Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Studded tires or not

I am posting this as the question came up in a thread I started in the Alaska section. I am driving from Arizona to Fairbanks the middle of April. I will need new tires for my truck anyway. Are real metal studs in the tires important or will I be better off with a set of dedication winter snow/ice tires without studs?

Any of you tried both styles? I have never run studs before as I rarely encounter those driving conditions that would suggest it. I put Falken Wildpeaks on my newer F150 and they seemed to do pretty well on some snowy icy roads but I really don't have a good feel for comparing them to something else. I thought about buying a set of winter tires and switching them over somewhere in Alberta as I get to areas with more chance of ice.

I would lean away from them, the Alcan has pretty good late winter conditions for the most part. You may have to slow down (and I don't mean slow down from 75 to 60, lol) for some stretches; but you will find the salting of the road really helps reduce the icing. I would not recommend heading into a known snow storm, try to be holed up at a safe place if it gets bad.

If you are going to have an extry set of winter-only, mounted tires, have them studded.

For one set of do-it-all tires, put new M&S tires on right before heading up, or arrange for purchase in a northern tier state on your way.

Out 30 or so NW winters either in AK or MT I think I ran studs two or three winters.
I did have quite a few sets of winter tires siped though.

You'll only wish you had studs if you get into a lot of ice and then with a good set of tires it may not matter then.

Some states studs may even be illegal, you have to get them off the road in Montana by the end of May every year.

I bought a high quality pair of studded snow tires for my F-150 just to use as necessary,...got 'em mounted on some spare wheels. It's just a 2WD. But with the studded tires and about 500 lbs of sand bags in the back placed over the rear axel, It will handle a lot more snow than people would expect.

I learned that trick from my dad many years ago. He had a short bed, step side '56 GMC. He'd put a bunch of concrete blocks in the back and put the studded tires on when it snowed and we'd go driving around when there was hardly anybody else on the road.

Bought a set long ago because I thought I needed them. Couldn’t tell a difference other than the prickly hum they produce on the highway. Now I run siped tires they are much quieter and hold just as good. I drive over Pipestone and Homestake passes frequently all winter on some absolutely terrible road conditions.

Arizona to Fairbanks will have a lot of miles with no ice. I would use a good set of tires. Maybe carry some tire cables but you may not need them.

I've seen some pretty impressive downhill breaking test done with siped tires, doubt I'd have another set of tires studded.

Anyone who does much winter driving is aware that breaking and having your front tires hold while cornering is more important than having traction to get off the line quicker.

I’m voting for dedicated winter tires. Studs are better on pure ice, snow tires win in every other condition.

90%+ of the time I'm running on dry roads, so I wouldn't want a dedicated snow tire. For those of us who only have to cope with snow a couple of times a winter, (or not even that) a pair of studded tires mounted on rims and sitting in the garage is a good solution.

I haven't tried the new siped tires. But I seriously doubt if they will dig into ice or packed snow the way studs will.

I don’t waste my money on studded tires.. as others said get a good set of all season tires. I ran coopers on my truck when I drove up the Alcan November 2016..

If you are not going to be running the tires during winter up here (or in other icy/snowy country) just stick with the non-studded.

Wife's Expedition has dedicated, mounted studs for winter use (Sept-May), and 300lb of sand bags in back (less damaging to interior than block). My Ram 3500 Quad cab runs non-studded year round. Don't see that much diff, but then often the 3,000 lb camper is on it year-round. Right now not, and I need to put 500 lbs of weight in it if I winter use it much. I don't - that's what the Exp. is for. Studs for her car last 2-3 winters, but then they can be pulled to use the tires for a summer or two that way.

If you do buy studs, as said, get them mounted on rims. Those tire-changer-overs are hell on beads - they are into production and not care, and the tires will be ruined before they are worn out. Over the life of the tire, one is probably ahead $-wise to have them on their own rims- quicker change over, and less $ if you don't do it yourself.

We will be taking the PU camper Outside in late September, coming back end of Oct, early Nov. I'll be running the non-studded Michelins M&S that are on it now (new in July, just some local travel - maybe 3K miles right now, probably 8K by then) , and as said, go as slow as conditions warrant, or stop and wait them out if necessary.

I do have a set of chains that will go along. I do not expect to have to use them, but a helluva lot cheaper than a full set of studded tires and rims.

That might be an option for you also.

Dedicated snows are made from a softer rubber that grips better. As a result, they don't last as long so it's a compromise. I have studded real snows on my van and the traction is great, or at least as great as any tire can be on ice. Here in ID, they're only legal Oct 1 - April 30. It's very rare to need them that early but we can have some last spring snow storms.

