Farm Pick-Up 1/2 Ton Snow Tires

Trying to make the 1/2 ton Chevy 2WD go in ice and snow. Gonna load the back with 4 Farmall wheel weights, plus add some sand. Would studded snow tires be good? Would Michelin Winter X-Ice X12 or X13's be good, they have been recommended top me? Thanks guys.

I would use either tire chains or studded tires..
I installed studs back in the 1960's on my wife's
1963 Mercury. I did the installation in our kitchen. We're about one mile from the high school and had no bus service back then. Schools didn't close as the buses had chains. My wife said she had no problem on ice. Some cars were
stuck on hills and she said she just pulled around them. Later on MD outlawed the studs. The mail trucks use them. Hal

You are off to a good start. PUs suffer from lack of weight on rear wheels. Traction, stability,tracking suffer. I ballast mine with a 35 gallon drum full of salt water secured in a frame behind rear wheels. I get by with conventional passenger tires with coarse tread, but I do have 4WD. And I do have a plow as well.
Studded tires not legal here, but when the were, did not find them real advantageous.

Git you some studded tires. Don't waste your money on Michelins. Cooper goodyear firestone all make a real good tire that can be studded.
Check the laws in your state. our studded season runs Nov 15 to May 15 and believe me those troopers can hear a stud a mile away.

We never had a 4wd when I was a kid. Dad got a ton of soybean meal/week tot our dairy cows. I'm telling you, that truck was unstoppable. It pulled loaded gravity wagons out of the field, no problem. Weight is everything.

Glenn F.

Almost any front wheel drive car with good all season tires will out perform a 2WD pickup on snow or ice, so if you have a car available, drive the car.

Snow tires front and rear will help your steering and braking, similar to a 4WD pickup in 2WD mode, which to me is still only just fair compared to a FWD car. A 4WD pickup in 4WD works the best for me. Studded tires, posi-traction differential, anti-lock brakes and traction control will all help.

Snow tires are softer than regular tires, so they wear much faster. Tires with less than 1/8 inch tread or old tires that have hardened can both be poor on snow and ice.

I'm going to recommend a specific tire:

General Altimax Arctic, studdable snow tire

I'm on my second set on my 2WD 1/2 ton Chevy. No studs. I run 400lbs of concrete in back, and the truck will go when 4x4's are in the ditch. It still spins, but it doesn't sit and spin; it moves forward.

Studded snow tires with some added weight will help a lot. There's a trick to using studded tires. If you are easy on the gas pedal starting out they will be a big adavantage. If you are heavy footed they will spin same as any other tire and you will mess up the studs to some extent. They definately help with skid recovery on slick ice or packed wet snow.

for our dairy cows.

Chains

(quoted from post at 06:10:58 01/02/15) Trying to make the 1/2 ton Chevy 2WD go in ice and snow. Gonna load the back with 4 Farmall wheel weights, plus add some sand. Would studded snow tires be good? Would Michelin Winter X-Ice X12 or X13's be good, they have been recommended top me? Thanks guys.

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The 4 wheel weights will add about 600 pounds. That should be enough. TOO much weight can make the front end light, which is not good.

Please secure those 4 weights so they cannot move. If you encounter a sudden stop, hitting something solid, those weights COULD very easily come right through the rear window, and then you would be wearing them.

A good set of tire chains is the ultimate answer for going on ice and snow, but they are a bit of a hassle to put on and take off.

snow country? can't run chains or studs?
forget those all-season, all-conditions, 'quiet' tires.
You need deep self cleaning tread for deep snow.
And skinnier is better.
Leave those big, wide, pretty tires and wheels in the shed in winter.
Throw on those tall, loud, skinnies for winter.
and like you are doing, weight.
every truck is different.
You want the weight to get the rears planted,
but watch for front end 'walk' on turns...too much weight.

