Question for north east winter drivers

[Fantastipotamus]

That, and you don’t have the Dueler tires to contend with! Rebel should be just fine in the snow with no changes.

Edit; definitely worth getting TPMS sensors in a second set of tires. Defeats the purpose of having a second set of wheels if you have to have someone remount them twice a year to swap TPMS over. Tirerack 433mhz sensors are $30 each, wouldnt take too long to exceed that in remount/balance costs, and this way you can just swap them in your driveway whenever you want.

 

[Trippi]

On a good note. You may not have 4wd auto...but if you drive in deep snow often...the REBEL transfer case will treat you much better.

THIS I like to hear! Thank you!

 

[kittyjo]

I live in northern Vt and had Wrangler Duratracs and now have Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Both are snow rated all terrain tires. The Duratracs were really good until about the 25k mark and they started to wear unevenly even with tire rotations and got very noisy. The Ridge Grapplers wear better, are not as noisy and have great traction. As for chaining and putting weight in the back of the truck- best thing you can do in inclement weather is to slow down and use 4wd. Every first snowfall up here its the idiot olympics with aholes trying to do 70mph still on the interstate with slick roads then causing delays when they inevitably cause an accident during the morning and afternoon commutes.


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Thanks wanted to hit the mountains this year and just want to make sure I will make it with 4wd and my new tires... should I run psi around 35-40?

 

[MarvsAMartian]

Hey all,
This is my first truck/ 4wd vehicle. I've only had fwd and awd cars before this. I do not have the LSD or eLock differentials. I have the stock 20" Bridgestone Duellers. I have some winter driving questions for people, esp if you have north east experience.
1. How are these tires in the snow?
2. Do you drive in 2wd or leave in 4 auto?
3. Do you add weight to the bed?

Any other tips or info is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Vince

Hey Vince, I'm not in the NE, but I do live in the Northwest Territories in Canada so I have some winter driving experience. To address your questions:

1. I can't comment on the Duellers, but I do currently have All-Seasons as well and have used them thru winters past. They aren't the greatest in AWD or 4WD, and if you're in 2WD you're a much more skilled/confident driver than me (I know some psycho's up here that do). Best advice on this one is if you're doing mostly highway miles, invest in a set of winter rubber or all-terrain's that are winter rated. You can certainly be fine on all-seasons (I have been so far), but there's a noticeable difference. Edit: Studded winters are amazing in case you were wondering.
2. 2WD in summer. 4 Auto the second snow hits (for us, a month now). And 4WD in rough conditions/off-roading. That's me though. 4WD all winter is a safe bet no matter what.
3. I personally wouldn't on my RAM. I think it's more than capable of handling well on winter roads. I have in the past, but I drove a tiny Toyota Pickup that weighed about as much as I do after turkey dinner. A light crosswind felt like a tornado hit you when the roads were iced over. If you choose to do so though, some other members gave helpful tips about placement If it helps give you that added bit of assurance/peace of mind, I'm sure it won't hurt.

The only added advice I'd give is, since its your first truck I'm going to assume it's one of the larger vehicles you've driven. The jump in size and weight can be a bit intimidating especially if you've already had some sketchy situations in smaller vehicles (I know I have. Ditches aren't fun). The thing I did to feel more comfortable behind the wheel is what anyone would say regardless of the situation. Drive. Get used to your vehicle. In the past I would wait for a good snowfall then find an open parking lot/open space and drive the hell out of my truck (pre-RAM). Getting used to how it brakes/handles on snow/ice and at certain speeds. Once I felt comfortable I'd take it out on the highway and just drive for hours. I know our cops here have an advanced driving school (that I think is open to the public) where they take you out on our frozen lake and run you thru a course. If something like that is an option for you it might be worth looking into. I've personally never done it, but in talking to some of our officers it sounds like a lot of fun.
If this isn't an issue for you however completely disregard this section. I mean no disrespect.

Hope that helps. Be safe out there!

"best thing you can do in inclement weather is to slow down and use 4wd."

Also this ^^^ Can't be said enough.

Every first snowfall up here its the idiot olympics with aholes trying to do 70mph still on the interstate with slick roads then causing delays when they inevitably cause an accident during the morning and afternoon commutes.

This cracked me up. The annual "Idiot Olympics" is real.

 

[IrishRED]

Thanks everyone for the insightful replies. I am in upstate NY. They plow pretty well around here but can lag, esp in a big storm. New tires are not in the picture right now but the OEM tires only have 3000 miles so far. I'll try out 4Auto when the weather hits and see how it does. I drive pretty conservatively anyway. The truck has been fine in the rain so far. I ski as well, so I will put these Duellers to the test.

For those that run dedicated winter tires, do you swap over your TPMS each time?

I am located outside of Albany, NY and get a wide range of conditions here. Not as much deep snow as moderate snow with a lot of sleet/freezing rain/ice. This is my first Ram but not my first truck and I have always run BFG AT KO2s and loved them in all conditions!! I did have a set of Duellers on a used truck I bought and they were terrible in rain/ice/snow! My 02 Chevy had the Auto 4wd and it was fantastic for inclement weather of all kinds. I have not used the Auto 4wd on my Ram yet as I have not needed it but I hope it is just as good. As much as I loved the BFGs, I am considering General Grabber A/Tx as an upgrade. They are a little cheaper and rated a bit better than the BFGs .... but I am still on the fence. The stock Wrangler Fortitude HTs I have now I expect to be a nightmare in snow/ice so almost anything will be better ..... I hope!

