Traction, not getting Stuck!

[ArtW]

regular tires on the front are fine for steering in all but the slickest gumbo
Come to my place after a rain and I'll show you a pickup unable to make forward progress but perfectly capable of steering
Why you think all those farmers / ranchers with 2WD trucks only put the mud tires in the back?
in fact I've seen AT ires on a 2WD actually dig in and make a stuck worse, while the other truck, with normal street tread on the front, had less trouble

 

[Ballenxj]

regular tires on the front are fine for steering in all but the slickest gumbo
Come to my place after a rain and I'll show you a pickup unable to make forward progress but perfectly capable of steering
Why you think all those farmers / ranchers with 2WD trucks only put the mud tires in the back?
in fact I've seen AT ires on a 2WD actually dig in and make a stuck worse, while the other truck, with normal street tread on the front, had less trouble

My thoughts are; snowmobiles steer with two slick sticks on the front, but the rear is where their traction comes from for forward momentum. 
Many years ago I drove a two wheel drive truck into some tricky off road situations with no trouble. It had BFG A/T tires on the back with factory limited slip. The front two were street tires.
I was impressed with where that truck could go, but never took it into snow.

 

[steamjam1]

My thoughts are; snowmobiles steer with two slick sticks on the front, but the rear is where their traction comes from for forward momentum. 
Many years ago I drove a two wheel drive truck into some tricky off road  situations with no trouble. It had BFG A/T tires on the back with factory limited slip. The front two were street tires.
I was impressed with where that truck could go, but never took it into snow.

I'm going to be real here.. Where I go with my van prolly doesn't reflect what 80% of van dwellers do with their vans. I go up and down a steep dirt road (Over 20% grade in a few spots). So what I think here may not reflect what you intend on doing with your van.

When I say "Mud".. I mean the kind of mud that sucks your shoes in an inch or two when you step in it. I have in the past, in my old Dodge van before my Ford RV literally slid out of control, all four wheels locked, steering all the way to the left, yet still headed DUE straight down that muddy 20% grade road in the rain as one of my front wheels got sucked into a rain drainage on the side and I had no choice but to let the van slide down it. I was on Goodyear Wranglers back then. HORRIBLE mud tire. I will never buy another set of regular Wrangler tires ever again from this experience.

Then I switched to Wrangler DuraTrac. WAY BETTER control in the mud. Not only did I not get the rear wheels stuck so I could keep my momentum going UP the road, but also much much more easily kept the van under control going DOWN hill. Most importantly I was able to stop the van. There are few things that put wrinkles on your forehead like seeing you have a mountain on one side on the road, and a steep cliff on the other, and your sliding... headed for the cliff without any control over the steering. And that old Dodge van didn't have an LSD. All it had was your standard Dodge 8.25 open diff axle.

I have also driven that van on cheap all-season street tires in Oregon in the snow. (THAT WAS SKETCHY AS HECK)

 

[steamjam1]

And yeah.. I had better admit. I also own a 4x4 Dodge camper van that I've taken on the exact same road in the mud. I see no difference in traction in 2-hi, and thats on 265/75/16 BF Goodrich all-terrains. In 4-hi or better yet 4-lo... Wow I can climb trees in a monsoon

 

[Ballenxj]

I'm going to be real here.. Where I go with my van prolly doesn't reflect what 80% of van dwellers do with their vans. I go up and down a steep dirt road (Over 20% grade in a few spots). So what I think here may not reflect what you intend on doing with your van.
<---snip---->
Then I switched to Wrangler DuraTrac. WAY BETTER control in the mud. Not only did I not get the rear wheels stuck so I could keep my momentum going UP the road, but also much much more easily kept the van under control going DOWN hill. Most importantly I was able to stop the van. There are few things that put wrinkles on your forehead like seeing you have a mountain on one side on the road, and a steep cliff on the other, and your sliding... headed for the cliff without any control over the steering. And that old Dodge van didn't have an LSD. All it had was your standard Dodge 8.25 open diff axle.

I have also driven that van on cheap all-season street tires in Oregon in the snow. (THAT WAS SKETCHY AS HECK)

I found this video quite interesting.  
[video=youtube]

 

[Not That Bob]

I like Duratracs also, great all around tire.Get 4 first. I prefer tall and thin vs wide fat tires in this case.

Don't forget adjusting pressure is free. In sand, mud etc lower the pressure to get a larger footprint. Just don't drive at highway speeds until you "air up".

Move your start battery over the axle, maybe add 1 or 2 house batteries while your at it.

Get a Eaton Trutrac LSD. Acts like an open when cruising, but does the opposite of an open in low traction, sends power to tire WITH traction.

 

[Ballenxj]

I like Duratracs also, great all around tire.Get 4 first. I prefer tall and thin vs wide fat tires in this case.
<---snip--->
Get a Eaton Trutrac LSD. Acts like an open when cruising, but does the opposite of an open in low traction, sends power to tire WITH traction.

Don't know anything about Duratracs, but have heard real good things about the Eaton Trutrac. I'll be looking into that one.

 

[NeedAnEscape]

I have265/75r16 wrangler duratracs on my 4x4 van, and when it snowed last winter, my dad had more trouble with his F150 in 4hi than I did in 2wd. He had all season tires at the time.

