# traction issues with 2014 F250



## coachglynn (Feb 21, 2003)

Hey guys,
I have a 2014 F250 with the oem Michelin LTX AT2 18" tires. The truck is new to me with about 26k miles. I have an ext cab 6.5 bed with a fisher extreme v plow. I seem to have very little traction in the snow. My old truck would drive through anything. This one seems to slip and slide all over. Are these tires known to be bad in the snow? Does any one else have this problem?

I use 4 HI when plowing. My other question is: Should I be locking my front hubs or leaving them in the auto setting. The book seems to say either is fine but their directions are confusing.

Any help is appreciated. You guys are the best.


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## tawilson (Nov 21, 2003)

2015 version with the same truck, tires and plow. The tires sucked new. I am sure after 26k they are worse. I put Cooper M&S studded on and it's a beast in the snow now. Leave the hubs in auto. You only switch them if your auto locking quits and you can manually lock them in.


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## tjctransport (Nov 22, 2008)

those michelins are almost as bad as the continentals.


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## ScubaSteve728 (Jan 17, 2012)

coach make sure you are running ballast


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## coachglynn (Feb 21, 2003)

Thanks for the replies. I suspected the tire were crap, but wasn't sure. I haven't been running ballast but I plan on trying that as well.

How much do you guys use?


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

I have no idea why manufacturers put those tires on trucks that are going to any destination that might receive snow.


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## JustJeff (Sep 9, 2009)

Put a 2 x 12 in the vertical slots behind the wheel wells and throw a bunch of tube sand between the 2 x 12 and tailgate.


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## seville009 (Sep 9, 2002)

I put 800 lbs of tube sand in to offset an 8.5' MVP with wings. Really helps with the traction. Carry 400lbs in my other truck that I don't have the plow on.


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## ScubaSteve728 (Jan 17, 2012)

the fisher e match system will tell you exactly what to put in for ballast, it will probably tell you to use 400-800 pounds


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

Our new 2016 came with BFGoodrich somethings and they do ok with about 800lbs in the bed. I leave my hubs locked in pretty much all winter. If your looking at new tires, look at the Cooper Discovery AT 3's...best tire Ive run so far on our other trucks.


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## theguynextdoor (Sep 18, 2007)

I have a 2015 F350, regular cab long bed with a Western MVP3 on it. I had the same tires you have, brand new Michelin LTX AT2 tires on it last winter. The guy who was driving it said it was terrible, slid all over the place, struggled to push piles back as we got more snow. I drove it one time last winter to plow a driveway and could not believe how little traction the truck had compared to my others. 

This winter I put new Cooper Discoverer AT/3s on it and a 750 pound plate of steel in the bed. The truck is a tank now. All trucks need some modification have to get excellent traction in the snow. It's all about tires and ballast. 

I run 2 sets of wheels and tires for all my trucks, one for summer towing and one for winter plowing. I also have the same plates in every truck bed. Money well spent.


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## jmac5058 (Sep 28, 2009)

Just got rid of the factory AT 2s on my F 350 with 38K on them and got Cooper AT 3s , day and night difference . Not just traction but ride is way better with Cooper , the michilens were like marshmellows . Crazy the tire guys are telling me the Michilens are the most expensive , I could have used my spare and got 3 new Mich for almost the same as 4 new Coopers ( $ 220 ea with bal and disposal).


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## SHAWZER (Feb 29, 2012)

I always turn off the traction control , if not the truck does stupid things on its own .


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

On my truck once. 4x4 is in tcs is auto turned off


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## SHAWZER (Feb 29, 2012)

Your truck must be a higher up model than my XL .


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## tjctransport (Nov 22, 2008)

the cooper AT-3's is the only way to go.


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

Got 58K without rotation, they junk, I am surprised that kept them as long as I did

Mine are the 20in with that stupid shoulder blocking


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

ponyboy;2112845 said:


> On my truck once. 4x4 is in tcs is auto turned off


What brand do you have?

The problem with my TC is that not only does it apply the brake to the spinning wheel it also defuels the engine.

Because we all know that makes complete sense in plowing and offroading.

Again, I don't need or want a computer making decisions for me when I am driving. Stupid engineers.


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## ponyboy (Dec 19, 2006)

2016 xlt 550 dump 
6.7 
Basic work truck


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## RMGLawn (Jan 2, 2012)

Mark Oomkes;2112970 said:


> What brand do you have?
> 
> The problem with my TC is that not only does it apply the brake to the spinning wheel it also defuels the engine.
> 
> ...


Turn off advanced trac. If you have a ford you hold the traction control button after it is off until it lets you know advanced trac is off.

There is still a torque limiter between gear 1 and 2 but that can be bypassed by manual mode.

Also, if you shift to 4x4 low traction control and advanced trac are automatically turned off.


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## Ramairfreak98ss (Aug 17, 2005)

Mark Oomkes;2112578 said:


> I have no idea why manufacturers put those tires on trucks that are going to any destination that might receive snow.


So why are the Michelins so bad? they seem like they have good amount of bite when new, well they LOOK like they would. We have them on a 2016 with 20" tires and a 2015 with 18", The 15 has 7k miles and the 16 has 2k so they're literally brand new still, no complaints from either driver though, i've only driven them a few times and not plowing any substantial amount of snow myself.

Would the cooper AT3s be a huge improvement? We have them on a 2011 and 2006, i didn't think there would be much advantage with them over the brand new stock michelins.


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## Sprag-O (Dec 31, 2013)

My 2012 came with BFG Rugged Trails... I've had it buried more times than I could count (With 800# in the bed). I wasn't confident doing anything that was even a tad bit hairy offroad.

Finally made the Move to some KO2's this fall. I've done some pretty gnarly stuff, and haven't come close to a stuck this year (and it's been a lot softer ground than previous).

Put some real tires on the machine, with weight it will go far.


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## Ultra Duty (Jul 16, 2010)

Simple solution, just add weight, I never plow w/ less than 1500-2000lb in bed of truck. Always manually lock hubs. TCS off and ELD on and you should be plowing all day in 2wd.


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