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Snow/Icy Driving setup tips?

Tony Burgh

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Your King Ranch has 4X4Auto which is fine to use on dry surfaces. It is the same as all wheel drive.
You’re correct about 4A on dry or wet pavement. But not the same as 4H. In heavy snow, 4H will feel more stable.
In winter I use tires for ice and snow (Blizzacks, Ice Gaurd, etc) because slush and ice is more of a problem where I live.
Use 4H to get out of 4A problems. Use 4L to get out of 4H problems. Use tow truck to get out of 4L problems.
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ib_jigged

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2H with my Falken Wildpeaks works well for me on ice and snow. Even better in 4H!
 

Jerry Can

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I drive regularly on snow and ice covered roads and have never needed extra weight in the box. Good tires are far more important, and those Pirelli Scorpions are not good tires for winter driving. My 2021 KR has KO2s that do well in most winter conditions (except very icy). My 2020 XLT work truck has Hakkapeliittas, which are excellent tires. I mostly use 4A for slippery road conditions, and 4H only for heavy or deep snow (or in the XLT, which doesn’t have 4A).
 

Airlifter2

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I have the '21 King Ranch and the stock tires. Those are the Pirelli Scorpion AT tires supposedly developed for the current F-150.

On Saturday we went up to Yosemite. There was a modest amount of snow up there and was quite beautiful.

Things were also rather slick in some areas. We took it really easy and still several times had the rear tires momentarily break loose of their grip.

I also tried to back into/through some snow to park and it really didn't look like it should be challenging but the danged rear tires just spun. Even when I kicked in the rear locker it was really wimpy.

Yup, I've driven in snow many times (grew up in Northern Minnesota) but really not with a pickup truck. This was a reminder that I've got an aluminum bed and that pickups are a bit light in the rear anyway.

The tires are "AT" and the dealer told me that they are "Three Peaks" rated which is supposed to mean that they are somehow good in snow even though they look like they are pretty devoted to operation on paved clean roads. At this time I'm not interested in getting a set of more aggressive tires since I'm only occasionally going to snow (I live in Kalifornia's Central Valley).

Yes, I do have cable chains. I'm not sure they're approved for use with this system - Ford doesn't seem terribly informative on the matter but I don't see any reason why I shouldn't use them. But frankly, the issues were pretty minor and I wasn't going to put the chains on for what I was experiencing.

What I'm most interested in is what people are doing for weight to put in the back of the F-150. I figure that next time I'm going to have at least a couple of sandbags in the back (sand can be a traction device as well as weight). But I'm really not all that interested in having to store a bunch of sandbags when I don't need them in the back of the truck.

Weights (for barbells) are of some interest to me as I should be able to thread a ratchet strap through them and secure them in place that way. Putting them toward the rear would seem to be advisable. Are their better ideas?

How much weight do you recommend for putting in the back of the truck? I was thinking 300-400 pounds but I really don't know what the best/average amount might be.

We might try for Yosemite again this Saturday (or may not). If we do go it should be snowing with the current forecast being for nearly 11" of accumulation.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
I built a box to set sandbags in. Moisture caused them to make a mess. Just yesterday I put the bags and extra sand in these two plastic storage bins I had. Easy to remove or load. You can put whatever ballast you wish. I added extra sand.

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Ford F-150 Snow/Icy Driving setup tips? 8D0E76BF-C86E-4B74-9335-94951CE89E11
 

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Airlifter2

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That is a very nice solution!

Thank you.
One could likely find the lumber for free as scrap somewhere if you took the time. Carpet squares stapled on bottom to protect bed were free at Home Depot. They were last years samples and to be trashed. I'll post how I used to do it.

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I’m thinking the powerboost battery pack being directly over the rear axle and my 100lbs of tonneau cover will be plenty for additional bed weight.

I’m looking Forward to see how the Pirelli scorpion all terrain plus work in the snow.
 

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Last night driving to and from Christmas dinner, I was terribly disappointed by the Pirellis. I've owned a 2016 and 2018 F150, same SuperCrew 157" Both of those did FAR better in similar snow.

Getting routine oil/filter, etc. last week, I chatted with the service manager about what I'd heard about the tires. Anecdotally she seemed to share she had heard the same from other owners.

We got 4" last night. I might head to lunch after a bit and see how they perform. I'm investigating changing over to appropriate Michelins or Coopers. The bummer is these Pirellis are a comfortable and quiet ride and do pretty good on rain. Snow is a fail. We slid around like crazy.
 

gtotco

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Curious to know if you were using 4 wheel drive or not. I would think 4 wheel drive would be more helpful than weight in the back of the bed.

