2WD truck in Idaho snow?

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Realtech214

Joined
Feb 1, 2013
Messages
725
Location
Idaho Former FL
Hi all,

Going to be making the drive from Wichita falls Texas to mountain home Idaho in the first week of february 2017 and i'll probably be staying in Idaho for a few years. Want to know if my 2wd silverado is going to be alright. I would imagine that the roads and highways would be clear and fine? Anybody from that area could you shine some light on this for me?

Truck has the G80 locking diff but thats still nowhere close to 4x4. Looking for some advice.

I have been considering trading up to a 2016 or 2017 with 4x4. Dont really want to but do you think im gonna need the 4x4 where im going? I was living in FL so the 2wd was plenty.

Thanks!
 
My short experience in PA. I had borrowed my brother's pickup truck some years ago and had taken it to work. It snowed that day. Leaving work, I thought "it's a short drive home, I'll leave it in 2WD high". Before I even left the industrial park, I had switched it to 4WD high and got out and locked the front hubs.
 
It's all driver and fresh tires. We get a lot of 4x4's overturned on the highway because they drive too fast, and wrecked on city streets because they can't stop as well as they go. After the snow the sun comes out and most of the roads clear off nice in the winter. Have to watch out for black ice at night . Unless your stuck in a blizzard or going off road the 4x4 is just a gas waster. If you live in the mountains far out of town it may be a requirement. I drove my FWD dodge through 14 inches of un-plowed road to work early one Christmas morning. It snowed hard all night. The plows didn't get out until late because of the holiday. I was plowing though 3 ft drifts with snow flying everywhere. I made it fine.
 
I don't know Idaho at all, but I do believe it snows quite well. I'd be very tempted to sell the 2WD in FL, where you could actually sell it; and get a 4WD.

If it was only for a couple of years, I'd make the 2WD work. Snow tires and ballast. People did get by before 4WD became stupid-common--and on tires much worse than you can buy today. However, if a few years turns into decades, then not only will 4WD be "nice" but you won't be trying to trade out of a 2WD in the wrong market.
 
A properly equipped 4x4 is always better. Having said that I have never encountered anything my 5 speed stick LSD rear E-150 couldn't handle. Common sense, knowing how to drive in snow, and good tires are very important.
 
How much is the upgrade to a 2016 or 2017 4x4? If you have the money go for it. 2wd trucks suck in the snow, but with decent tires, chains and weight in the back you could make it work...or you can have the piece of mind to know all you have to do is turn a knob and be able to go anywhere you want.
 
It depends.
Will you be living in a city where snow means the plows are out keeping the streets clear so the only issue is an inch or two of snow? Or will you be traversing rural roads that don't get plowed for a day or two after a big snow, and you may be breaking through drifts? Is the area where you're moving hilly or flat? Does Mountain Home get significant snowfall each winter, or is it a relatively small amount?

There are a lot of folks that claim you don't need 4 wheel drive in the winter, and in their urban/suburban world you probably don't. But if you have to get out onto unplowed hilly rural roads it's a different story.
 
I've driven many winters in various RWD vehicles from sports cars to sedans. Now, I have a 4w4 F150 but most of the time I only use 4x4 for fun or out of laziness. Does it help? Yes. Does it make driving in the snow easier and maybe safer? Yup. Has it been necessary for me? Nope.

And this is with normal A/T type tires (no mountain snowflake, not snow tires, etc). Up until this week it had an open, non-locker, non-LSD rear dif also. The biggest use that 4WD has provided me is when I back into the driveway over a snowplow pile. Would I personally buy a 2WD truck in the snowbelt, certainly not. Does that mean that 4wd is mandatory- absolutely not.
 
Keep your Silverado. Buy a set of premium "studless ice & snow" tires, such as Blizzak DM-V2 or Michelin Latitude Xi2. 4WD will not help with braking or cornering on ice and snow, but winter tires will.
 
Pick up a couple steel wheels (or only one if you use your spare), get a couple of dedicated snows with studs, put 500 pounds of sandbags over the rear axle, you'll be fine in anything short of a blizzard. Think thin on the width, factory width or a size or 2 smaller.
 
