need seeking help with how to drive in the snow in winter time

[RubiSc0tt]

Having snow ice raced for years in Montana, that's pretty good advice. Studded snow tires fully aired up rule. Air down just makes skis. 4 WD with a locking transfer case is death at high speed because you have a lock. In deep snow, 2 WD with chains where go where 4 WD without won't. 4 chains are amazing, just don't get stuck.

Exactly right. 99% of the internet gets this wrong because they have wide tires they love. Long haired banned pony tail and lite brite both get it wrong because they're not experts in snow.

In super dry snow, you can get away with wide tires off road although skinny work better. Wet deep snow gives skinny tires a much bigger advantage off road.

My experience of living in upstate NY my entire life and driving Jeeps since 2003 has been completely opposite yours. I've always thought If you're dealing with snow in the midst of winter, you're likely dealing with a slick or icy base, and you don't want a skinny tire to "dig down" into that because then you're just sliding on ice. The snow helps maintain traction in that scenario, correct? That's been 95% of my experience.

I have always had 10-12" wide off road tires on my Jeep. Never run studs or chains, just BFG Ko's or various Mud Terrains. I've both driven to work in 12" unplowed roads, and wheeled in deeper (24+") snow: powder, packed, icy, etc. I've never had any issues with traction. I've run normal street/ trail pressures, too. I've had to lock the axles and give it some wheel spin in a few cases (on the trail or fucking around on snowbanks), sure- but other than that, not much

OP: Slower, gradual movements will benefit snow driving. Abrupt stopping and starting will get you stuck or lead you into a skid. As previously mentioned: I've lived in upstate NY my entire life and even the locals up here seem to not know how to handle snow. You'd think getting this stuff every year, they would learn; but people are idiots.

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[Petey]

my tip to you is Condoms. Lots of condoms.

U gave him the tip ..he needs the whole

 

[Opus]

• Steer into the skid
• Leave plenty of distance between you and the car in front of you
• Go slow
• Pack some emergency supplies (blanket, snacks, water, e-tool, etc.) just in case you get stuck somewhere
• If it's ice... just stay home. Unless you're running spikes, no amount of 4 wheel drive fixes ice.

 

[Yogi]

There's always this ...

 

[Pig-Pen]

are we going to just gloss over the fact that his thread title mentions "man snow" ?!?

 

[swozey]

As a FLORIDA MAN your angry grill should plow you right through any snow you encounter

 

[Heimkehr]

1. Should I deflate my tires for better grip in the snow? I run 35's, is there a standard PSI?

2. What kind of recovery gear should I get if/when I need to pull her stuck car?

3. What emergency items should I have in case I get stranded? Blankets, dry food, etc.?

4. What other tools/tips/techniques do you guys have for this endeavor?

1. Tire Rack, from whom I purchased my winter wheel/tire combo, included instructions suggesting that winter radials be inflated a bit higher than their all-season equivalents. Using the Michelins' 37 PSI as a starting point, I inflated the Generals to 42 PSI. Traction was good, treadwear was good, road handling and general ride quality was good. No complaints.

2. At a minimum, a quality tow strap should be part of your loadout. Lots of options on Amazon, but I'd start with a thread subject search on this site. There's any number of experienced owners who can provide discrete gear recommendations and advice.

3. Water, fleece blanket, shelf-stable energy bars, heat source, portable charger, entrenching tool, etc. etc. etc. This subject could support a stand-alone thread.

4. Don't panic if you find yourself in reduced circumstances. Think about what you need to do to get yourself extricated, and get busy.

Enjoy the change of seasons.

 

[el_guapo]

If you're stuck, sometimes rocking back and forth with the accelerator will get you out. Accelerate forward with a bit of gas until you hit the stuck point, let it rock back to where you started,and repeat until you're clear of what got you stuck. You'll see that approach with others pushing (with their hands) the vehicle as well, can't push it out but you can push forward a bit, roll back and repeat.

Growing up in South Dakota, I've seen several cars slide off an icy highway due to driving too slowly through an embankment. If an icy highway is at an angle for highway speeds around a curve you may need to maintain some speed to keep enough downward pressure to offset gravity from the angle of the highway.

 

[entropy]

People overcomplicate this. That's why you see so many accidents when it snows, because people truly believe they're experts and there's a trick to it. There's no trick to it. If you lose traction and are driving too fast, the vehicle will slide its way to doomland. If you lose traction and are driving slow, you can regain control of the vehicle. There's really only two things you need. You need to improve traction as much as you can and drive at a speed according to your vehicle capabilities. Jeeps being so tall and unstable get squirrelly quite easily, so they' cant go very fast in Snow. Essentially you'll need:

1) Snow tires.
2) Drive slow.

I lived in Vermont for over 10 years and had a 30 mile commute on country roads that got little to none maintenance. There has to be a major blizzard for school and work to be optionally cancelled in Vermont. I also have a winter related accident under my belt, because I was "experienced". I drove both a manual corolla and a 4x4 jeep patriot. The accident happened with the patriot because it allowed me to drive faster than the corolla.

 

[Hennessey17]

Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, my first time driving was in snow. After 30 years, it's pretty much instinct to me.

Don't go above 25 mph, (until you master slower speeds).

Give yourself way more room to stop.

Ice is WAY worse than snow.

Practice in parking lots if you can.

4WD doesn't help you stop... Tires help you stop... tires matter more than anything.

Once you master is, driving in snow can be a lot of fun. I live near Miller Park, so the first thing I do after a snow is go to the parking lots and spin my Jeep around. I only used my 4WD 4 times last winter.

 

[J0E]

If you're stuck, sometimes rocking back and forth with the accelerator will get you out. Accelerate forward with a bit of gas until you hit the stuck point, let it rock back to where you started,and repeat until you're clear of what got you stuck. You'll see that approach with others pushing (with their hands) the vehicle as well, can't push it out but you can push forward a bit, roll back and repeat.

Amazing so few people know how to rock out of being stuck. Some of the youtube recovery shows jump in the stuck rig and rock it out. I've probably recovered a dozen 4x4s doing that. There's also a bunch that don't have it in 4 WD and with Rubicons, don't know how to engage the lockers when they're stuck.

 

[Mikester86]

Join www.snowdrivingfloridiansonly.com and never be lonely again.

 

[jeepdabest]

Prayer has always worked for me.

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