5 lug in snow?

I as well would like to know what kind of difference that would make.

 

2007 2WD 2.7 w/ auto

Michelin 235/75R-15 (I forget the rest - is is ATS? it's a street all-season tread)

I have an full aluminum work cap on the bed which, with the full aluminum rack, weighs maybe 150 lbs. Several hundred lbs. of tools and parts are pretty much always in there as well. I run air bags with about 20-25 lbs in them to keep the truck level. For deep snow this is my go-to vehicle as it does very well. The Corolla, Accord, and Legacy - not so much. <g>

But with an empty naked bed - my Tacoma would be a serious dangerous hand full in the snow I think.

What I did with a previous truck was to load the bed with a layer of 4" by 8" by 16" solid concrete blocks laid in flat. Plenty of winter-weight, it's down low, and you can still use the bed.

PHM
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I've got a 2011 2.7 2wd manual and have never been stuck. The manual is nice if you have to rock the truck to get it out of a sticky spot. General AT2's on ALL FOUR wheels and no chains. Four 50lb bags of salt for weight then just take it slow...

 

I have had 4x4 and 4x2 trucks for most of my life. Until recently, I lived in the snow belt region in Ohio. Get a set of snow tires and you will be fine, but with regular all seasons things can get a bit rough.

Remember, for most of automotive history everyone got around in lumbering 4x2 cars and trucks in all 4 seasons and with worse snow plow services than we have today.

 

A 5 lug?

In snow??

Oh, do you mean like this?



I am stuck in this pic. Once one of the bigger 4x's got in front of me and made some kind of path, I went through all that snow, 5 luggin it the entire time.

It was a sight to behold. Couple good buddies around here who can attest to these shenanigans.

That is me in the far background, giving Gideon and his girl (who took the pic) the double dirty bird. How our weekend started. Me and the other truck showed up first. They came barging up the....road...a bit later, to find 2 silver trucks dicking off in the snow.

Lol, look at @Robertocritser, he still has a bed...and a longer frame...in that pic.

 

I live in one of the snowiest cities in Canada (St.Johns NL) and we just got 30cm last night and I was out driving in it for fun lol, I have crappy all terrain high way tires and no weight in the back and it did just fine, climbing hills and plowing through banks up to the bumper. All comes down to how well you know how to drive in the snow, and if you can correct the fishtail if you give it too much gas.. like anything it comes with experience.

 

After a few snow-dumps this winter so far, it made all the difference in the world. Absolutely no regrets with the upgrade change.

 

Winter tires and driving skill are the most important factors. Weight in the bed also helps. Drive type ultimately has little to do with it. If you're driving on all seasons that harden up in the cold and lack aggressive tread and siping, if you're heavy on the gas and brake, you're going to have problems no matter what you drive. Here in Canada there is no shortage of people who buy into the 4x4/AWD marketing and proceed to drive around recklessly on all seasons endangering themselves and everyone else.

 

Exactly, 4X4 and AWD may help you get going from a stop if you have a heavy foot, but its all the same when you try to turn/stop

 

I had 200lbs of sand in the bed and I survived on all seasons. Definitely would prefer snow tires, but I spent that money on a blower instead. When things were real bad I could engage traction control before the clutch was fully engaged.

 

I know this is 3 years late, but I don't care I'm posting it anyways. My experience is pretty fair even with all terrain tires. Last year I didn't get snow tires, but this year I did and I'm disappointed, I had good traction with my Toyo open country at2's. I'm running mastercrafts right now and don't know they actual model. I have weight in the rear of the bed (about 400ish pounds). Quite frankly, I love my truck in the winter! It's easy to drift around corners and I still have pretty good traction. I have yet to get stuck and need assistance getting pulled out. Would I recommend getting awd Subaru, or a 4x4 truck or suv? in Michigan I would say yes, especially if you live in the U.P. To sum it all up, 5 lugs do good in the winter. Everyone just needs to lower their standards a bit

 

Have yet to find any truck/suv/van/regular height sedan that can't handle the snow we get in the MD flatlands. 5 lug has very few problems with around 200 lbs of sand in the back (all stock on crap tires) if you know how to drive in a little snow its no big deal

 

I see more SC 4x4's in the ditches around where i live than most anything

 

As already mentioned a few times in this thread, the biggest impact you can make to your 5-luggy is to install a set of actual winter/snow tires. Not all season or all terrain tires, but real snow tires.
They are made of a different compound that is designed to remain pliable and grippy in extreme cold temps (which is also why you should never run them in the summer). You get bonus points for studs, although those tend to tear up the road surfaces in dry conditions.

I've never owned a 4WD/AWD vehicle and I've always gotten around in the winter with a good set of snow tires and strategically placed sandbags. My 5-luggy Taco has done just fine so far.

 

I had an extra tacoma this weekend. my brother took his friends 13 4x4SC for a trip up. it was freezing rain and snowing but we still took the 5 lug 2wd because we needed to move 5 people, access cab life lol.
Check this link out to see how the 2wd 'behaves' in the winter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnZL69bNRjA

 

Around here with average driving skill, 4x4's just get you deeper into the ditch.

 

Yea yall get way more snow than us too, whats an average storm look like there? we rarely get more than 6" so the average commuter car can navigate most everything

 

With Climate change, rather much less on average.

Perhaps 3-4 storms a winter.. not more than 4" on average, minus wind blowing it into drifts.

South West Ontario where i'm at is fairly moderate - not highly affected by any Lake Effect squalling..

Never had a need for 4x4 here..

LSD is definitely nice as an add-on, when things get greasy, however.

 

On the topic of storms, we’ve gotten over 120cm of snow and the army was called in. Gotta drive the taco to work today in the state of emergency. I’ll attach some pictures lmao

 

Geez man, good luck with all that. most Ive ever seen was like 20 inches (50ish cm I think)