My truck sucks...

[Stocker]

Bring it on! My old truck has been in snow many, many times and does very nicely, thank you! Should be even better now with decent tires under it (new BFG All Terrains). One thing I love is how it'll crawl until it breaks traction, then spin & keep trying to dig. I've driven other trucks that will start hopping (jumping up & down) severely as soon as they break traction.... not good.

Mike

[67-72williso]

My 70 C-20 with a locker isn`t worth a crap in it, without weight on the back. Weighted down it`s not to bad.
Later Willis

[Longhorn Man]

Originally Posted by MylilBowTie

What was different about the GMC vs Longhorn?

The GMC had no low end torque, a 3.08 gear, wide but fairly soft tires in back (wide should've hurt in the snow) and better weight distrobution.
The Longhorn has 4.10 gears, with 400 some odd ft pounds of torque at like 1200 RPM....give or take. Anything more than idling away from a stop light on DRY pavement and you run the risk of tire slipage. The tires are tall by skinney (235/85 IIRC....37 inch tall) and rock hard. And the aformentioned crappy weight distrabution.

I thought about some balast, but I don't see how I can do it right now. In the next couple months, I'll be moving one sister and her friend, then my other sister and her worthless husband, then my grand mother ... and, I will be getting the rest of my junk out of the soon to be ex wife's place. I'll also be hauling a dozen old TH400's in for rebuild, and I am trying to get a buddy to come off of 50 cattilitic converters... .I get 40 bucks each for them.
Plus, in all reality, I am all the time picking up scrap metal and a couple hundred pounds of rads aren't an uncommon sight in my truck... none of it ever stays in there long though.
I considered a Semi trailer brake drum, filled with concrete, but I have no way to anchor it, and on a plastic drop in bedliner, it'll be all over the place if not tied down, and after the first panic stop, my alluminum snap on bed tool box would be worth it's weight in scrap, and nothing more.

[MylilBowTie]

Oh I see a little better now. I guss thats what also helped me was the crappy 3.08s and 31s. I have a decent about of torque but doubt anywhere near 400 off idle.

Have any plans for the th400s other than rebuild? What did they come from chevy or bop patterns?

[truckdude239]

i haven't tried mine in the snow yet see i just got it put my old (go ahead and hit me now) 87 ford f-150 if it wasn't weigthed down i would be doing 360 not touching the gas it happened to me 2 years ago went around an turn at 15 mph backend broke loose started doing 360s lady comeing down the road lkost control and boom both cars nailed each other cops come out no tickets they said it was an act of god. but the insurence companies didn't like us

[68 Stepside]

WTF is that white crap Andy? I'm not looking forward to running the superduty in the snow either with 3.73's and all.....

[da-burb]

My C20 with a posi Dana 60 would go NO WHERE! A single snow flake would cause it to sit and spin. My brother came out to give me a push a few years ago. He used his PINKIE FINGER! That is all the force required to get my truck moving. How do you live that down to a F150 driver. Very painfull event in my life.
Now my C10 with an open differential drove like it had full time 4x4. Nothing stopped it. When you figure it out please let me know.

[da-burb]

and another thing. The next year I added 20- 70# bags of sand. 1400#'s made it ride like a caddy and actually allowed it to move in the snow.

[PICKMUP]

You can't beat a 4X4...w/posi...even better!!!
2WDs need a posi and a little extra weight. The posi is worth about 10 times better traction than the one-legger that always spins the stuck/slick wheel.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

WE don;t have snow here yet just the damn fog which sucks sure would like to see some snow on the ground here soon..

[longhorn71]

We retired the longhorn from the snow(only a summer driver now)It handled to Ok for a 2wd.I have an 02 ram (ok do not pick on me)4x4 and wife has an 87 blazer 4x4 for the winter beaters.the 2wd blazer and longhorn is our summer drivers

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

I don't have to worry about snow here in south Texas but mud is another story. I've got 33x12.5x16.5 mudgrips on the back with 4.10 gears and a factory No-Spin, it does pretty good on wet/muddy roads. I have a big homemade steel toolbox in the bed full of welding tools, etc that probably weighs 250 lbs all together, so it's got some good traction.

[powell72]

I've gotta get up a big hill to get to the interstate with 4.11's and 275/60 tires in northern Colo, I know your frustration Andy!

[chuck1960]

I've not had my truck drivable in so long I can't remember what it would do on a dry road much less on snow or ice. Another month or two then I hope it has trouble with traction period. know what I mean. Hey I've got a 70 chevelle 12 bolt with a 3:31 posi. Doe's anyone know if the posi will fit my 12 bolt truck, I know the ring gear and pinion are different but would be nice to use the posi.

