First time in the snow…

[DaneGer21]

Last winter was my first winter with a duece. The wife and I have about 20acres and I took it out into one of our small “pastures”. The field grass was about 8-10” tall and then we had about 6-8” of snow on top of that.

Anyways, I couldnt go ANYWHERE without the front diff engaged, and even then, when in 6x6 I couldn’t drive more than 30’-40’ without loosing traction and spinning out. I had to back up about 10’ and give it another run at it, again only going maybe about 30’-40’, back up and do it all over again.

Maybe my truck wasn’t actually locking the front in when I flipped the front diff lever? My tires at the time, the 9.00r20 NDT’s and they just don’t cut it for snow use? I also did NOT adjust tire pressure.

Any thoughts? Or ideas?

***I just see tons of videos of guys plowing/driving/towing through TONS of snow and here mine is struggling majorly.***

 

[Computerdoc08]

I have not driven in the snow, but have been researching the operation of the M35A2 with NDTs in snow... Airing down for snow seems to be a minimum requirement for NDT use on snow/ice. Chains seem to increase their traction on snow and ice, but I believe the NDTs are not aired down when using chains.

 

[davidb56]

I always use chains in snow over 6 inches deep even with my Michelin tires. depending on the wetness of the snow, when the tires pack down on it, they may spin.

 

[Karl kostman]

I would expect nothing less from a Deuce in the snow, now lets put some ice under that snow and give that a try! Let me guess you are running NDT tires? They suck of a whole lot of surfaces and snow and ice being the worst. IF you want to actually drive this truck in the snow there are a couple tips, I live in ND and we get a whole lot of snow here. Put 5K pounds of weight in the bed, more is better. Get rid of the duals they do nothing but STOP you from moving, if you insist on keeping duals then you have to chain them. Get a good tread design NOT TO WIDE tire and single the truck out this will make a very huge difference. It can be done and the truck will do decent in snow but it will do nothing in snow in its stock form!

 

[18operator]

Different tires and or chains.. I've gotten stuck 25 feet from my barn because the tires started spinning and created a little ice depression where the truck only moved back and forth in the rut of ice. At least I got to use my winch to pull myself out.

 

[chucky]

Different tires and or chains.. I've gotten stuck 25 feet from my barn because the tires started spinning and created a little ice depression where the truck only moved back and forth in the rut of ice. At least I got to use my winch to pull myself out.

Next time that happens pour some bleach over the top of your pull tires its like putting snow chains on ! I have gotten so many people unstuck on flat ice where they spun the tires till they had made divits in the ice ! Put it on give it minute to get the tires sticky and if you want all the tires to pull just do a light brake stand till it make the non turning tires start trying to pull !

 

[glcaines]

As Karl Kostman said, put some weight in the back. My previous M35A2 did OK in the snow with a lot of weight in the back. I have 40 acres which are very hilly/mountainous and I have never gotten stuck in the snow and most of my driving is off-road. My M35A3 with Michelins does a whole lot better in the snow than the A2 with dual NDTs did. I'm in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Georgia and we occasionally get a lot of snow. What I hate is driving on ice in the mountains on the roads. I usually stay off the highways due to the salt on the roads.

 

[DaneGer21]

I agree about the salt. I’m not real interested in winter driving here in Ohio because of the obscene amount of road salt, but, cruising around the property is always fun.

I appreciate all the replies. I totally understand this big truck isn’t magical because it’s big, but just thought I’d reach out for more experience.

This current winter it is parked inside getting a small overhaul on some areas.

Again…thanks!!!

 

[davidb56]

I would expect nothing less from a Deuce in the snow, now lets put some ice under that snow and give that a try! Let me guess you are running NDT tires? They suck of a whole lot of surfaces and snow and ice being the worst. IF you want to actually drive this truck in the snow there are a couple tips, I live in ND and we get a whole lot of snow here. Put 5K pounds of weight in the bed, more is better. Get rid of the duals they do nothing but STOP you from moving, if you insist on keeping duals then you have to chain them. Get a good tread design NOT TO WIDE tire and single the truck out this will make a very huge difference. It can be done and the truck will do decent in snow but it will do nothing in snow in its stock form!

