ok, im mad. i went to my friends today to do some knee surfing behind the trucks, and i seriously couldnt move. like, it doesnt really get "stuck" it just wont grab. makes me so mad, i get 5 feet and have to get a nudge. theres probably no more than a foot of snow, and it all fresh powdery snow, not "get stuck snow". i mean once you get moving, its not too bad, but my tires are going 90+ and im going like 20. well, i guess he only got one picture and a short video of me pulling out there. a couple times we had to stick boards under, and still nothing. so is the answer tires? i just want to freaking move. if i go with tires, i will get 32" bfg a/t's, so i can use stock wheels. what else will help, traction bars? locker? i have an open rear if that matters. i couldnt even pull out of mcdonalds earlier. AGH! will 32"s solve this? btw i have 235's/29's now.

 

The lack of having power to the front wheels is your first problem. Just tires alone will not help you. When I am in 2wd, even with really beefy tires, I still have little traction due to the lack of weight in the bed. Ballast in your bed and good tires will definetly help you out, but because you're 2wd, you've got very limited capabilities in low traction situations. A locker will definetly help to prevent spinning and one wheel burnouts, but you will still get stuck easily.

 

alright....

 

Get a fat chick to sit in the bed. They're free!!

 

Yellow, CrazyMikey is right though. The only way you'll achieve any traction in 2wd is to weigh down the bed. 1 ft of snow is enough to give you hassle. Tires would help, but honestly, the trick I use to get moving, ease into my throttle. If you punch it, you'll just spin.

 

Dude, thats the most useful advice you are going to get, except for maybe putting a 100lbs of stuff (4 sandbags, flanked by 2x4's in the bed) over your rear axle. So be appreciative of what Mike told you.

In 2wd, w/ 31" BFG ATs, I won't move. Hell, in 4wd it still takes a little bit of finagiling (spell check?) to get where I need to go. You're truck isn't a good snow vehicle, nor wil it ever be (not that 4wd's are amazing, either). And it's something that you will have to eventually come to realize. And by no means, am I trying to be derogatory towards you or your truck, that's just the way it is bro. Get 4 sand bags, stack em two wide, two tall. Put 2x4's in your bed in the grooves in the bedliner over the axle.....and call it a day. Otherwise, you're screwed no matter what.

 

.....and easy to pick up. Just swing buy a Dunkin Dounuts first. LMAO

 

Exactly, bed weight + easy on the skinny pedal = better traction.

 

Now, as of right now the only thing I have in my bed is empty pop cans, but when the snow hits, I'll throw one of my extra 32's in the bed over the axle and a few other tools like my hi lift and my bag of chains/straps. I have sandbags, but I hate loading and unloading em all the time.

A few weeks ago we had a nice storm come thru, and as the storm was here, i was texting Jake (lord of war) telling him that I dont use 4wd much in the snow... no sooner after that I hit 4wd cause I couldn't get traction even with easing into the throttle. You just gotta get a feel for how the truck will do in the snow. Rangers suck in the snow. End of discussion there. My old bronco was great in it, but would still have issue.

 

yeah, i know, i used to have weight back there, but after it caused me to go off the road, its been out. maybe i will just put it back there only when i wheel. also, chains?

i also just rotated my tires as soon as i got home bc the front are seriously probably twice as much tread.

 

For as light as the truck is, chains won't really help either

 

You must not know how to drive then, because im on street tires with a 2wd truck with no weight in the bed and had no issue of driving through the 8 inches of snow we got last night.. or the previous 6 years of owning a ranger even when it was lowered...Did I slide around? yes a little, Did I spin? Of course you spin occasionally its just knowing how to use the throttle and clutch at the appropriate times. Its not rocket science but after a while it shouldnt be hard..

