in the snow? Not for offroading, just for commuting on the streets.
I know tires, etc. have a lot to do with it but I'm talking about overall handeling. Until I got my Power Ram, I commuted for years in my 2wd Dodge trucks in all weather conditions and made it everywhere.
So I guess my question is how does the Dakota compare to full size 2wd trucks in the snow?

Yep, it snowed last night, but not a lot.

 

Its not about the vehicle, if you know how to drive in the snow you can get almost anywhere. I am not trying to say I can make it up every hill with 6 inches of snow on the ground. But until I got my Dakota I never had a 4 wheel drive. I had mostly FWDs and a couple RWDs but got around fine, and never really put any weight in the back of the RWD.

Now I have my Dakota, its a 4x4 but last winter the t-case wasnt working and I got around fine. Drove a FWD if it was really bad. This winter it hasnt snowed a lot, so I havent had to deal with it.

Weight always helps. My family used to run a delivery service, and we had about 1000lbs in the back of one of the vans, and that thing got around better than 4x4.

 

Ya what GTXpress said.

Also just like any 2wd or open diff for that matter it is very easy to get stuck due to the one legged spins.

 

although it never snows in FL, my 2WD handles like a champ in any condition, dry or wet. Also, since I have Michelin LTX M/S2's, I never hydroplane and get around much better than most guys with full size 4x4 trucks. IMHO, it depends on how you drive.

 

I do agree with everyone here that is all about the driver and not the vehicle, but any case I will tell you about the winter driving since I am canadian and kinda grew up with winter. When I first got the truck it had no posi track and made the truck extremely hard to drive. "couple times stuck in my own driveway." But since I got posi track its been a lot better. Haven't got stuck yet this year even with our weird icy weather we had this year. But like most 2wd truck I had to throw weight in the back, I have about 600 in my box and I think thats the trick. It is definetly not as good as a 4wd or front wheel drive cars/truck but its all in how you look at it. Since mine is hard to drive in the winter anyways it stops people from using my truck for their personal vehicle, since I am like the only one who can drive her.

 

Im not sure about you guys, but initially my dak was "one wheel" drive, not two. I had an open diff in the back, and when it slipped, I was screwed.

While alot depends on the driver, and I only got stuck 2-3 times last winter (which was the worst on record in ten years), installing an LSD has eliminated getting stuck in those situations like when it snows a foot over night, and you dont want to squirl around with the "back and forth" trying to get out of your parking space.

 

Old 89 4 wheel drive usage is for icy conditions and braking. I use the 4 wheel rarely for snow little truck does great but it has a L.S. rear. Parked downhill 2 days ago passenger side on ice drivers side had road salted, had to back out L.S took over and no problem. Only weight I carry is Lear fiberglass top and emergency supply stuff.

 

Put a lot of weight in it, it's a light truck and is a single tire frier.

I have been driving in snow all my life, rwd pickups suck in the snow or slick conditions, not enough weight for traction. Drive slow and take your time.

 

Agreed, on the weight but keep in mind weight too far to the rear will also cause a spin out. When I had 2 wheel I sand bagged in front of the wheel wells to diminish the problem.

 

I have a 1993 2wd with about 600LBS of tube sand in the bed. I havent had any problems with it this year. Even when I'm trying to break it loose its almost impossible and my tires are shot. My Dakota does so much better on slick roads than my friends 4x4 F250.