How much weight are you putting in bed for snow

I will Stand by that comment. I have tested the theory in a foot or more of snow. Chains in the back at low speeds in 4x2 provide as much traction as 4x4 without chains in the same conditions. Chains also aid in stopping capabilities that 4x4 alone cannot touch.

I drive off pavement regularly summer or winter. I bought chains at the beginning of last winter due too experiences the winter before. I would get stuck on ice ice even in 4x4 in places where only two tires would touch the ground. Chains on the rear end pretty much lock it with todays traction control.

Winter tires don't make a bit of difference on ice. Studs and 4x4 will help on ice, but don't compare to chains even on 4x2. Chains make a huge difference especially with weight added. They will lock up the rear end without a locker. Tires don't slip much with chains especially with modern traction controls.

ETA: If you still want to say what, then picture this. A slope you would normally ski/board down covered in 14" of fresh snow with a solid two inches of ice underneath/uneven twist and turns. Dedicated snows and studs won't help much there. Chains will even in 2x4. Old chunky spring snow with layers of ice is going to be a bitch either way.

 

Mine gets 4 60lb bags of snow most years, usually wait until first big snow.

That showed up early this year, 6 inches and highs in the 5-15F range last 2 days.

With those 4 bags my 5-lug can go anywhere I need to go in Colorado, amazing improvement.

 

2x100lb sandbags under the tonneau
Edit: That 5 page essay on the first page is overkill. You want a greater sliding/static friction force. In order to increase this, in simple terms, you add more weight that is normal to the friction surface... aka more sandbags. Very simple

 

I put 4-60lbs bags of tube sand in the bed over the axle...it seems to help stabilize the back end when things get slick.

 

when i bought my truck the tires were a little on the worn side. this along with the composite bed's lightness made the ass-end want to come around if i had to make a quick stop on slick roads. since i've thrown on the duratracs and add 180-200 lbs of sandbags which make it behave far better.

 

Wut?
Wrong +
one more wut and

 

Blizzak winter tires & a couple of sand tubes under the tonneau works for me.

 

In snow, until it gets so deep it is piling up under the truck most good tires and some weight if needed...when it gets packed down, thaws and turns to ice all bets are off...OK Ice & 4wd with 4 chains so you can both move, stop, and steer. Normal snow, I take the truck...the 2-3ft. stuff I take the FJ 40, if it looks too nasty for the 40, I stay Home!

 

Chains are great yes... 2wd in a foot of snow with chains over a 4wd with snow tires??? No.
Obviously chains are going to help stopping and on SOLID ice, that's a no brainier but let's not get too carried away with the capabilities of a 2wd.
Now if you said put a truck on an ice rink one 2wd with chains and one 4wd no chains, I believe the 2wd would do a bit better.

 

Alright saying it would lock the rear was wrong. Beer doesn't contribute to rational posts. I still stand by the part where a two wheel drive with chains can go some places a four wheel drive can't. it all depends on conditions.

We had a ton of ice last winter. just about everywhere there was a solid two inch layer of the shit under the snow. I went out for a little wheeling after our first substantial storm. There were places because of the ice four wheel drive wouldn't work out, but throw on the chains and pop her into two wheel drive she would go. That was in snow that was anywhere from8 to 14 inches deep.

All that doesn't mean I would rather have a two wheel drive truck and chains.

 

Chains on all four wheels is probably one of the better ways to break some thing. A 4X4 truck has the vast amount of weight in the front it would take a lot of weight in the back to equal that. In 4WD that's where your traction is coming from. Want to get up a hill with a FWD turn around and back up.

 

I have to disagree with the bold. It's always easier to pull something then push something. I have had a many of FWD vehicles. A buddy of mine in HS had a RWD impala. Lots of hills around here. He used to back up hills to get around. It was his only way to do it, other than parking it and walking.

 

I'm with you on this. While added weight will gain a marginal amount of accelerating traction, the trade-off is it will marginally sacrifice braking distance and ability to change direction.

For me, no point in being able to get up to speed faster if you will not be able to slow down or change direction as quickly for when you really need to.

With 4x4 and snow tires, I have no need for added traction.

 

With 4x4 and a fresh set of 265/70R17 Firestone Winterforce UV with #12 carbide tipped studs, I only add weight in DEEP fresh snow. I have a pallet of 75# sand bags in the shop and will throw in 6-8 if needed. For normal use on steep, icy roads, I just put it in four wheel drive mode.

Howard

 

Last winter I put chains in the rear with my locking differential to climb up a mountain trail and I was amazed how well it worked. Well over a foot of snow

 

The 2wd would do a lot better!! 4wd on ice has little if any advantage, Chains are hard to beat!!! not sure just how legal they are? Many states have banned "studded" tires jmop

 

My experience is a bit different...I live on a mountain, and the once I turn off the paved road, there is ice for several months of the year. I tried 2wd with chain and failed. The four wheel drive taco with studs is fantastic.

Howard

 

4 - 50 lb tubes of sand over the axles and running General Grabber AT2's year round. on a 2wd Prerunner. it's all on how you drive. this set up worked well for last years winter here.

 

200lbs of salt (4-50 lb bags) placed over the wheelwells in a home made corral that I made so they don't slide around. Springtime finds the salt in my water softener. As far as a pre-runner being as good in the snow as a 4x4 I've got the pre-runner now with LS dif and the salt bags and new Michelin tires and although it's adequate in the snow it doesn't compare to the 4x4 handling I've driven in the past in Montana. In fact the only Tacoma I've ever seen stuck in the median was a non 4x4 pre-runner.

 

That actually is true. Doesn't seem right but it works. When the vehicle is inclined more weight is put on the downhill side of the vehicle thus giving it better traction. In a 2wd truck you're better off driving up an ice incline than you would be backing up.

4X4, little extra weight and good tires FTW though. 4wd is not a substitute for better rear wheel traction (added weight). If I drove from my house to my parents' in winter (11 hrs) and had to be in 4wd the whole time because my rear wheel traction sucked, then that itself would suck. I you live in a city and need to get to the mall and back a few times during rare snowstorms then extra weight isn't as big a deal.