4wd for hills at stops, otherwise I leave it in 2wd, to have a little fun.
New tires make a huge difference though.

 

I never see fancy vehicles in the ditch. Always sedans and minivans.

 

Getting going is one thing. But as mentioned, stopping is a whole other matter. Dedicated Winter tires are what you want, and on all four corners. With Winter tires, a little taller and narrower is better. I have Cooper Discoverer M+S tires. But I decided not to stud these. A first for me. You'll also need some ballast in the bed for weight over the rear tires. Sand bags are good. In the old days I used cinder blocks and strapped them in. Now I use a Shurtrax weight ballast. It's basically a water bag that lays flat in the bed. The one I have holds 50 gal., which is about 400lbs.. For stopping, I prefer Studs, others like the Studless winter tires. I've never had any luck or liked any I've owned. Being you're up north, chains may be the ticket?

 

Not completely true.

The transfer case doesn't disconnect itself when you touch the brakes. And there's a gear range selection on automatic transmissions for a reason.

 

I believe his point is just because you can start with 4wd doesn't mean your brakes will stop you on a dime in slick conditions.

 

Lots of discussion about what to put in the bed - heavy flat patio blocks, bags of sand, tied down concrete blocks, and a fancy/expensive bag of water.

I use my truck's bed occasionally. So I'd never want to put in a 400 pound bag of water, that then freezes, that I can't easily remove (or that I'd have to drain, making a icy mess, and then refill if I could run a hose in the winter).

It greatly depends on where you live, whether you have decent tires, 4x4 and know how to drive in winter. I don't intentionally put in anything, I have three large tubs in my bed, one of which is empty, which probably have 100 pounds in them between them. I don't have problems driving in winter, but we get a storm, it gets cleared, and then usually have a period of time where the roads are cleared and nothing is necessary (assuming it was in the first place). I wouldn't want to have 400 pounds of dead weight back there taking up room, cutting gas mileage, etc. But that's just me.

The patio blocks held in place by 2x4s it appears seem a good idea for those that have wintery roads all the time, as you can put stuff (or vehicles) on top of them. Tube sand is the cheapest solution for many and provides SAND if you need it in a pinch, and are easily replaceable. I've read that exposed to weather you'll get maybe 2 years out of them before the plastic deteriorates and you need to either replace them or rebag them (you can buy sandbags to fill).

The key for me with any new vehicle is PRACTICE DRIVING. Take your vehicle out in a storm to either empty roads or a big parking lot and try out the features of your vehicle. My first year we got a big snow and I went out driving and tested out my e-locker, seeing if it helped me drive across an intersection from snowy road to snowy road (stopped at a stop sign), with intersecting traffic doing 50MPH. It did.

 

[QUOTE=Kazz;5075592]You mean the ones I smile and wave at as I drive by?

 

True, but all four tires sliding on ice are still sliding on ice.

Another lightbulb went on about 12 years ago with my wife taking a turn behind the wheel in our Superduty. Going up a slight incline on the freeway (2wd) the back end got a little squirrely. She, of course eased up on the throttle and straightened it out, proceeding more slowly. As we crested the hill we saw about 8-10 vehicles off on either side of the highway.

We noticed we were entering black ice because we lost traction under acceleration up the hill. Front wheel drive cars weren't doing that. They found out the hard way when they tried to brake.

I honestly believe FWD lulls many drivers today into a false sense of security. If the "go pedal" makes you go, the "stop pedal" makes you stop, right?

 

And I always laugh when the first "storm" of the season is forecast and the local rookie reporter is going to give us "safe driving tips". I ask my wife "Do you think they're going to mention 'slow down'?" I consider it such a mundane point.

Then we have a 40 car pile up here in Michigan with 3 dead and 11 injured.

SMH

 

[QUOTE=chickenwire;5076745]