New to Tacomas, need advice for winter.

Just bought a beautiful 05 TRD Sport V6, 6MT, 4X4. I also just moved into the Portland area and have been hearing a lot of conflicting things from coworkers about winter driving.
I am coming from a Subaru so I never really had to worry too much in bad weather.
I guess my main concern is traction. I had a coworker suggest sand bags in the bed for all of winter. Is that really necessary for Portland? The truck came with Wild Country Trail 4sx tires.

 

Three years ago I owned an Audi Wagon Quatro and invested in Blizzaks. They were my first experience with winter rated tires and it was an eye opener. I actually got worried about stopping too soon because I didn't know if the guy behind me had snow tires.

Right now I have Cooper Discoverer 255/85/R16 and a topper on the rear. When it gets icy or snowy I deflate my tires to 20 psi in the city. In the woods I'll go 10 psi or lower depending on the situation.

 

My other issue is no storage space. So I unfortunately can’t store separate winter/summer setups. Any recommendations on all year round tires? Also does the topper add more weight in the right areas like sand bags would?

 

I wouldn't worry about it, you have four wheel drive, there are millions of two wheel drive cars being driven during the winter.

 

I would put sand bags in the back. I found without them even in four wheel drive the backend will still slip out when turning in snow. I use 4 bags of sand and it makes a big difference. I’m running falken wildpeak AT3s

 

The sand as ballast in the bed is a recommendation but not a necessity. The sand helps with rear traction even with 4wd and balancing the truck when turning so it's less prone to fishtail.

I would recommend just finding your braking distances. 4wd helps you get going, but all cars are 4 wheel stop. Braking in snow can be sometimes triple normal dry distances. The sandbags would help in this case with the rear tires grabbing to slow down.

Also be mindful that you'll need to engage and disengage the 4wd system. Typically 4wd through neighborhoods b/c they haven't been plowed, then once on clear streets/highways, disengage 4wd.

 

If you are staying in the City and on the west side of the Mountains I would not get to worried .

Skier gets some sand bags and good tires to get to the slopes for the fresh powder

 

I highly recommend Yokohama Geolandar G015 tires for excellent all year performance. Excellent in snow too.

 

I can recommend the Michelin Defender LTX as a solid winter performer. Not as good as snow tires but it has better than acceptable all season snow performance. If you are only dealing with 4-5 snow events per year, these are probably all you need. However, they will need replaced every three years to maintain that snow-worthiness.

 

I go play in the woods a bit, so KO2s work for me. 35 PSI, though. Also year round topper, so between that and the box'o'gear, I don't add any extra weight. Haven't had any traction issues. Still gotta take it easy on the turns and stuff, you're in a high COG truck, not a wagon.

 

snow tires

 

living in Tahoe I always had winter and summer sets. Blizzaks are winter right? I wish I could go to a dual setup, but I don’t have the space anymore. How do you like the Discoverers? I’m also looking for a good all terrain right now.

How do you secure the sand bags? Also I’ve never bought a sand bag. Where would I go?

Learning to engage and disengage 4wd is definitely going to be tiresome for me. So used to AWD. Also stopping distance too. The truck is just such a different beast than my little old Subaru. Is the “only use 4wd on straightaways” really a thing too? I can’t imagine people can only use it on a straightaway, but I also don’t want to damage my gears.

I definitely go skiing. Any recommendation on good year round tires and a way to strap the bags down?

I love Geolandars! I have them on my Subaru. I honestly didn’t even look at whether or not they make them in my new tire size. Are they only all terrains still or do they have M/T too for this size?

High center of gravity is definitely one of my biggest concerns. I know it probably will never happen, but I’m terrified of rolling in poor conditions. What topper are you running?

Wish I could have summer and snow tires. Just don’t have the space anymore. I always had studded snows when I lived in Tahoe. They were a godsend every morning and every night.

 

Don't be afraid to throw it in 4wd whenever you think conditions are getting sketchy. With LS diffs it's no big deal, it's not like having lockers.
Snow is no big deal, it's ice and frosty corners and bridge decks you need to watch for.
I've used KOs and KO2s for the last 6 years and they are a great all round tire, I do use a winter tire now for January and February.

 

Most times for tires I buy the House brand of my tire dealer I would have to look for the make.

Then I am one of the Winter / other season tire people.

To me weight is more important then type of tire .I have tie downs that work if I need to hold things in place

My Celica when in and out my drive way with 300 pounds of weight behind the front seats

Temperature also plays into things the colder the better traction get some water mixed in all bets are off

 

This is bad information. Just because someone has 4wd or awd doesn't mean they will get to their destination unscathed in inclement weather. Everytime it snows and/or gets icy I see plenty of 4wds in ditches. Proper tires make the biggest impact on driving experience regardless of vehicle type.

All terrain tires with the snowflake symbol would be a great all around tire without the need for a second set that has to be stored somewhere.

Sand bags are cheap and can be purchased at a hardware store. Some people build devices out of 2x4s in their beds to keep the weight centered over the axle, others just throw the bags in the bed and go.

 

It comes down to commonsense and having some experience driving the vehicle.

Around here it seems no one remembers winter driving from year to year.

The best is playing follow the leader so close when the lead vehicle loses traction the whole line is now stopped and can`t get started or even move .

Since my knees got bad no more Skiing I have no need to leave the house if it gets bad anymore

 

Just drive a little slower and double the distance in front of you. It’s rarely about starting off traction and usually about stopping distance.

 

4are. It's a truck, can't be hooned in the same way as a subie. Just take it easy in the snow with plenty of reaction time and you'll be fine. Find a parking lot up at Hood or something to go see how it reacts in the snow, safely.

 

Lets not forget a shovel is your friend so is a good tow strap

also enough food and water to be comfortable 24 hours which can be stretched if needed .

Who thought a toll road would be shutdown 24 hours

Venture out in the Snow and Ice getting stuck is a given the trick is not hitting anything hard getting stuck or doing any damage getting unstuck.

Sometime a Winch is the only thing able to get you out been there done that far to often to be embarrassed any longer.

 

For the truck I'd take some recovery boards first before looking at a winch. Food and water, for sure. I have some lifeboat style rations and water packs for emergencies. Won't be tasty, but can't beat the price for storable calories.