dually 2 wheel drive in snow with TC on

[dave17352]

My question is how well does a 1 ton dually do in the snow with the truck camper on. Talking a 4k camper. I all ready know they do terrible unloaded as does any pickup. Just wondering with TC on.


Thanks

[racerguy]

Got myself onto a snow covered road on Mt Hood not long after I got my first new camper. My truck is an 03 Dodge dually 4x4.

Just for funsies I decided not to put the truck in 4WD and I couldn't hardly get the back tires to spin, no matter how much I throttled it.

Mine does have limited slip in the back, didn't catch whether yours does.

[Farmerjon]

The difference between 2wd and 4wd is amazing when things get slick. our lane is all up hill from the gravel road we live on and the gravel road is very hilly.
Without 4wd I always made it in and out but with very aggressive driving and good tires.Many times I would have to back all the way down the hill and back up the other side until I quite moving.Yes weight on the truck helps a lot.But weight does not help when you hit ice in fact it makes it worse.
4wd has allowed my wife to drive in and out of our road anytime she wants. In fact when others have gotten stuck at the bottom of 2 hills on our road she has driven them to the top in one of our 4wd truck or jeep and I have driven their vehicle out.
We avoid driving on snow or ice because of other drivers we may encounter. Especially on the interstates. Every time it snows somebody looses it and crosses over the center into the other lanes and when someone is spinning around coming down the road in your lanes there is not much you can do.

[FreeLanceing]

Up here in Mi where it snows from thanksgiving to may day, you just rarely see a 2 wd anymore, let alone a dually. Years ago when a work place had one we ran with 3 engine blocks in the bed, only on sunny days, both of them. Kidding aside with that much weight and some carefull driving you should be fine. Its not a good combo by any means. Any body that thinks a 2 wd will go anywhere a 4 wd will go is flat out full of BS and has never tried to make it up my driveway in December won't happen. Normal highway tires are fine the narrower the better more pnds per sq inch on the road surface. Id probably try to head south more than north after deer season.

[mkletka]

My flatbed also doubles as my plow truck in the winter. With ballast sand, plow and snow blower, I have around 3k of weight added. When plowing, I'm always one of the first on the road and 1-2 feet of snow does not slow the truck down much. Weight does add some benefits as it keeps the tires on the pavement instead of riding on top of the snow. Ice is a different story and demands a lot of caution.

[Scott16]

A friend of mine living in Wyoming told me he uses for his 1985 Ford F250 two old Truck Tire inner tubes makes cuts in tubes filled with fifty pounds of sand. He ties them off in the bed and hangs the inner tubes above the wheel fenders on both sides, of his truck. He said he has never any problem with snow in a empty truck. When weather is too bad you don't go out.
Scott

[bcbigfoot]

My 2wd dually, with all season Michelin 235/85-16 tires with the 4000lb camper on works amazingly well, very competent in snow packed snow or ice on winter Canadian mountain passes (I always carry chains just in case). With camper off it's horrible, bordering on dangerous.

[free_radical]

dave17352 wrote:
My question is how well does a 1 ton dually do in the snow with the truck camper on. Talking a 4k camper. I all ready know they do terrible unloaded as does any pickup. Just wondering with TC on.
Thanks

TCs weight helps a lot with traction..
I have a 2 wheel drive and about 1500lbs camper on the back never had any problems,
even in deepest snow and on icy roads got thru anything nicely,you just need to take it slow,,,have all season Michelins on it,,
also the locking diff and ABS helps tremendously and are one of the best inventions in automotive technology that saved my a** many times over..lol

[hmknightnc]

A dually with traction tires and 4k# in the bed will go anywhere reasonable you would want to go. Don't try it on ice though. Mud/Snow no problem, Ice=YIKES

[dave17352]

I have driven a lot on ice and snow in pickups. Both two wheel drive and four wheel drive. I find just about all the time I only need 4 wheel drive when starting to move. Once going its not a problem unless I am just out playing in heavy snow on purpose. Once moving stopping is the trick and 4 wheel drive isn't going to help you do that. I had a f-450 dually box truck and it was terrible on slick roads. I was hoping a dually with a truck camper would be better than it was. My f350 jamboree class C was much better than my f-450 box truck. I don't know why but it was.

[drillking]

My dad always told me to go as far as the two wheel drive will take you. After you put it in four wheel drive, turn around and go home!

[Led_67]

OK I am more than likely to get flamed by those who are devoted to their 4x4 but I have taken 2wd pickups places that some 4x4 would run from. I plead young and stupid, however it all depends on what setup you have...What type of tires do you have, what is the gearing for your truck, is it a stick or automatic and how familiar are you with it, what is your skill level in handleing your rig, There are more things to add as I am sure others will, and should, chime in but the best advice I ever got was as long as you feel safe keep moving and when you do not find someplace safe and stay put until it clears.

[Camp__Forrest__]

We go to the mountains a lot with our camper. Although we have a 4wd, we rarely use it. The one warning is that arresting a slide with the camper is different than empty because the weight on the rears is much higher. It will actually come back faster, so be careful not to over correct.

[oldtractors]

I would think it will actually do pretty well. Put some all terrain tires on it instead of highway tread. When I had a 2wd, I never tried it with a camper, but it did well with 500 lbs in the bed.

[Eycom]

Business travel has taken me to NY, PA, OH, and WV, sometimes during the winter. While they keep the Interstates pretty well plowed, I have spent a few nights in rest areas, Cracker Barrel, or Wallyworld due to white-outs or ice. I carry a Lance 1121 on a 2WD dually and there is a big difference in traction with the camper on-board. Still, there's too much "pucker factor" in snow driving for this Florida boy. I've decided there is more business than I can say grace over in the S.E. during the winter time.