Winter Driving Preparations

[JohnM45]

I'm sure this topic has been mentioned a time or two in the past, but the search results were not bringing much up.

My new-to-me 2018 Single Cab, Long Bed diesel 2500 sure is light on the rear end. About 2 weeks ago, I was driving home in the rain and I had no trouble breaking the rear end loose (stock Firestone all-terrain tires with 3k miles on them.) I was really surprised that traction control didn't intervene sooner. My truck does have the anti-spin rear diff.

Does anyone with a similar setup have any weight recommendations for carrying between the wheel wells? I was thinking at least 400 pounds. 500 sounds excessive, 300 too light. I'll probably go with 50lb bags of play sand.

I'm in Southeast PA, so our winters can be anywhere from no snow to, 2 feet expected over the next day.

 

[nukegm]

comrade! i have a 2500 cc 8 foot box. picked up the truck about 2 years ago. i live in the moutains of colorado. way up high...the evening i picked up the truck it snowed 1 inch. the firestones are beyond worthless. i got stuck in my driveway. next morning i was at discount tire - durtrac by goodyear is my preference. have an old 01 2500 also. ran lots of tires over the years. only ones that i have repeat bought are durtrac and bfg all terrain k02. stock sized. good luck with your new truck. cheers!

 

[kthaxton]

4x4? I have never found adding weight necessary as long as I put it in 4wd as soon as the roads get slick. There might be rare occasions that some weight would help, but as a rule of thumb?....I don't bother.

 

[Wayne M.]

Decent tires always help but since I have a cap on back, I’ve never needed help once I’m in 4 hi or if needed, lo.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Another reason NOT to own a 2500 unless you run proper rear tire inflation based on actual load. Running at 80 psi will slip the rears easily.

 

[jhenderson]

So much for getting your question answered ,eh? Play sand is perfect. Easy in and out, plus you can open a bag for some grit on ice if you’ve remembered a shovel. I use 800lbs as a counterweight when plowing and 400 day to day. That’s in a 3500 but 400 or so should work for you as well. I put a load bar down low between the rear wheel tubs to keep the sand close to the tailgate where it does the most good.

 

[mwilson]

Another Northern trick is cement blocks between the wheel wells held in place by boards or load bars.
Tube sand works good also but will freeze up in the bags after a few cold / freeze cycles which makes it a little harder to get out of the bag to spread it when stuck...

 

[Larry Willard]

Instead of sand I use to have bags of stone dust in my 2wd work truck. It didn't freeze as much and it could be dug out to spread for traction.

 

[AH64ID]

First and foremost decrease the tire pressure. I know the TPMS wants them at 80, but that's ludicrous unless loaded to the RAWR. A truck that light should be around 30-35 in the rear when empty and in winter.

Second, weight will help traction but hinder braking in low traction environments. However, if you want to add weight I would start with 500, and go up from there. Any less will not be enough to see a benefit from.

Ditch the OEM tires, they are beyone horrible. It amazes me that Ram chose those tires on trucks that run over 50K.

Lastly, if the TPMS warning is too annoying the pressures can be lowered with AlfaOBD.

 

[jhenderson]

How exactly does 400 lbs hinder braking in low traction environments? Particularly in reference to rear wheel lockup.

 

[CAROLINA CUMMINS]

For what little snow we get here in NC, I'll throw 4-6 brake drums(diesel shop so 100lb per) in the back and that has always worked well. Since I bought my 4th gen though, not sure I want to throw dirty/rusty drums in the back, bed is considerably higher than my '98 as well. Looking at those water bladders, pretty expensive for me to only use a couple times a year though.

 

[AH64ID]

How exactly does 400 lbs hinder braking in low traction environments? Particularly in reference to rear wheel lockup.

The heavier you are the harder it is to stop on snow/ice, since it requires more braking energy.

400lbs won’t be enough to make any traction difference on tires with 80 psi in them. That would take closer to 3000lbs of payload.

With modern ABS systems the best thing is good tires and the right pressure for the load.

Adding weight is a holdover from non-ABS rigs and crappy tires.

The reason weight helps on pickups is it gets the weight distro more even, which is a bigger benefit while driving than braking. So with good tires at the proper pressure some weight can improve the overall driving experience on slick roads, but the empty distro is skewed so far to the front that it needs to be 500lbs or more to get any decent change to the weight distro.

Putting the weight behind the rear axle will also create a bigger effect on weight distro, per lb, than putting it over the axle.

 

[AH64ID]

For what little snow we get here in NC, I'll throw 4-6 brake drums(diesel shop so 100lb per) in the back and that has always worked well. Since I bought my 4th gen though, not sure I want to throw dirty/rusty drums in the back, bed is considerably higher than my '98 as well. Looking at those water bladders, pretty expensive for me to only use a couple times a year though.

Just air down. I didn’t add any weight to my 05 and never had any issues with proper air pressure for the conditions. I ran ~35 psi and it’s plenty for an empty bed. I plan to do the same on my ‘18 and expect better performance with the traction control if the roads get a little slick.

On either of the stock size tires 35 psi is enough for a 4,000 RAW. Could probably go down to 30 for a nasty storm, but I wouldn’t do much driving above 55 below 35 psi.

 

[CAROLINA CUMMINS]

Just air down. I didn’t add any weight to my 05 and never had any issues with proper air pressure for the conditions. I ran ~35 psi and it’s plenty for an empty bed. I plan to do the same on my ‘18 and expect better performance with the traction control if the roads get a little slick.

On either of the stock size tires 35 psi is enough for a 4,000 RAW. Could probably go down to 30 for a nasty storm, but I wouldn’t do much driving above 55 below 35 psi.

Probably will, we don't get enough snow here to worry about it a lot.

 

[EricViviano]

We get a lot of snow and it lasts a LONG time.

Get rid of the TransForce tires, lower air pressures. You will most likely be happy with that and won't need/want to add weight.

I have had good luck with the Hankook DynaPro for winter. Some others around here love the Kelly Safari TSR. Sipe your tires. I work at a tire shop at a mine in the mountains of ID/WY. Trust me, we have tried and run every 10 ply pickup tire there is. We run 24/7/365.

 

[kthaxton]

Another reason NOT to own a 2500 unless you run proper rear tire inflation based on actual load. Running at 80 psi will slip the rears easily.

Wait....what? Is there a reason you think you can't run proper tire pressure in a 2500?

 

[AH64ID]

Wait....what? Is there a reason you think you can't run proper tire pressure in a 2500?

Probably referring to the uber annoying TPMS, but it's easily ignored or fixed with AlfaOBD.

 

[kthaxton]

While I didn't like the TPMS warning (to me, the only annoying thing was the EVIC defaulting to the tire pressure screen), it wasn't a big deal. It certainly wouldn't be something that keeps me from buying the truck that is right for my needs. It also didn't make me want to run an undesirable tire pressure.

But, I don't have to be mildly annoyed anymore either, I changed the thresholds last week!

 

[Cummins12V98]

Wait....what? Is there a reason you think you can't run proper tire pressure in a 2500?

I suppose you can if you want to nanny yelling at you. Like I mentioned proper inflation for load will get you a long ways.

 

[Cummins12V98]

"But, I don't have to be mildly annoyed anymore either, I changed the thresholds last week!"

You do seem to be more calm as of late.