I suggest you mount real snow & ice tires for winter seasonal use, but not mud and snow "all season" tires which are marketed to people who don't have a serious need for winter tires. Studs are nice, and are necessary if you are constantly driving on ice but come with their own limitations - more noise, more damage to roads and more expensive. I use a set of 4 studded ice tires here in Saskatchewan from November to April because I'm driving on ice as often as not. You are not likely to be driving on ice most of the time on your way to Alaska on paved roads. If you have a 4 wheel drive, you'll be Ok with ice radials all around. If you are driving a 2 wheel drive, put studs on the back set and weight in the box as already mentioned.

One thing about weight in the box, it can hit the cab back hard in a collision. Soft beats hard. Better still, tie it down.

If I had lots of ice to drive on, I'd run these Kedge Grip tires in winter...

They have ground up glass and walnut shells mixed in the rubber.

https://www.treadwright.com/pages/kedge-grip

Fly, dont drive, Dennis. Southerners cant drive on snow like Yanks can.

Jag has a very valid point, if you are not used to driving on snow pack and clear ice.

I have been on roads in S West Idaho where the car slid off of the pavement onto the shoulder after I had stopped and put it in Park. And yes, that is a state hiway. Hiway 95 to be specific.

Once you get up into Idaho or Washington, the local dealers sell some very good snow/ice tires. Blizzak comes to mind.

Do not substitute with mud/snow. There is no comparison on ice roads.

I keep two sets of rims for my commuter 4x4 vehicle with studded snow/ice tires for the winter. Studs are an advantage in bringing the nose around in extremely slick conditions, and in braking on ice. But really good snow tires with thousands of tiny sipes are about 95% as good.

And carry chains, IF you can fit them onto your vehicle. Cable chains can be used in limited clearance situations. But they have a short life expectancy compared to real chain. Cables must be kept VERY tight. Flexing of the side cables will cause them to fatigue and break. I went through 3 sets in a month on a 6 cylinder Nova I was driving to work 25 mi each way.

Many of our local tire dealers sell "quick chains" which go on very easily and quickly without having to drive onto the chain or jack up the car. I used them many times on our 99 Blazer. They made the difference between getting to work or taking an unexcused absence.

Many of today's cars do not have clearance for a set of chains. But if you are driving a pick-up you should have clearance for real chains, at least on the back. I highly recommend heavy duty chains with cam tighteners on the side chain. They are a smaller version of the chains used by interstate truckers. They are the only way to really tighten a set of chains on the tire.

The Nokian tires are probably the best with the Blizzacks as a second choice for my next winter tire.

the opening of that video posted by Doc there was here in Oregon up on i 84 in NE Oregon..
we get iced roads here east of the Cascades....

having done a lot of winter driving all over the country, if I was making the trip Dennis, I'd put a set of studded tires on rims for the rear, and carry them as spares... if you need them, you can put them on...

if weight needed in the back... you can buy 70lb tubes of sand up in this latitudes all over the place...2 x 4 behind the wheel wells in the box, and they won't go sliding forward...

whether you do studs on tires or not...a set of chains, both link and cable are available, and are even more traction, but you have to drive slower with them installed... in bad weather in my younger days, I would move my snow tires to the front of my rear wheel drive car for steering, and put the regular tires from up front on the back of the vehicle and put chains on them...car would go thru heavy snow like a tank... 15 inch rims.. not those little 13 inch buggers used back in the 70s and 80s...

for putting on chains without having to jack your truck up, and makes it a lot easier... block of wood ( thick preferrably).. or one piece on top of the other.. it should be the size to fit in between links in the chains or cables....put in front of the tire you'll be changing.. someone with you to drive the vehicle is a plus..
but run the tire up on the block of wood, with the chain laid out in front of the tire already about half way.. raises the tire off the ground, and makes wrapping the chain around the rest of it real easy...

before that, in my travels, I just had two summer tires as spares, that I had already put chains on....small jack for lifting heavy weight ( bottle jack) set on top of a block of wood... took off the rear tire, slapped on the spare tire with chains already mounted and off ya go...

if the truck has 4 WD, a good set of tires with hydrophilic rubber compound ( I use Hankook Winter Peaks, I get from Discount Tire Direct shipped to me from right there out of Phoenix).. that and a set of winter cables or chains to put on if needed and off ya go...if 4WD, i doubt if your F 150 would need any weight in the back either... but a 70lb bag of sand at Home Depot is $5 or $7 or less...

When I put chains on two spare tire and rready to go, jacking up the truck for me is easier than wrestling them in the snow on a road side, out in the middle of nowhere... and there is a lot of nowhere between Phoenix and Fairbanks...