Mountain Truck setups

My mountain truck is a single cab Toyota Tacoma. I’ve many adventures in mountains with it and I’m looking forward to many more. It’s 4wd, but I have some good tires and always carry a shovel. I’ve never used chains or the traction boards and I don’t plan on it. I know my limits and stay within them. No reason to jack my rig up.
 
I just use my F350 diesel work truck. It’s not an off-roader but has been to worse places than most jeeps. I carry chains, a shovel, tools, and spare tire. Most important thing is to know when conditions require you to pack up and move lower.
 
Work in the woods, drive a stock 1/2 ton. Shovel, McLeod, saw, tow strap.

Out of state hunts right now I’m driving a 250. Wench, 2nd spare, shovel, compressor, tire patch kit, tow strap, saw.

Don’t have chains in either, mainly due to being lazy. Do switch to snow tires in the winter. doing this a few decades my main defense is to avoid putting myself in stupid situations. If the road is looking bad, I get out and walk it or come back with an atv.
 
I'm a huge winch fan - say what you will about chains and traction boards (which I also carry) but that winch has saved my bacon, and a few other peoples' more times than I can count. Personally I favor a hitch-mount style, even though those aren't as strong. I have receivers on both the front and back of my truck and this is super flexible. On hunting trips I can put my huge coolers on both the front AND back on cargo carriers, and if I get in trouble I can put the winch on either end as well. It helps to carry a spare battery if you do this but if it's an emergency you can just pull the battery out of your engine compartment. It doesn't need to be expensive either. A Horror Freight Badlands will do an awful lot of work in most "slid off road into ditch" or "stuck in snowbank" type situations.

If you bother with a winch, take the time to get a few critical accessories - cambium saver, at least two (preferably four) shackles, and at least one extra strap plus a pair of leather gloves is a good start. I keep my winching gear in one of those medium-size waterproof Plano plastic bins.

A second device which I've found hugely useful in all weather is one of those lithium jump-packs they sell on Amazon for like $90. They're SO much more convenient for jumping a dead battery than regular jumper cables. I had a case where a local fire dept guy came up the road when we were camping near Taos and we were the only other campers there that weekend. He was a few miles away which would have been an hour or two to help him out, not that I wouldn't have been happy to. But since those packs are portable I just handed it to him and told him I'd drive down if it didn't work. It did, obviously, so I saved all that time getting down to him and lining up so our jumper cables would reach. I was able to finish setting up camp by the time he got back.

Tires are super opinionated and I have a friend who swears by Nitto Grapplers but I've had good luck with Goodrich All Terrain KO2's. It's basically a hybrid all-terrain/mud tire and here in Colorado where mud is my biggest enemy they've been great. I carry chains too, of course.

I've personally never had much luck with traction boards mostly because I think my rig is so heavy (with my truck camper on, especially) that I just shred them. But I do carry a few bags of kitty litter. It's good for spills anyway, and adds a little weight to my back-end, and in a pinch I can throw a mound of it under a spinning tire if it's icy under there. It's better than sand, I think because it clumps when it gets damp? YMMV
 
Oh PS, it never hurts to have the obvious emergency supplies either, especially a gallon or two of coolant, a spare can of fuel, a serpentine belt (and if your rig needs a tool to install it, that too), and a spare upper and lower radiator hose. If I'm going over lots of rocks I bring a second spare tire as well.
 
I have had a set of roll up traction thingys. Used them to get out of a couple bad spots. Was fresh snow with good traction, until an off camber corner. There it had ice and I started to slide. Stopped and put on two chains and the traction things behind the other tires and backed up. Carry 2 sets of chains now and don’t need the other. Can also lay the chains down to help get out of stuff. https://www.amazon.com/RELIANCER-Tr...t=&hvlocphy=9032878&hvtargid=pla-834663697128

Shovel, 12v inflator, jumper, come alongs, rope, tow rope, kinetic recovery rope, some shackles, saw.
 
ForkieLivesMatter said:
Heading out West for Mule Deer here in a week and will be out there until the end of season. The last time I was out was in 2021 and we hit snow covering a good layer of ice. Every time we stopped to put chains on, the truck would start to slide off the mountain.