I have Goodyear Workhorse studded tires on my 4WD Tahoe, Nov-April. Believe me they make a big difference.
Also remember that for snow and ice, narrow and tall is the answer. Back in the 60's the tire of choice for winter driving, off road in the mountains, was the 7.50 16 in an aggressive farm tread. Suburbanite was one.

Put in a limited slip differential.

1)chains
2)studed,skinny snows
3)skinny snow
4)all season
5)Don't leave the driveway!
Chains or studs are the ONLY thing that work well on black ice,ice with a film of water on top or hard packed snow.Anything else is about worthless!Weight over the drive wheels is a big help on snow up to 8 or 10 inches depending on ground clearance.

We don't get a lot of snow or ice most years but some we get quite a lot. We usually get more ice than snow. I drove for 20 years before I got a 4wd. I always kept an extra set of wheels with studded tires mounted. I got a 10x20 truck tube and filled it with water and kept it in the back. It would freeze and would never move. It seemed to be about the right amount of weight so that it didn't make the front light. For the last 20 years I've had a 4x4 but on icy roads , I think, a truck with studded tires is better. A lot of people swear by a front drive car but my experience is they are not as good. However I am used to driving a PU more than a car.

I've always been a believer in good snow tires. The term "all season tires" should really be changed to "3 season"! I always put them on my front wheel drive cars every year, and have never been sorry. Studded tires are no longer legal in our state.
When I ran my rural mail route I had the most aggressive snow tires I could find on the front of my Taurus station wagon. Several times I went down unplowed roads where NO ONE should have been, and got through with no problem!

I drive both vehicles in the winter , a van and a chev 1/2 ton 2wd , we get a lot of snow and the front wheel drive is much better that the truck , So, I just let the snow and Ice build up in the box to offset the front end weight and it has way more traction . Rear tires are winter radials 30 lbs psi and fronts are all season radials with 40 lbs psi. Next year it's going to be studs in the rear.

I lived on mountain top road that was usually ice and snow covered all winter. I'd never consider owning any 2WD for winter use because I'd never get home. That being said, I've experimented a lot when in 2WD and different tire types.

Tire chains of course beat anything else -but they are illegal in many places and not-so-good for fast driving. Here in Michigan - tire chains are basically illegal anywhere on a public highway except during emergencies.

Studded tires work fairly well on ice, offer no gain on snow, and give terrible traction on wet, unfrozen roads. They are also illegal in some areas.

Hands-down - the best tires I've ever had for ice and snow and drivability are the soft-compound tires sold as "studless." Firestone was one of the first to sell them in the 70s as "Snowbiters." Now many companies sell them. Truly amazing and often beat studs on shear ice. Firestone now sells a version of the old Snowbiters" as Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1.

By the way. Smaller thinner tires are always better then wider tires.

Also - when it comes to limited-slip rears? I hate them. In the conditions I drive in they are often death-traps.

With a standard "open" differential - power is applied to both rear wheels equally if traction is equal. If one tire loses traction - most of the power goes to the other with the least traction. This lets the tire with the best traction not spin and act as sort of a "anchor"
to keep you on the road. On a farm tractor - all you need to do is hit the brake pedal for the slipping wheel and force the other to get power. Cars with electronic "traction control" do the same. Hitting the rear parking brake can also force both tires to go when needed.

Now with a limited slip, things go like this. When one wheel spins (with the least traction) - power is transmitted to the other tire that has more traction. If that starts to spin - no tires have good traction in the rear and this effect can throw you off the road sideways. I had a K5 Blazer, a GMC S15 Jimmy, and an IH Scout with "posi" rears and all were almost what I'd call dangerous when climbing a well crowned icy hill. Once the posi kicked in the rear would slide sideways and send me off the road.

On my 3/4 ton 2wd with narrow aggressive mud & snow I put 800 lbs. behind rear wheels and gets around great in snow. On the 1/2 ton 4X4 also narrow tires but semi-aggressive snow tire and 400 lbs of weight behind rear wheel and really have no trouble getting around .

