No traction on the boat ramp! What!?!

[SavageTusk]

Well today I was pulling a .. Ahem.. JETSKI out of the lake and for the life of me I could not gain traction. Pretty rediculous. Finally I used the ebrake trick to ease it out. Cmon though, a jetski! Anyway my truck performance add-ons are listed below. My question is, you think just tires are my problem? If so what are some good tires I can put on my 16" stock wheels? Or, if tires aren't it, other suggestions?

Current - LT245/75R16 120/116s


1999 dodge ram 2500 5.9l Turbo diesel

- Quadzilla Adrenaline Programmer

- iQuad Bluetooth Guage display

- hx35w turbo

- boost elbow

- Pusher 24V2G Aluminum Intake Manifold

- S&B Cold Air Intake

- Air dog 150gph lift pump

- 1/2" big line fuel kit

- GM Transmission Governor Pressure solenoid conversion

- 4" turbo back exhaust with 4-7" tip

[IBMobile]

I had that problem once pulling a boat out of salt water.  It was low tide and I had to back down to where there was algae on the ramp. Have you had this problem before or just this one time.  

[SavageTusk]

I notice it now that I have added the performance mods to the truck.  Basically love everything except boat ramps, and I'm at the lake a lot here in Texas.  I was reading that a lot of 2wd dodges have this issue.  One guy mentioned this. Still reading into it.

https://www.jegs.com/p/Powertrax/Powertrax-No-Slip-Traction-Systems/744476/10002/-1

[Me78569]

I am assuming this is a 2wd truck?   I didn't even bother trying 2wd when pulling a boat out last time.  

 

Weight in the bed or better tires for wet surfaces.  concrete's coefficient of friction is really low when wet.

[Mopar1973Man]

8 hours ago, SavageTusk said:

Current - LT245/75R16 120/116s

 

Tire pressures? Very common for people to overinflated their tires. I'm betting that you have your rear axle overinflated. Softer tires gain traction much better. You might want to check out this article.

 

 

[01cummins4ever]

You might want to check your trailer for adjustments to move the front of jet ski closer to the ball hitch, adding more weight to the axle. 

[notlimah]

Sounds like you’d have the traction issue with or without the jet ski on the truck. 

 

Obviosuly a bit different but fwiw, I pulled this outta the water in 2wd with barely any throttle, granted I’m an auto so there’s less ‘shock’ in the driveline when it gets going but I think it reiterates the fact that something else might need some attention (tires, air pressure) and not just the trailer.

[015point9]

I get stuck in my side yard when hooked up to trailer with about 800 pounds tongue weight if one tire is a low spot of about 6 inches or more.  If on hard surface usually no problem.  2 wheel drive.  Says Dana 70 limited slip.  Talking with axle shop.  He said certain limited slip inbbn our era might have what is called "corporate " gears inside even though in Dana housing.  Don't know if fact or fiction.  Lockers for axle aren't cheap but maybe on upgrade list someday.   I put in some gravel where I get stuck and today is about 2 or 3 inches uneven... no problem.  Also added some friction stuff to diff.  Seemed to help.  

Also mine is not user friendly to hook up tow strap little alone chain.  Tow hooks were an option I think but I can't seem to find any that will bolt on.  

 

Seems I can't win.  Got my 01 after my 87 Ford hand front wheel drive had problems.  But at least in my dodge  front hub stays on.

[Ben]

Boat ramps are slick. You need to pull the lever for some traction.  

 

My old 2wd would sit and spin on wet grass in the yard.  

 

 

[Mopar1973Man]

2 hours ago, notlimah said:

I think it reiterates the fact that something else might need some attention (tires, air pressure) and not just the trailer.

 

I find that using the calculated method you can tweak the pressures and get more from your tires. Like my calculated front axle is 58 PSI and rear 37 PSI. For more traction, you reduce both pressures by 5 PSI. So now the front is 53 PSI and rear is 32 PSI. 

 

Another example on the scales with the RV.

[SavageTusk]

I put a set of 285/75/16 all terrain tires on it today.  Hopefully that helps some. I'll review the tire pressure too if it is a problem next time. I appreciate yalls input! 

Edited July 2, 2018 by SavageTusk

[Mopar1973Man]

1 hour ago, SavageTusk said:

I put a set of 285/75/16 all terrain tires on it today.

 

That was a mistake. You want traction you want a smaller footprint. The smaller the footprint the more pounds per square inch you'll get for traction. So with the 285's you made it more to float now. Basically look at it this way if I was to walk out the deep snow I would sink. No put on snowshoes I can walk on top of the snow without sinking in. This way I've been keeping the 235's on my truck. Way better traction on most road conditions. 

 

Now with the 285's you going to have watch your tire pressures more.

[notlimah]

Makes no sense. He’s talking about traction. Wider the tire, more rubber on the ground, more traction there will be. 

 

If what youre saying applied to this, formula 1 cars would drive around with bike tires. 

[Dieselfuture]

I think it has more to do with tread design and compound it's made out of and of course air pressure. Wider tires generally have larger gaps between the lugs. So if a tire is a foot wide you may only have 6-8"  on the ground,  but  get in mud or deep snow and you're back to having a foot wide tire. And if the lugs are siped that makes a world of difference.

