Yeah, I'm sold on em! Super quite and smooth ride in dry weather also.

 

Going for a drive on snowy roads in the winter is something I look forward to every year. This is my first year in a pickup. Got a 17 screw 2.7 recently. Added KO2s with 5100s all around and this thing is a BLAST in the snow. Very predictable and controllable in 2H, but yes, also very easy to lose traction. Sliding doesn't need to mean out of control... car control in these conditions is a skill that improves with practice.

First thing I do when I get in the car is turn off traction control, then advancetrac. Those features are to driving what the trailer backup assist **** (aka n00b ****) is to trailering. Great for many, but not for everyone.

 

I wish I could set the truck to default to AdvanceTrac Sport mode and set the AdvanceTrac off for two quick taps rather than holding for 5+ seconds. I don't mind needing to switch it off manually if I really want to steer with the throttle, but I strongly prefer the higher targets of the Sport mode to the normal mode (which allows virtually no pivoting around corners).

Tires are, by far, the #1 determining factor of vehicle performance in snow (all else being equal other than the vehicle—put a WRC driver in a Miata with bald tires and he's probably still going to drive circles around everyone on this forum). I've never found any tire other than a snow tire to really work in slippery conditions, and AT tires are not snow tires (even if they have the three-mountain-and-snowflake symbol). Unless you've got a winter compound and serious siping, you're not driving on winter tires, and winter tires provide substantially better traction and far better feel than three-season tires.

(I would love to be proven wrong on that, but between my AT tires with the 3MPSF symbol and the mixed reviews other brands get for snow performance, I've not seen any evidence that any tire other than a true snow tire will provide adequate winter-weather performance)

I also disagree strongly with the notion that it's okay to just drive slowly when it snows—if you chose to not outfit your vehicle with appropriate tires for snow, please stay home until the roads are clear and dry. Doing otherwise gums up the works for everyone else who does have appropriate tires (and driving skills) to maintain normal speeds in less-than-ideal conditions. This obviously applies a bit less in areas with only occasional snow, but if you live in the mountains or anywhere else that regularly gets snow and ice, please equip your vehicle appropriately.

With that said, I've found the F-150 to definitely handle like a high-power pickup in snow (and on gravel)—with the nannies quieted, it's very easy to break the back end loose with the throttle, and if you don't feather quickly, it's rather easy to get it more than a little sideways. Given the front-to-rear axle ratio I saw when I weighed my truck, I'm not at all surprised (and mine is admittedly worse than stock given the heavy front bumper), but I will say that the EcoBoost power isn't exactly helpful if you're trying to keep the *** end in line. My XTerra, my Suburban, and even my RWD Yota pickup were all easier to manage in that regard.

I do find that in AdvanceTrac Sport mode, I can slide it around corners in town (sub-30 MPH speeds, plenty of packed snow and ice at intersections) and just leave the throttle applied and let the computers do the feathering. I don't like the feeling, though.

 

First time with my S-cab truck as well.....GY's suck turning .....had coopers on my ram....they were great!

 

A long time ago in Ohio I owned a 1978 F100 standard cab 8' bed base model 2wd truck. Running all season tires I never had any trouble in snow or on ice. The truck was always parked outside and I could always pull out of my snow covered parking spot.
Last week my new 2017 scab with 2wd and all season tires couldn't get turned around in a wet-snow covered driveway because both rear tires spun every time I tried to move with the front tires turned even slightly. Using locking differential only made it worse.
If this is the result of an aluminum bed, I'm not impressed. Probably also due to the new truck having a heavier V8 in the front and the old truck having a straight 6 but the difference was like night and day.
Fortunately this was not my driveway and I don't expect to be in those conditions more than once a year.

 

I would bet it had more to do with your tires than the weight of the bed.

I drive my mustang during the winter here with no weight in the rear and it is fine-but I also bought a set of syped winter tires.

Its all about the shoes.....

 

Both trucks are all season radials. The old one was probably 14" wheels and Sears tires, while the new truck is 20" with factory tires. I will definitely look for better tires but will have to wait until time to replace these. The new truck has much wider tires. Maybe floating on the snow instead of digging down ?
Edit:
I thought the standard Michelin LTX M/S2 tires on my truck were true "all season". But I've been doing some checking and found Michelin calls them "highway/all-season". After reading reviews it looks like most say they are excellent on wet and dry but only "good" on light snow, and marginal on icy roads.

 

yes, a 100lb or whatever lighter bed is the reason why you dont have traction......

 

Yes, narrow tires are better than wide tires in snow.

 

I put two 75lb sandbags by the wheel wells and dropped the tires to 32 psi and it's handling great in 2wd on the snow. I use 4wd if I'm going up and inclines from a dead stop, otherwise it's fine in 2wd