next 8 hours (it was bad) and I'm staring at a 1/4 tank of fuel (being dumb doesn't help, either)

We all sat... with cars piling up behind.

Oh my God... after 10 minutes or so of sheer panic a Backhoe with it's bucket up came up from behind driving off the side of the road towards us. He was attempting to get to an intersection up the road to start clearing it out, I guess.

The Back Hoe eventually makes it by and I know if I don't do something and do it now (the snow was coming down hard) I'd be in for a VERY LONG day.

OK, into 4 high. I weave between stopped cars up over the snow bank and I'm now facing the opposite direction. The truck stops and sinks down into the snow. SHIT! Not only am I f'd but some douche bag in an Infinty car has tried to follow the Backhoe and gotten himself stuck in the path of my only way the f out of here.

Shit. I put this Bitch into 4lo, hit the throttle and the truck rose up out of it's rut then I cranked the wheel left and walked out into the roadway facing oncoming but stopped traffic. Luckily, there was enough space to weave through the traffic (like the dead corpses that they were) and I was outta there.

Thanks BFG! BIG TIME.

 

Looks like Swan Mtn road, I used to drive over that every day to work but then moved to Frisco. During a whiteout snowstorm I about slid off the road a few years ago in one of the few spots without a guardrail...pretty scary stuff!

Indeed it melted, it's been really warm here in Frisco, dry, and supposed to be 60degrees today! Bring on the snow!
To answer your question - i'm not too pleased with the OEM tire performance in the snow, I bought my truck in February last year and had constant snow on the ground for months. I still have them on but am going to get something else soon for winter. I had duratracs on my old ride and they are great in the snow - but wear down pretty fast. 4WD in the Tacoma took care of any slippage due to the wheels not gripping though, so you could probably get away with the OEM tires too. I don't know how much snow y'all get over that way!

 

I carried a set in my 2007 for elk hunting and the like through the winters. I put them on once to make sure they fit. When I traded up for my 3rd gen it had 137,000 miles on it and the chains are still brand-stinking new. I'll put the chain box in my new one after the snow hits the ground but hopefully they'll never lose their virginity–nothing like a busted chain to beat up a fender.

My old Taco was an SR5 and this new OR-beast has the locker and all the other high-tech traction stuff. Frankly, I can't imagine getting in a situation where I'll need to put them on.

SB

 

I'm moving out that way as soon as I can land a job out there. I actually visited Phoenix during late August because I figured I should learn what I'm in for. 115 is a ballbuster, but the lack of humidity makes it tolerable for me. Also it helps that people there seem to actually be mindful of the fact that they live in the desert, and plan accordingly to either do shit early or wait till the heat breaks in the evening. Here in Pennsylvania we'll get up into the high 90's and 100's (with way higher humidity) but everyone is like "soooo, we're still gonna stand around sweating our sacks off in the mid day sun, right?"

It was funny, I went on a trip up to Flagstaff with my lady friend and everyone was telling me "bring a sweatshirt, it's gonna be chilly!" ... meanwhile I'm standing there at night like, nah it's still a little warm!

In this area of PA winters are pretty mild, and you can easily get away with a 4x2 or standard 2wd car as long as you equip snow tires, but people tend to think that AWD and shitty balding all seasons will totally see them through the snow because, well, all wheel drive is magic! Most of the crashes and stuck cars you see are some dingleberry in a crossover with crappy tires.

I might wanna put some weight in the back of my 4x2, but I'm pretty confident my M+S snowflake tires (Falken Wildpeak AT3W) are up to the task.

 

I'm pretty curious how my KO2's will do. Some years we get snow, some years we don't, but when we do, I need reliable transportation. My driveway and street are pretty steep and getting in/out of the garage is nerve racking.

 

I'll probably drive my '94 when they start putting the salt and brine down. One less winter on the new truck will be a good thing.

Plus, the 235's I run on the '94 are great in the snow. That 25" storm we had last year was a blast! I'm also curious how the new truck will do, but will probably only test it in my parking lot of a driveway.

I really need to make an appointment to get the Krown treatment ...

 

is that cement blocks?

 

Yes. 4x8x16 35lbs each

 

I get up at 3am a lot of mornings. A ton of that has to do with my stupid dogs though. Bring water with you everywhere even just a trip to the corner. That was the first tip I was given when I got here. I plan on turning our Tacomas into desert beasts. You will see what I mean. We get some wicked weather here. I plan on following the severe duty schedule. Towing a 3000lb trailer when its 126f in a dustbowl I think qualifies for severe duty. I was reading the thread about air compressors and will be getting a tire plug kit also.

 

Definitely a under-rated tire.
http://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/

 

only 220lbs? I had an old POS ranger for 1 winter, and I put over 700 pounds of sand in the bed. That combined with snow tires and it was unstoppable. haha.

 

snowmobile works well. that being said i saw my first flakes of the year this morning. not sure im ready yet!

 

The stock AT tires were kind of slick in the snow unless 4WD was on, but that's common for any non-snow rated tire. When 2WD had problems I'd throw it in 4WD and be good to go.

 

Michigan??

 

Most roads you aren't allowed to use chains on, so in a lot of places they are for off road use only. The roads that you are allowed to use them on they are usually required, and there will be signs, "chains required past this point," or whatever. I've seen that in places like Colorado, but I'm sure other places in the mountains have similar type roads. Having said that, I kept some in my RAV4 for when I drove out to our cabin in case I ever got stuck out at it during a snow storm and needed to get back to the main road. I still have the chains and they fit the Tacoma tires, so they go behind the seats if going to the cabin. Although, since putting duratracs on I am a lot less concerned with needing them. So to answer your question, depending on your situation and needs they may be worth getting.

 

Well, in case anyone thinks their driveway is a problem during Winter;

My Driveway after going up and down it a couple of times...

The road up my property from the base of the drive. Then another mile of this to the secondary county road, then 2 miles more to the pavement!

 

I highly recommend Duratracs