The only drawbacks I see to larger tires are, crappier mpg and more wear and tear.

[Mopar1973Man]

Like my new thread and the study of smaller tires. More to come...

 

Like on the 2002 Dodge I'm pretty sure I'm going to change to the 245's vs 235's. On my 1996 Dodge I'm sure I'll jump for the 215/85 R16. Smaller the footprint the more pounds per square inch you get. 

 

So like on my truck front axle is 4,440 pounds so that's 2,220 pounds per tire. Then measure out the contact patch. Then you can figure out the pound per square inch of force down. 

Edited July 3, 2018 by Mopar1973Man

[SavageTusk]

Sell so far so good guys.  The 285/75/16 tires are doing the trick.  The grip is much better and happy with the tires.  A big part of this was that I had highway tires on before and now have all terrain.  Straight lines vs cross tread.  Now the only thing that I have to figure out is getting the speedometer in sync.  The new revolutions/mile are 614.306 rather than 661.933, a 7.753% difference.  I'll see if a dealership can update the pcm with that handheld odb2 tool. Othwise sounds like I'll need a tool to update it myself. 

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

On 7/1/2018 at 9:51 AM, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Tire pressures? Very common for people to overinflated their tires. I'm betting that you have your rear axle overinflated. Softer tires gain traction much better. You might want to check out this article.

 

i had 35" superswampers back in colorado deflated to 15psi and in 4hi, i was able to crawl up an icy trail that is steeper than a boat ramp.  tire pressure has a big influence on traction on everything!

 

Edited July 3, 2018 by CUMMINSDIESELPWR

[Ben]

Tire compound plays a huge role too. 

 

Michelin LTX's for example. Great tread life. Hard compound = good tread life. I had to have 500+ lbs in the back during the winter for traction. Tires floundered on anything that wasn't dry pavement. Never again unless free.

 

Cooper STT's. The first iteration. Holy crap. Toyo Open Country M/T clone/knock offs. I ran zero additional weight in bed during winter with these. Stuck really well to snowy roads. 

 

Ridiculous traction. A friends wife and kids were stuck in a bad part of Minnesota with a flat. Bad part. 

 

Fortunately a friend and I were passing through there. Got up to vehicle and I pulled in ditch. 

 

Got tire changed quick and left. I put truck in 1st, let out clutch with no throttle, and I felt the rear dig in and the front raised up. I came out on three wheels. Pretty neat. 

 

So compound along with size also plays a big traction part. It is a trade off. 

 

A friend had 285 10 ply Interco Trxus  M/T on an F250. Those were crazy sticky. Treadlife wasn't stellar, but traction on crappy roads, dang. 

 

Eta - My tire pressure formula. 

 

I put a line of carpenters chalk down in front of the tires. 

 

I drive over it and adjust tire pressures until there is chalk across the entire face of the tire. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2018 by Ben

[Mopar1973Man]

Now that I'm running a set of older 245's on the rear of my truck for testing. I've learned quite a bit. 

 

Final ratio is much lower it more like 3.73 to the ground now. This amplifies the torque produced considerably. I'm also guilty of the excessive tire pressure and the tires spin loose very easily. I need to sit down and do the math on the tire pressures.

 

Tire Spec: 245/75 R16 - 3,042 pounds at 80 PSI

Axle Weight: 2,860 pounds. 

 

2,860 / 2 = 1,430 / 3,042 = 0.47 x 80 PSI = 37.6 PSI

 

I'm currently inflated to 40 PSI and the tire is way too firm and slipping easily .I might drop as low as 30 PSI. I wouldn't suggest this with highway travel the lowest I might run with highway speed will be 35 PSI. 

 

As you can see my old aluminum mags on the back.

Edited July 4, 2018 by Mopar1973Man

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

21 hours ago, Ben said:

Tire compound plays a huge role too. 

 

Michelin LTX's for example. Great tread life. Hard compound = good tread life. I had to have 500+ lbs in the back during the winter for traction. Tires floundered on anything that wasn't dry pavement. Never again unless free.

 

Cooper STT's. The first iteration. Holy crap. Toyo Open Country M/T clone/knock offs. I ran zero additional weight in bed during winter with these. Stuck really well to snowy roads. 

 

Ridiculous traction. A friends wife and kids were stuck in a bad part of Minnesota with a flat. Bad part. 

 

Fortunately a friend and I were passing through there. Got up to vehicle and I pulled in ditch. 

 

Got tire changed quick and left. I put truck in 1st, let out clutch with no throttle, and I felt the rear dig in and the front raised up. I came out on three wheels. Pretty neat. 

 

So compound along with size also plays a big traction part. It is a trade off. 

 

A friend had 285 10 ply Interco Trxus  M/T on an F250. Those were crazy sticky. Treadlife wasn't stellar, but traction on crappy roads, dang. 

 

Eta - My tire pressure formula. 

 

I put a line of carpenters chalk down in front of the tires. 

 

I drive over it and adjust tire pressures until there is chalk across the entire face of the tire. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i run duratrac now, 35" and they are great in snow, mud, offroad etc.   e rated so they have a lot of plys for durability.