Dually in the Snow?

[DMcV]

I've only had this truck for about 5 months now. Snow should be coming our way soon here in the Pacific North West. Can any other Dually owners tell me what to expect in the snow with dual wheels? Tires are in good shape and the snow we get is the wet & slushy crap. Any idea how much weight I should put in , or is it trial & error? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Dennis

 

[tonkadoctor]

A dually in 2wd will get stuck on ice on flat level ground. They sug in snow and ice. Deep snow, forget it in 2wd.


The tail of mine (truck in signature) always goes to the right when I hit a slick spot and it scales out at 9100 lbs full of fuel..... All 135 gallons.

 

[69oiler]

i used to run an F Superduty Dump truck and it sucked in the snow. the front and rear track dont line up, so the duals are always cutting a fresh track through the snow. if you have good tires you might be ok. i'd add several hundred pounds of ballast either above or forward of (not behind) the rear axle.

i live in the snow belt, not sure how much snow you guys get in BC, we get 6-12 inches at a time here regularly.

 

[tjl]

Dually's suck in the snow. I don't even drive mine in the winter. When I did, I put any where from 500-800 lbs i the bed. It helped a little but not much.

 

[DMcV]

Well, I do hope that the 4X4 will help with any problems that the dual wheels may cause. We get anywhere from 2 to 10 inches at a time and it can accumulate to more but it does not stick around very long and the main roads are cleared. Anyone have a 4X4 with duals in snow experience ?
Thanks Dennis

 

[sle2115]

Well, I do hope that the 4X4 will help with any problems that the dual wheels may cause. We get anywhere from 2 to 10 inches at a time and it can accumulate to more but it does not stick around very long and the main roads are cleared. Anyone have a 4X4 with duals in snow experience ?
Thanks Dennis

I do, but we don't get much snow. We've had ice, and of course anything sucks in that. Snow wise, the only issues I've had are in 2wd. These trucks seem to carry most of their weight over the front axles, so having that be a driven axle only makes sense. I have rough tread, so they clean well and dig quite well. In the times I've driven it in snow, it has ranged from 3-8 inches or so, and I've been able to move around pretty well. They will get squirrely in the rear, but in 4X4 it doesn't happen near as much. I don't use any ballast, but I have a 9X7 foot steel flat bed, a hydraulic pump and hoist back there as well, so there is some extra weight already. The thing I've found is that these trucks are heavy enough to get to what lies beneath the snow quite well...that goes for mud too, sometimes that isn't good, but my truck rarely if ever floats over anything soft!

 

[DMcV]

Thanks 'sle2115'
Love the quote from 'Newt Gingrich' )
Dennis

 

[94f450sd]

i put brand new tires on mine before winter every year.so far i rarely get stuck being 2WD,but ive also got a locker in the rear end.my 94 superduty would get stuck if you even mentioned mud or snow around it.

 

[sassyrel]

friend of mine with dually--removes the outboard wheel and rim in the winter--says he carrys no loads in the winter--so whats the diff??? then he puts about 400 lbs in the back---and the rears are agressive--says he has no problems--so long as he dont try stupid stuff--

 

[argve]

I always complained about the Enterprise in the snow (91 F350 CC Dually 2wd) until I installed the aux tank in the bed. I had the 120 gallon tank mounted up front in the bed - right next to the cab and after that she was like a tank - if the front tires didn't sink she would go where I wanted her and she was stable. I played the ole game for years before that with adding 600lbs one year to 1500 lbs towards the end. But again when I put that fuel tank in I didn't add any weight and loved it. She even handled better on ice. I think it was because the weight was centered in the truck so it squashed both front and rear tires equally. I tried the same thing with my dodge and she responded well to that line of thinking but not as good as The E did. I could tell when the fuel tank was getting low in the winter because I would start having problems getting up the driveway so I knew I was getting low in the aux tank so a few thou dollars later for a fill up and she was back to tank mode as I called it.