I have a 2wd ranger and i just found out tonight exactly how much of a pain in the *** it is to drive the friggin thing in the snow ....for starters i barley made it up a 30-45º slope (literally went up sideways), fish tailed almost the entire drive home (about 10-15min of true fish tailing) and did one 360...I'm thinking its time i purchase a pair of tires specifically for winter use to have on the rear. Any suggestions (feel free to give me snow driving tips as well; i was thinking buying some bags of sand for the time being)? My ranger is pretty much stock, oh and to make it better I'm on a pretty friggin low budget...I'm just glad i didn't crash tonight.

 

do you have any weight in the bed?

 

no...thts why i was thinking bags of playsand or similar...any suggestions?

 

Weight in the bed helps, i used to run cooper ice radials in the winter, they hook up like crazy on ice

 

What tires do you have now?

 

6 sandbags for starters.

Blizzack DM-Z3 snow tires.

Your truck will handle the snow like nothing with this set up

i just read your on a low budget, just hit up walmart and get some econo snow tires, or check your local craiglist/kijiji or whatever you have find some snow tires for cheap

I had a 2wd ranger previously, and with some econo snow tires and 6 sandbags i never got stuck once.

 

personal opinion to a point but i know for a fact you do not want these...

 

30-45 degree slope! holy crap dude, thats freakin steep! i dont think any tire is going to help you do that.

FWIW, my BFGoodrich All Terrains work great in the snow.

 

i agree got my 2wd truck around in some nasty stuff never let me down

 

Another option, air down to around 12-15psi in the rear tires for traction.

I would agree though, BFG AT's are an awesome all weather and terrain tire.

 

Tonight we had a light but slick coating of snow........back in forth between 4x4L and 4x4H in 1st gear (auto truck) I was still slipping everywhere. (just on campus, up and down hills from my apartment to the fieldhouse where I work, no faster than 25). I'm on BFG ATs too. Time to throw some weight in the bed........


Get ice radials or BFG ATs

 

i have bfg a/t's too and they really are great... i drove right past a guy driving a 4x4 dually in the snow once as he slid off the road. my little ranger with bfg's handled it fine.

 

studded snow tires

 

Throttle is your enemy. You basically can't give it any gas or it will spin. I have 300 lbs of weight above my rear axle, and Firestone Destination A/T's, And we have only had 4 days so far since mid-November that it hasn't snowed. IE lots of snow.

You have to really take it easy on the gas or else the rear will start spinning and sliding. The weight seems to help but only a little bit. It's no substitute for 4x4. My next truck will def be 4x4.

I have never gotten stuck though, so with weight, decent tires, and takin it easy on the gas pedal you should be fine.

Enjoy.

 

I have those dakota tires on the rear and wrangler tires on the front (manufacture names escape me at the moment)

 

haha...yeaaaaa i dont think i'd go anywhere with those...

ok maybe i exaggerated...lets try a slite slope....maybe 2-5º? lol

 

are the dakota tires definity tires? if so i have those haha i rarely use my 4x4 and they do pretty well in the rear but the front...not too great

 

do jeep tires fit on rangers? the bolt pattern looks similar. but i really havent looks further into it than just a quick look.

 

Yea they are definity...thnx for reminding me. The tred on them is just over abe lincoln's head...i went to lowes earlier this morning and bought 6 bags of sand (total of 300lbs) and put them in the bed over the axel...seems to be doing better so far...havn't had a chance to actually test in snow (the roads have been plowed/melted).

I'm not 100% sure if they are actual jeep tires...maybe just a model name? I forgot to look at the tires this morning. Also the rims are the stock rims not jeep rims.

 

I would recomend just slowing down and staying off the throtle. I have Hercules traildriggers M/T without any wieght in the bed and i never have any problems during the winter when we get snow unless im out messing around. I only use 4x4 when im in a hurry and need to be some where.

 

my dakota a/t's have been treating me well since i bought them two and a half years ago. spring time im getting bfgs on my new classic 2s

 

Is that a Goodyear Wrangler RTS?

 

These are awesome in the snow. Not so much on ice. Snow tires are a softer compound and work better in colder conditions as they grip and stick better than an all season or standard radial tire.

These are M+S rated,but are still a fairly hard compound, but I have not yet gotten stuck.

 

Do you change them when it's warmer out or keep em on all year?

 

Hope your being sarcastic b/c if not, damn boy you can't read the tire.