 

[Condor757]

Anyone have the Goodyear Wrangler Adventure A/T with Kevlar and how do they do in snow?
This is my first upcoming winter with them. So far I’ve been very pleased with them in rainy conditions as well as smooth ride and no MPG hit.

 

[Zig10]

I had the Duelers on my old Tahoe and found them to be average at best. In the snow, they were ok, but nothing to write home about. Around here (mid-Atlantic) we only get about 10 real snow "events" per year so it doesn't make much difference for snowfall, but I wouldn't put them back on any car with my own money.

 

[SJC5]

Does anyone have snow experience with the the stock Off-Road-Package (ORP) stock tires: Faulkin WildPeak? Are these good in the snow? I assume so given they are technically all terrain but ...

 

[MarvsAMartian]

Does anyone have snow experience with the the stock Off-Road-Package (ORP) stock tires: Faulkin WildPeak? Are these good in the snow? I assume so given they are technically all terrain but ...

I've heard good things from other members here but no personal experience yet. They're the tires I want eventually. From my reading on the forums they're awesome for winter.

 

[Condor757]

Anyone with Goodyear Wrangler A/Ts?

 

[CJR28]

Does anyone have snow experience with the the stock Off-Road-Package (ORP) stock tires: Faulkin WildPeak? Are these good in the snow? I assume so given they are technically all terrain but ...

I had them on my BTS last February and the little bit of snow/ice they were fine. They were pretty good all around tires for being OEM, decent in the rain, not bad light off roading, meh in the sand(not aired down). Do not confuse the ORP OEM Falken Wildpeak AT3WA’s with the AT3W’s, two totally different tires. The OEM AT3WA’s are not twin peak rated and the thread is not as aggressive as the AT3W. I would of felt ok going into this winter with them for normal driving but I ditched them for LT Duratracs

 

[jth877]

I'm going into my 27th year of driving in upstate NY winters. You get get around in just about any all season tire if you need to. The accidents happen when people are going too fast or not paying attention and reacting like they are on dry pavement. The wranger sra tires on my old 2017 were rated pretty poorly. I still did 3 winters with them.

 

[RamRMK]

Thanks wanted to hit the mountains this year and just want to make sure I will make it with 4wd and my new tires... should I run psi around 35-40?

You will be fine with 4WD. Again speed is the most important thing even on mountain roads which up here tend to be curvy due to switchbacks. Braking technique is also something I see people lack in the winter months and usually it goes back to speed (feathering instead of hard brake stops). I don’t make any adjustments to PSI other than making sure its the same as on the door cause it can fluctuate during temp swings.


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[moparleo51]

Does anyone have snow experience with the the stock Off-Road-Package (ORP) stock tires: Faulkin WildPeak? Are these good in the snow? I assume so given they are technically all terrain but ...

i went tru one winter with the oem ofg wildpeak aw3 tires and they seemed to work pretty good for a oem tire. i`m sure they are way better than the duellers in snow, and i know for sure they are miles above those crapyear tires that they use to put on the 4th gen rams. btw i put the rebel wheels with duratracs on so will see how they do this year.

 

[_StangPGH]

I like two or three 70lb sand tubes over the rear axle. I stay in 2WD most of the winter in NW PA.

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[devildodge]

I got this load of wood in the bed. And last night the oils from the road coming out during a sprinkle...i couldn't keep traction when the skinny pedal was applied loudly

But nit driving like an *** no issues lol

 

[arod412]

If it helps any....some weather stations say it will be a mild winter. To be honest, here in NJ we had very little to no snow...so I’m disappointed. I love snow.

But I don’t want it to snow yet...because I’m still running my stock tires...which suck.


Owner of a 2020 Ram Laramie, 16 Dodge Charger scat pack and my wife 21 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara

 

[kittyjo]

You will be fine with 4WD. Again speed is the most important thing even on mountain roads which up here tend to be curvy due to switchbacks. Braking technique is also something I see people lack in the winter months and usually it goes back to speed (feathering instead of hard brake stops). I don’t make any adjustments to PSI other than making sure its the same as on the door cause it can fluctuate during temp swings.


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I have the 35-12.50-20 nitto ridge grapplers max psi is 80 so what do I run it then cause rn I have them at 55psi

 

[Condor757]

Still nobody with the Goodyear wrangler A/Ts willing to chime in on snow?

 

[PowerJrod]

Hey all,
This is my first truck/ 4wd vehicle. I've only had fwd and awd cars before this. I do not have the LSD or eLock differentials. I have the stock 20" Bridgestone Duellers. I have some winter driving questions for people, esp if you have north east experience.
1. How are these tires in the snow?
2. Do you drive in 2wd or leave in 4 auto?
3. Do you add weight to the bed?

Any other tips or info is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Vince

Never tried the Bridgestones but when I had my Chevy in New Hampshire I left it in 4auto...reduced the psi in the rear tires about 5 relative to the front tires and had maybe 150 pounds in the bed. I did this with my F250 also but that didn't have 4auto so I only engaged the 4Hi when needed to get out of the driveway/parking lots.