Agree. we get a little snow here too. I run 4 single chains. the front steers and one rear axel outside. With the duals setup. I never get stuck, and I use it mainly in the winter.

 

[davidb56]

I dont remember played down sideways in the snow when I took that pic today.

 

[rustystud]

I dont remember played down sideways in the snow when I took that pic today.

Maybe the wind blew you over ?
At least over here we are over our snow/ice storm ! That got old real fast !!!
Still cannot drive up our driveway though. It's a sheet of ice still.

 

[bprzyw]

Yeah, duals and NDT 900x20‘s are horrible in the snow Without chains.

 

[ldmack3]

I agree with weight in back. Loose gravel uphill same as snow.

 

[m1010plowboy]

Playing in the snow with chains is the way to go otherwise you need to mount a jet in the back. Goose would get stuck on any slight hill on Non Directional Tread.



Good Rubber helps a ton and a ton in the back helps good rubber. More weight on snow and ice means more stuck and bigger tractors to pull you out if you go in too deep. Hit it hard and don't stop.



If you don't go in too deep, even with no weight on the dually's you can always get out. I was hoping the fella in the video would get stuck because listening to that whistler is like Christmas music.

Sounds like you got a lot further than I did with my buddies truck. I should have read the Operators Manual.

 

[rustystud]

If you ever watch the old WWII documentaries and the original 6X6's come out, you will see them flooring the trucks to get through those horrible mud holes and other muck messes. Same applies to the Vietnam war documentaries with the m35's . They had to floor them to get through the swamp messes.
I remember in Military Driving school , they gave us the same advice. "Floor it to get through it" .
That also applied to the M60 tanks. Never let your foot off the throttle. Not unless you wanted to spend some quality time with a shovel and snatch blocks and tow cables.

 

[davidb56]

If I would remove a wheel off the inside of each rear axel and put one more pair of chains on, the truck would do a lot better in the deep wet snow, but thats a lot of work and Im too lazy and busy to do it.

 

[rustystud]

If I would remove a wheel off the inside of each rear axel and put one more pair of chains on, the truck would do a lot better in the deep wet snow, but thats a lot of work and Im too lazy and busy to do it.

Plus the back pain you would have that night. At least I would have it. That has become my main decision-making mantra. How much will it hurt and how long will it benefit me. If the snow will only be around for a few days then the pain of putting on chains is not worth it. Now if the snow will last more than a week then I will put on the chains.

 

[davidb56]

Plus the back pain you would have that night. At least I would have it. That has become my main decision-making mantra. How much will it hurt and how long will it benefit me. If the snow will only be around for a few days then the pain of putting on chains is not worth it. Now if the snow will last more than a week then I will put on the chains.

its the wheel removal I dont want to do every season. my tires are at about 85-90%, so Im not going to go to singles with A3 rims either. My truck isnt a toy, or "look at me" vehicle, I work the crap out of it at least 30-50 days of the year, so singles isnt a requirement even though they look good and have some winter time benefits.

 

[ToddJK]

I'm not a fan of NDT's either for winter use as they require chains for any real traction but it's illegal to use chains on the roads here so that's out of the question. Any kind of AT tire will be better and super singles are better yet if you cannot use tire chains. Another option to look into are tire socks. There's a recovery channel I like to watch, Casey LaBelle in Oregon, he does a lot of winter recoveries and says the tire socks seem to work rather well despite having doubts at first. I guess the question is are they available in that size and if so how expensive are they.

One thing I noticed, make sure if you put weight in the bed, the weight is distributed so you don't take weight off the front axle. This will make steering in the snow difficult and allow the truck to slide straight through the turn.

 

[G744]

Snow. Snow?

Oh yeah, I remember snow. White stuff that drops from the sky.

Posted from the land of 140w gear oil...