Just can't get a good basic truck, like the old days!

[WinterDeere]

That's still 36" off the ground.

Not if you run mud tires. My current tires are only BFG T/A KO2's, not exactly Ground Hawg's, but the lugs are still big enough to catch the edge of a boot sole and step up from a much more comfortable height.

 

[ultrarunner]

MY first company truck after driving the above mentioned pickup was an '04 F150. I was intown with about 2" of fresh snow. I came to a stop sign and (luckily) started braking well in advance but the truck didn't even slow. With no braking action I was about to roll into traffic so in desperation I stomped on the parking brake. In 4wd that locked all 4 tires up which cut down through to the tar and I stopped dead. If anybody had been behind me they'd have hit me for sure, it snubbed up that fast.
Later that winter I took both trucks out on my road with about 6" of fresh snow to check stopping distances. From 45mph my '98 Sierra with discombobulated ABS stopped in 2/3 the distance of the '04 Ford, when I applied brakes as hard as I could. Granted the Ford likely weighed a little more but it also was new with about 200k fewer miles. I later wrecked my back trying to stop that Ford... exploring a woods road on fresh snow, topped a rise and dropped off a hill I didn't want to go down. I stomped on the brakes, braced myself against the steering wheel to push them down harder, and something in my back went "snap". Then I had to drag the darned thing back up the hill again.

I recall ABS or Traction could be disabled for winter driving?

Know a few accident free that had their first winter driving when ABS/Traction came out…

Each said they could stopped…

 

[WinterDeere]

Know a few accident free that had their first winter driving when ABS/Traction came out…

Each said they could stopped…

In some cases, it may have been true. Some early ABS implementations had only one or two solenoids, cycling pressure either to the entire system, or to both fronts or both rears at the same time. That was less than ideal, although probably still better and faster than most trying for manual control.

But it's been years since I've seen an ABS controller that's not fully independent for each wheel. Independent ABS would be hard to beat, for any driver.

 

[Jstpssng]

I can disable the TC on my Colorado as well as my company Tundra. The Colorado takes 15 seconds to shut off and turns itself back on if you exceed 30 mph; the Tundra is off until.you tell it otherwise. (toggle switch.) The down side is that you can't disable the latter when moving so if you are in the mud and start to spin you are SOL.

I have never driven a vehicle which allowed you to disable ABS short of doing internal things which can make you liable in the event of a crash. But also have always driven pickups and always normal brands.

 

[WinterDeere]

The SRT cars have three traction control modes, and a big button on the dash which enables you to access and change them very quickly (< 1 second). Modes are "Street", "Sport", "Track". Street mode allows pretty minimal wheel spin, and track mode seems to be a full-disable, with sport mode allowing wheel spin but engaging TC to stop wheel spin after foot lets up on pedal a bit.

It's a good system, and might be useful in a truck, albeit labeled under different names.

 

[ultrarunner]

I seem to remember some of the first applications were rear wheels only on pickup trucks… which could easily lockup with bed empty…?

 

[not2old]

When I need to get in the bed of the F350, especially if the tailgate is down, I step on top of the tire and swing over like getting on a horse. Sounds weird but it's easier than crawling up on the tail gate.

I do the same thing on my 1990 F250 but on my 2024 F350 I use the step in the corner of the bumper. That step might be ugly but it works.

 

[jjeff]

i know on GMC trucks traction stability control is automatically disabled when you put the transfer case in 4 low. On My rwd 4500 Cutaway chassis there is a button on dash to disable what Chevy calls stabilitrak.

 

[WinterDeere]

...what Chevy calls stabilitrak.

Wow... talk about a misleading marketing name! I had to go look that up, thinking Chevy was putting both traction control and stability control into their trucks, which would indeed be a high-end feature.

But no... "StabiliTrak" has nothing to do with stability control, it's just GM's lame name for plain old boring traction control. I'm sure that if argued in court, they'd be able to point to some small proprietary feature that justifies not just calling it Traction Control, but it doesn't appear to be anything significant.

Some cars, Cadillac actually pioneered it decades ago, have dynamic viscosity fluid in their shock absorbers to provide stability control by instantly changing the stiffness of the shock absorber on each wheel. Mercedes worked with Billstein to develop another similar technology, now sold as the DampTronic, and used in AMG cars from Mercedes and SRT cars from Dodge. It would actually be useful in a pickup truck to limit body roll in corners or to stiffen rear shocks when load is increased through towing or hauling, but not a cheap upgrade on already expensive heavy duty suspension.

 

[jjeff]

Wow... talk about a misleading marketing name! I had to go look that up, thinking Chevy was putting both traction control and stability control into their trucks, which would indeed be a high-end feature.

But no... "StabiliTrak" has nothing to do with stability control, it's just GM's lame name for plain old boring traction control. I'm sure that if argued in court, they'd be able to point to some small proprietary feature that justifies not just calling it Traction Control, but it doesn't appear to be anything significant.

Some cars, Cadillac actually pioneered it decades ago, have dynamic viscosity fluid in their shock absorbers to provide stability control by instantly changing the stiffness of the shock absorber on each wheel. Mercedes worked with Billstein to develop another similar technology, now sold as the DampTronic, and used in AMG cars from Mercedes and SRT cars from Dodge. It would actually be useful in a pickup truck to limit body roll in corners or to stiffen rear shocks when load is increased through towing or hauling, but not a cheap upgrade on already expensive heavy duty suspension.

My 4500 Cutaway definitely doesn't ride like a Cadillac although it rides a bit better after I put aftermarket Bilstein shocks and sumo springs on it basically larger bump stops front and rear. Anyways I've never intentionally disabled "stabilitrak" never saw a need to do it.