first season driving my truck in the snow, need some advice

x2 but in my situation, dedicated snows are not an option... the duratracs or other snow rated a/ts, like bfg commercial traction t/as, goodyear silent armors, etc are a great choice

 

i have the duratracs on right now and they are great on snow, not ice.

 

not much IS good on ice...

i had winterforce tires and they were better on ice but ice is tough with any tire...

 

i had michelin x-ices before they were great on ice

 

I found the recent snowfall in Vancouver to be particularly slippery too. When we had the big snow in Vancouver 2 years ago, stock BFG Rough Terrains seemed fine. My only knock against them was that they seemed to slide sideways fairly easily. Now I have Toyo Open Country AT's. They feel fairly comparable to the BFG's in the snow.

As others have said- slow down and drive deliberately and smoothly. Remember that any change in direction or speed increases the friction demand on your tires may cause a skid. Be extra cautious in areas where you don't have much clearance if you skid or if other vehicles are close. Remember to give other vehicles a wide berth- most Vancouver drivers don't have dedicated snow tires since the snow usually only lasts a few days. If you skid- don't panic and slam on the brakes- you are better off to steer your way out of it and brake lightly.

Also, remember that the main roads are usually clear, but there can be black ice on the side streets. Just last night, I went around a corner on to my home street and hit a nasty patch of unexpected black ice. I could feel the anti-locks working like crazy and the VSC light was flashing wildly. I was able to keep the truck going straight by correcting with steering and braking gently.

 

Get the stock tires off and put on a nice set of all terrains. Check out Tirerack.com for your best source of info.

I just put on Firestone Destination AT's which are rated tops in snow/ice next to Duratacs.

Put weight in the bed. I like about 200 lbs of sand.

Use low gears to keep your speed in check. Down shift as needed to bleed speed.

 

4wd Does NOT help you stop. That is all brakes and tires, unless you have a manual and can downshift for traction. I tell myself this the first few times I drive in snow every year.

Throw some weight in the rear end and get some new tires. I could spin out all damn 4 of my Dunsucks in the snow. What a joke of a tire. Great MPGs though.

Just took my Duratracs for a spin in our first 1" snow. Cant wait for the 3' storms.

Or, put a plow on your truck so you can drop it like an anchor when you slide out!

 

And now I see that your truck is a manual. I have always driven a manual truck and being able to downshift for traction when braking has saved my ass a few times. I would go to a semi-steep hill (covered in snow) and try down shifting while you brake. You will find a happy medium when letting out your clutch that will slow you down but not cause you to slide. If you skip to a gear that is too low you will slide a bit and the engine will rev up (of course). Do this a few times and you will start to learn your trucks motor/gearing.

just my 2cents

 

Even if you are in an auto, and you shift to a lower gear, 4wd WILL help.

I see the point you are trying to make though. It's like the people who get in an SUV and think they are unstoppable in the snow, just because they're driving an SUV. Truth is, they're not unstoppable, but stopping is hard

 

I'm from Vancouver too.

If you aren't confident in the slushy shit we get, you MUST invest in proper snow tires. That being said...like most have already told you...drive slow. I know it's hard when you have every douche bag in the city who drives a Merc SUV riding your ass...but do it...

If you start sliding don't stomp the brakes...engine brake if you can..otherwise just try to steer out of the slide.

Another wise choice is to stay as far away from Richmond as you can...you can be parked with the engine turned off and you're still gonna have an accident

 

Anywhere in Vancouver Area is that bad. The worst snow conditions and some of the worst drivers. Have to admit though some of the best drivers I've ever seen also live there. Don't be that bad driver. Get some real tires for those conditions. Take five when you are driving.

 

Another wise choice is to stay as far away from Richmond as you can...you can be parked with the engine turned off and you're still gonna have an accident [/quote]

^^^LoL!!

 

Lots of good advice hear and I will echo:
1.Put some weight in the back, a couple of bags of sand (100-200 lbs), either buy play sand bagged or cut an inner tube and fill with sand, then zap strap the ends a couple of times, these go right and the wells in the bed and don't shift easy.
2.Winter tires, I have them on my VW and 4Runner and I am saving for DuraTracs for the Taco
3. When going down hills in either a manual or auto gently gearing down as well as using the brakes gently in my opinion is better than hammering on the brakes.
Go to Cypress or Seymour one evening after the lots are empty and practice.
Just one tip though, if an officer approaches you regarding "stunting" while you are "practicing" your driving skills and offers you a ticket, explain that you are just trying to hone your winter driving skills and believed that a deserted parking lot is a much safer place to do this than a street with cars and children, most good officers will honour that.

 

Great advice, get the VSC going and do some quick turns to see how it will run. And putting weight in the back of the bed helps a bit. And drive SLOWWW.

 

Hey guys, thanks for your ideas! I've been trying to get accustomed to driving my 2010 manual Tacoma 4wd (with snows) and wondering if there were any tricks to it. Wish everyone else would slow down... thanks again.

 

Cindy

You have the right idea. Go slow and you will gain confidence and learn the tricks.

work on shifting at low rmp's to avoid spinning your wheels between gears to prepare for shifting on roads with hills and hair pin turns.

trust the traction control b/c IMO it works!

 

putting it in neutral is one of the best things you can do when going down a slippery hill

 

This is an excellent point.
Gearing does not help you slow down...if anything, it connects your engine to your tires and you're not able to modulate the grip that you have as effectively.
Tires using brakes/ABS are alot more controllable than tires hooked to your engine.

 

Not sure if it was mentioned yet or not but another really good thing to keep in mind is while going down a hill or on slow corners (under 20-30km/h) it's a good idea to push in the clutch or put the vehicle in neutral to avoid slipping .

I know it sounds counterproductive to use the breaks more and engine less but It stops the wheels from spinning all together works like a charm in deep or slushy snow or when you start to slide

Woops a bunch already said this.......^X4 then

 

My 2010 is stock also, never had any problems... Sounds to me like you are driving on ice!