To phil, your running street tires, gunning the gas isnt going to get you instant traction but rather instant spin. all terrain tires will be better, but studded snow tires will be the best as they have the best sippenage. Lockers and limited slips are actually worse in the snow than a open rear end to boot for your knowledge. Weight helps but taking your time to learn how the drive the truck goes the furthest for sucess..

and since when is doing doughnuts winter wheeling?

 

lol. Well it's a 2wd pickup, with an open diff, and 29" tires. And you can't figure why it sucks in the snow?

 

okay and i didnt gun right into it. its not like i wasnt moving then WAHHHHHHHHH!!! no, i eased upto it.

 

That's your opinion. If you know how to drive, they help a lot in the snow. If you have no throttle control or idea how to counter-steer then you shouldn't be out in the first place.

 

im sorry but i am the KING of counter steering lol, no but seriously tho, im very familiar with counter steering, its basically instinct now.

 

because we didnt take the easy way out and buy 4wd?

 

That's one of the more stupid things I've heard lately, but okay.


How about because with a 2wd open diff, you are only getting reliable traction to 1 wheel when it is slick. On top of that, the one wheel has hardly any weight on it. The tires are small and narrow, and you're trying to push those tiny tires over/through snow almost a foot deep.
The tires probably haven't been aired down to get a better contact patch, and the front of the truck sits low and probably acts as a snow plow.

Get some good tires, air them down a little bit, put some weight in the back, and consider chains if you need to get around a lot in deep snow.

 

I have no problem getting around in the snow at all but good for phil to read.

When my 98 was slammed 5/7 I still had no problem in the snow it just takes a good set of tires and weight.

 

You must not understand the mountain I live on, turning up steep *** hills.

Sorry no one on Ranger-Forums will ever be as good as you at anything you do, Mark. I'd like to see your truck going through 8" of snow with no problem. I'm calling you out with a

 

Maybe you should of mentioned that as thats different driving up mountains then on a flat street.

People have driven many years with 2wd trucks in snow its not the easiest but just because you dont have a 4wd vehicle doesnt mean we cant drive good in the snow.

 

Seriously, I've never put weight in my bed and I've had 0 problems in the snow. I've been in 5 inches with no problems, 2wd open with BFGs

 

I never have problems in the snow. Maybe because my cap is always weighing down my rear plus I try to keep close to a full tank during winter to add weight. And I'm open diff, 2wd on 31x10.5 crappy all terrains.

 

1) Throttle control, no tire or weight is going to help you if you're mashing the throttle.
2) Tires/Tire Pressure, there is such thing as too high and too low, 18-30PSI for optimal traction with most All Season tires.
3) Weight placement, all Rangers are nose heavy, a couple hundred+ pounds of sand/gravel properly placed and secured can make a huge difference.

A Tip: If you're geared low enough you have a hard time preventing wheel spin, lightly apply the parking brake until you have gained momentum to release it, this may only work on Limited Slip & Locked differentials.

Common sense is the best driving tool available, use it.

 

Some other advice I can give is try 2nd gear starts in very low traction situations, such as starting on an incline, or trying to take off from an icy intersection. Stay in a higher gear,like go into 4th and lug the engine a little bit when you'd usually be in 3rd gear. Just being light and easy on the gas and letting off the gas when you start to break traction is going to get you further than pushing the pedal to the medal.

ANY pickup truck is like 80% nose heavy. Learn to control skids and slides. Try and learn the limitations of your truck in certain conditions. Since the truck is so nose heavy,that means all the weight is pushing down on the front, hindering any hopes of traction for the rear unless that weight bias is more evenly distributed, which would mean to add weight to the rear, even if you just fill the bed with snow.

I don't use 4wd until I get stuck,or about to get stuck in 2wd. I just try and get the truck through what I have to go through based on the abilities of what I know a nose-heavy rear wheel drive vehicle is capable of, which isn't much.

Just because it's a truck doesn't mean it's better in the snow than a car. Hell, you could probably get in a front wheel drive Civic and go places your truck won't go.