Seeking a bit of sage advice!

[Japes]

Well first of all let me say I greatly appriciate this site and everyone on it, I have never found a web forum that is so open and helpful to everyone!

So here is my problem, I recently moved to Penn from South Texas. I purchesed my Tacoma Prerunner before I ever had the crazy notion to move North. With winter soon comming I am caught in a big problem, my winter car has ceased to live and it would cost more to fix it then it would ever be worth again (99 Escort, Throw out bearing, clutch, rear breaks locked, ac), and having 3 vehicles is looking in the area we are moving would be very difficult(GF has a Scion XB) so no strictly winter vehicle for me. As we all know a 2wd truck has problems in snow and ice especially in the mountains (where I live). As much as I love my truck I couldnt swing converting it to 4wd due to no way to get to work. Here is what I have come up with as a viable option, trade my beloved truck in on something that better suits my life in the north! I have narrowed my choices down to a SX4 or a Forester, I owe 9k on my truck and its worth roughly 10500, Now here is where I need help, is it better to pay off more on the truck or take the money in as a down payment on whatever I decide to get?

I love camping, fishing, and all sorts of hoon driving , The SX4 is looking like the best option for me as it gets great MPG, Roomy, and I can store all my gear in it no problem. Also wouldnt mind finding a Volvo XC90 with the V8, but Any advice on this matter is greatly appriciated.

Heres the truck, Minor issues include: Cracked Grill, Plastic thing on side of seat broke, and thats it, but the best thing is NO RUST

[Martinjmpr]

Having owned both brands (I owned a 99 OBW and wife's vehicle is an 06 Suzuki Grand Vitara) I would go with the Subie. Roomier, for one thing. Better build quality IMO.

[Japes]

How does the subie do on the interior comfort, my main issue is that I am 6.4 and 275 so I'm a bigger g, any info on the xc90 would be great also! There is ton on subies but none on the xc.

[bfdiesel]

Out here in the Rockies the two wheelers run sand bags in the back, snow tires and then you drive like there is snow on the road. I say keep it for a bit and pay it off some more and then see if you want to sell it or trade it.

Every one that I know who had to start out with a two wheel drive in the snow is by far better at driving in the snow.

I can still remember driving around Steamboat , Co. and people had Subaru's and 4x4 suv's of all sorts sliding off the road and stuck in snow banks. I was waving at them from my 65 f100 2 wheel drive, open diff with worn out tires on the rear as I passed by. With a couple to a few hundred pounds in the back over the axle and the knowledge that stopping requires slowing long before hand a two drive vehicle is fine.

[Johnston]

Like bfdiesel wrote "Put weight in the bed". Some good tires like Goodyear Duratrec and take your time. A posi or limited slip would help but you have to pay attention in the snow ice with it. I run around all winter in 2wd and a factory limited slip and live in a hilly town.

[CA-RJ]

X3. Add sand bags and some dedicated snow tires and use your head. People used to survive living in places with snow long before the 4x4 was common.

[Japes]

Would I need to run all four as snow tires or just the rear? Also how much weight would you suggest? The biggest thing I had to deal with before snow was hurricanes and I would take one anyday over snow!

[BIGGUY]

I had a problem with my old Toyota pickup in the winter with the rear end wanting to slide around fairly easily as it felt like the suspension was a bit stiff and it was four wheel drive. I put approx 200lbs in the back with sand bags and it made a world of difference. Many years ago a friend had an old Ford two wheel drive pickup. He had a set of chrome wheels with lower profile street tires on it and a set of more aggressive AT/MT tires on steel rims. We would swap out the rims for summer off road and camping trips and for winter time. He also added I would say 200-250lbs of sand bags. He also used some of the sand from time to time as needed for extra traction if he was stuck or near stuck. Worked great.

If you want to have some real fun, come on out to WY in the winter and some days you can have your hurricane and snow all at the same time!

[lmcanje]

My suggestions is get a set (a set being four) of winter tires, maybe even on rims so you don't have to get the tires balanced all the time. I had a 2wd truck with winters on it and I could manage fine, the only problem was backing up my driveway with new fluff down, it took a bit of a run at it to get up it. But you just have to adjust your driving for the conditions. 4wd only helps you get going and going through deeper snow. For stopping it is all about the tires. If you have never driven in the snow before it is a talent that is acquired with practice. When it snows I suggest a parking lot with some elevation changes.
A dedicated winter tire will outperform AT tires all the time. I have BFG AT for summer and Nokian Hakka's for winter, there is no comparison.

Also, about the weight in the back, great idea but remember to secure it down.

[bfdiesel]

If you end up running only two snow tires put them on the front. You will need them there for slowing the vehicle and steering.

200-250 lbs. is about right and put it right between the wheel wells so it is directly over the axle.