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How to help my truck that does poorly in the winter?

I own a Toyota Tacoma Prerunner (double cab) which does really poorly on winter roads (it doesn't have 4-wheel drive or all wheel drive). I have bags of gravel in the bed, but it still seems to have difficulty, even when the roads don't have much accumulation. Suggestions? Different tires? Help!!

afborwick asked in Cars & Motorcycles about 1 year ago | Report

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    Actual winter tires are probably overkill for the Seattle area unless you go into the mountains a lot, but a good set of AT tires can perform pretty well in snow without having the drawbacks of winter tires.

    You might look at something like the BF Goodrich KO Radials: http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-selector/name/all-terrain-t-a-ko-tires

    These are AT's so they're designed primarily as an on-road tire, but they're just about the most aggressive tread you can get in an on-road tire. I had a set on an old Toyota pickup, which was a 4x4, but they did pretty well in snow even in 2wd. They're also great on wet dirt roads.

    Jack answered in Cars & Motorcycles about 1 year ago | Report
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    To get any benefit out of the sand bags, you'll need at least 150 lbs. With a two wheel drive truck I'd invest in a set of studless snow tires. Ive been using Michelin X Ice for the winters in Spokane and love them. Start out from a stop in 2nd gear if you have a manual transmission, drive in higher gears than you would in dry conditions( 4th gear @ 30 mph) You want to keep the rear wheels from spinning as you give it gas. And go slow.

    Sparky answered in Cars & Motorcycles about 1 year ago | Report
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    Keith Newham

    Different tires in winter are necessary for different types of surface. For my SUV, I run studded tires with aggresive treat pattern. This gives me great traction on very icy surfaces, as well as reasonable grip. The aggressive design of the tires will work better also for most slushy conditions as well as straight snow.

    You own a vehicle with little weight at the back, and this is a common truck problem. My other vehicle, a 3/4 ton truck with a dump bed, only does OK with a RWD since it's still fairly heavy. A Tacoma is much lighter still relative front to the rear of the truck.

    In your situation, I'd suggest considering narrower tires with aggressive tread; continue having extra weight just before the rear axle ( definitely not after the rear axle otherwise you encourage cornering instability!!). This should help with rainy conditions (wider tires are not better contrary to popular belief). You might notice Land Rover specifies narrower tires for it's vehicles and for good reason.

    If you are still experiencing problems in the winter when temperatures are near or at freezing, that's when you consider true snow tires ( not studded, but made of a compound designed to stay sticky at lower temps).

    The cost of extra tires, and wheels for those tires is relatively low, especially if you get the rims used from craigslist. As we move into the spring around here, this is the best time to go shopping. I have a spare set of studded tires for my SUV and I managed to get them for $200.

    Be sure to match tires all around - don't just buy for the rear axle. You want the traction to be matched on both axles.

    Hope that helps...

    Keith Newham answered in Cars & Motorcycles about 1 year ago | Report
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