I have posted this in another forum, and figured I might receive better information here.

Basically, I had a 2000 Dakota Sport Quad cab 4.7. This truck was BY FAR the best truck I have ever driven as far as traction in the snow. I could drive that truck offroad, uphill, through feet of snow. Do 65 down the interstate in a blizzard, and even plowed driveways towards the end of its life, and I could not get this truck to slide or get stuck EVER, even if I tried.

So fast forward, and the truck finally started to rust out on me, and I figured it was time to get a new truck. I was so impressed with that truck I bought a brand new Ram 1500 4x4 quad. I figured same truck, just a little bigger.... WRONG
This Ram is the biggest POS I have ever owned as far as traction. If its raining I had better stock up on supplies because I'll probably get stuck in my driveway if we get some fog in the morning. No really, its that bad. It has the ESP traction control system, and decent tires, so I figured there has to be a mechanical reason why this truck is so bad compared to that Dakota.( size, weight, rear end)

If I try to get into my driveway with 1 inch of snow, I can feel the traction system kick on, almost like the feeling of ABS in the pedal So at 1 inch of snow, the tires are breaking loose to the point where it thinks that the truck is out of control. This is while doing an impressive 3 MPH in my driveway mind you. So I decided to do my homework and found out that I could disable the ESP button, and decided to give this a try. Our last snowstorm, we had about 3 inches of snow, I shut off the button, and took a little trip down our interstate. At about 40 miles an hour, the rear end came around on me so bad that I was going down the road completely sideways, BUT I'M IN 4 HI, AND ONLY 3 INCHES OF SNOW. Ok turn the ESP back on.

Now before people beat me up about road conditions,tires, or anything other than the truck. Let me just say, I live in upstate NY. (winter driving is SOP) I have plowed either for myself, or other people, for the last decade, and have owned multiple 4x4's of every make, size, and type since the 70's. From mid 2000's F250's, to K5 Blazers, to Chevy short box's to that Dakota. This truck is the worst.

So I an coming to you guys to ask what you think could be the issue. I have already tried turning off the ESP. I don't mind leaving it on , but when it kicks in, it drops out tire speed and torque. I'm sure that it is some kind of safety feature but there are definitely times you want momentum and your tires moving as not to get stuck. But when this detects slippage, it kind of ratchets the tires. I wondered about the differences that there may be in the rear ends. From what I've read, my truck may have come with a type of rear end that never goes posi, and I don't know what the Dakota had, but this might be the reason.

So what say you? Any suggestions? I am not saying that I want this to be a plow truck (that is another thread all together. But possibly a back up in case my plow truck breaks down) But compared to the type of traction I am used to, it seems like it would literally not be possible to use a truck with this set up for plowing. Can I convert the rear end to something that goes Posi?

What say you
Regards

 

It has to be the tires. You shouldn't need ESP if the tires have grip. I don't live where it snows, so take this for what it's worth, but all an engine does is spin the tires. The tires are the end-all-be-all because they are what is giving you traction. I suggest trying a new set and seeing if they help before giving up on the truck altogether.

 

tires tires tires.

 

I agree with Mike. Exactly what brand, model and size of tire is currently on it?

 

265/70/17 Goodyear Wrangler SR-A's with about 10k on them. I really don't think the tires are enough to be this big of a difference. That is why I am trying to research the rear end thing. I have come across literature stating that in the Ram's with 355 rear ends, they never go posi at any point. Essentially one wheel peel all the time when I'm 100% the Dakota would spin both under load. (still have marks in driveway from getting chapped at the wife one night)

 

install a auburn lsd then. but thats going to run you alot of money.

 

What kind of coin? like hundreds or thousands? I have to be honest, anything more than say 1500, I would rather trade the truck in and give the F150 or Tundra a shot. I really do like this truck, but between the traction issue, and the fact that I have a less than 18 month old truck with a front bumper with rust all over it. I'm regretting buying this truck.

 

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Meathead/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Meathead/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png[/IMG]Just looked at the ratings on tirerack.com for that tire. Snow ratings between 5.1 and 5.7 out of 10 for snow traction. I'd say that's not too great. They certainly dont look like a snow tire the way the tread is designed.

 

Oops not sure what happened there I guess you can't copy and paste pictures. If you paste it into your browser it might work. Sorry bout that lol.

 

well for the rear they cost 400 bucks or so. then for the front i guess its a dana 30? i dunno but about the same. then for the install 400 per diff.