If I were planning a trip to a more remote area that had lots of non flat terrain I'd probably put real nice tires designed specifically for snow and bring a shovel just in case. If I had rear 2WD only I would definitely go to dedicated snow tires even if the terrain were mostly flat. I often hear that snow tires on a rear 2WD can do better than all season tires on 4 wheel drive - not sure how true that is , but it is something to consider.

I'm curious to see how well my Goodyear Wrangler AT tires handle on snow. I think they are similar to the performance of your Pirelli Scorpion AT. I expect that the Goodyear Wrangler AT and my FX4 will do well for me year round because I live in an area where the roads are pretty flat and there really isn't that much snow on the roads. I expect that my truck will do better than my front wheel drive cars with all season tires that do well where I live.
I have an FX4 that came stock with the Goodyear Wranglers and they were awful in the snow here (Colorado mountains). I switched them for 3PMSF Wrangler Duratracs and they are a lot better though still not as good as the unstoppable Bridgestone Blizzaks on our Honda CR-V. Probably switching to those for winter after this year because the Duratracs are also an awful highway tire (I liked the stock OEM wrangler AT tires on the highway just not in snow here).
 

gtotco

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Your King Ranch has 4X4Auto which is fine to use on dry surfaces. It is the same as all wheel drive.
Is there much reason not to just leave the truck in 4A? We drove yesterday to our mountain house and roads were fine but had snow patches and just left it in 4A. Got a little over 20MPG which is basically what I get in 2H so it didn’t even seem like much of a mileage hit (if any). I always thought most of the mileage hit on AWD cars was due to the weight anyway and those systems are just always on anyway. When traction is good they are basically 2WD systems anyway, no?
 

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Blueshound

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Last night driving to and from Christmas dinner, I was terribly disappointed by the Pirellis. I've owned a 2016 and 2018 F150, same SuperCrew 157" Both of those did FAR better in similar snow.

Getting routine oil/filter, etc. last week, I chatted with the service manager about what I'd heard about the tires. Anecdotally she seemed to share she had heard the same from other owners.

We got 4" last night. I might head to lunch after a bit and see how they perform. I'm investigating changing over to appropriate Michelins or Coopers. The bummer is these Pirellis are a comfortable and quiet ride and do pretty good on rain. Snow is a fail. We slid around like crazy.
Interesting! I'm not surprised, the tread doesn't look like it would so well in real snow. I drove mine in ice and slush yesterday and they were much better than I expected. I turned on 4H a couple of times (no 4A) and actually had to turn it off because the wheels were gripping so well the drivetrain was binding up.
 

RR89

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Tires, Tires, Tires, Tires, Tires, Tires! A set of real winter tires will be 10000X more useful than a truck with 400lbs of MPG killing weight and space in the bed. Wait till you need to slam on the brakes with extra ballast and "slip and slide" all season tires in the snow and ice. Spoiler - You won't stop or turn.

Buy a set of 18" take off wheels and get real winter tires. There are tons of factory choice and you can get 20s if you really need the look. Forget about weight and myths from the 1970s and 80s. It takes 30 minutes to change all the wheels in your driveway in the fall and spring.

Ford F-150 Snow/Icy Driving setup tips? wheels


Blizzak tread pattern for snow and ice:

Ford F-150 Snow/Icy Driving setup tips? tires
 
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OleCuss

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One could likely find the lumber for free as scrap somewhere if you took the time. Carpet squares stapled on bottom to protect bed were free at Home Depot. They were last years samples and to be trashed. I'll post how I used to do it.

46508734_10213489399291542_6501053578025631744_n.jpeg
I do like the tubs better. I might go with smaller ones 'cuz this old cuss no longer has a great back.

I've got the OEM bedliner so I really may not need the carpet should I go this way.

Also, one very nice thing is that storing this flat rack would be pretty easy.
 
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OleCuss

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Is there much reason not to just leave the truck in 4A? We drove yesterday to our mountain house and roads were fine but had snow patches and just left it in 4A. Got a little over 20MPG which is basically what I get in 2H so it didn’t even seem like much of a mileage hit (if any). I always thought most of the mileage hit on AWD cars was due to the weight anyway and those systems are just always on anyway. When traction is good they are basically 2WD systems anyway, no?
If you think you may need the 4x4 capacity (at least in a limited fashion) then sure, the AWD/4A is really not a bad way to go. I'd not expect a big mileage hit.

If I take another shot at Yosemite tomorrow I'll likely make use of that mode because it is supposed to be snowing much of the day and the plows aren't likely to be fully ahead of the game.
 

Lippy

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I had the Pirellis and agree they are awful in snow and ice. I replaced them with Yokohama G015 Geolandars, which weigh about the same, are quiet, and are three peak rated. So far so good. Solid in the snow with no extra weight, and no real gas mileage penalty.
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