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Kizbo Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2014 Posts: 106 Location: KY
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:41 pm Post subject: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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With the weatherman forecasting some cold temperatures in the coming weeks, it got me to thinking.... what if it snowed... Hey, that means I can play around in the snow in my sand rail with the kids for the first time since getting it back on the road!! Which then led me to wonder, what the driving would be like in snow with the old Paddle tires I have sitting on my garage shelf vs the all terrain tires that I currently have.
Does anyone have any experience or expectations with using paddles in the snow? Part of me would think that they'd do rather nicely in that environment, but the other part thinks that the traction wouldn't really be there as well as one might think... Just curious. |
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Gary Massin-Ball Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2004 Posts: 377
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2016 3:29 pm Post subject: Re: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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Yes go for it! One March in Florence we had an overnight dump of aprox 6" of snow and the next morning we had a blast! _________________ Warrior sand rail:
2276cc 82x94
Engle FK-41 with 1.25:1 street style rockers
40x35.5 stock cast single port heads
Single 40mm Kadron w/32vent
Equalizer 5lb pulley
Stock lifters
Stock aluminum pushrods
26mm aluminum oil pump full flow
*Poor mans rack and pinion up front*
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The Ugly Bug is on the road! |
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dustymojave Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2007 Posts: 5802 Location: Lake LA, Mojave Desert, SoCal
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2016 8:55 pm Post subject: Re: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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For dry snow or even slush...paddles are great. For icy conditions, or hard stuff under the snow...not so good. Chains on A/T tires works pretty well too. _________________ Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet. |
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pullstart Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2016 Posts: 599 Location: Middleville, MI
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2016 6:01 am Post subject: Re: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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I haven't thought of chains on the buggy... I have a few sets of z-chain cables for my plow trucks, I'm thinking the 235/85/16 set might fit on the 225/75/15's with an tensioner... |
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SamT Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 1761 Location: Rule, Tx
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2016 7:12 am Post subject: Re: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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Go for it if you don't love the paddles. New ones are high and I'm very protective of mine. But if they are already kinda torn up.
I think they will outdo the A/T tires if the snow is deep, but if it's shallow I bet the all terrains do better. Light weight vehicles generally suck in snow though. You'll have the most fun if it snows a few inches and gets kinda slick. _________________ Rides:
300HP 900lb turbo VW rail 18/15 travel
Never ending jeep/rzr hybrid build!
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=546712 |
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Kizbo Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2014 Posts: 106 Location: KY
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:14 am Post subject: Re: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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Sounds like it'd be worth the 15 minutes of wheel change-out if a good snow landed. My paddles have got to be at least 25 years old - heck, they may even date back to the 80s. they have cracking in them from the previous owner leaving them out in the elements for long periods of time.... so I've put tubes in them and have stored them indoors for the past 15 years while on my buggy sabbatical and not using them. With that said, they aren't in tip top shape and while I still slightly prize them a little, it isn't like I have to baby them like they're new...just bring them out for the occasional sand bar play (and snow I guess now).
I can remember years ago when it snowed just a few inches (maybe 3 inches - we don't get a ton of snow here usually), I just had some all terrains on there. My brother and I attached a rope onto the top horizontal tube of the roll cage and I pulled him and a couple of his buddies around the yard while on disk sleds. It was like knee-boarding in winter for them! That was fun, and would like to do that with my kiddos now. |
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AZ-BUG Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2008 Posts: 477 Location: AZ
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Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 11:32 am Post subject: Re: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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Some inspiration
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Multi69s Samba Member
Joined: January 24, 2006 Posts: 5360 Location: Lefty, CA
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Kizbo Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2014 Posts: 106 Location: KY
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 12:57 pm Post subject: Re: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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AZ-BUG wrote: |
Some inspiration
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That's actually pretty cool . If Kentucky got as much snow as up north, I'd be fabricating some ski's. |
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turtleman62 Samba Member
Joined: December 09, 2016 Posts: 26 Location: Manvel, ND
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 5:05 pm Post subject: Re: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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I was thinking after I get my baja bug up and running that I was going to get mattracks for it and skis that the tires sit on and strap in. It would be a sweet rig to use for ice fishing or just cruising around in fields here in North Dakota |
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heywebonya Samba Member
Joined: July 08, 2010 Posts: 823 Location: Portage, MI
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 5:40 pm Post subject: Re: Paddle Tires in the Snow? |
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Skis up front? Suh-weet! _________________ If I knew what I was doing; I wouldn't be building a buggy! |
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