Driving a Rubicon in the Snow

[hoch]

Jeep does fine in snow. I’ve always sworn by BFG KO/KO2 (haven’t tried KO3) after running a lot of AT tires. My other vehicle currently has Cooper AT3’s and they’re not as confidence inspiring.
But honestly, any 4WD with decent AT tires do just fine and get you where you’re going.
The only nerve wracking moments I’ve had were going over mountain passes in a blizzard. Not because the tires were slipping but because I couldn’t see! Light bouncing back from the heavy snow is blinding.
Headlights off and fogs on saves the day.

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[Av8Chuck]

Jeep does fine in snow. I’ve always sworn by BFG KO/KO2 (haven’t tried KO3) after running a lot of AT tires. My other vehicle currently has Cooper AT3’s and they’re not as confidence inspiring.
But honestly, any 4WD with decent AT tires do just fine and get you where you’re going.
The only nerve wracking moments I’ve had were going over mountain passes in a blizzard. Not because the tires were slipping but because I couldn’t see! Light bouncing back from the heavy snow is blinding.
Headlights off and fogs on saves the day.

I’m going to Yosemite for a photography class, if it’s snowing that hard I won’t be out in it…

 

[Heimkehr]

...if it’s snowing that hard I won’t be out in it.

That's exactly what I've done through the years. It's been an invaluable way to maintain my skillset.

This might seem counterintuitive, but...if you're able to make the time to venture out into the same or similar conditions, on a route where the likelihood of seeing other traffic is low, consider doing so. It will serve as an important and instructional experience, in terms of learning the limits of the vehicle, and more importantly, the driver.

Remember that such conditions can develop when you're already out and about, despite the forecast not expressly calling for it. Even if you then turn around to go home, you still have to get home.

The foregoing is doubly true since, as the OP, you expressed interest in doing this very thing in a Wrangler. Or were you just fishing?

 

[Av8Chuck]

The foregoing is doubly true since, as the OP, you expressed interest in doing this very thing in a Wrangler. Or were you just fishing?

Not fishing. I live in California, chances are I won’t be in any snow before my trip to Yosemite. I’ve driven in snow quite a bit in other types of vehicles in Montana, and Utah but never in a jeep.

Knowing that I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to drive in the snow prior to my trip I just wanted to hear from others who have and get any advice they want to share.

 

[hoch]

Not fishing. I live in California, chances are I won’t be in any snow before my trip to Yosemite. I’ve driven in snow quite a bit in other types of vehicles in Montana, and Utah but never in a jeep.

Knowing that I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to drive in the snow prior to my trip I just wanted to hear from others who have and get any advice they want to share.

You’ll be fine. Just go slow and watch for others on the road. I had a minivan on (probably) bald tires slide out right in front of me. Luckily, I was watching and was able to slow down, and watched them hit the center barrier, buzzing my front bumper. Yikes.

 

[Heimkehr]

Knowing that I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to drive in the snow prior to my trip I just wanted to hear from others who have and get any advice they want to share.

During the inaugural drive of my still-new Jeep in accumulated snow, the first thing I noticed (and as I mentioned in post #15) was the effect of its lightish weight. It required more recurrent driver inputs, and if I'm honest, a bit more concentration, than did its preceding vehicle. That's not a demerit, just a statement of fact. I was and remain able to competently pilot it in adverse weather conditions. It just requires its own style to do so. Get that right and you should be fine.

 

[Av8Chuck]

I posted pictures of my tires in the original post, they are 35x12.5x17. What size chains should I buy?

 

[zouch]

35x12.5/17

I posted pictures of my tires in the original post, they are 35x12.5x17. What size chains should I buy?

 

[Av8Chuck]

35x12.5/17

Twenty thousand comedians out of work and your trying to be funny!?

I’ve only been able to find metric chains. I don’t know what the conversion of 35x12.5x17 to metric.

 

[Max Headroom]

Man i have been driving in snow country for 50 years and have been in some crazy places and after reading this thread i guess i have been doing it all wrong.

Glad you said that. Same here. Colorado native scratching my head at all the anxiety in this thread over having the perfect set up. I bet I've been over Vail over 1,000 times in all type of weather, in all types of vehicles. The only time I've ever chained up a 4x4 is off road, on logging roads in bumper deep snow, and only if I couldn't make any headway. Chains on paved roads? Nooooo. Only on a rear drive. In a 4x4? 4H and whatever tire is on the vehicle, close enough for rock n roll.

 

[THAW]

I posted pictures of my tires in the original post, they are 35x12.5x17. What size chains should I buy?

https://tirechain.com/35-12-5-17-tire-chains/

 

[Max Headroom]

How was the drive without chains?

Colorado 'chain checks' on Vail/Eisenhower pretty much the same. Jeeps get waved thru without stopping to even look at the tires, chains not required on 4x4. I have had them ask if my Honda Element was AWD, but never even been stopped in a Jeep.

 

[Max Headroom]

I'll jump in here...maybe it's been said, maybe it hasn't, but there always seems to be confusion on California's chain laws. In California, your tires need this little icon

to avoid using chains in chain control R1 and R2, last I checked, Ridge Grapplers are not 3PMSF rated. Once they set chain control R3, you HAVE to use them. For a 4WD vehicle, they go in the rear.

From Caltrans -
During the winter months, motorists may encounter traction chain controls in the mountain areas within California. When chain controls are established, signs will be posted along the road indicating the type of requirement. There are Three Levels of Chain Requirements in California:

• Requirement 1 (R-1): Chains are required on all vehicles except passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks under 6,000 pounds gross weight and equipped with snow tires on at least two drive wheels. Chains must be carried by vehicles using snow tires. All vehicles towing trailers must have chains on one drive axle. Trailers with brakes must have chains on at least one axle.
• Requirement 2 (R2): Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels.
  NOTE: (Four-wheel/all-wheel drive vehicles must carry traction devices in chain control areas.)
• Requirement 3 (R3): Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles, no exceptions.

Thats just because kalifornia is a bureaucracy laden hell, and the people in charge have zero common sense, and a love of over-regulation. R2 would be all thats required in a normal world.

 

[Av8Chuck]

https://tirechain.com/35-12-5-17-tire-chains/

Thanks. I’m only getting chains because the park service says there required and 4x4s don’t have to use them but they have to carry them. Since it’s the park service in California they probably will check. it’s cheap insurance to get some inexpensive chains but if like to get some that would fit. I don’t expect to have to use them.

 

[LAM]

I’ve been itching to get mine (heavy hybrid with 33” Rubicon KO2 takeoffs) in snow and was rewarded in last weekend’s trip to Kings Canyon. No problems coming down the mountain with 2-4” of heavy new snow. I used 4H auto but doubt if it ever went into 4 wheel drive at all. On the issue of chains, it’s a CA state law that we carry them for all four tires, but based on my two day experience and the fact that my son drives his Subaru every week to ski in Tahoe we’ve never been asked to actually use them at the chain up areas. Considering the cost of chains for these tires I doubt if I will ever buy any for the Jeep.

I would not worry about Yosemite. It’s at very low altitudes, plowed frequently and there are plenty of people driving the roads. Almost guaranteed that the patrol people will let you go ahead with your four wheel drive if there is snow. (If they ask me about chains I just say I have 50 pounds of them in the back, which is true.) Just drive carefully if the conditions warrant.

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