 

[Jaco]

At work they use all duratracs on all of the passenger buses. These are f450 rwd dually, we also have f350 extended high tops.

Here in NE Pennsylvania it is very hilly and I have gone through 10+ inches of snow without an issue.

If I could put duratracs on my new transit 150 I would in a heartbeat. They don't make duratracs in my size. I am getting nokian WR 3C for the transit. The tires arrive Tuesday.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Ballenxj]

At work they use all duratracs on all of the passenger buses. These are f450 rwd dually, we also have f350 extended high tops.

Here in NE Pennsylvania it is very hilly and I have gone through 10+ inches of snow without an issue.

OK, You guys have convinced me to look into the Wrangler Duratracs.

@ Lost in the world, I understand that all season tires are no competition to actual mud and snow tires.

 

[Ballenxj]

OK, You guys have convinced me to look into the Wrangler Duratracs.

@ Lost in the world, I understand that all season tires are no competition to actual mud and snow tires.

I checked my local Discount Tire, and they don't stock them. They said they can order them though.
Meanwhile they are trying to sell me a set of Pathfinder Sport S A/T's which they do have in stock, and is a house brand for quite a bit less.
I looked into the Pathfinders, and they aren't as highly rated as the Duratrac's.
The Pathfinders are in the neighborhood of $140. less for a pair. Hmm.

 

[steamjam1]

I checked my local Discount Tire, and they don't stock them. They said they can order them though.
Meanwhile they are trying to sell me a set of Pathfinder Sport S A/T's which they do have in stock, and is a house brand for quite a bit less.
I looked into the Pathfinders, and they aren't as highly rated as the Duratrac's.
The Pathfinders are in the neighborhood of $140. less for a pair. Hmm.

I think the key here is: Load range, and intended use.

Load range. I personally buy ONLY LT type tires that have a load range of atleast C or C1 for my class-b RV. (LT235/75-15). I looked at the Pathfinder Sport S A/T and they have an XL load rating, which is barely above the P rating. (Passenger) My Van weighs alot due to its equipment. If you own a normal run-of-the-mill conversion van that doesn't have the extra weight of a full bathroom, grey water tanks, kitchenette, refrigerator, and hot water heater etc you can get away with Passenger type tires and you'll be OK.

Intended use: How much off road are you really going to see?

 

[Ballenxj]

I think the key here is: Load range, and intended use.

Load range. I personally buy ONLY LT type tires that have a load range of atleast C or C1 for my class-b RV. (LT235/75-15). I looked at the Pathfinder Sport S A/T and they have an XL load rating, which is barely above the P rating. (Passenger)

Intended use: How much off road are you really going to see?

The current tires are E series, so fairly heavy duty for an LT tire.
I would like to be able to travel dirt roads at least without worry, that, and where I'm at will see snow & nasty mud.
I suspect the guy I talked to didn't get the full picture of what I need and want.

 

[Not That Bob]

Pair????????????????

 

[Ballenxj]

Pair????????????????

Yeah, just for the back. It's two wheel drive, and we discussed the Pro's and Con's of that earlier in this thread.

 

[steamjam1]

The current tires are E series, so fairly heavy duty for an LT tire.
I would like to be able to travel dirt roads at least without worry, that, and where I'm at will see snow & nasty mud.
I suspect the guy I talked to didn't get the full picture of what I need and want.

If your gonna see snow and nasty mud, yeah whatever you do, don't get the normal Goodyear Wranglers. The Duratrac's are the way to go if you prefer Goodyear. Hankook makes a good mud tire, and there is always the BF Goodrich T/A, which is good in mud, but terrible in snow. And I recommend getting mud/snow tires in sets, not pairs. Sure you spend more money, but having traction in the rear means almost nothing if you cannot steer.

 

[Ballenxj]

Pair????????????????

I hate it when I'm wrong, but will grudgingly admit it. After a bit of research, I guess a complete set of four are in order.
http://www.wheels.ca/news/the-5-most-common-winter-driving-myths/

 

[TrainChaser]

Lawns are designed to grow grass, not to support trucks. The normal soil is often removed and sifted topsoil mixed with other grass-supportive materials (peat moss, manure, etc) are used as a synthetic fill. When wet, it seems to give no traction at all, it's like slime.

Tires, weight, 4WD are not a guarantee that you're going to get out of a bad spot very easily: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6HwlcXo3TCA/maxresdefault.jpg

 

[Ballenxj]

Lawns are designed to grow grass, not to support trucks.  The normal soil is often removed and sifted topsoil mixed with other grass-supportive materials (peat moss, manure, etc) are used as a synthetic fill.  When wet, it seems to give no traction at all, it's like slime.

Tires, weight, 4WD are not a guarantee that you're going to get out of a bad spot very easily:  https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6HwlcXo3TCA/maxresdefault.jpg

Um, I guess I had better clarify. When I said yard, I didn't mean grass or lawn. My friend has 5 acres, and where I got stuck was purely mud, no grass was involved or injured.

 

[Not That Bob]

Glad you "saw the light"! lol Besides better traction/safety having 4 will allow you to do proper rotations so you will get the most life out of your investment. Remember to run between 2 to 4 more PSI up front.