traction in 2wd pickup

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I have a 2WD Toyota pickup which has very little traction on slippery surfaces. I get a tremendous amount of wheel spin in reverse trying to back up on a slick surface, but I can sometimes ease up a slippery slope in first gear. Why is there so much difference in wheel spin between first and reverse, since all other factors are equal?

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
Accelerating in reverse transfers weight off the rear and towards the front.

You should look into a limited slip, detroit locker, or mini spool, depending on your preferences and budget. I went with the mini spool in my truck because I don't care about shredding tires.
 
Before you look into a traction aiding device for your differential you should add weight to the bed and use good tires designed for the task, real snow tires. I've driven lots and lots of miles in a 2wd truck in the winter in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in fact I made it through a 300+ inch snowfall winter with all season tires on all 4 corners and nothing more than 5 70# sand sausages in the bed of a 1988 2wd 4 speed Toyota truck. Get weight, if it still doesn't help enough, get tires. Then and only then should you look into adding a limited slip.
 
Originally Posted By: eyeofthetiger
Accelerating in reverse transfers weight off the rear and towards the front.

You should look into a limited slip, detroit locker, or mini spool, depending on your preferences and budget. I went with the mini spool in my truck because I don't care about shredding tires.
The Detroit in the rear of my truck shreds tires too.
 
500 pounds of weight and a set of studded snow tires would work wonders. That's what's on & in the GMC in my sig, it hasn't got stuck yet. Or spend several grand on a posi & keep the junky all seasons-you'll be disappointed, and poorer.
 
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
Before you look into a traction aiding device for your differential you should add weight to the bed and use good tires designed for the task, real snow tires. I've driven lots and lots of miles in a 2wd truck in the winter in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in fact I made it through a 300+ inch snowfall winter with all season tires on all 4 corners and nothing more than 5 70# sand sausages in the bed of a 1988 2wd 4 speed Toyota truck. Get weight, if it still doesn't help enough, get tires. Then and only then should you look into adding a limited slip.


What he said..

My father rarely missed a day of work due to bad roads using this formula.

Studded tires or deep tread winter tires..and a few hundred pounds in the bed across the axle were his formula in a 70s model C10 3 speed on the column.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: eyeofthetiger
Accelerating in reverse transfers weight off the rear and towards the front.

You should look into a limited slip, detroit locker, or mini spool, depending on your preferences and budget. I went with the mini spool in my truck because I don't care about shredding tires.
The Detroit in the rear of my truck shreds tires too.

My cousin had a 80's toyota 4x4 pickup with a detroit in the back and it was evil in the snow.... Even in 4wd it made turning left in an intersection not very predictable in the snow.
Get some good narrowish snow tires and some weight in the back and the truck will drive much better.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: eyeofthetiger
Accelerating in reverse transfers weight off the rear and towards the front.

You should look into a limited slip, detroit locker, or mini spool, depending on your preferences and budget. I went with the mini spool in my truck because I don't care about shredding tires.
The Detroit in the rear of my truck shreds tires too.

My cousin had a 80's toyota 4x4 pickup with a detroit in the back and it was evil in the snow.... Even in 4wd it made turning left in an intersection not very predictable in the snow.
Get some good narrowish snow tires and some weight in the back and the truck will drive much better.


I drove a 2wd pickup with a detroit locker in Michigan winters and it was almost unstoppable. The tail likes to slide around a little bit, but letting off the throttle straightens it right out (results may vary with a manual transmission).
 
Originally Posted By: eyeofthetiger
Accelerating in reverse transfers weight off the rear and towards the front.

You should look into a limited slip, detroit locker, or mini spool, depending on your preferences and budget. I went with the mini spool in my truck because I don't care about shredding tires.

Well a mini-spool is about the worst thing to EVER, EVER use in a street vehicle, period. And a locker is not far behind. Tire choice, and weight distribution would be the first thing to do for addressing a traction issue.
 
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Thank you for the review of Detroit locker. The only LSDs I've had are BMWs. They are a definite improvement over an open diff in snow.

Driving on dry roads isn't a trouble if you use Lube with a friction modifier

Get some good narrowish snow tires and some weight in the back and the truck will drive much better. A D handled flat shovel is useful for parking and taking off some times too.
 
Thanks for the info. I am going to get a spare set of rims with studded snows. I have enough junk lying around for ballast :)
 
And with all that weight, you start sliding and now you have momentum that you can’t stop.
And most people don’t secure their weight ballast enough. Get in a bad accident and the junk becomes a missle or bunch of middles.
 
I have found that an empty plastic drum lying on it's side and strapped very well then filled with water works very well. The drum is light enough to lift in and out but after filling is plenty of weight. Just drain the water after bad weather is over and good to go.
 
Had an old volvo 940 wagon with locking diff. It was great in the snow (wearing studded Hankook I-pikes) but on black ice it got me sideways & puckering up! An open diff would have broken one rear wheel free while letting the other one still give me directional stability.

As for your truck, weigh 'er down so the tires dig through the snow to the pavement. You see big rigs and busses flying through the snow-- they don't have dedicated snow tires, but are heavy!
 
Originally Posted By: Oldtom
I get a tremendous amount of wheel spin in reverse trying to back up on a slick surface, but I can sometimes ease up a slippery slope in first gear. Why is there so much difference in wheel spin between first and reverse, since all other factors are equal?


If you could see where the exact center of gravity is in your Toyota, it will be come clear as a bell.

Backing up a slope in R - all the weight is being pulled off the rear tires.
driving up in first - the weight is shifted rear, onto the tires.
 
Reverse in a RWD vehicle is like forward in a FWD vehicle. It sucks if you need traction.

I’ve taken my Camry off-road, on loose roads and inclines it just spun the tires and get stuck. A RWD vehicle would have done much better in the same spot, it can push the vehicle rather than pull.
 
A split handbrake would be a relatively simple mechanical traction aid and is DIY-able. Used on some classes of (British) trials cars. AKA "twiddle brakes".

Failing that, with one wheel spinning, lightly applying the handbrake will feed some torque through to the other wheel which might be enough to get you moving, though thats less efficient.

I've read somewhere this is why SAABs have the handbrake on the front (driven) wheels, despite the complexity it involves.
 
Originally Posted By: rsylvstr
And with all that weight, you start sliding and now you have momentum that you can’t stop.
And most people don’t secure their weight ballast enough. Get in a bad accident and the junk becomes a missle or bunch of middles.


This is how I feel. I have never added dead weight to the back of a pickup truck just for winter traction. I like my locking differentials. I also like 4WD and good tires.
 
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