The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk How does it handle in the snow?

How good or bad is driving a stove bolt with a 4 speed granny and a 4:10 posie in the snow and ice? 3/4 longed. 2 wheel drive
My only snow experiences are in a Plymouth fury, 74 Civic and a Chevy s10

I know my 66 GMC has touchy stock power brakes, which isn't good on the ice.

I use to drive my old bolt in the snow and ice.It got around pretty good.My truck is a 1951 3100 chevy.At the time it had the original rearend and three speed on the tree.I use to put sand bags in the bed,over the rear axel.

my bolts both work fine in winter conditions , with lug tread on back - sometimes I put weight in if the roads aren't plowed

Bill

My 38 doesn't get out in bad weather. My old 55 panel used to love the snow. I put 700 16 mud grips on the back & she never did get stuck.

I never had problems in the snow as long as I put chains on.

If you have a posi,you're already ahead of the game.You might want to remember,though, that if the posi unit's set up a little on the tight side,the truck may be reluctant to turn on extremely slick roads,so try to leave yourself a little room to compensate in case it wants to push a little. Usually,just starting your turn as gradually as possible will get you around corners fine. Probably won't be an issue at all.
Also,drive no faster than your defroster is capable of working...
Speed

No problems here in Mineral Wells. When the ice and snow float down I just grab a few sandbags..
..toss em in the bed and drive SLOWer.

Cliff59

My '53 6500 wrecker is good in the snow using 900/20 military tread tires and weight on the rear.We had a '72 Chevy C-30 wrecker V8 with a 4:11 posi rear that was a real snow hound.Northeast rust go to it and we had to sell it.My new Hino flatbed is real bad in the mud and snow even with lug tires.I have a set of dual wheel chains that I can use if the weather gets bad.

I've got new, none-too-aggressive M&S radial tires on mine. We have around 2 feet of snow down now, and I unloaded the driveway into my Stovebolt's box. Now she's unstoppable, until there's so much snow packed into the grille that the radiator's job is impeded and she starts to heat up.

Posi might be a little tight, it usually puts out a cherp when I hit a corner hard and fast.
This is my first posi truck.
I had a 72 VW square back that could be considered posi, She got around good in the snow especially with a full gas tank.

I haven't had a bit of luck with driving old 1/2 ton trucks around in mud and snow.. but I suppose the bologna skin tires don't help much.

The '46 2 ton with those big duallie tires on the back dig right in and go in mud and snow just fine.. but it also sits up quite a bit higher.

I was thinking of making that 2 ton truck my snowplow truck for the driveway.. that's how good she does in snow.

For 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks, I recommend good snow tires on the back, and weight in the bed.

A lot of the old timers around here who drove those trucks when they were new tell me it was common practice to put wider tires on the back during winter for extra 'grab' power.

In Wyoming, the tire of choice during the winter were THIN snow tires. We called them pizza cutters. The altitude at the town I'm from is 7k. Lots of snow. The wide ones were too slippery on the ice. Almost all the trucks there are either posi or 4wd.

My only experience with snow driving was in 1951 when I started up the Sandia mountains near Albuquerque. I was driving very carefully in my brother's '51 and keeping it on 20 m.p.h. was doing fine until I looked and the trees beside me weren't moving and then started moving backwards. I aimed the back bumper at a tree close to the road and then bro. and I got out and pushed the front end around then went back down the hill. Incidentally I never did get to the top of that hill, well really a mountain, about 9,000 ft. elevation, but the '51 did get us down safely.

I agree bigmacdaddy, wide tires tires sit on top of the snow/ice whereas skinny tires dig in better.

Idrive my 51 year round.When the snow comes i put 3 sand tubes in the back,one over the axle and one lenghthwise over each tire.Iice fish and often drive through a foot of snow on the lake with no trails and no worrys.Ialways back up a couple of feet on my tracks when i stop and have never been stranded.

THIS one NEVER got stuck in snow or mud.

My advice is good snow tires, and at least 500 lbs of weight over the rear wheels. Twice the weight (1000 lbs) would be better yet.

John

Yep. I ran a Camaro years ago that only needed 300# over the drive axle: I used sandbags. My stovebolt needs more than that. Slow..Rider has the best idea in his sand tubes, but a bag is nice, too, because on that one time you do need it, a little sand under the tires is as good as chains, and cheaper. Bigmacdaddy is also right. Those great big tires are useful in sand or soft mud, but otherwise pretty much decorative. In snow, ice or rocky ground they render a good truck completely helpless. Sometimes on warm ice, like in spring, a man can actually push a truck with those tires sideways on flat ground with all its wheels locked. The best tires for snow, hands down, are tactical tread. Narrow, high-profile military tires. Second best - and easier to live with - is a full set of high, narrow M&S radials with an aggressive (lumpy) tread pattern. In soft snow, with a little weight, you can drop the drive tire pressures to distribute the weight and lengthen the contact patch and she'll pull like a bulldozer.