2WD Taco in the snow?!

I work as a full time framer and happen to have an 03 prerunner 2.7l.

Love the truck but on construction sites that aren’t developed yet and all dirt/sand/ and snow, it’s difficult to drive on, go figure.

I have 4 salt bags in the bed and all season B/F Goodrich 235s on powder coated wheels.

Any tips for driving in the heavy snow and what I can do to the truck to help?

Thanks

 

Outside of good tires, chains, and carrying weight in the bed, your options to improve traction are fairly limited- E locker swap, LSD swap (not sure if anyone actually makes an LSD for the 8.4" axle, but I do know that similar year Tundras came with them), or 4wd conversion. And of those options, 4wd conversion is really the best bang for your buck.

 

I've got an extra set of wheels with Blizzak's mounted for the winter and with a few bags of sand in back, the traction, steering, braking is excellent. Dedicated snow tires eliminate importance of AWD on snow. I'd like an LSD or locker but it isn't a priority at this point.

 

Good to know, can you explain what an lsd swap is and e-locker swap? Haven’t heard of them

 

Put simple it locks the rear differential so both tires have power .

For Deep Snow Chains and at least 400 pounds or more of weight secured so it can not move.

The colder it is the better the traction .

Always have a Good Shovel.

4x4`s still get high centered in deep wet snow .

 

In the middle of your rear axle is a differential- its a mechanical device that allows power (torque) from the engine/transmission/drive shaft to be transferred to the axle shafts and ultimately the wheels. The differential works in a way that allows the left and right axle shafts rotate at different speeds- as happens when you turn your truck, and the "inside" wheel covers less distance than the "outside" wheel. There are some great old-school videos online that demonstrate this... One draw back to this, is that the power gets transferred to the wheel with the least rolling resistance.

In practical terms, once one of your wheels starts slipping in the snow, it's going to keep slipping because it's easier to spin that one, than say the other if it has dry pavement under it or something else to prevent it from wanting to turn. In truth, 2wd really means only one of your wheels is getting the power. This is completely fine for normal high-traction surfaces.

A "locker" (either a part-time-selectable locker, full time spool, or "welded" rear end) essentially recouples the two axle shafts together so that they cannot spin at different rates. Full time and welded rear diffs are only used in speciality applications. With the wheels locked together it becomes harder to turn the truck, and one wheel (the inner wheel) will have to skip/jump to keep up with the outer wheel. Which is where a selectable locker comes in. With a selectable locker, the driver can choose when to engage the locker and gain the extra traction. The 6 lug trucks with the TRD package (both 4wd and pre runner) came from the factory with a selectable electronic locker.

In the example from before, if your drivers side tire is stuck spinning while your passenger side is on a higher traction surface, engaging the locker would force that passenger side to spin, and get you moving again.

A Limited Slip Differential (LSD) is closer to an open diff, but has some clever mechanisms to allow transferring (some) power to both wheels even if one if slipping. A LSD is far more practical for the set it and forget it owner, as it's always active. The downside is, that you can't force lock them, so you can still get caught out.

** there are some other in-between options, powertrax, etc.. **

When we talk about swapping these, we're talking about disassembling things to remove the 3rd member (the part of axle housing that contains the differential, other vehicles are setup differently). The 3rd member could then be swapped out with another that has a locker or lsd in place. In the case of the locker, either air or electronic wiring would need to be wired up to engage the locker. Swapping in an used or rebuilt OEM e-locker is a popular option because most everything you need is there or easily obtained in the buy sell trade section if you keep an eye out.

A 4wd swap is similar- used OEM parts are available for a reasonable price, and everything bolts right up (with some notable nuances- between I4 and V6 transmissions, etc...).But in your case, if you found a transmission, xfer case, ds, front diff, cv axles, knuckles, and wiring from a 2003 2.7L 4wd truck, it would all go pretty smoothly.

 

Very helpful and educational thank you for the post and the help!

 

x2 on E-Locker swap or 4x4 conversion. There are a plethora of write-ups on TW. I was lucky enough to get a E-locker in my 2x4 Prerunner. I haven't had any issues in the snow yet.

 

How much was it for you in CAD?

 

As others have said- good tires, shovel, chains, weight in the back....also with experience, one develops an instinct. I've driven 2Wd pickups in snow for decades and I've only gotten stuck once where I couldn't self-extract.

You'll develop an instinct for your truck's limitations.

 

Skinny tires provide more traction on the ground as they have a psi footprint.

In my 2wd hilux and now a taco, weight centered over the rear axle is imperative for winter driving.

I call 2wd a “maximum slip differential”.

 

My 08 base was open diff.
The LSD makes a huge difference!
If the drive wheel breaks traction it switch’s to the other wheel.
So if you have one wheel on ice and the other on dry pavement it will send power to the wheel on pavement.

ever watch the movie my cousin vinney?

 

I have 4 salt bags but do you suggest anything heavier and if so how much weight?

 

No lol I’m trying to save as much because I’m only 18 but how much in cad would you say it would be about?

 

How much any of that costs is highly dependent on how much you can do and how much vehicle downtime you can set aside. If you're not able to pull the 3rd member yourself, it's going to be easily double the cost of getting a rebuilt 3rd member with an LSD / Locker in it. Another option is finding a complete E-Locker axle drum to drum, and swapping that (this is usually the route people take when adding a OEM locker to their truck). You might be able to find a complete axle for a few hundred bucks, and that would basically be the cost of doing it yourself. If someone else does it, or you have to swap 3rds then you're in the $$$$ range.

If you're totally strapped on cash, then add a snow anchor and come-along to your kit and learn how to self rescue

 

200#is about what i have in mine now, but I’ve had as much as 400#.

You can try more weight to see if it improves traction.

 

Not sure if the pre runner 1st gen came with lsd. 2nd gens do I think maybe just the trd? I don’t have a good answer don’t know the prices!
Maybe look at getting a 4wd.
Cudos for getting what you got at 18!
I did run 3, 60lb sand bags in the rear during winter plus the extra crap I had back there.
Good snows maybe studded?
Weight in bed.
Chains if it’s that bad (I’ve never used them).
On my 08 the right rear seemed to be the drive wheel be sure to put it on better ground.
Too much weight in bed unloads the front and you need grip up front also.

 

Lots of good answers here. I would get some "real" snow tires with the 3 peak mountain and snowflake symbol on the sidewall. The symbol indicates extreme snow & ice performance... Get 300 or 400 lbs of weight and put it in the bed. I like to build a simple frame from 2 x 4's that places the load just ahead of the rear axle. The frame is to keep the ballast from sliding around. That should help a lot. When I drove a rear wheel drive car I would get one size narrower snow tires and keep my summer tires with chains mounted in the trunk... Now I just stay home, look out the window, scratch my balls and say " yep, it's snowin' ".

but I'm old...

 

I see RWD trucks on farms all the time, but they aren't out there in the snow.

Impractical but you probably won't get stuck in the snow driving a Chevy C/K series 4x4 truck. The heavier the better.

 

Negative. The 2.7l auto Prerunner with TRD package was the redheaded stepchild of the bunch. At least it was in '99. Inexplicably, only that one did not get the locker, just a plain old open diff with a (I think) 4.56 gear.