Driving a Tundra on the tundra

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redduck I live in Southern California, so I never needed to even think about stuff like this. (I also have never driven a truck). This information is all brand new to me. Thanks for the tip.

And the tire tips mentioned above are very important. I'm going to get new tires for my F-150 4x4 before winter. Tires with deeper tread than my current set. If the truck isn't going to get much highway mileage, and it's going to spend winters on snow/ice, it helps a lot to have deeper tread.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronstar And the tire tips mentioned above are very important. I'm going to get new tires for my F-150 4x4 before winter. Tires with deeper tread than my current set. If the truck isn't going to get much highway mileage, and it's going to spend winters on snow/ice, it helps a lot to have deeper tread.

It is not just the depth of the tread but the hardness of the rubber and siping, especially on ice.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454 4WD will help you get going but it does not really stop or turn any better. Lot of people forget that. Real winter tires can make as much difference as anything, as several suggested. Some weight in the bed does help. 4WD does not make you able to drive like no concern for the bad traction. Just drive cautious, no fast acceleration, braking or turning and she will do fine.

We had a subaru Loyale which had "on demand" 4WD. We found that the 4WD setting could get you into trouble much faster than the brakes (and steering) could get you out of it. Do NOT let the ease of 4WD getting through snow FOOL you.

One other thing which may or may not be valuable. On the Loyale, the auto trans allowed you to select 2nd gear. When you selected 2nd gear, the car did not start out in 1st gear. It actually started out in 2nd gear. This lowered the torque to the wheels and virtually prevented accidental wheel spin - even in the slickest conditions. Starting in "drive" could easily lead to wheel spin - even though the car was in 4WD. Using the 2nd gear with 4WD was ESPECIALLY helpful when you were parallel parked in slick and or snow conditions. Cocking the wheels to exit a tight space is a recipe for wheel spin in icy conditions. Using 2nd prevented this (on the Loyale). YMMV as always.