Originally Posted By: SubLGT
Keep your Silverado. Buy a set of premium "studless ice & snow" tires, such as Blizzak DM-V2 or Michelin Latitude Xi2. 4WD will not help with braking or cornering on ice and snow, but winter tires will.


Excellent advice.
 
I've owned several 2wd pickup trucks and a 2wd Jeep Cherokee for a number of years and have lived in the Buffalo NY area my entire life. I went that route because of the lower cost. Good snow tires and added weight make them better, but still won't get you through some winter situations where 4x4 or AWD will. Not even counting where 2wd can leave you in slight inclines on damp grass or a boat launch.
 
Drive like you have raw eggs on you gas and brake pedals. Do not break them.
Also drive like there is a hot cup of coffee on your steering wheel. Do not turn it fast enough to spill it.
Experience is a good teacher.
11.gif
 
My 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 diesel was useless in the snow and it had limited slip diff and a fiberglass cap for weight.

Get snow tires or year round M&S tires and many bags of sand and see how it does.

If it's nogo then trade up to 4WD.

If the 4WD is a nogo then get a Snowcat for when there is a super lot of snow.
 
Originally Posted By: Realtech214
Hi all,

Going to be making the drive from Wichita falls Texas to mountain home Idaho in the first week of february 2017 and i'll probably be staying in Idaho for a few years. Want to know if my 2wd silverado is going to be alright. I would imagine that the roads and highways would be clear and fine? Anybody from that area could you shine some light on this for me?

Truck has the G80 locking diff but thats still nowhere close to 4x4. Looking for some advice.

I have been considering trading up to a 2016 or 2017 with 4x4. Dont really want to but do you think im gonna need the 4x4 where im going? I was living in FL so the 2wd was plenty.

Thanks!


Grab a second set of wheels (curb rashed or peeling is fine) and run a set of good winter tires...you'll be fine. What size tires do you have?

I made it through the worst winter to EVER hit the northeast (2014-5) in a 2WD Dakota!
 
Mountain Home is relatively dry in the winter, and very dry in the summer. It sounds like you may be moving from SAFB to MHAFB. If you will be working and living around the town or the AFB, that has the added advantage of being flat terrain. If your Silverado was a lot older, trading to a 4X4 may be attractive, but I fear you would incur a big hit in the pocket with a 2015.

Winter tires sound like a very workable and cheaper alternative.
 
How much weight do you want to leave in the back of the truck for traction?

A pickup is a special case because they can be so light in the back.

That said, with a good set of snow rated tires (BFG A/T for example), you can go far. There are lots of times where I've gone out in my 4x4 pickup in deep snow, to our mountain house, and not felt the need to engage it.

It is nice to know its there and with the light rear end of a pickup, without it, you may be SOL.
 
+1
If you grew up driving RWD vehicles in a place where snow is common, driving in snow is no big deal. It's all about momentum and car control, the kind of things you pay to learn in a track based driving school that many of us learned for free when growing up.
A significant advantage of a pickup is ground clearance. Yeah, you'll drag the diff and the front suspension through deep snow, but you'll never have it touch the underbody to any substantial degree and that's the key to staying unstuck.
The OP should put some good tires on his truck and be prepared to stay home on a bad morning until all of the 4X4 boys have beaten a path.
The OP probably doesn't need to take the financial hit of dumping his 4X2 and buying a 4X4.
FWIW, having grown up on the shores of Lake Erie, I wouldn't.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Shannonwilkerson
Cash or vehicle in trade for compensation: What would you have done?
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
92saturnsl2
Blake1107
When is it Time to Trade?
2
Replies
37
Views
1K
facility1
AZjeff
Selling a truck to Carvana from across the country.
Replies
8
Views
459
SeaJay
N
Shock recommendation for a lightly-driven truck?
2 3
Replies
43
Views
4K
nthach
T
Changing rear diff fluid and have option paralysis
Replies
7
Views
1K
TheRuley
Back
Top