What are y’all running for your mountain rig? What tires, size, tread and brand? What chains? Recovery boards, yes or no? What vehicle? Suspension lift? Tire offset? Winch, shovels, weighting down the back of the pickup, heavy duty chain or tow straps? Extra gas cans? Etc

This is for forest roads, not looking to take any jeep trails or I’d just haul a 4wheeler out with me. I’m really looking at gearing up just incase winter weather hits (SHTF) while deep in the mountains at high elevations.

Thanks!
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I run a 2015 Toyota Tacoma with 33" BFGs. I've got a ARE shell with a basket and a rooftop tent. I carry a chainsaw with 18" bar 4 sets of tire chains a shovel and an axe. I also keep an extra 2 gallons of water and a couple of mtn house meals. I keep an extra jetboil stove and a change of cloths all in a lifetime cooler. I 5 gal. gas can and a tool box with mechanics tools and a tire kit plus one can of fix a flat. Then it's just my basic hunting gear oh and I have wool blanket under the seat.
 
I know everyone preaches chains, but your first act of dealing with rough roads and variable conditions is to air down your tires. This will contribute more to to improved performance and traction than any single other thing you can do.

Otherwise, air compressor, tire deflator, snatch cord, soft shackles, traction boards (I have used them quite a few times), plug kit, battery jumper (a must), shovel, saw.

Put it in 4 low anytime it gets steep, technical or variable conditions.
 
If you do not know what a plug kit is or how to use it.....find out.

I can plug a gashed tire in under a minute. I have never had one leak and I've installed a bunch over the years.

I carry chains after a near miss a few years ago. I was at elevation when a storm hit. I headed for the truck and had to wait on a stuck SxS in a drift....which caused us to be in serious danger of being drifted in. All of that took place in a couple of hours.

Weather can get serious out here.
 
I have goodyear duratracs, about 33", i have 2 sets of maxxtraxx and have actually used them quite a few times, they're awesome. Full set of goodyear tire chains. Hi lift jack and maxxtraxx has got me out of a couple high centered situations. No winch but i bring a come along and sometimes a chainsaw just in case
 
Poser said:
I know everyone preaches chains, but your first act of dealing with rough roads and variable conditions is to air down your tires. This will contribute more to to improved performance and traction than any single other thing you can do.

Otherwise, air compressor, tire deflator, snatch cord, soft shackles, traction boards (I have used them quite a few times), plug kit, battery jumper (a must), shovel, saw.

Put it in 4 low anytime it gets steep, technical or variable conditions.
Click to expand...
What he said. And you can air them down a lot more than most folks realize. I think a lot of the off-road crowd gets down to 10-12 in sand, don't they?
 
Nothing special. Stock 4WD truck. Some type of all terrain tires. Long handled shovel, chains, axe, fuel can, jumper cables. I don't have a tire repair kit but it seems smart. I happened to have a cheap air compressor that got another guy home one time.

Chains... that's the biggie. Put 'em on in your driveway (street) if you don't do it much or they're new.
 
Come- along, shovel, front chains, couple shackles, lifting strap.

Vehicles 2005 Cummins with Falken wild peaks OR

2020 4 runner- nokian outposts or Toyo open country’s soon but stock tires have been very impressive on terribly rocky forest service roads. Poor on snow though. Impressive little crawl control in snow and sand bury. Haven’t tested in. Rock crawl but it eats in 4 low minimal pedal.

I put chains in front as you can steer and have more weight. Always put chains in front before rear or else you’re driving a sled you can’t steer. Come along is slow but can save you in a pinch.

And always remember if you need to put on chains you may aswell turn around because once you get sunk to the frame you’re screwed. May aswell turn around park and start walking digging out a quarter mile isn’t worth it.
 
justinspicher said:
I had a chance to snag one of these and didn’t, really wish I would have.
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They're all over eBay if you still want one - or at least good counterfeits are. (You can never tell for sure.) They're expensive though, $200 last time I looked.

