t-15 firefighter

Well it finally snowed here. We only get maybe 2 to 3 snowfalls a year but this one was a good one. It snowed around 8 to 10 inches here at the house.

Now for the good stuff.

I was at work yesterday when the snow started. My wife was also at work. Since I work for the Fire Dept. (24 hr shift) I couldn’t leave and pick her up from her work. She had a friend pick her up and she spent the night with them. I got off work at 7:00 AM this morning and went to pick her up. It was nothing but ice and snow on the streets.

I have to tell you, this truck is AWESOME!!!!

Everyone asks me why I buy a 4X4 since I never take it off road (pavement queen). Well it is times like these that I love having a 4X4. I may only use it only 2 or 3 times a year but it is well worth it to me! I had no trouble at all getting around today while everyone else was sliding. I put it in 4-wheel drive and I couldn’t make it spin the wheels. You can just tell when the truck is trying to find grip. I went up some pretty steep hills and it never spun a tire. I don’t know what they changed on these trucks, but I like it. All 4 wheels (6 in my case) pull. It is a true 4-wheel drive. I had a smile on my face while everyone else was slipping and sliding. Is it wrong for feeling so good about a superior vehicle???


God I love this truck!!!!



Britt

Blygy

I believe the AAM axle under the front of our trucks is an open differential.. sorry but no "true 4x4". Only three corners putting down torque at a time..

We need the electric lockers like the new powerwagon..HEEHEE

Blygy

t-15 firefighter

oh well,

i guess 3 is better than 1 in the front and 1 in the rear

these trucks are still awesome and i couldn't make them spin.

Britt

B.Law

I have a crap load of work in Northern Michigan so i'll get to try the DRW out in the white stuff i'm sure. I just hope there a little better than what people say, she'll have the 285 series MT/R's mouted before I head up that way so hopefully they'll help.


Ah heck, just noticed you have a dually as well, this is nice to hear that it performed well in the snow.

t-15 firefighter

i had some MT/R's on my 01 Chevy HD. what size are you going to run on your dually and did you have to use spacers for the duals?

you will be happy with the performance of the truck in the snow. i sure was.


britt

B.Law

I ordered 285/70/17's and I think the spec at 33.1 inches tall and the section width is 11.50. Also a set of 2" hub-centric spacers from Fred out in California. Don't think I will need 2 inches for 285's, but I hope to migrate up to 37x12.50's this summer.

PapaPerk

As long as traction is equal on both front tires then both wheels will pull. And if you have limited slip in the rear then you will be pulling with all 4 tires (6 in your case). Now if you had one front tire on ice and one on dry pavement then the one on the ice would spin and the tire on the pavement would stand still.

My truck seems to pull very well in mud. Generally all four tires are spinning in an equal effort to get the truck through the muck. The weight of the front end of these trucks most likely aids in both front tires working together.

By the way Britt....NICE TRUCK!

t-15 firefighter

thanks for the info muddin. i really liked my MTR's. good looking tire.





Thank You!!


Britt

1sttruck

I found that with the 4wd with the stock Michelins the truck did fine in snow, but it was pretty bad on ice so be careful. I ended up with a set of chains last year as no studded tires were available, and chained up it of course did fine on smooth, glaze ice. In a couple of hours I'll be getting a set of studded Cooper M+S, as they finally made some in a load range D or E for a 17in tire. I looked for some Nokians as they were advertised as being available this fall but no one could find any.

t-15 firefighter

yeah, i don't know anything that would be good on straight ice other then studded tires or tire chains.

which begs the question: can you put chains on the front tires also? i was thinking of getting a set of chains soon and thought i might get 2 sets. one for the front and rear.

anyone here done this before?


britt

tdupuis

I have a SWR 2500 4x2, and Sunday night we had 3" of snow and ice in NYC. I had to drive from the shop back to my friend's house with my trailer with a 4000 lb car on it. This truck is, without question, the best vehicle I've ever driven in the winter (my old '69 Cadillac not being too far behind it). The anti-spin differential did its job, and I didn't have a single problem on the snow and ice-filled roads.

I'm hoping that I get some more snow so I can have more fun and see just how well this truck does by itself. I really can't say that I miss 4x4. This 4x2 does the trick for me without that 70 mph wobble, with a better turning radius, better mileage, and lower ride height (makes it easier for my mom and grandmother to get in). Of course, now saying this I'm sure I'll come across 15" of snow and eat my words.

I may buy a set of chains (or two), though.

John Halter

We had over 12 in. of the white stuff last night in Ohio and my truck impressed me to, it is better than any of my previous 4x4.I think the weight of these trucks sure helps plus 500lbs in back.I decided to start Christmas shoping last night and the stores were empty it was great.My son called when I was about done and said a friend of his went in ditch and wanted to know if my old 91 cummins I gave him would pull it out.I told him he better let me help if you hock it wrong he mite do more harm then good.When I got thier they had rear bumper and front dug out to hook on to and it was a good thing I told them to wait the rear bumper was really rusted at hangers.We went under the front and hooked on to the frame but I had very little faith because the road was all ice and the ditch was 4 feet deep.The truck never spun a tire but we cleaned the ditch for 100 feet before the thing came out, it impressed me.

Raspy

There's no such thing as three wheel drive on these trucks. With an open diff both wheels are always putting equal torque to the ground. If one wheel is on ice and the other on pavement, the wheel on ice will spin very easily, but both wheels are putting equal torque to the ground. One wheel spinning fast and one stopped. That's the nature of a differential. In an LS diff there are clutches, or ratchets, or gears that try to make both wheels turn at the same speed. This makes it possible to put more torque to the ground with the wheel that has more traction.

Wetspirit

v8440

I'm not sure about the equal torque thing. I've put my hand on the sidewall (so it wouldn't grab my hand and wrap me around the tire) of a tire on a car that was jacked up. The driver put it in gear and eased into the throttle. I was able to easily hold the one tire still while the other spun. I've done this on several vehicles that were on lifts at various times over the years, and all of them with open differentials did exactly what I described. If the torque were equal, I wouldn't have been able to hold that tire still.

I see what you're saying about equal torque; if one tire is on ice, and the other is on pavement, the one on ice will spin while the one on pavement stands still. That scenario does fit with the equal torque idea. However, it also fits with another idea, which is that an open differential will put MORE torque to the wheel with the least traction. I've read that statement again and again over the years, and I've come to believe it. It explains the behavior in your ice/pavement situation, and it also explains why I'm able to easily hold a tire still on a jacked up open differential vehicle.

doomgaze

You know, I was hoping the stores would be empty. I went out to do some shopping on Wednesday and Thursday...

All I can say is some weather doesn't phase anyone. I saw close to 25 vehicles in ditches on Wednesday. Turned a 2 hour commute into a 7 and a half hour trip. But wouldn't you know the stores were packed.

Thursday was a tad different... stores were still packed (especially Wal Mart) but the roads were hardly plowed so the parking lots were full of 4wd trucks mostly.

Also noticed that Wal Mart seems to plow their parking lot better than the county/state plows our roads. They were plowing the parking lot for at least 8 hours yesterday and they were taking away the snow in dump trucks.