Just wondering how many people make it up the big hills in 2wd in a snow storm??? will be in a dully with new bfg a/ts pulling a 24 ft enclosed and im guessing we are going to be hitting the snow up in Michigan late tonight early in to the am. just wanted to see if it will be a breeze or are we going to have a fun time trying to make it???
2wd vs Michigan hills in snow????
- Thread starter ttallin
- Start date
On a dually 2 wheel drive, that's my trailer puller also, I'll drop 15 lbs on outside tires, so the inside get more bite, sled in the bed dont hurt either. But if it gets to sketchy I take the outside wheels off, trow them in the bed.
Had to do that last yr when driving up to togwotee.
Had to do that last yr when driving up to togwotee.
anonomoose
New member
Remember...momentum is your friend. In the OLD days that was all there was....of course in the old daz there were lots of folks in the ditch too.
Load the rear end with as much weight as possible. Don't let air out because that will make the tires warm up and warm is not good when you are trying to get good traction. Skill level here is important...winter driving skills can make a difference as to whether you get there in one piece or have a white knuckle flight.
Load the rear end with as much weight as possible. Don't let air out because that will make the tires warm up and warm is not good when you are trying to get good traction. Skill level here is important...winter driving skills can make a difference as to whether you get there in one piece or have a white knuckle flight.
indy_500
Well-known member
We had 4 place with 3 sleds, 2 of them up front a week and a half ago coming home in blizzard conditions had to go 25 mph couldn't see 10 feet in front of me never once did i start to lose traction and thats with mud/terrain tires that supposedly do "worse" in snow.
mjkaliszak
New member
Remember...momentum is your friend. In the OLD days that was all there was....of course in the old daz there were lots of folks in the ditch too.
Load the rear end with as much weight as possible. Don't let air out because that will make the tires warm up and warm is not good when you are trying to get good traction. Skill level here is important...winter driving skills can make a difference as to whether you get there in one piece or have a white knuckle flight.
I remember the old daz... Dad was driving the Plymouth station wagon, we would go to school at a place we called " The Rock ", it was a private school, uniforms, nuns, any way to involved going up a big hill, The snow & ice would be so bad that Dad would wait at the bottom for cars to clear and then we would make our run at it.... LOL
Sometimes we would have to back down, and take another shot ! That was back in the late 60's early 70's with snow galore and studded snowtires and chains to boot.... I still remember Dad putting chains on the car. We normally only had 1 back in those days.... Sweet Memories... The Old man was all about traction, come to think of it ... He was pretty bad arse !
Kids nowadays are wimps.... Sometimes we would have to take the bus, ( Drivers name was Sarge ), they never cancelled school back then, If the bus wasn't going, my parents were still taking us to school... I can only remember 2 school snow days in all of 8 yrs, shat.... my kid ( son ) has had most of the last 2 weeks off due to snow days.... time for him to get to know the snowblower....
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anonomoose
New member
Well as long as we are trekking down the way back when daz....
First posi-traction....one wheel would spin then the other would lock and spin and then back to the first again....this caused the old buick to rock and roll...but it was better than nothing...and the old man could go places no buick should ever be going....but it was all about the "contest"...do see if you could actually do it without gett'n stuck. It was always a gas going deer hunting and takin some backwoods trail with a foot of snow or more on it and drivin past guys with those tiny jeeps head cocked and looking in disbelief that there was a BUICK up in no mans land where the jeep guys figured that they had really done it with their jeeps....of course when you got that 4 tonner stuck....it was really really stuck. My dad would say, "...snow tires, next year...."
Of course now that I know that we could have spent the winter in the woods after a good stuck...do I realize what a dang fool my dad was and me too for root'n him on!
First posi-traction....one wheel would spin then the other would lock and spin and then back to the first again....this caused the old buick to rock and roll...but it was better than nothing...and the old man could go places no buick should ever be going....but it was all about the "contest"...do see if you could actually do it without gett'n stuck. It was always a gas going deer hunting and takin some backwoods trail with a foot of snow or more on it and drivin past guys with those tiny jeeps head cocked and looking in disbelief that there was a BUICK up in no mans land where the jeep guys figured that they had really done it with their jeeps....of course when you got that 4 tonner stuck....it was really really stuck. My dad would say, "...snow tires, next year...."
Of course now that I know that we could have spent the winter in the woods after a good stuck...do I realize what a dang fool my dad was and me too for root'n him on!
Midnight Rider
New member
Why do people own 2WD trucks in the snow belt? Its a serious question, i'm not looking to start ****.
