How to Improve Snow/Offroad Driving with Street Tires?

I've got a 2000 Tacoma, 2WD 4-banger with small, narrow street tires on it. I've had this truck for about four years. Last year I went to the snow for the first time, I was sliding around with no traction and despite putting on some tire chains I couldn't even make it all the way up the hill into the parking lot of Mt. Baldy. It was kind of embarassing to be stuck in my truck and watching compact cars cruising by no problem.

I spend 90% of my time trying to squeeze as much MPGs as I can while commuting in the city and I love my small tires for that purpose. But, I want to be able to go out sometimes. Are the all-season tires worth it?

 

Just put a couple hundred pounds in the bed above the axle. That will help a lot. But being 2wd really limits what you can do in the snow/ice unfortunately.

 

my trucks 4x4 but i usually try and drive in 2wd to get the best mpg. Like what he said above i just throw some weight in the back. I just find some road construction or residential construction somewhere and load up on sandbags. its free and they wont miss em, i have 8 in the back of my truck right now 4 surrounding each wheel well!

 

get a spare set of dedicated snow wheels with decent snow tires on them. It will be worth it. I have all seasons on mine and it still sucks ass. Snow tires make a big difference

 

This is especially true on a 2wd truck. Real snow tires and some weight in the back and you should get around fine. My truck with 31" a/t tires sucks in the snow in 2wd. My old 89 plow truck with similar tires and about 400-500 pounds of bricks and various construction debris in the bed and a heavy old school plow on the front is unstoppable.

 

2wd without all the a-trac ?

you really need dedicated snows on all 4 corners

michelin ltx winter is the best bet

 

Bummer guys, I was hoping to avoid having to buy more tires haha. Still plenty of tread left on mine.

If I get serious about the snow I will consider swapping out for some snow tires and keeping the old rubber. In the meantime, adding weight in the back sounds good.

When I lived on the central coast, the city offered free sandbags during the rainy season for flood protection. Now I'm in Orange County. Any locals know of a place to get free sand?

 

Bust out the crowbar and get that wallet out of your pocket! Sand is cheap.

I lived on the MA/NY line in the Berkshires and drove an '82 GMC 3/4 ton short wheelbase van. . .Kept my tools in it year round, lived on a hill, and rarely had a problem.

 

LOWER YOUR TIRE AIR PRESSURE... A LOT!

To increase traction/ float on soft stuff (sand/ snow), have more bite to not spin... just drop the tire pressure to 10-15 psi... all 4 (even though you are 2WD)! Have a good air pump to blow them back up after you are done off roading!


Even us 4WD owners need to deflate to not get stuck... here I am re-inflating off the beach in Baja with a Tsunami Air Pump... clips onto the battery... 5 psi per minute. Notice the depth of my tracks on the right going to the beach at street pressure and compared to my tracks here where I stopped to refill the tires! I am a 4WD, and these Hankook Dynapros are sweet in the sand, so I drop them to just 18 psi for perfect floatation. 2WDs will need to be lower. Mexican fishermen drive their 2WD trucks on the beach all the time, with bald tires and nearly flat... but they do it daily and it works.

 

Really dude? I don't suppose you go back and check if those road crew actually do miss the sandbags. It's things like this that get us ridiculous laws, and higher taxes, cause whether you know it or not, you paid for those sandbags, and I paid for the replacements.


-1

 

I order empty sandbags from U-Line and simply fill them from my gravel stockpile...don't swipe sandbags, someone else has to fill them.

And it is awfully silly having to talk to the judge about stealing sand...

Howard

 

Lol no kidding. I somehow missed that post...

 

Do you put weight in back of your truck?

$30 for 300lbs a good solution.
Stealing from someone else a bad solution.

 

Run snow tires in the winter; run your street tires in the other 3 seasons. Common practice for drivers in northern states is to have snow tires mounted on a separate set of wheels. This way you can install/remove them before and after each winter without going to the mechanic.

 

Empty ice chests filled with water also is an easy way to add weight... however, dropping air pressure accomplishes the same if not better (to increase traction). Unless you want to drive fast, and that shouldn't be done on under-inflated tires... I am thinking you need traction for off pavement driving.

 

All I have to say is whatever you put in the back for weight should be secured or strapped down , lots of guys up here run around with firewood in the back of their truck for weight and more than once I've seen a cab full of wood when they spear it into the ditch

 

I used to put 80 lb water softener salt bags in my 5-lugger. Now with 4 wheel drive I haven't found a need for weight, even when we got 10+ inches of heavy wet snow. Do the grey wire mod if you have a locker so you can drive in 4hi locked.

 

All great points. How long do tires last? I literally wouldnt put enough miles on them to justify getting a whole second set of rims and everything unless I could keep the same snow tires for like 10 years haha