NorCal Wheeling, Camping, Recovery

[Alex01]

I've never driven in snow, and certainly nothing like that before. Would my Sahara do ok? No lockers, and not sure if that's an issue for deep snow like that. I have Rubicon suspension/wheels/MT takeoffs and a winch + recovery gear. How worried should I be?

I'd make sure to go out with a buddy. Getting stuck in the snow, especially when it's deep, isn't too difficult. The Sahara will do great. It's all about lowering your psi to increase the contact patch and a bit of momentum to get you through.

Here's a photo from a few years back on a TJ run in MNF. The two rigs behind me both got stuck so we used the winch to get them both out.

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[Sunshne×Whsky]

I've never driven in snow, and certainly nothing like that before. Would my Sahara do ok? No lockers, and not sure if that's an issue for deep snow like that. I have Rubicon suspension/wheels/MT takeoffs and a winch + recovery gear. How worried should I be?

You'll be fine. The Sahara should come with a LSD which would be fine for snow. Just make sure you know how to use your recovery gear safely. Always air down and if you don't own a quality air compressor or deflater, definitely pick them up. Make sure you go with a buddy and have enough food/water/clothes to last for a couple days

 

[SlickRickMotoADV]

You'll be fine. The Sahara should come with a LSD which would be fine for snow. Just make sure you know how to use your recovery gear safely. Always air down and if you don't own a quality air compressor or deflater, definitely pick them up. Make sure you go with a buddy and have enough food/water/clothes to last for a couple days

The LSD was an option. Mine doesn't have it. Happy it doesn't, since I want to run ARB lockers eventually. As soon as my compressor mount comes in (massive AAL backorder), I'll pick up the ARB dual compressor. Super excited to not have to run this slow ass Slime pump anymore!

How low should I air down for snow? Similar to sand?

 

[Sunshne×Whsky]

I'll usually go down to 4-8 psi

 

[SlickRickMotoADV]

I'll usually go down to 4-8 psi

Forgive my lack of 4x4 knowledge on this one. That kind of PSI requires rim locks on my bikes so that the tire doesn't come off the bead. Is this not a concern for 4x4? I see "beadlocks" exist, but not sure if those are related to this. If I took my tubeless bike w/o rimlocks down to 5psi, I would have the tire slipping on the wheel for sure.

 

[mikem20]

I’d always kept to 12-15 PSI before. I wouldn’t go lower without bead locks. I’ve not had any issues but definitely wasn’t high speed with abrupt turns.

I think you’ll appreciate the dual ARB compressor.

 

[SlickRickMotoADV]

I’d always kept to 12-15 PSI before. I wouldn’t go lower without bead locks. I’ve not had any issues but definitely wasn’t high speed with abrupt turns.

I think you’ll appreciate the dual ARB compressor.

Yeah that's the bottom floor PSI we run on the tubeless bikes too; 15psi. Anny lower and you're asking for it. Good to know it's about the same.

 

[Alex01]

I went down to 12 PSI when we were at Sand Hollow. I wouldn't go lower without bead locks. Unless I prewarned the group to be prepared for a decent chance that I'd be reseating a bead for "testing purposes"

 

[Sunshne×Whsky]

I don't run beadlocks on my rig or the jeep and haven't had a problem going that low. However, I definitely keep my speed down and take it easy

 

[Alex01]

I don't run beadlocks on my rig or the jeep and haven't had a problem going that low. However, I definitely keep my speed down and take it easy

From what I've seen it really only becomes an issue if you're in a high grip situation and turning the tire into a rock. Without a hydro assist it's a bit harder to get into a situation like that at 12. In the snow my fear at a lower PSI would be going too low and having the tire spin on the rim. Not the biggest deal but it'd be annoying to have to get them rebalanced. On my TJ prior to beadlocks I ran 8psi on everything but the street and never had an issue. But, it's a much lighter rig.

 

[bchen]

Just drove from the bay area to Bend (Oregon), Mt Bachelor, Mt Hood, Portland, and back down the lost coast side of CA. There was a lot of snow from Bend and to the north. Here's a pic of the Mt Bachelor ski area a couple of days ago.

The roads were plowed, but there was so much snow coming down we were mostly driving on ice and packed snow. There were a couple of cars in ditches and one notable, jack-knifed 18-wheeler.

I'm in a Sahara with KO2's. Went 30-40 mph for miles of snowy roads and had a blast.

 

[SlickRickMotoADV]

Just drove from the bay area to Bend (Oregon), Mt Bachelor, Mt Hood, Portland, and back down the lost coast side of CA. There was a lot of snow from Bend and to the north. Here's a pic of the Mt Bachelor ski area a couple of days ago.

The roads were plowed, but there was so much snow coming down we were mostly driving on ice and packed snow. There were a couple of cars in ditches and one notable, jack-knifed 18-wheeler.

I'm in a Sahara with KO2's. Went 30-40 mph for miles of snowy roads and had a blast.

idiot question incoming; do you drive in 4hi or 2wd for this?

 

[bchen]

idiot question incoming; do you drive in 4hi or 2wd for this?

Fair question! We were on mostly straight roads going < 40 MPH so there was no reason not to be in 4H.

Traction was a much bigger issue than power, though. I had a couple of light skid/fishtail moments on turns. In my previous 2wd sedan with street tires, I would have put on chains. Really interesting to see how KO2’s grip on ice.

 

[SlickRickMotoADV]

I just had to spend $200 on wiring accessories and a circuit breaker for my aux electrical system. I have nobody else to convey the dual excitement and depression that I'm now experiencing, so you're going to hear it. Woooooooooo. I have historically hated wiring, even though I'm good at it with my teeny tiny hands Spending this much feels so wrong.

Spent nearly 4 hours today planning out wiring and accessories, necessary terminals, amps vs feet of wire vs terminal amp rating vs wire gauge, etc etc. If anyone else wants to leverage that knowledge, let me know!

Looking forwarding to having an aux battery system that will support some off grid living for a bit!

 

[SlickRickMotoADV]

Progress on the compressor / aux electrical system

Got an actual video of what I've finished so far on this install. It's been quite the experience.

This ARB wiring is no joke! The air lines in particular were not fun.

I made the mistake of running 4ga for the electrical which is making cake routing difficult. Oh well.

Can't wait for this to be done. Just ordered the Redarc BCDC and the battery today. Now I'm just waiting for AAL to get me the battery bracket that I ordered almost 2 months ago.

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