Also, its not about getting as much tongue weight as you can, its about having the proper balance. Toss too much on the *** of the truck and the front end will not even come close to biting on hard packed snow and you will slide straight into the ditch.
Like was stated above, run stock tunes, turn off the cruise control and drop the transmission into the gear you need (probably 3rd). You don't want the truck downshifting on the middle of the hill. Time the hill correctly that you can gently accelerate up the entire way, no flooring it and no coasting into it.
Also, its not about getting as much tongue weight as you can, its about having the proper balance. Toss too much on the *** of the truck and the front end will not even come close to biting on hard packed snow and you will slide straight into the ditch.
Like was stated above, run stock tunes, turn off the cruise control and drop the transmission into the gear you need (probably 3rd). You don't want the truck downshifting on the middle of the hill. Time the hill correctly that you can gently accelerate up the entire way, no flooring it and no coasting into it.
polarisrider1
New member
I think a 2wd truck in Michigan is "special" order.
The big problem we had with 2wd is that most resorts are down at the bottom of a hill on the lake. We would have a hard time getting out of the resort so we would leave the trailer at the top of the hill and load it up there. If you keep your gear in the trailer it's a bit of a hassle to load up. Everything is 4wd now.
700classic
New member
Just takes a little more skill and thought to get there with 2wd.
shoelessjoe
New member
We drove from metro detroit up to Newberry a few weeks back. Normally 5.5 hours and it was 8hrs on the way there and 8hrs coming back as well. We had heavy snow, freezing rain, black ice, blowing snow whiteouts and anything else you can think of that makes for crappy roads in the winter.
We were in my brother inlaws 2500 Sierra w/ a Duramax and running BFG AT's pulling a steel 3 place inline. My brother inlaw makes his living drivine semi trucks and for some reason he seems to feel that using 4WD is an insult to his manhood. Personally I would have had it in 4WD most of the way on both trips but not him. We were in 2WD the entire way there and back and had no real issues or overly exciting moments. The only time we were fighting for traction was when there was a wreck (one of many we passed) at the bottom of a pretty steep hill a bit north of West Branch on 75. With the cops blocking lanes and what not you basically started from dead stop at the bottom of the hill, which was covered in snow and ice. Had to be patient and gentle on the gas to get momentum built up the hill but aside from that the truck did fine in 2WD.
Like I said, I would have been in 4WD personally. I'm not saying I would have made it up there any faster if I was in 4WD because there wasn't much more speed to be had with the roads the way they were. I just like the little bit of peace of mind that comes with knowing you're in 4WD. It's certainly not a free pass to hammer down and go but it's a big help.
We were in my brother inlaws 2500 Sierra w/ a Duramax and running BFG AT's pulling a steel 3 place inline. My brother inlaw makes his living drivine semi trucks and for some reason he seems to feel that using 4WD is an insult to his manhood. Personally I would have had it in 4WD most of the way on both trips but not him. We were in 2WD the entire way there and back and had no real issues or overly exciting moments. The only time we were fighting for traction was when there was a wreck (one of many we passed) at the bottom of a pretty steep hill a bit north of West Branch on 75. With the cops blocking lanes and what not you basically started from dead stop at the bottom of the hill, which was covered in snow and ice. Had to be patient and gentle on the gas to get momentum built up the hill but aside from that the truck did fine in 2WD.
Like I said, I would have been in 4WD personally. I'm not saying I would have made it up there any faster if I was in 4WD because there wasn't much more speed to be had with the roads the way they were. I just like the little bit of peace of mind that comes with knowing you're in 4WD. It's certainly not a free pass to hammer down and go but it's a big help.
tealracing16
Member
I only ever had a 2wd S10 in high school then when I lived in Houghton I had a 4wd Dakota, I could've easily gotten by with a 2wd (think of all the cars up there) but at the same time I got sick of spinning and when it snowed like 40+ days in a row it was in 4wd the whole time. My next truck will be a 2wd reg cab long box that I can drop to the ground. I miss my lowrider.
I would say that duallys are not bad in the snow. I picked up a 2004 dually last year f450 and use it as my plow truck. I rarely need 4wd! I think it is awsome. I do have a set of chains in the tool box just in case also have 4wd should I need it.
My other truck 08 f250 has bfg ats and yeah they are good in the snow but not the best my buddies pipeline truck has nice winter tires can't remember the name but they have LARGE clean outs and that is important for snow.
Brad
My other truck 08 f250 has bfg ats and yeah they are good in the snow but not the best my buddies pipeline truck has nice winter tires can't remember the name but they have LARGE clean outs and that is important for snow.
Brad