Hello all. I have a very nice rust free 1988 Dodge Dakota, V-6, Torqueflite transmission, 8 ft bed, 2 wheel drive.

For any of you snow gurus out there, I have a question.

We had a few snowfalls and my Dakota has P225 70 R15 tires which look wider than most 70-series tires I have seen. They did not do well at all on the snow and ice. I couldn't get going or do anything without slipping around all over the place. Couldn't even get going on just a slight grade.

So I bought a pair of "like new" used studded snow tires for the rear end, size P205 75 R15. Not quite so wide, and have excellent tread. I'm going to get a pair of 205 75 tires for the front end as soon as I can. I also put my 5-foot Woods belly mower in the bed for weight, for better traction.

Well, we had another snowfall, and I was driving on roadways which were hard packed with snow. I could get going just fine. The problem is, I can't stop! Every time I apply the brakes I just slide and absolutely cannot stop the vehicle.

Can anybody explain to me why this may be happening, or more importantly, what I can do about it?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

You gotta get used to pumpin the brakes and feeling it as soon as it starts to slip. All of that extra weight in the back is making your truck heavier yes, but it is also making it take longer to stop. i think you may have too much weight to the point of being counterproductive. I've got 500lbs in the back of my half ton and it is about perfect. You should be fine with 300lbs.

 

Thank you, that makes sense. I'll take the Woods belly mower off and put a couple of sand tubes in there instead. Or maybe it might not need the extra weight at all with the studded snow tires?

I also have a fiberglass cap that I bought used but never put on. That might be ideal.

 

I'll take a picture of what I did sometime and post it up, but I built a rectangular frame out of 2x6s that fits perfectly between the wheel wells and the tailgate. I then put two 2x4s across it so that the weight could push down on the frame and hold it in place. I did a little math when coming up with this system and found taht because of the way the leverages and such work, putting the weight behind the rear axle not only places that weight on the rear axle, but it also acts like a see saw and takes some of the weight off of the front end. I put 500lbs worth of bagged water softener salt in my little frame and it is working pretty darned well even with all terrain tires.

In short, (if I did the math right) placing 500lbs in the back of the truck where I did actually is putting roughly 620lbs of pressure on the rear axle while only adding 500lbs of weight to the truck. This way I'm not affecting my braking as much. Hopefully this is making sense...? by placing the finish mower in the back of your truck, whatever weight is pushing down in front of the rear axles is also pushing down on the front axle and you're not utilizing all of the weight.

Let me know if you're confused... It's kind of tough to explain

 

I think I get it. I basically should keep the weight behind the rear axle, thereby weighing down the rear axle and not weighing down the front end? Maybe actually lightening/lifting some weight off the front end a bit?

As I understand it, any weight in front of the rear axle is also distributed to the front end as well.

 

Its good to compare both of them but you can go with anyone according to your choice. Because both are the best.