I bought this truck thinking it would be the ultimate in winter transport. I got to test my theory last night when we got slammed with some nasty fall snow at quitting time. When I left, the roads were absolute crap and I had to use four-wheel drive just to get moving out of the parking lot at work.

I didn't anticipate any trouble, but was in for a surprise. The truck (99 Ram 2500 extended cab, long bed, 5.9 Gas) has absolutely, positively NO *****.

I've been going easy on this pig because I think the motor is a bit weak, but I expected to be doing this all the way home-

No. Not only does the truck handle like a wild boar in heavy snowy slush, but if you let off the gas, you WILL get stuck. It's like hitting a brick wall if you lift off the accelerator. The road home was awful, and I was in a line of 40 mph vehicles. No problem. However, the motor was bogging pretty bad, and the trans kept hunting because the truck simply didn't have the power in 4th gear to keep the RPMs up. I ended up taking it out of overdrive just so I could make some headway.

Some other things I noticed that I am feeling "indifferent" about-
The truck does NOT slide around on icy corners. This is a good thing. I guess. Kinda takes the fun out of it, but it's very much stable say turning onto a side street. The *** end stays planted. I guess it's because the truck is so heavy?

When stopping, I've known my ABS was inop due to a broken rear axle sensor. But going down a pretty steep hill covered in slush and snow, I stomped the brakes hard and it just sorta "flopped" to a stop with very little drama. Again, the weight? Wide tires? I'm stumped.

Anyway, I've got some very serious concerns about "drift busting" with this rig this winter. We get some very drifted roads in my area and I have to get to work. The truck just does not have the gumption to bust snow. Maybe it was just the excessively wet, heavy, snow but it just simply could not power thru outside of the ruts created by vehicles ahead of me.

I used to drive a wrecker part time. I had a 2002 Chevy 3500HD with a Vulcan twin-line bed with wheel lift sometimes and others I had a 2005 GMC 5500 with the same heavy bed setup. Those trucks would go ALL kinds of squirrely on the ice, to a point where you could drift the damn thing around a curve going only 30 mph.

It was a very strange driving experience, and IDK how I feel about it.....

 

the tires in your sig picture look fairly big which could be parts of your problem. usually narrower tires work better in the snow and on ice because there is more weight on less surface area.

 

That was something I was wondering. I'm not sure if they are stock width (I know they are bigger diameter) or not. I'd like to put some Goodyear Wrangler Authority tires on it, as they are pretty affordable and have a nice siping on them.

 

think you got something wrong with your rig. i have no problem what-so-ever with my '01 1500 with the 5.2, i have wider than stock tires(285/75/16) i have an 8' fisher plow. and i have more than enough power to bust through drifts.if i can bust thru 2+ feet of snow with a plow too big for the truck just fine then i think you have some issues going on.

if its bogging down, id be willing to bet on a couple things.

1. your plenum is blown.

2. you have the death flash.

3. your cat is clogged to hell and back.

4. your pre-cat o2 sensor is no longer working as it should.

those are my assumptions, and you should get those things fix asap!

these things are really good in the snow, and i cant say enough good stuff about how well i like my truck in the snow, and i can get her to drift pretty easily.

 

My truck has absolutely no problem with snow at all. 2 winters ago there was 3 feet of snow on our back roads and with the truck in 4hi it pretty much plowed right through everything I pointed it at. Id be checking on all the things mentioned above cause there is something wrong. Im running 285's and havent had a problem so I dont think your tires are that big of an issue here.

 

+1.... and OD doesn't need to be on when going 40.

 

oh and one last thing..... your heads are more than likely cracked due to the cat being clogged from driving around with a blown plenum.

 

I'll share this for ****s and giggles

Every now and again my step father would drive his granddad's older Chevy 2500 6.5L Turbo Diesel, I'm thinkin it was an early 90's, 4Spd Manual with OD.

You would think it would do good on snow, NOPE, it did worse then a front wheel drive car.

It had tall thin tires and it sucked, especially up hills, just to make it up our road in the snow, he had to drive up BACKWARDS, it couldn't do it forwards.

Crazy...

Other then that, good truck, good power, still running today I think...

 

I've done the Hughes plenum repair, it's fine.

The heads cracked? I doubt it seriously. The engine is not overheating nor is it leaking coolant. Just oil. Lots of oil.

The cat being bad is a possibility, but I would think I'd have a code, and I don't.

 

Yeah, that's definitely not normal, The past two winters I've only had to put my truck in 4wd once, and that was because I had to push a friend in his Acura Integra out of a backroad with about 8 inches of snow (He was able to get to the party in his FWD ricer, but it snowed more, and he wasn't able to get out lol). Otherwise my truck did great in 2wd.