Not Enjoying my suregrip in winter Driving...Dodge Dakota

[71green go]

I was Excited when I bought My 07 Dodge Dakota 4 x4 for a winter vehicle.....put great tires on it and I gotta say unless its in 4 wheel drive it sucks to drive in the winter...I would rather have a non sure grip rear end.....the back end slips out so easy when it loses traction, which is often!...
I have driven a mazda pick up in winter and a ranger and a chevy full size, all non posi....and they were better and felt safer by far

Anyone else driving a truck with a sure grip or a posi?.......every time now I am in 4 wheel drive, then the truck seems unstopable

[XH29N0G]

Not a truck, but that is what my dad said about the charger when he first had it.  He couldn't keep it on the road in snow, but he could get it out of the ditch thought.  I found the same when it was my daily driver.  Lucky for you, there is 4wd.

[Silver R/T]

I have posi in my 01 Ram CTD. I have my tires siped and it helps a lot on black ice. I only put it in 4wd if there's lots of snow or real icy hill. Another thing you can do is put some cinder blocks in the bed right over the axle or some sand bags, it will help with traction.

[c00nhunterjoe]

A sure grip is twice as good as a one wheel peel.

[RallyeMike]

A sure grip takes a different driving style to get the benefit from it. It's not for everyone, just like a manual is not for everyone.

[71green go]

  its not about the driving, the truck simply goes sideways when on snow or ice, don't know how any other driving style could prevent that....maybe the lighter Dakota is worst then a full size Ram?....I have been driving Canadian Winters for 40 years.....I much prefer a front wheel drive in this stuff...

[472 R/T SE]

I've drove FWD, 4WD & rear drive but never traction controlled rear wheel drive.

I couldn't figure out why folks clamored for the days of rear wheel drive until a couple days ago.  I had the throttle pegged in my Magnum & the motor was barely revving alternating power to each wheel.  I was very, very impressed.  The minute and I mean the minute it started to spin & kick sideways the control would kick in & it'd straighten right out.

I'm a firm believer now.   




Reason it's so easy to do a burn out in a pick up is there's no weight above the rear tires.  I have 3 of the old tires & wheels off my Magnum in the back of my wife's truck to help with ride & winter time traction. 




I tell ya' what's tough to get around in snow with, my wheelchair.  Good gravy, it takes less than 2" & my arms are spinning.   

[Todd Wilson]

I have 3 different trucks I have  driven in snow. All 2wd.  Its not really the sure grip that's your problem its the truck.  I think they have designed something different in modern trucks and the weight ratio on the wheels is different then the older trucks.

My 3 trucks are

1974 Dodge D200 440 sure grip dana 60  (almost unstoppable in snow) I have never had it stuck. I have had to back up and get a run but never stuck.

1995 Dodge Ram 1500 2wd peg leg. Its not very good in the snow at all. Back end is too light.............

2005 Dodge Ram 2500 2wd Cummins and its worthless in the snow. Nose to heavy and back end too light. I have 600lbs of sand tubes in it and its helped slightly but still very bad in snow.

I have always wanted to put these 3 trucks on my buddys race car scales and scale out each truck and see what the weight ratios are on the front and rear.

I have a co worker with a brand new Ford half ton 4wd and it wont go 5 feet in the snow. Put it in 4wd and away you go.

If you got 4wd  use it! Its as simple as that!


Todd

[ipstrategies]

I have a 99 Durango 5.9 with limited slip and when it is snowy I go into 4wd for reasons noted.
This has been a snowy year for us and I have been in 4wd alot, after some years where I never used it.

[Cooter]

Love my 99 2500 Ram. Dana 60 Sure grip 4.10 gear. Lock it in and forget about it.

[BROCK]

I agree it's the dynamics of the weight bias.  My Dad wrecked his modern
Ford F150 on ice & snow recently.  I asked what ballast he had in the truck
bed?  Duck decoys?  In other words None.

I remember back in the 80s I stayed at a friends & a snowstorm hit us all
by surprise.  The only way out was up a hill.  While my Charger was warming
up, we watched all the neighbors try to leave for work.  Even the 4 wheel
drives gave up & went back home.  My Charger made it!  Just had to feather
out the accelerator in order to keep up my momentum.  It was the Sure Grip
gave it a chance   The floor jack & tool box fastened down in the trunk
didn't hurt either

But, yeah trucks need ballast or at least drive wheels under the weight center. 
4 wheel drive!
My truck is actually a V10 van.  Here is my ballast:

Only 3 more of these stacks, monitors, mixers, gear, bass rig ext......................

[areibel]

I have posi in my 01 Ram CTD. I have my tires siped and it helps a lot on black ice. I only put it in 4wd if there's lots of snow or real icy hill. Another thing you can do is put some cinder blocks in the bed right over the axle or some sand bags, it will help with traction.

+1
My 2002 Dak 4x4 is my daily driver, I live in the snow belt south of Lake Erie (109 inches so far and counting!)
The back end will cut loose in 2wd without some weight in the back.  I have about 200 pounds of sand tubes right over the back axle and can run in 2wd most of the time, but I wouldn't even try running light.  A FWD car has the weight of the motor and transaxle over the driving wheels so Yeah it will do better in some cases but a little weight will make a huge difference.

[toocheaptosmoke]

I've always found the open diffs to be a bit more "forgiving" when you're on ice or snow, rather than kicking out at the first sign of spinning they tend to keep tracking straighter if you break grip.  Limited slip will get you through more, but you might be sideways getting there.   Currently drive a '96 ram 2500 with open diff, I almost prefer it for the everyday commute through bad weather, but it's helpless in 2wd from a stop.  I used to drive an '84 olds 98 with a limited slip while going to school up in lake effect country, all seasons and no weight in the trunk.  You wouldn't believe what that car has gone through, but it was not always a stress free drive!  The first year I drove it the old oil in the diff would cause the limited slip to completely lock up after a long highway drive, that forced drifting at every turn. 

[Charger74]

I have a 03 Dakota Quad cab with posi.  In Iowa I have learned that yes at times the posi can be a bit to deal with, but with weight over the rear axle and some control I have learned how to compensate.   It doesn't hurt that I have fun with it at times either as long as no other cars are around.  I think without out at times around a corner where only the inside track is iced and the outside isn't, posi really helps there.

[ACUDANUT]

 Having a posi in snow, is better than a only one tire getting traction in the snow.  It used to take a hour to get to HS in a one legged 72 Charger, that and a couple of buddies to sit on the trunk for added weight.  I think you need sand bags in that truck.

[Tilar]

A sure grip takes a different driving style to get the benefit from it. It's not for everyone, just like a manual is not for everyone.

    Exactly. It's a different breed all together. My old 98 Ram 1500 has one and I wouldn't trade it for a one wheel wonder.