I have used "Studded tires"and they ARE a great help at LOW Speed, on Ice or very Hard-packed snow, BUT, the studs get loose quickly and get thrown out LONG before the tires is showing wear...
Studs with Traction tires are just as much help (on a rear wheel drive vehicle) on the FRONT tires.

I see a lot of tires in the winter with the Strap-on elastic studs, etc. I believe that is what the postal Vehicles use and some Police Depts, during Winter Emergencies.

I think I would consider that route..

Ron.

I'd be worried about those wheel weights coming through the back of the cab in a crash, ya never know. I drove a half ton 2wd Gmc to work for 15 years in the snow, had a heavy fiberglass topper, posi trac. and 5 or 6 bags of tube sand. Only place I ever got stuck was down hill 90 deg. turn off hiway into drifted drive way a couple times, couldn't let it set on the hiway while I plowed and couldn't get a run at it. All I ever had for tires were all season radials.

I had one full size car with posi-trac and like you said, it would throw the rear around real quick. Worse car I ever had for driving slippery roads.

In Mn. it is illegal to drive with snow in the box. I got a ticket for it back in the 80s. Wouldn't let me go until I shoveled it out. Unless you have it covered.

Try these - available from U.S. Rubber Co. .

Firestone winterforce with studs I have used em on both my wife's minivans and her front wheel drive Mitsubishi before that also on 2 pickups 4x4 and rarely need to put it in four wheel dtive. I swear by them for snow and ice. Just gotta get em off once its nice out the tread burns off pretty fast that rubber is soft.

I have had two pickups that worked remarkably well in deep snow, on and off road. The first was my dad's new 67 chev 1//2 ton 2wd with a positraction 3.73 rear, Firestone Town and country 4 ply snow tires and a 4 speed. When we had deep snow (even with the top of the bed), I filled the 8' box with cinder blocks to the top of the bed. This was almost unstoppable on drifted roads. The second was my new 1974 Jeep 3/4 T pickup with 4wd, 4sp, 3.73 differentials, 401 cid engine 7.50x16 M&S tires and Weed brand V-bar chains all the way around. It was almost unstoppable off road in hood high snow.

On my 2000 Ranger I cut a 2X4 to fit between the sides of the bed and go against the back of the wheelwells. Then I put 3 40# bags of sand behind the 2X4 skewed to the right side of the bed. This works pretty good for me.

One brand of "automatic" chains for emergency vehicles.
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(quoted from post at 15:14:51 01/02/15) Firestone winterforce with studs I have used em on both my wife's minivans and her front wheel drive Mitsubishi before that also on 2 pickups 4x4 and rarely need to put it in four wheel dtive. I swear by them for snow and ice. Just gotta get em off once its nice out the tread burns off pretty fast that rubber is soft.

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I use the Winterforce tires year around on my Chev Colorado 2wd truck. I get 75,000 miles out of them so no need to take them off in the summer. Night and day difference in winter traction compared to any all season tire.

I don't know what's a good tire these days, but used to be Firestone Town and Country or Goodyear F-32's were good. Best set I ever had were Hercules Terra-tracs but the new Teraa-tracs don't look anything like the old ones. As has been said, you want skinny tires, not fat ones and a tall sidewall not a short one. IOW, the exact opposite of anything stylish or cool. I used to keep grain bags of slated sand in the back of my Chebby 1/2 ton short box 2wd. About 6-700 lbs I'd guess. Never got stuck.

I have driven many miles and quite a few years with two wheel drive pickups. Good tall, narrow snow tires are the answer, studs are helpfull on ice and hardpack snow but weight is your best friend.

I build this for my trucks. Take 2 sheets of 1/4" plywood or even chipboard, 3 pieces of 8' 2x4, nail or screw one sheet of plywood to the 2" edge of the 2x4's....one 2x4 has to be cut to fit the 4' end of the plywood.

Turn this assembly over, slide it into your truck, place a plastic sheet inside this box, (this is optional), fill this box with sand, screw the top sheet onto the box.

Lots of weight that won't move around and doesn't take up much room for hauling stuff.