Yes, good snow tires do help....but my Vanagon wants more.....I've had
Nokians, brand new, they also get me stuck without any problem.....and I am
a GOOD snow driver, having lived in Jackson Hole for over 20yrs and never
owned a 4wd in all those years....My 1966 2wd long bed ford pickup had
better traction than I have in this vanagon......
   I put about 300lbs behind the rear seatback and that does help, but
without a limited slip or chains, it is a toss up when I leave my "hill", a
crap shoot as to  whether I will be walking back up the icy drive at the
end of the day....so the Vanagon isn't very useful during the winter
season....

On Fri, Nov 6, 2015 at 7:17 AM, Richard A Jones <Jones@colorado.edu> wrote:

> Dennis wrote:
>
>> Before spending money on a fancy differential I would look at the =
>> tire-wheel combination. Fix the traction problem first.
>>
>
> I'll second this.  I have a Peloquin in my '87 Syncro Westy and
> wish I had one in my '81 tintop.  The '81 was my daily driver
> for 20 years--many ski trips.  Even with some concrete splash
> blocks in the rear, it was dicey and many times I had to put
> on chains. I had various kinds of "snow tires"--typically
> Vredestein.
>
> Well, it isn't my daily driver but I do still drive it some
> all year and a couple of years ago I put some studded Nokians
> on the rear and they made a HUGE difference.  I'd still like
> a Peloquin in it, but with a Jeep Cherokee as my ski car,
> it is hard to justify....
>
> My take is that maybe snow tires are better today--easy to
> believe with rubber compound improvements and computer
> simulation tread designs--but that Nokians are EVEN better.
>
> Richard
> Boulder
>
> PS: all this on stock 14" rims.
>