Tire traction enhancers?

[imcrazy]

Find out if you have a limited slip or locking rear end in the truck... If you don't find out where and how to get one installed.. Even 4wd trucks aren't getting very far without a locking rear end of some sort... I have a 4x4 Silverado with an Autotrac transfer case which gives me 2hi, Auto (AWD) 4hi and 4lo... I rarely need the 4 hi and the the truck handles better around corners in 2hi or auto as the 4 hi locks the front diff but, the auto setting lets it slip and sends power to the front wheels only when they spin...

If you have an LSD or locker, put about 500# of weight in the bed and you'll be good to go... steel plate is the best way IMO to add weight as it takes up no space in the bed compared to sand bags or cinder blocks...

 

[ancient-one]

If stuck on ice or hard packed snow a few handfuls of concrete will usually get you going. I have used it many times and a big coffee can full stores easy.
It is the best thing that I have found.

A sack of concrete is cheap and you only have to carry a can full. If you are on ice, your wheels spinning, it will get you going. I have used it several times.
The most memorable was at a dentists office. I should have never gone but I did. It was about 50' up an incline to the road. I had chain type deals on my shoes where I could walk and I spread a light coat of concrete on my path out. Going easy on the foot feed I made it without a problem. It was a solid sheet of ice.

 

[squidsix]

I bought my 2wd Ram new in 1997. Still have it and drive it all over the place, and I live in MAINE. White Christmas? We have White HALLOWEENS up here.
Chains (the new non-metallic equvalent are awesome) and weight are the only cure for 2wd. I do NOT use snow tires on the truck, only the front wheels of the Jetta (studded). The reason for this is the annoyance of living in a no-garage townhouse and lacking the space to store a set of truck tires. I have found all-season all-terrain to do the trick, unless it's proper ice on the road, and then the chains go on. In 21+ years with this truck I have never been stuck anywhere, and never left on the side of the road wanting repairs, and saved over $8K on the purchase price and thousands in gas costs.

 

[venomballistics]

We has that happen around here a number of years ago. A truck slid off the highway into a ditch and took a small car with it.
The news report said that the car passengers were "squashed".
(I always thought that was a somewhat brutal way to report it....)

that's not bad at all. It's when you get to the social hall versions that one hears the brutal versions.
"Pried him out of the trunk", "located in the glove box", "exited via extrusion"
Direct witness accounts can be truly unsettling. The words "meat" and "ejected" do not belong in the same sentence outside an account of an 80's Ozzy or W.A.S.P. concert.

be careful out there ...
Don't be someones PTSD

 

[LVSteve]

We has that happen around here a number of years ago. A truck slid off the highway into a ditch and took a small car with it.
The news report said that the car passengers were "squashed".
(I always thought that was a somewhat brutal way to report it....)

Some call my delivery on the subject brutal. We don't have inspections here so I can't go a week without being behind a vehicle with no brake lights. This grinds my gears bad.

If possible I will inform the driver. Most are grateful, but occasionally I come up against Mr/Mrs/Ms "So what?" At this point I do my best Cheshire cat impression and say something like : "Well, when the 18-wheeler ploughs over you because he doesn't see any brake lights, you will find it hard to scream while your sinuses are are being flushed with your kidneys. Drive safe!" ...and then I walk away. The looks I get are priceless.

 

[Capt Steve]

Old but a goodie...

My ride is a 1995 Ford Crown Vic with 183K+ miles. We went up to Angel Fire New Mexico {southern Rockies} for a week over Christmas. I put 3 - 50# sandbags in the trunk over the rear axle and brought a set of the new Cable Chains.

We got in OK but the days after Christmas we got over a foot of fresh powder and the temps dropped to single digits bottoming out at 14 degrees below zero the morning we left.

The sandbags and cable chains worked great but they recommend you do not exceed 30 mph. The 30 mile ride up and over the pass on highway 64 was slow going but we got to Taos with no slipping or sliding. I'll probably never encounter conditions like that but it was nice to be able to safely deal with them.

 

[BigBill]

Years ago in the old days we put two 55 gallon drum of water in the pick up bed with tire chains with two wheel drive. We even plowed like that.

 

[JH1951]

It's a known fact that the vehicles that are most often stuck are ones with 4 wheel drive. They knew they could make it. Everyone else doesn't know for sure and get stuck less often.

As Harry Callahan once said, know your limitations.
2WD trucks I have had in the north-east always had snow treads and several hundred pounds of barn dry or cracker dust (crushed stone) in the bed over the axel. Wrap them well with plastic and duct tape and use them for years. It comes in handy if you get stuck on a slippery area as well. I have since become a fan of 4WD, but a man still has to know his limitations.....