Losing traction in snow in 4x4

I probably see more 4x4 SUV's off in a ditch when I'm in the snow that Honda Civics. The reason is people think 4x4 allows you to drive 65mph and now worry so much about traction. Obviously, this is wrong. 4x4 gives you a *slight* advantage when turning at speed since your front wheels are driven, but they do NOT give you magic traction and allow you to drive 65.

First, old/bald tires will certainly hurt your chances for what little traction you have in the snow, so make sure your tires aren't bald.

But mainly, if you want to slip around less you have 2 basic options: Drive slower, or get chains/studded tires.

IMO, all chains do is force you to drive slower (therefore more safely).

Adding weight to the bed is a great idea too, but I'm with vern650, it sounds more like a problem with too high expectations for what 4x4 actually does in the snow, due to inexperience. That's not a knock on the OP or anything, it is what it is. Get more experience by researching snow driving techniques and PRACTICE them! Go to a big empty parking lot and drive.

 

Yes it's in 4 high and yeah I'm experienced driving in the snow. I've driven front, rear, 4x4, and Awd vehicle multiple times in the past. Yes theyre all spinning. It's all types of snow ice, slush, powder, mixtures, etc. and I've had other 4x4 vehicles that made it just fine in the snow. Like I said I'm experienced in the snow. What I mean by the losing grip when pushing the clutch in part is the truck will literally slide to its side like I'm drifting when I push it in to switch gears. I have to correct the steering just enough to not over correct. I have aired down my tires and have 2 100lbs sand bags in the back and nothing changes. my truck has auto lock hubs. I don't expect to be racing down the highway at 60mph, but at 25-30??? It's ridiculous. I took my friends 4Runner up the same roads with same or worse conditions and it made it just fine. Barely needed the 4x4

 

Those are terrible tires for winter conditions. Big flat tread blocks with no siping are the opposite of what you want to be driving in winter conditions on.

 

Tires.

 

Try some tires that say "snow claw"

 

This is probably the main issue. I run these Yokohama winters for about half the year. Big difference in design between these and mud tires.

 

Tires were one of my first thoughts of cause of problem. I didn't want to go spend the money and it not fix it. These are the ones that came with it when I bought it. If I were to get new ones for this coming winter would it be a good idea to get ones not as wide as these 12.5's

 

Yea, skinny is better for on road driving anyway.

 

Those tires will be terrible in ice and snow. Go with something narrower and look into dedicated winter tires if you will be driving in the snow and ice a lot. The problem with those tires is that they have no siping and very large tread blocks, which is gonna suck in the ice especially.

 

BFG KO2 love them

 

You have cheap mud tires on that have reached or passed their wear indicators. Those have stepped lugs. From what i can see most of the tread pattern has reached the bottom step, which is also the hardest rubber. New they would do badly. Worn they will do very badly. You're essentially trying to compete in track wearing a pair of flip flops with a broken strap.

Some m/t will work better than others.
For cost I ran treadwright guarddogs on my toy, replacing the a/t it came with. I don't remember the brand but they weren't suited for the offroading and weather i went out in. They worked really well in deep snow. It crawled up icy hills we had to turn around and winch others up. Definitely some hum on the highway though.

 

This is what they look like new.

http://www.discounttirezone.com/COR...FYWJIlzempno7bxbFqSkj1bGgM6kSt4SzaRoCtvjw_wcB

 

Mud tires are horrible in snow; they don't have traction for nothing; however if you took it to a shop that can sipe the tires; you may gain a bit more traction. What your experiencing with driving in snow is normal, especially with a tire that doesn't grab well. In fact Mud tires suck in the rain too.

 

It's a pickup truck/tires thing for sure...mostly a pickup thing

 

It takes a special kind of stupid to not realize 4wd didn't equal 4wstop, but been seeing it most of my life. I'll be in 4wd, cruising along nicely and have a 3/4 ton dodge blow part me, 1/4 mile later pass them in the ditch. IME, people in 3/4 dodges all drive like idiots. I had 1 hunting trip, 100% of dodge trucks i saw both drove like total asshats and i found 100% of them stuck in a ditch. Fords, chevies, no issues. If you were in a dodge, dumb and stuck.

Slightly related, every person I've seen on a yellow/black sport bike can't ride to save their life. There's something about that combo that attracts newbies. If you have both a yellow gixxer and a dodge 2500 i feel sorry for anyone that lives in your town


Having the front wheels pulling dies wonders for turning though.

 

I had a Dodge for some time Liked the Engine (Cummins) hated the truck .

Don`t think I ever put it in the ditch

Although the Ex girlfriend proved that part of your theory she drove it into a house.

 

Yup, contrary to what all the kids write on the interwebs, mud tires are the worst tires for winter driving and yours are bald making it even worse. A good set of all terrains like ko2s or duratracs will be ten times better (I prefer ko2s especially on slick rodes), and true snow tires even better yet but then you need summer tires as well. Also keep in mind that a 1st gen tacoma is a light vehicle compared to most other trucks, which is goin to increase sliding.

 

I air down my tires, sometimes quit a bit. The increased footprint seems to help plus the softer tires absorb the bumps better keeping the tires on the road. Added weight in the back will definitely help. Driving in the snow where I live is like alternating between sand and washboard. Our ski resort is only 40 minutes away so I don't worry about driving the highway (slower) with lower tire pressure.

 

When I got my first 4wd truck a wise friend told me "you may have 4wd, but every car on the road has 4 wheel brakes. Just because you can go doesn't mean you can stop."

 

All that snow driving and never took notice to tires over the years live and learn

I learned that lesson in the seventies i think that was the last time I had wider tires