Yeah try 500 at first if you go that route. You can usually find them at gas stations or hardware stores etc. I think that's your best route IMHO, that way your not paying for new expensive shoes for your truck.

 

I have roughly 400lbs in the box and its pretty good but another 150lbs would be nice.

Here's a pic of the duratracs if you were curious..

 

I had my Authoritys for two years and put a lot of miles on them, plus ran them at 55PSI and they were still like new when I traded it in.

 

I don't know about that, I put well over 50K(Kilometers, roughly 31K Miles) and they had well over 1/2 the tread on them when I sold the truck. I have about 3-4K on the Dodge so far and no signs of wear, except for the rear. Damn LSD keeps making me want to peel off.

As stated by someone else, the snow this year is redonkulous! We've had only a few days so far, that were nothing but snow and right now, everything has melted.

Another tire that you could check out is a Wild Country XTX Sport, they are winter rated as well. I didn't put too many miles on them, since I had my eyes set on the Authority. But they did well in the back roads and highway. Seemed like a decently soft tire for extra traction during the colder months.

 

I'll add my 2 pennies. I grew up in MN then moved to WA and the tire world is vastly different out west. Due to the mountain passes, it is still legal to use studded tires here for the winter months. Because of this, and the overwhelming propaganda spewed by the tire shops, everybody (except me) gets special winter tires installed then swaps back to summer ones in the spring. It is hilarious to hear the clickity-clickity of the cars drive down the dry roads with their stupid studs. All it does is tear up the roads and cause huge ruts in them. Coupled with Dodge steering, it gets fun going anywhere around here. People with fancy SUVs and "winter tires" are always the first in the ditch when it gets slippery. Hilarious.

Back in MN, I never even heard of winter tires. We had all-season tires on our vehicles until they were shot. I remember once I got my Dad's Chevy 1500 6.2 diesel 2wd stuck with old bald tires. Dad came over and just drove it right out and got me home. No idea how he did that. Moral here is there is a certain skill in driving in winter conditions. Any tire will get you there if you can learn how to use them. Studded tires have been banned in the mid-west for decades so people will use a good all-season tire and drive accordingly. You may have to adjust how you drive or just add some ballast to the bed.

I am surprised the AT3 is performing poorly for you. They have an excellent snow rating. I was just in MN for Christmas and my worn Terra Grapplers were a little squirly at times but I managed. Only needed 4wd when I wanted to play around. As far as MN winters go, the AT3 is more than enough. Look at all the regular cars and suvs with normal tires on them. Yes, many have AWD systems and traction control, etc. but again, learning how the torque and pedal relationship affects your traction will yield better results than just throwing new tires on. Give it a couple years and you will be a master at the roads. Good luck!

 

I've discovered that with no added weight and in 2WD I need to roll very slowly into the gas. Anything at all like normal dry conditions and it's spins for days. Essentially, these trucks are built for low end grunt so of course it's going to spin even if you're easy on the gas in slippery conditions. Let your truck start rolling for a foot or two off the brakes and then roll into the accelerator. Works for me.

 

I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but it doesn't hurt to have a set of chains in the bed either, just in case!

 

Naturally, accelerating on snow or ice will cause loss of traction if you attempt to drive like you do on dry pavement.

 

I would have to to agree, studs are not necessary. In a majority of circumstances, a quality studless snow tires will perform just as well. With that said, I think there is something to be gained with dedicated snow tires. They really improve the driveability in poor conditions. Yes you can get by without them, but they have their place.

I am a Washington native myself, but I had never actually used a snow tire until my wife's car came with a set. Up until that point I only had 4wd. I was surprised how well the little Toyota performed with the snow tires, I think they were the Toyo Observe. They came in handy this morning, when I had to travel 30 miles on a unplowed highway at 5am with 6-8" of fresh snow. Small grades, twisty roads, not a walk in the park under the conditions. Would never have tried it without the tires.

And about the fancy SUVs, the best tire in the world an the most sophisticated Awd system won't keep you out of the ditch, but that's what they think. It's the drivers job, the right equipment just helps make the job easier.

 

Lots of good info. I do agree in the driver end of it. I am a virgin to this area of driving, but not ignorant and loving it still. Slow and patient, slow and patient. Like today we have afresh layer in the ground. So I will be out playing in it. Errrr I mean learning it.
I found sand tubes for 4.95, 70lbs bag.