My go-to shovel is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IDV2GQY, $36. It's stronger than it looks and stronger than other shovels, fully welded both sides to the handle. It's a bit short for daily use - I wouldn't bring it to Moab. But for forest service road type hunting it's perfect.

I pair it with a Fiskar's Chopping Axe https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-375581-1001-Chopping-Axe-28-Inch/dp/B00EOVRX06. That's $57 and note that it's NOT the same as the splitting axe that's become a cult favorite. Cutting your way through a big log with a splitting axe is very frustrating, it'll get stuck constantly. The chopping axe is different and doesn't do that. I know others here recommend a chain saw and I totally agree, but if you don't have room (one can get carried away here easily) a chopping axe is a great backup. I can get through an average deadfall (say, 18" or so, two cuts) across a road in about 30-40 mins which sounds like forever but it's pretty rare to have to do, and I've never had to do it more than once on a trip. And at least it fits behind a seat easily and takes no maintenance.

If you do bring a chainsaw, you can get a lot of mileage out of a cheap electric. It's not like you're homesteading with it.

You can go down a rabbit hole with this stuff but don't forget survival gear too. It's easy to get stuck for a day or two if you get yourself truly "back there". A couple of these ration bricks https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075TXP1P5 are cheap and don't take much space at all, and they last forever, and a couple gallons of water are never a bad idea either. Add in a good medical kit and you should be ready for almost anything.
 
taskswap said:
What he said. And you can air them down a lot more than most folks realize. I think a lot of the off-road crowd gets down to 10-12 in sand, don't they?
Click to expand...

You can go pretty low in sand since your aren’t cornering hard, but if you don’t have bead locks (real bead locks, not the fake ones to look cool), then you have to be really careful or the tire will come off the rim. On 265s, I usually don’t go lower than 20 psi, but I have dropped to 18 or so when in deeper snow. If you have 35s and bead locks, you might go as low as 5 psi.

If I’m just looking to take the edge off a grated road, I may drop to 25 psi -even just a change of 10 psi from stock makes a pretty good difference, I can still roll at faster speeds, say 30-35 mph on 10 ply tires either way no concerns about cornering. At 20 psi, I’m usually going no faster than 10-15 mph if there are turns involved. That PSI really soaks up a lot of harshness, reduced your chances of a puncture significantly without risk to the sidewall and gives you a much wider foot print
 
taskswap said:
They're all over eBay if you still want one - or at least good counterfeits are. (You can never tell for sure.) They're expensive though, $200 last time I looked.

My go-to shovel is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IDV2GQY, $36. It's stronger than it looks and stronger than other shovels, fully welded both sides to the handle. It's a bit short for daily use - I wouldn't bring it to Moab. But for forest service road type hunting it's perfect.

I pair it with a Fiskar's Chopping Axe https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-375581-1001-Chopping-Axe-28-Inch/dp/B00EOVRX06. That's $57 and note that it's NOT the same as the splitting axe that's become a cult favorite. Cutting your way through a big log with a splitting axe is very frustrating, it'll get stuck constantly. The chopping axe is different and doesn't do that. I know others here recommend a chain saw and I totally agree, but if you don't have room (one can get carried away here easily) a chopping axe is a great backup. I can get through an average deadfall (say, 18" or so, two cuts) across a road in about 30-40 mins which sounds like forever but it's pretty rare to have to do, and I've never had to do it more than once on a trip. And at least it fits behind a seat easily and takes no maintenance.

If you do bring a chainsaw, you can get a lot of mileage out of a cheap electric. It's not like you're homesteading with it.

You can go down a rabbit hole with this stuff but don't forget survival gear too. It's easy to get stuck for a day or two if you get yourself truly "back there". A couple of these ration bricks https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075TXP1P5 are cheap and don't take much space at all, and they last forever, and a couple gallons of water are never a bad idea either. Add in a good medical kit and you should be ready for almost anything.
Click to expand...
I have a crazy beaver shovel and a Fiskars full size axe behind the seat of my truck. I just put a toolbox in the bed and it has all the rest of my gear for an unexpected night or two out in the middle of nowhere.
 
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