Traction in 2wd

[collinma40]

What do people usually do to help with traction when in 2wd? I live in Buffalo and it's basically an ice rink right now. I was thinking of adding sand bags or a steel plate to the rear but I'm wondering what the best practices are as well as how much weight I should be adding. Is there anything I can install that will give traction but also help with functionality...like a heavy tool box.

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[kb2755]

What do people usually do to help with traction when in 2wd? I live in Buffalo and it's basically an ice rink right now. I was thinking of adding sand bags or a steel plate to the rear but I'm wondering what the best practices are as well as how much weight I should be adding. Is there anything I can install that will give traction but also help with functionality...like a heavy tool box.

Dedicated winter tires and the use of the “Slippery” drive mode in 2H have my truck firmly planted in nasty weather without the need for any weight in the back. I’ll throw it into 4H if necessary, but haven’t needed to yet this year.

Buffalo has had a worse winter than Ontario so far, I’d definitely consider winter tires if you’re not already on them.

 

[780]

Sidewalk blocks are heavy and can lay flat so you don't lose too much bedspace.

As mentioned above, I use slippery mode in 2WD as well. When Slippery mode is selected, it defaults to 4HI but can be switched back to 2WD. Also tires. Dedicated winter tires are best. I'm running 3 peak rated Toyo AT3's. Personally, so far I'm thinking the Duratracs I had previously were better on ice.

 

[Chili]

Blizzaks. My 18" Wrangler territory at tires have 1600 miles and I want to get by one winter for them but was hoping they'd be better. I will be replacing them next fall with Blizzaks. I don't feel I need additional weight as I have a supercrew, the distribution isn't absolutely terrible. But weight would help.

 

[Henfield]

Going to assume no dealer in Buffalo NY would have 2wd vehicles to sell. There have been several times when reversing up a sloping driveway when RWD hasn't done it for me. Leaves and light snow being the culprits. Pausing for a moment and pressing the 4WD button has solve that. I use 4WD as little as possible being an XLT owner. Just to get me out of the problem, and then back to RWD/2WD.

 

[HammaMan]

Is your 4W out of order or ya get the wrong truck?

Move south and avoid the mud

 

[DT400]

For density it's hard to beat a bag of concrete. Put 4 or 5 80lb (you can get 60lb bags too) bags right over the rear axle, if you put them behind the rear axle they will take weight off of the steer axle and you don't want to do that.
they're cheap and durable but can be difficult to move depending on physical abilities
The bags will get wet and solidify and likely form around the ridges in the bed and help hold them in place...there are other methods to help keep them in place to like simple lumber frame or similar.

And as others mentioned a quality WINTER tire will to amazing things in the ice and hard-pack snow.

Other than that get 4x or AWD.....

Darrell

 

[B-real]

shifting in to 4 is your best option

Beyond that sand bags or some way to add ~300 lbs. of weight to the bed.

 

[Graygoose2021]

last year when we had black ice/snow, my 2wd was fine.

added sand bags, used slippery mode...did fine.

 

[towpro]

remember anything you put in the bed can become a missile or flying hazard in an accident.
in past I have used cylinder blocks, concrete parking blocks and even snow in some events but back than I thought more like "what do I have laying around" instead of "what would be safest".

The safest thing is "tube stand" and keep it dry so it does not freeze. this way if it does slide or move quickly it will cause less damge.
Your best bet is real snow tires, not AT, but radial tires made for snow.

While I don't live in snow land anymore, I did for all of my life and only had one 4wd truck during that time. Now my slippery spot is boat ramps, but I buy all my 2wd trucks now with electronic lockers. Best thing since sliced bread for 2wd trucks. If you don't need it, turn it off. Above 25mph, it shuts off for you. When you do need it, it works, not like the old limited slips that get hot and open up to be single rear wheel.

 

[collinma40]

Thanks all. Crazy that I didn't know I could switch to slippery mode and then back to 2wd with it staying in slippery mode. That alone has helped with traction from a dead stop while on ice.

The stock Tremor tires seem pretty solid in the winter so far so it's really just a matter of getting in and out of my driveway because the owner (me) hasn't bothered to plow the snow in a few days.

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

[780]

Thanks all. Crazy that I didn't know I could switch to slippery mode and then back to 2wd with it staying in slippery mode. That alone has helped with traction from a dead stop while on ice.

I just figured that out myself a couple weeks ago...

 

[Henfield]

If putting stuff in the bed is your choice, put it in front of your rear axle. Otherwise it will lighten the load on the front axle, and decrease traction there.

 

[Calson]

Without true locking differentials a 2WD truck is really a one-wheel drive truck. The so called anti-spin differentials are a fraud and the brakes are applied to the faster spinning wheel as with "traction control" on sedans.

What can help is to manually select the gear and start out in 2nd or even 3rd gear. Less initial torque at the rear wheels makes them less like to spin on soft surfaces.

Adding a rear locker is also an option but it can make it more likely for the wheels to lose traction in turns so as always there are trade-offs.

I bought a 2022 F-150 to get a true locking differential as this is only available from Ford and Ram and not from Toyota or GM for their pickup trucks.

 

[HammaMan]

Thanks all. Crazy that I didn't know I could switch to slippery mode and then back to 2wd with it staying in slippery mode. That alone has helped with traction from a dead stop while on ice.

The stock Tremor tires seem pretty solid in the winter so far so it's really just a matter of getting in and out of my driveway because the owner (me) hasn't bothered to plow the snow in a few days.

Happy Holidays everyone!

If you got a tremor just leave it in 4a, lol

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