2017 TRD Sport 2WD - Thoughts on Snow

Yo,

I'm heading up to Mammoth this Friday to go boarding, there's a pretty significant storm up there right now and it's suppose to clear up Friday.

I usually go up with my buddies that all own 4WD trucks but they are all ready up there so I'm finally going to take mine up. My truck is a 2017 TRD Sport 2WD with BFG KO2s and a camper shell, I already bought (4) 50lb sand bags to put in the bed for some added weight over the wheel wells and bought a set of chains for the KO2s.

Just wanted to hear some opinions on how it'll perform, I'm prepared to put the chains on if I really feel its necessary but I feel that with the KO2s and the added weight I should be able to go through all of the plowed roads without putting the chains on unless it really looks bad.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! I've already read numerous threads about it but would like to hear some thoughts with my set up in mind.

Cheers!

 

I got stuck in parking lot once on a 2 wheel drive. It was all ice.

 

Leave it at home and catch a ride

 

I have a prerunner and have driven up an icy mountain in a snowstorm in West Virginia and had no problems. I aired down the tires, drove slow.

If it's not very icy you'll be fine

 

Pay attention. Drive slow. 40 years ago everybody had 2wd and did just fine. Weight and good tires for the win.

 

I drove a 2 wheel drive truck in the winter for 15 years. Add another 100 pounds in the bed. Just don't drive like an idiot and you will be fine.

 

You'll do just fine. You did the right stuff with good tires and weight. Give yourself extra time to stop and be smart about where you stop - might have to carry a bit of momentum up steep stuff. As slow as possible, as fast as necessary.

 

I have no weight in my bed usually, aside from my topper. I struggle on packed snow and ice in 2wd, barely feather the gas and the wheels just spin (Duratracs). I’m usually always in 4hi when the roads are bad, just not worth the struggle at every stop sign and red light. However my work truck is 2wd with a lot of weight in the back, and it takes me over a snowy mountain pass regularly. Once you get going, you should be fine as long as you take it slow and be careful.

 

An unloaded 2wd pickup with street tires is one of the worst if not the worst vehicle in the snow, but you have upgraded it decently with tires and weight in the back. I'd start by asking your friends who are already in the area if they are driving around in 4wd or 2wd. They should know what the conditions are. I drove a 2wd pickup in Minnesota winters for several years when I couldn't afford 4wd. It takes more skill and patience, but it is doable. If you really want to cover all your bases, in addition to good tires, chains, and sand bags, bring a shovel, traction boards, winter clothing, and a cell phone (or 2-way radio).

Other tips:

- Plan to brake very very early especially if going downhill
- Make sure you are comfortable with fish tailing. Your rear axle is likely to slide all over the place.
- Snow and ice can be very unpredictable, especially "black ice".
- Be very wary of other drivers around you who are probably driving with white knuckles.
- VSC and TRAC are helpful (but they are fun killers if you enjoy drifting around corners)
- The areas leading into an intersection tend to be slippery
- Bridge decks tend to be slippery
- Sometimes the wheel tracks leading into an intersection are iced over and choosing a less traveled line is better.
- When stuck, use as little wheel spin as necessary. Inexperienced drivers tend to be heavy on the gas pedal. In most cases, excessive wheel spin won't help you.
- Rocking forward and back is a good technique to get unstuck (much easier in a manual transmission).
- Hot tires tend to melt the snow/ice and decrease traction (limit wheel spin as I said above)
- I've never known anyone in Minnesota to air down their tires to drive in snow on the road. It might even hamper you.
- Although I think 200 lbs of payload is probably good for what you are doing, adding more weight will generally increase traction. I used to drive around with 300-600 lbs of payload when I was driving my 2wd off road in the snow. The disadvantages are decreased ground clearance, decreased acceleration, decreased fuel economy, reduced ability to use your bed for other things, increased wear and tear, and increased under steer. You have to experiment to find the optimal weight ratio.
- Adding the weight directly over the rear axle as some have stated has never made sense to me. Moving the weight as far back as possible is going to maximize the ratio of weight on the rear axle.
- Have fun! Driving in the snow is one of my favorite pastimes.

 

Real snow chain is must. Not those steel cable sht. Rear wheel drive will be hard in snow.

 

In 2 wd my Taco sucks in the snow.

 

Better add more weight, as others have suggested, take ot slow and you'll be fine, only situation where you may get in trouble is if there's an incline and you are trying to start from a stopped position you might find yourself stuck

 

Do you have to turn 4hi off at every stop? I usually leave it on but im not sure if thats ok or not. (first 4wd vehicle i have owned)

 

As others have mentioned, with some care and common sense, you'll be fine. I would be inclined to add a couple of more bags of sand, and make sure you it in the right location, that is FORWARD of the rear axel, not on, or behind, but slightly forward of the rear axel and distribute it so that it's even (roughly) across the width of the bed.

 

If road conditions are slick enough for wheel spin you are fine to turn in 4hi. It's dry pavement where wheels can't spin that causes binding

 

Why forward of the rear axle? My thought is that the purpose of adding weight is to increase the rear to front axle load ratio to optimize traction. The greater that ratio, the greater the traction at the rear axle. Adding weight in front of the rear axle will be distributed across both axles which is not optimal. Adding weight behind the rear axle will all go to the rear axle which is optimal.

If I was just hauling something and traction was not an issue, I might use your strategy.

 

Four dedicated Winter tires air'd down slightly with more weight in the bed.

 

Your theory seems to make more sense you would think.

 

There is a balance. You don’t want to unload any weight from the front axle either. The good news is sand bags are easy to move around, play with positioning and find what works best. I run mine right over the rear axle and don’t lose too much sleep over it. Used to put them against the tailgate and it was fine, but sometimes the front felt squirrelly.

 

Appreciate all of the input! Great advice here, definitely gonna buy some more sand bags.

The girlfriend is now trying to convince me to take her AWD Mazda but I really wanna see what the Taco has to offer... her AWD has small tires and she doesn’t have snow chains for them. I would think the taco would be the safer bet with all of the weight and chains if I need them?