Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
You guys down south are funny, an inch or two of snow shuts the state down.
Up here I just dust off my windshield and proceed with my day, in VT anything less than 6in doesn't really count.
I'd be cruising around with my 2wd open rear end truck, sipping coffee wondering what all the fuss was about.
Little trucks like that ranger are great in the snow with their short wheel bases. Throw 200-300 pounds in the bed and if you have half way decent tires your good up to 6in.
I didn't have 200-300 lbs. of anything to throw in the bed because we weren't expecting any snow at all. All that's in the bed is snow. Going to get some sand is impossible because the roads are littered with cars from people who just gave up.
The issue here is the hills. Bham is in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, so we have some very steep hills. People would start up the hills, reach an intersection, panic and slam on their breaks, and cause everyone behind them on the hill to also have to hit the brakes. Once my truck is stopped on a steep grade with nothing but ice under the tires and nothing in the bed, it's not going to get moving again easily. Your truck wouldn't either, even with you driving it. 2WD truck + open diff + steep hill + ice + no ballast + no salt = no go. You wouldn't be cruising around anywhere because the roads aren't clear...abandoned cars everywhere. And NE also has ample salt...we have NONE. Nothing. No salt trucks, no plows, nothing. All of the roads here are still completely untreated.
On flat roads and untraveled hilly roads, my truck did fine. But behind a panicking mommy in her Chevy Travesty on a sheet of ice it was more like "GO [censored]! WHY ARE YOU STOPPING?" The Colorados at work were legitimately dangerous because of their tires...those trucks have traction control, but it did absolutely jack [censored] except make groaning noises from what I could tell.
Driving through fresh powder is easy too, what we have here now is just ice. Ice everywhere.
My truck got me home safe and isn't in a ditch, on the side of a road, or abandoned, so yes, I guess Rangers are pretty great in the snow. That doesn't mean driving around Birmingham is great in the snow!
As you can tell from the pic, a lot of people here didn't even drive anywhere today.