Dual Rear Wheel in Snow - Montana Owners Club

recycled teenager · 03-02-2008, 03:28 AM

I recently purchased a 2005 Montana 3400RL.

Last week I placed an order for a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD, Duramax diesel, LWB, 4 x 4, crew cab, SRW. Because of the strike at GMâ€™s axle supplier, I have decided to try and find a vehicle from current dealer inventory. As I am a GM retiree, it must be a GM vehicle. Most of the available Chevy or GMC (1) ton trucks are DRW.

I have heard stories that duallyâ€™s donâ€™t handle very well. Iâ€™ve also been told that they tend to get stuck very easily in the snow due to poor traction, since the weight over the rear tires is spread over (4) tires instead of two. The fact that the rear tires donâ€™t follow in the tracks of the front tires also creates problems when driving in snow. Most of my driving is in Michigan.

Is there any truth to these statements?

richfaa · 03-02-2008, 04:01 AM

Some ..maybe... Pickups are bad in snow no matter what because they are light in the rear. The 4X4 will help with traction 2 wheels or 4 wheels on the ground. I would think that more rubber on the ground would help with traction but I am no expert with duallies in snow because although we have had a dually since 2005 it has never been driven in snow and we hope to keep it that way. I know that in previous P.U's we always added weight in the bed for traction and it is a common practice in Northeren Ohio to fill the bed full of snow for added weight.

racerjoe · 03-02-2008, 04:13 AM

A friend of mine drives his dually every day here in NY, he said the rear tires want to float a little in certain snow conditions, but with the 4wd he does not have much of a problem. I would not be to worried about it,it is always on how you handle the situation. You are used to driving in the snow so it should not be a problem.

Jim Jarvis · 03-02-2008, 05:08 AM

I've been driving mine in the snow all winter. My first experience. I find traction has been good in most situations. When driving thru 6 to 8 inches of snow on an old woods road I've had as good traction as I always had with my SRW 4X4. Where I have found a difference is on a regular road trying to maintain speed of 40 to 50 MPH. If the road has only a thin layer of snow I've had no problem, but with 4 or 5 inches then the back end just wants to sway all the time. I really had to slow down but still the back end would sway around. That was the only condition where I've noticed much difference.

Mudchief · 03-02-2008, 05:18 AM

I have owned both types. If you get the DRW with the 4X4 option you will be happy with it in the snow. It want go as good in mud because it packs between the rear tires and will cause them to slick over.

c5racer · 03-02-2008, 06:40 AM

If you're not towing in the winter, you could remove one of the rear wheels on each side. I don't have anything to do with snow.

8.1al · 03-02-2008, 09:24 AM

We once had a dually 2wd and it got around fine in the snow as long as it had snow tires on it, not ms or as but real snow tires with a very agressive tread. With just highway tires they will get stuck on wet grass. If you buy a truck with 4x4 it will come with a good ms or as tire and you should have no problem having them and the 4x4

Amps · 03-02-2008, 02:39 PM

Here in Ontario, Canada we have been having lots of snow this winter. I on purpose drove around in a foot+ of snow with the 4X4 on and then turned off just to see how it would handle. I never got stuck nor had any problems. I at times think that it actually does better than my previous SRW.

clutch · 03-02-2008, 02:56 PM

A friend of mine takes off the outer tires when winter comes. Then the rear tires will track with the fronts. He does this every winter.

DarMar · 03-02-2008, 04:20 PM

Once you get used to how the dually handles in snow you will wonder what all the negative fuss was about. Driving around in a foot of snow only happens a couple times a year and is certainly manageable and after all everyone should slow down in winter driving conditions like that. The pros of a dually certainly outweight the cons for me!

bsmeaton · 03-02-2008, 04:46 PM

I don't have a dually, so I'm not a testimonial. I have only heard that the outer rear wheels running outside of the rut in the snow causes poor traction, However -

I find this ironic because all of my old Chev SUVs and PU were designed with "wide-track", where the front axle had a wider stance than the rear (about 50% of the tire width on each side). At the time it was promoted by GM as improved traction in the snow because at least half of the rear tire width was continously pushing new snow that wasn't already packed by the front tires.

Cyrus · 03-02-2008, 11:35 PM

I don't have a dually but have had experience with them over the years. I bought my friends Chevy 4x4 non dually and he bought a Ford 4x4 dully. A few weeks latter he called me to come and pull him out of his back yard where he had taken some wood to unload and could not get back up, wet grass. I took the Chevy down the hill and pulled him back up.

My son-in-law had a Chevy dully, not a 4x4 and had it down the hill behind his house and that night it snowed and could not get back up. When he bought his Ford 350 4x4 he didn't get a dully and said he would never own another dully. He pulls a 38’ Cardinal 5th wheel with the Ford.

TLightning · 03-03-2008, 05:06 AM

Get the dually, it'll do fine in snow and even better hauling the 3400.

Tom Gina 06 · 03-04-2008, 02:17 AM

My vote for the dually

mtpocket2 · 03-04-2008, 03:03 AM

I purchased my first dually this past summer. Have had plenty of snowy and icy roads this winter and have noticed no difference in SRW vs DRW. Have had no problems going anywhere I want to go anytime I want to go. Biggest difference was getting used to the extra width in the rear. After a couple of months that will make no difference either. You will get used to it and not even think about it. Get the dually.

thundercat · 03-04-2008, 11:27 AM

I have a dually up here in Maine with Michelin highway tread 2wd and go anywhere I want to and at the moment we have 146" of snow with Ice freezing rain and snow expected tonight. Do not be afraid of a dually in the winter. It's not the truck that makes the major difference but the driver. Take it easy and use common sense and you will be just fine.

Fordzilla · 03-04-2008, 01:34 PM

This is my first Dually as well and this is my second winter with it. I agree what others have said as far as in 3-4 inches of wet slushy snow the back end will get loose a little sooner than a SRW. But if you have 4x4 you will have the front wheels keeping you straight for the most part. I drive mine every day all winter to and from work and have never had a problem with it getting loose enough to make me fishtail more than a couple of inches. I normally drive around in 4x4 if there is much snow on the ground.

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