I have a RWD '97 Ford Aerostar - any advice on how to drive it in the snow?

I took it out once, without extra weight in the back, and it was baaaaaaaad...I assume I should weigh it down with sandbags, etc. - how much weight should I add to make a difference? Any other winter driving advice for this vehicle would be helpful as well...I have a RWD '97 Ford Aerostar - any advice on how to drive it in the snow?
decent winter tires help. Weight in the back--I used to carry sand in my Mustang, was weight for traction and if I needed it, I could throw some under the wheels on the ice.


Other wise, just remember to take the weather into consideration in winter-as in any other season.I have a RWD '97 Ford Aerostar - any advice on how to drive it in the snow?
low gear, snow tires , sand in the trunk......there are a ton of things...and what everyone here said was good. But one more thing. Take turns very....very....VERY .... SLOW. becuase with rear wheel drive. you already get an understeer. but the front tires normally stay gripped on the road. In the snow howeer you can be turning you wheels and turning but at the same time your car will just be pushing forword and the front tires and you wont have really any steering.
very good answers, also, drive in 2nd gear, it is almost the correct ratio for engine revolutions to rear tire revolutions, it will give you a better feel so the rear tires don't get away from you..
First thing you should do is be real careful, - Snow and ice have very little traction available for your tires! Yes a little extra weight on rear of vehicle will help a lot! Weight increases ability to get traction, as now the rear end is heaver than the front end, -- it is hard to push vehicle foreward with less traction than the ';load it is pushing!'; The more weight you add, the better traction you get on ';takeoff';! But of course there is a limit to this ';good thing'; just as with others, - you don't want to get so much that it ';overloads'; the rear of vehicle';, -- you will get great traction all-right, - but it will be hard to control on the road! I would reccomend in the neighborhood of 5-600 pounds (I assume this is a 1/2 ton van).





As for driving, there is a certian amount of ';feel'; you will acquire with experience! A good rule of thumb is to start out slower, and then increase speed occasionally, -till you lfeel like it is handling ';sloppy'; (sort of like feeling when you have real low pressure in a tire) - it tends to sort of ';roll'; one way or the other while you are tring to go in streight line! This is just about where you are going to ';loose it'; if you decelerate or try to stop suddnely!. In about 40 years of ';snow experience';, - I have found out that about 35mph on unplowed roads is probably fast enugh, -you need to have enough speed starting up hills that you don't need to add a lot of power to keep going up, -- if it starts to slip or spin, just ease up slightly on gas, and keep going. So many people drive about 20, - and then as they start going up hill, they put the ';pedal to the metal'; to keep it going, -- bad idea, it just spins out and goes in the ditch! Don't be decieved by ';plowed roads';, sometimes they are much more dangerous than ones with snow, - since snow does give some amount of traction. Here lots of people think they can now drive 50-60- like usual, - this may work fine till they come to a corner, (or somebody driving ';safe speed';), - when they hit the brakes, - that is all there is to it!--- Also you can't see ice sometimes!


And of course accelerate slowly but steadily, and start slowing down way before you have to stop (sometimes there is no choice of course), - if skidding,- try to ';recover'; by truning in direction towards skid, till you revcover control, - they try again to get going where you want to (ton't try to turn very much to ';get back fast';)! If this doesn't work, then try to steer it into something ';soft and cheap';!





Carrying sand is a good idea (a bucket full ashes is an even better idea), -since you can use sand or ashes to get going if you are ';stuck'; on ice! And of course ';chains work'; sometimes when even regular 4-wheel drive can't ';cut it';! I would practice putting them on several times in farily good conditons! Laying in snow, ice (and water is not a good place to be learning how)!





Best way to get acquiainted with your car is to go to an ';empty'; parking lot, and experiament a little to see how it handles on snow!
A pair of good studded snow tires,300 lbs of sand bags across the rear Axle.remember automatic transmissions always put power to the rear wheels even when your foot is off the accelerator.When rear breaks loose,foot off the gas,shift into neutral,steer the way of slide to gain control.Once the front wheels are again in line with the rear,back into drive.Its a great save over black ice.