Moved to Washington, snow advice?

I second the notion about getting a set of winter tires Blizzacks are the way to go.

 

Nobody is advocating filling the bed up with 1000lbs of sand, a couple hundred pounds will help keep the back end stable without significantly increasing stopping distance. Edit: not to mention easy traction aid if you or someone else gets stuck.

Lots of good advice here OP, your wildpeaks I believe are 3 peak mountain snowflake rated which is an industry standard for winter traction. I plan on putting these tires on my truck sometime in the next couple months. As far as studs, they need to be studdable from the factory IIRC, don't think you can add them to any tire.

 

Welcome to the area, I live in the Spokane Valley also. What part of the Valley are you in? The best advice I can give you is to take your time and give yourself plenty of room. Road conditions can change from icy to wet to icy again in the blink of an eye. Good tires in the winter are a must. In a perfect world, I'd run dedicated snow and ice tires, but I run KO2s and have had pretty good luck in winter conditions with them. I drove across White Pass in December and had zero issues. I also carry a recovery strap with me and thankfully have not needed to use it yet.

 

Something you probably wont hear too often but here goes: Don't go too SLOW either. There's nothing more dangerous than someone going 15/20 km/h when the conditions call for 40 or 50 especially on a highway

 

Lol my wife has a prius but it's a beast around town with blizzaks. Again, common sense wins in the fight against ice. Doesn't matter how many wheels you have, 4 x 0 will always take you in a ditch.

Sand bags in the bed will keep you from having to switch to 4x4 more often. As others have stated, first snow go to an empty parking lot and have a little test in the different modes.

 

Agreed, sand bags aren't the best for weight distribution but they are the most convenient... Can load and unload 60 lbs in under a minute.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I'm currently in an apartment complex so having an extra set of winter tires is a little hard. But the Wildpeaks are rated for snow so we will see how it goes. Luckily everything is right around me so I won't have to drive very far.

I always carry straps and once winter hits I'll mount up my max Trax just in case

 

Take your truck to your nearest Les Schwab and get a good set of chains and ask about sipping your tires for better traction on wet or icy roads. By the way, excellent choice of Taco!!

 

There's no substitute for experience in snow. Take the 'advice' here with a grain of salt. Wash your truck, fluid film if you want. Get snow tires if you want, again no substitute for experience.

 

Just a couple things not mentioned don't pull out in front of someone just because you have a 4x4, slushy ruts can pull you in directions you don't want to go, if the snow is somewhat powdery you can become snow blind from the "draw" back draft , keep windows clear. most other comments are good, even the best of drivers have problems. I had my first winter accident 2yrs ago and totaled my 04 in 41 years of winter driving.

 

Good advice, I'm going to do that tomorrow. Correct me if I'm wromg..but I believe I read in my owners manual not to use chains on these trucks?

 

Nope ! Check pages 274 & 275 for information on chains.

 

Just a couple things no one has mentioned yet.. If you go to local Les schwab you can pick up a set of chains just incase.. If they are not used you can return them for a full refund in April.. Also If your braking or turning and start to slide don't keep you foot on the brake, many times if you let of a bit you can regain control..

 

Good advice on this thread. Having lived in New England and now Portland and Seattle, I can tell you that the icy conditions is way harder to drive here than anywhere else. In Boston, I drove a BMW rear rear drive with Blizzaks in all conditions and no problem. In Portland, I had a 4x2 Taco and barely made it home 12 miles from downtown Portland due to the icy conditions. The problem is the hills and shady areas than the snow itself. Oh and the city's willingness (finally) to use salt and borrow Seattle's equipment is helpful.

Now, Eastern WA is different than Seattle and Portland, but the main thing to watch out for is the other drivers! Give yourself lots of room and watch out!!

 

Not sure how the washington winter is, but I'm in canada so for our winters here.

Coat underbody
have winter tires (we get icy winters)
plug in at night (just takes strain off the start in the morning and has the truck heat up faster)
Use 4x4 when needed.

UNDERSTAND 4x4 does not mean you can stop any better. so leave plenty of space. Tires are the only thing that will help you stop next to hitting something.

I have the Nokian hakkapelitia R2s, absolutely loved them last winter.

Hosing off might not do much, understand salt activates with moisture so unless you are removing all of it you could actually be doing more harm than good. touchless drive through car washes are good. not the cheapest but I go every week or two.


I haven't tried it in the truck yet so not sure how it will work but when driving my jetta I always use engine braking a lot more than the actual brakes. You could likely do the same with the taco in heavy snow. Its not for when the conditions are ok just for when really shitty conditions. less brakes, more engine braking really helps.

 

Congrats on the move! I moved up from Houston Texas 2.5 years ago. I live about an hour and half south of you in Pullman, WA.

 

Someone told me they don't even use salt any more, they use some sort of chemical but it still gets corroded. At least where I'm at.

 

And you have a Quicksand! Haha. I'd still like to get to know people up here. My buddies are deploying this month..figures..I've been here not even a month and they end up leaving haha

 

In regards to siping, aren't my wildpeak at3w pretty well siped? Hate to cut them even more

 

There are two Schools of thought as far I know in Washington in the snow: 1. Drive as fast as you can to beat every snowflake before it hits the ground. 2. Drive as slow as possible so every snowflake has hit the ground. As far I know their are only these are the only way to drive in snow in Washington, or Wershington as the locals call it.