[dce]

Just curious.Has anyone ever gone from a 1/2 truck to a 3/4 ton truck and see a noticeable change in offroad capability?I've always owned chevy 1/2 tons and kept them pretty much stock.I always had a limited slip rear and decent tires and rarely ever got buried.Two year ago,I bought a 2500hd.It has the same tires(except I now run 285's)and a factory limited slip.I like the truck and I need the extra towing capabilities but it's an absolute pig in deep snow and mud.Any ideas why?

 

[Birch812]

Our FORDS are light in the tail end, unless we put additional weight on them they will snip on deep snow.
Try putting weight in the back, either bagged sand or bags of salt.

We have highway tires and do not have problems with mud or wet road surfaces, just deep snow. If it was a constant problem I would change over to a more aggressive tire, but for normal use you will not like the ride, or noise the truck will make.

 

[Coureur De Bois]

I've never noticed a difference, but I'm betting on the tires. I know you said the same, but are they the same ply, running the same air pressure, is the width or print the same? All can have a impact on the grip the tire is delivering. Just a educated guess.

 

[tundragriz]

Imbalance in the front/rear weight balance. 3/4 tons have heavier front ends with additional cooling and heavier trannies, maybe even a bigger engine. The heavier front ends make the front end go deeper making the front go down and the rear up in relation, then the geometry of front down rear up causes the backend to want to push the front deeper into the ground. In mud the front gets buried. In a perfect world the weight balance would be 50/50 so everything is aligned just pushing forward.

I have a 3/4 diesel with a very heavy bumper and a 12000 winch. 4wd capability is not its strong suit.

I spent a long time trying to get out of this simple predicament with no place to attach my winch. My tires are pretty aggressive too.

 

[dce]

I actually had two different tires on it.Originally,it had very aggressive mud tires on it but I got rid of them because of the noise.I replaced them with chaperella m+s tires that are still pretty agressive and brand new .I was told the extra weight of the 3/4 ton and the stiffer suspension work against you.My 1/2 tons always seemed to just squat down and dig in.This things hops around as soon as it starts to spin.I looked into putting an air locker in the front but really don't want to spend the money on a truck that I'll probably trade in another year or two.

 

[oaktowntom]

try lowering air press. in tires if your not towing. i have an 07 2500 crewcab with a duramax and it goes good in mud and deep snow. your tires are prob. e rated which are alot stiffer and run a higher air press. for towing .

 

[Tob]

i have a 02 2500 dodge ram with a 360 in it. i have 285 mud kings on it and it goes awesome in mud and this deep snow we got. i was plowing through 3and 4 feet drifts getting out my driveway. i hardly ever have to use low range. it does have 4.10 gears and a posi too.

 

[dce]

try lowering air press. in tires if your not towing. i have an 07 2500 crewcab with a duramax and it goes good in mud and deep snow. your tires are prob. e rated which are alot stiffer and run a higher air press. for towing .

That's what they are.I haul alot and the tires are filled to 65 lbs.I wonder how much of a difference chains or studded tires would make?I was looking for a set of the same factory rims to put some different studded tires on but can't find any locally.I saw some on e-bay but the shipping was crazy.

 

[Doubledog]

I've been wondering the same thing. My 2008 F250 Supercab with Warn 13000 lb winch is terrible in snow and mud (hence the addition the the winch). I have switched the tires and rims to a wider mroe aggressive profile, but while they were better in the dirt, they were nto better in the snow. Put the stock rims and tires back on for the winter. My 2009 Expedition will run circles around the F250 in snow or mud. Same engine and gear ratio in both.

 

[fordman99]

For snow,in my experience,a more narrow tire is better.Creates a smaller footprint,cutting through the snow rather than trying to ride on top of it.
Adding a few hundred pounds of weight over the rear axle will help as well.Just my 2 cents.

 

[Ghost]

Its the 285's, way to wide of a tire to be really effective in snow, they float on top of the snow never letting your bite thru and grab the bottom.

 

[Tob]

i have 285s and they are awesome in mud and deep snow. gotta keep up wheel speed and momentum

 

[berksbowman]

Im with Ghost on this one! I run studded Bf goodrich traction tires on my 06 duramax in the winter time. But my plow weighs 1200# and I keep 1500# of salt in the bed. No problems with traction with this setup.

 

[deluxe hunter]

my buddy has a 2500 hd he use to have 285's on his truck but switche dback to 265 much better ride and handleing

 

[b&ghuntre]

i'm a bigger tire guy but in snow not to good as said wide pushes to much in front of tire and seems to want to ride on top. i drive on beach also then i want wide don;t want to dig in. i'm gonna say thinner is better in snow imo...later

 

[cold creek road]

yes my hd2500 was better with 265 then with the 285s . when i used the plow i always put weight in the bed . at least 500 lbs. my truck was an 04 chevy with the 6.0l and 4.10 gears