[Longhorn Man]

bow tie... I am probably keeping one of the TH400's, it is a BOP, and my TH350 is amiing some noise. The rest I am turning in for rebuild (core value).
The Frito Lay rebuild center that we work with is getting closed. All frito rebuild centers will no longer exist come the 4th of Jan. New Tax laws make the rebuild not cot effective. (they must have had a hell of a tax break before huh?)
So my parts guy at Frito is lookin to get rid of everything they have. Frito told him to get rid of it all, and he can have 50% of what he gets out of it.... my core guy is interested in a lot of it, I get X% of what my core guy gives me.... ect.
it all works out. i just wish I could get my hands on sopme of the 4L80E's he has there...I can get up to 2 bills... but frito has a guy who gives him 400...same with the 6.5. My guy can only get like 150 bucks, frito knows a gay that'll give 400.

[HeavyD]

My GMC sucked in the snow until I bought real snow tires for it..after that is was fine. All seasons just don't cut it in the white stuff after the tire rubber freezes and gets really slick. Take $150 bucks and buy some good Blizzaks or soemthing and you won't believe the difference. If you have real winter conditions, good snow tires are a must.

[boraxman]

Snow? I know no snow

[HeavyD]

Originally Posted by boraxman

Snow? I know no snow

[Longhorn Man]

heh...hundred and firty bucks... If I had that I wouldn't be sitting here right now. I know what you're saying... and I know weight and/or tires is all that's gonna help.
i'm just looking for a general idea if my junk is exsesivly crappy in the snow.
Sounds liek it is about right.

[pritch]

I've seen some guys do this: take a couple 2X4's and build a form for some concrete. One of the 2X4s would go just behind the wheel wells, and the other further behind that, depending on how much weight you think you need. The point is to make the block of 'crete wider than the wheel wells so it can't slide forward. If you have a plastic bedliner, the ribs in it will keep it from sliding side to side. After your form is built, spray a light coat of diesel where the concrete will go so it won't stick (it probably won't, but the deisel will make sure) find 2 pieces of #4 rebar and put them in the 'crete side to side, and a couple 2' long pieces of 3/8" cable. make it so the cable comes up out of the 'crete and then back in, on each side, so you can easily hook a hoist to them to lift the thing out when you don't need it.

[Russell]

My 80 truck did as well on snow as pavement in the summer She'd get stuck on wet grass on a light decline though!

She is a 4x4 now though, so I shouldn't have any trouble at all!

74 on the other hand, SUCKED! The standard tranny's clutch was way too sensitive, and would spin the tires right after away, lol I had trouble getting up my flat driveway, lol Only way to make it was to run in low gear and let go of the clutch at an idle to get moving, lol

[68gmcdually]

The '68 is sitting in Fenelon under a thick coat of the white stuff. I have never tried to drive it in this type of weather either. I do know for a fact however that my F-250HD 2 wheel drive work truck with all season tires and no extra weight in the back sucks in the snow. My normal 30 minute commute turned into 75 minutes of hell tonight.

[Green Machine]

Originally Posted by pritch

I've seen some guys do this: take a couple 2X4's and build a form for some concrete. One of the 2X4s would go just behind the wheel wells, and the other further behind that, depending on how much weight you think you need. The point is to make the block of 'crete wider than the wheel wells so it can't slide forward. If you have a plastic bedliner, the ribs in it will keep it from sliding side to side. After your form is built, spray a light coat of diesel where the concrete will go so it won't stick (it probably won't, but the deisel will make sure) find 2 pieces of #4 rebar and put them in the 'crete side to side, and a couple 2' long pieces of 3/8" cable. make it so the cable comes up out of the 'crete and then back in, on each side, so you can easily hook a hoist to them to lift the thing out when you don't need it.

OMG - don't do that unless you can fasten it to the bed REAL good.

It's been many years ago, but I still remember driving to town one real icy morning and saw a guys truck I knew upside down in the ditch in the snow. He was using a piece of old concrete sidewalk as weight in the rear. He was lucky as it just fell out, but it COULD have went right through the back window and taken his head off !!!

[fastwillie 696969]

Originally Posted by boraxman

Snow? I know no snow

yeah right so cal got some of the worst snow blizzard in the usa beside maimi

[Longhorn Man]

Common sense SHOULD dictate....but I guess it needs stated sometimes huh?

Originally Posted by Green Machine

OMG - don't do that unless you can fasten it to the bed REAL good.

It's been many years ago, but I still remember driving to town one real icy morning and saw a guys truck I knew upside down in the ditch in the snow. He was using a piece of old concrete sidewalk as weight in the rear. He was lucky as it just fell out, but it COULD have went right through the back window and taken his head off !!!