Spinning on ramp advice

[glen f]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

Live in Northern MN and lived in the Sierra mountains in CA. BFG all terrain is the only way to go. Worked at a Chevy dealership in mn and used to pay real good attention to what works best on ice. GOODRICH all terrain baby. The guy that was talking about siping knows tires. Suprised I didnt hear more about that. Just pick up an offroad magazine featuring tires and take notes. Ive done from the rubicon to driving on a frozen lake in mn and trailer a 19ft boat launching in muddy accesses on lakes I cant even get to wot in. I rarely put my 88 chev in 4x4. Look for softer tred and liberal siping in whatever you buy.

 

[RC]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

Looked up an article on siping. Interesting. Had never heard of it before.<br /><br /> http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/TireSiping.shtml#Introduction

 

[BillP]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

All this talk about buying different tires, 4x drives, etc. Have you tried backing down the ramp at an angle to see if it works for your application yet? It works perfectly for me without buying different tires or a 4x drive.<br /><br />There's another option I use when the ramp is too narrow to angle the car. I crank the boat motor up and give a full throttle punch while someone else drives the car. I kick the motor off just as it clears the water. I use this technique in the Fla Keys where ramps are steep and narrow.

 

[budlin00]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

I agree with the angling down the ramp. But on the narrow ramps when that's not an option, I'd just assume slip a little. Is it really hurting the truck or boat with a little slippage? Unless you're shooting out rocks or are in risk of sliding back down the ramp, I'm not aware of many other dangers of slipping since you are going about 1-2 mph.

 

[rwidman]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

Originally posted by Stillfishing:<br /> Hi NMplayer,<br /><br />Here in the Med, it is common to have a short length of rope loop-spliced at both ends. When the trailer is in the water at the ramp and the vehicle is on the dry, the rope is hooked round trailer and vehicle and then the trailer is unhitched, with the jockey wheel down on the concrete.<br /><br />The trailer slides the rest of the way into the water, and then the vehicle pulls it out with the rope attached to the hitch. Whether floating off or recovering, it always works without a - scuse the pun - hitch.<br /><br />

Trailer jacks ("jockey wheel") are not ment for this purpose and may fail and cause injury. (Read the instructions that come with one). I would not recommend this.

 

[maxxpower]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

In reference to the starting out in 2nd gear, I have an 05 F-150 and it will start out in 2nd with more torque to the wheels, and may solve the problem

 

[Lou C]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

So I see ford is still doing that, letting them start in 2nd.<br />but...actually it works because you have LESS torque, since the engine wouldn't rev as much starting in 2nd as it would in 1st or Drive due to the difference in 1st and 2nd gear ratios, it depends on the torque converter slip to get it moving.<br />For ex on my Mopar 42 RE in the Jeep the ratio of 1st gear is 2.74 :1<br />2nd is 1.54 :1<br />so given equal throttle opening the engine will be delivering less torque to the wheels at start up in 2nd, and as long as that will move the load you will get less wheelspin.

 

[MrBill]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

You've found out how light F150's and almost all PU's are in the rear-end. It should be a crime to sell a pick-up without 4WD OR AWD. It's a good thing you're not up here in New England in the winter where a few novices look to save $2400 and buy a new ExCab without 4WD. Note the SuperCrew is not sold without 4WD. You have few options other than use the lowest gear possible and go veryyyyyyyy slow.

 

[JRJ]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

NMplayer solved his problem over a month ago Bet he's glad others slip on the ramp

 

[monkeyboi]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

definitely go with the siping, have seen many articles on this. <br /><br />had s-10 2wd with rear tires siped. greatly reduced wheel spin on wet pavement.

 

[rwidman]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

....... I crank the boat motor up and give a full throttle punch while someone else drives the car. I kick the motor off just as it clears the water. ........ [/QB]

We'll be seeing this soon on "America's Funiest Home Videos".

 

[pitahui]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

I used to have the same problem with my old 2x truck. I solved it by getting some expanded metal from Home Depot. It is used for doing stuco. I cut a piece about 1.5 feet wide by 3 feet long and placed them in front of the rear tires when hauling out. When I was on dry pavement I would stop and throw them in the back of the truck. Worked like a champ, and cheap.

 

[NMplayer]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

Put a set of better gripping tires on the back. Filled a fifty five gallon barrel full of lake water. Pulls it out every time. Still looking at a locker. Four wheel drive is a nice thing, however it is a relatively recent thing to see every truck on the road equipped with it. In the eighties there were fewer of them and in the 60's and 70's they were very uncommon for most folks to have. Folks went all over mountains and everywhere else. 'Course you had to always carry a high lift jack and a shovel

 

[BillP]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

Originally posted by rwidman:<br />

....... I crank the boat motor up and give a full throttle punch while someone else drives the car. I kick the motor off just as it clears the water. ........

We'll be seeing this soon on "America's Funiest Home Videos". [/QB]

Only if my wife is driving!

 

[Elmer Fudge]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

Keep a bucket of sandy gravel in your truck, sprinkle it out evenly on the ramp prior to backing down, that way there should be enough traction when pulling out.<br /><br />Unless your tires are really crappy to begin with.

 

[valiantjedi]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

Siping is supposed to be excellent for traction. You may wish to look into that. The shops around here will do it for 15-20 a tire. If you are careful you can do it yourself. It really only is 90 degree angle cuts into the tread of the tire about 1/4" deep. The siping helps with road wear and aids in traction. It gives channels for the water to go into and allows the tire rubber to flex better. Just make sure not to make the sipes too small as they can chunk the tread. Figure 1/2" to 1" between sipes. Hope that helps.

 

[north40]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

Dang if this post didn't get complicated. Looks like maybe getting a caterpiller dozer would work or maybe having a buddy stay on the pontoon, crank up the 50 horse Johnson and rip her out of there. Seriously, sounds like you would come out cheaper to trade for a 4 wheel drive.

 

[SeaMasterZ@aol.com]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

cmon gang ... back in "the day" when every single rig rolling down the road WASNT a four wheel or all wheel drive rig, when the closest you got to four wheel drive was a two wheel drive with a locker, you put sandbags in the back for traction in snow, and if you got really stuck, you put some sand down and away you go. Lowes sells "tube sand" just for flopping in the back of the truck for added traction<br /><br />I used to run 18 wheelers, and when it got nasty out you ran the rear tandems all the way out, which put more load on the drive axles I suppose if you had an adjustable front post you could move it forward which would increase the tongue weight, just dont get carried away, keep it within limits

 

[WestyF18]

Re: Spinning on ramp advice

Originally posted by JasonB:<br /> If you have the factory Wrangler AP or BFG tires on that F-150 NM, they are a big part of your proble. I have a '99 F-150 SC, V8 with limited slip that came with Goodyear Wrangler. My 2000lb fishing boat drug me backwards down the ramp trying to pull out one day. I went the next wee and had a set on Bridgestone Dueler AT Revos installed. I haven't spun a tire on any ramp in well over two years, 200lb fishing boat or 4500lb bowrider. My F-I-L has a 2000 F-150 SC with open diff, like yours, and his was factory equipped with BFG Long Trails that had a few miles on them and wouldn't get traction from a stop light if the road was wet. He installed Revos and now won't run anything else.<br /><br />Ford really dropped the ball in the stock tires. The ones they chose don't seem to get the job done on these particular trucks.

Can't agree more on the Revo's. Once I got rid of the stock "Badyears" on my Dakota the rainy day blues went away. Best wet traction I've ever had.<br /><br />Westy18