4WD in reverse different?

[Young04]

Indian, not the arrow.

Maybe. Or not. Been driving in snow climes for 20+ years in a variety of vehicles.

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[Young04]

The Rubicon transfer case is notoriously stubborn to engage due to its high 4:1 ratio. By contrast, the 2.7:1 transfer case on Sports and Saharas is considerably easier.

Normally Jeeps need to be rolling slowly to engage 4-Lo; Rubicons even more so. Further, 9 times out of 10, Rubicons also need to be rolling to engage the lockers.

Lockers only engage in 4-Lo; not in 4-Hi and certainly not in 2WD. If 4-Lo doesn’t engage, by extension the lockers aren’t going to engage either.

Could it be that the Jeep hadn’t rolled enough to engage one or the other, or perhaps either of them?

Everything (4Hi, 4Lo, Lockers) were lit up as I was engaging them. Looked out my window as wheels spun freely.

 

[rkj__]

Once you've spun some tires in the snow, and melted, and re-froze the snow into an icy rut, it is very hard to climb out.

Beyond that, the differences are simply in gear ratios and more importantly, weight distribution.

 

[aldo98229]

Everything (4Hi, 4Lo, Lockers) were lit up as I was engaging them. Looked out my window as wheels spun freely.

Sorry, I don’t mean to be argumentative. It’s just that I remember well how temperamental the transfer case and that locker switch could be to engage on my Rubicons.

I don’t know how it works on JL; on JK the lights would come on the dash but keep flashing until the locker(s) had successfully engaged; often times it took several tries. The transfer case was more blind trial-and-error: sometimes the transfer case would stay in 4-Hi —or even Neutral— instead of engaging into 4-Lo.

 

[Young04]

Sorry, I don’t mean to be argumentative. It’s just that I remember well how temperamental the transfer case and that locker switch could be to engage on my Rubicons.

I don’t know how it works on JL; on JK the lights would come on the dash but keep flashing until the locker(s) had successfully engaged; often times it took several tries. The transfer case was more blind trial-and-error: sometimes the transfer case would stay in 4-Hi —or even Neutral— instead of engaging into 4-Lo.

No - fair enough.

I'm going to try this experiment again the next we get decent snow up here.

 

[KnG818]

Maybe. Or not. Been driving in snow climes for 20+ years in a variety of vehicles.

Jogging your wheels left and right? Aired down? Move foward --> gas it in reverse(bump it!)

 

[The_Phew]

I've had problems climbing our steep driveway when it's snowy/icy with all types of drivetrains and even winter tires. I find the key is momentum; get a running start and keep the tires moving, but not so fast they spin and create ice. Once you stop, you often end up slipping backwards no matter what.

 

[Young04]

Jogging your wheels left and right? Aired down? Move foward --> gas it in reverse(bump it!)

Air down? Sure I aired down to get up a driveway.

As I noted I brought up the question because the vehicle seemed more capable in drive than reverse. Thank you to those who offered relevant thoughts!

 

[jdubya421]

Sorry, I don’t mean to be argumentative. It’s just that I remember well how temperamental the transfer case and that locker switch could be to engage on my Rubicons.

I don’t know how it works on JL; on JK the lights would come on the dash but keep flashing until the locker(s) had successfully engaged; often times it took several tries. The transfer case was more blind trial-and-error: sometimes the transfer case would stay in 4-Hi —or even Neutral— instead of engaging into 4-Lo.

You don't even need the lights to know with the transfer case - you can just feel it. You can tell when you go into first gear and you can definitely tell when the transfer case moves into 4hi and 4lo.

 

[Strommen95]

You didn’t have good traction. Go forward a little bit and back out with a bit more momentum and you’d be fine.

 

[JIMBOX]

Sorry. but if you could look out the window and SEE THE TIRES SPINNING !!!
You need to learn how to operate a RUBICON !!!

Not being UNFRIENDLY, BUT you say you've been driving over 20 years in snow/different vehicles---then I'M afraid you need some practice/INSTRUCTION to drive in snow CORRECTLY !

W.E.

JIMBO

 

[Kajmcbride]

I have noticed that when backing up that I get stuck easier and have less traction as when going forward with the Jeeps and other 4wd's I have driven. For me I think it there are several factors that make backing up less effective then going forward. The first factor is that I tend to drive slower with less momentum when backing up. Next is that I tend to brake and accelerate less smoothly while backing up. Another thing is that I tend to turn more sharply when backing up. I also believe the suspension is mainly designed to drive forward and better dampens torque spikes in the forward direction helping reduce wheel spin. Lastly, could be the weight distribution. Depending on the situation each factor may have more or less effect on your ability to do the same backing up as going forward.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Young04]

Sorry. but if you could look out the window and SEE THE TIRES SPINNING !!!
You need to learn how to operate a RUBICON !!!

Not being UNFRIENDLY, BUT you say you've been driving over 20 years in snow/different vehicles---then I'M afraid you need some practice/INSTRUCTION to drive in snow CORRECTLY !

W.E.

JIMBO

I think you very badly missed the point of my post.

 

[KnG818]

Air down? Sure I aired down to get up a driveway.

As I noted I brought up the question because the vehicle seemed more capable in drive than reverse. Thank you to those who offered relevant thoughts!

Airing down in general in 10" of snow = totally irrelevant.

Questioning if have one directional tires....totally relevant lol ur funny

 

[Young04]

Airing down in general in 10" of snow = totally irrelevant.

Questioning if have one directional tires....totally relevant lol ur funny

I think you also very badly missed my point. Good luck to you, thanks for playing.

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