Chet Wesley

Hey I have a 1995 4 cyl 22RE 4x4, this is my first 4wd vehicle. Previous owner installed a Detroit locker and a couple inches of lift. I have new general purpose all terrain tires.

I bought it because I bought some land in the mountains in northern CA.

There's a stretch of about 1/2 mile of gravel road up the hill, about 600ft of incline, then another 1/2 mile or so of dirt road, none of it maintained/plowed in the winter.

I went up there to check out my property and camp over night in my cabin, and made it up the hill in 4wd low gear, but with a lot of getting stuck and unstuck. Forward, back forward, back, up the hill, crawling as slowly as possible seemed the best method, and stopping and backing up the moment the tires started spinning. It took a while. It seemed clear the truck had the gearing and power to do it, but the tires would spin when I hit the deeper unpacked snow.

It seems like people go up the hill occasionally, but it seemed pretty certain that no one else had been up it since the last couple of inches of snowfall, maybe a few days earlier. I left it parked at the top of the hill and hiked in the rest of the way for fear of not getting out if I went any further.

I'd like to be able to make it all the way in to my property and feel confident I won't get stuck. I was close but I know I need something else to get good traction.

It isn't practical to put nubby/full off road tires on it because I need to drive highway for a few hours to get there and I use the truck in the city where I live, which gets zero snow.

I've searched around, but most of the discussion seems to be among people who are just driving through the snow for fun in a vehicle that they dedicate to off-roading for a hobby. That's not me.

Chains installed at the bottom of the hill? Any suggestions? I've never done this before.

Thanks.

MudHippy

If you've got a pickup, fill the bed with as much weight as possible. If nothing else, shovel it full of snow. You'll be amazed how much more traction you get. Chains on the front, if you've only got a pair.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

A good set of mud and snow tires will make a big difference as well. What kind of tires you running now? You could use them just for the snow season. Kind of a pain having two sets of tires or if it is just for going to the cabin might just leave them on full time.

Are you able to get enough speed for the tires to clean the snow out of the tread? I am not talking about hammering it, just enough to clean the treads out.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

Detroit locker + snow + first 4wd vehicle ever....be careful.

How steep and long is the hill? You have a truck, I'd definitely try some weight in the bed, it could help a lot + a little more speed. You may end up getting better tires depending on what you've got now - some aggressive AT tires will still be road friendly. Love the GY Duratracs on my Cruiser, they're an AT but are snow rated.

Chet Wesley

I had a generator, about 15 gallons of water, and a bunch of tools back there, but probably not more than 300-500LBS. Loading it up with snow would be a mess (there's a shell and a bunch of materials back there), but sandbags could be doable.

Big O A/T tires. I wasn't able to get much speed at all before wheels started spinning. Had to take it really slow, couldn't really give it much gas or the tires would just spin right away, especially after the first turn where it seemed like the road was in more shade and the sun had melted the snow less.

Why do you say be careful about the locker?

The road up the hill is about 1/2 mile in distance, with a 180 turn in the middle and at the top, and all in all gets you about 600 feet higher further away from sea level than when you started. It's not super steep, but a pretty steady climb the whole way.

Would there be a big advantage to different tires over chains? I recently bought these tires, they are Big O A/T tires. It doesn't really make sense to have special tires on there for just a couple trips up in the winter before it thaws again.

tj884Rdlx

Did you try airing down? Drop down to 20 psi if it's deep enough you can't cut through to pavement.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

Because you said this is your first ever 4wd vehicle. A Detroit locker is a great locker, very strong, but they tend to stay locked all the time vs other "automatic" lockers. You may already notice the rear axle staying locked as you go through tight turns = tire chirp and more wear. On ice/snow this may end up kicking your rear end out if not paying attention - this is why I said be careful. I've got a LockRite in my rear and even on just wet pavement it'll kick my rear end out if I give it throttle

Big-O Bigfoot AT should be a pretty good tire, it's got lots of siping. I agree that airing them down will help considerably.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Being called or rather cursed as the Snow God .

I have to ask what type of Snow ?/

At what temperature ??

If you really need to get in there in the winter and don`t have a friend to help break trail .

Get to know some people who might be going into the same area

Plan on getting stuck !! Have enough survival gear to be comfortable till someone knows your overdue if you have no cell service

Once the snow is deep enough to high center ( This means to us older folks the snow or mud has lifted most of the vehicle off the ground)

Your best bet is Chains for all four wheels

If a Good set of winter traction tires is not a option

A few bags of sand in the bed for weight but since it is packed wet it will freeze solid

Driving in snow is learning process once your attuned to your truck you learn to back off the throttle just as you break traction .

I could go on for pages I learned all this back in the day before Cell phones were still a idea.

jeremyt

Chains.

All great advice, but chains are the huge equalizer. Tire choice helps but really isnt critical except in the fact tire size determins ground clearance when you factor in the whole chains thing. at the point you wrap chains around them though, the chains become your traction, you would have to be doing some serious offroading to be be able to tell the grip difference between chains on worthless A/T tires and dedicated snow shovelers. Cheap and quick. New sets these days are pretty slick with quick and easy mounting/dismounting.

The rear locker wouldnt be my first choice but generally/inferring with the amount of aggression you where describing your driving style and experience it will assist in motivating your truck forward. As somewhat of a snow wheeling enthusiast I personally went with limited slips front and rear. Kept the weight low and balanced with a pair of sandbags wrapped around the wheel wells and ran 33" mud TA tires. This is for a daily driver that I never treated like a DD. Usually the whole day/trails/climbs ect are spent without chains so I can keep speeds/aggression at maximum. If i got stuck, out comes the shovel. If the shovel didnt work, out comes the chains. If the chains didnt work...back to the shovel/high jack. Around here hidden tree stumps are usually the show stoppers

Chet Wesley

Temperature at the time of driving up the hill was probably around 20° F but drops lower at night. It had been down around 0° sometime earlier in the week at night. I think when I drove out of there it was closer to 32°.

There's no cell service there. There is a row of houses down at the bottom of the hill where the paved roads end. If I got really stuck it's about a mile to some people, shorter if you have a sled haha.

Fortunately if I am going up there I am packed with a few days food as well as a way to cook it and warm clothes.

I grew up driving in snow but in WI where there is no hills!

I had not tried airing down but it sounds like I should have. I even have a pump in the truck so I could pump them back up for the highways.

Will look for a good set of chains, or if anyone can suggest some I will take a look.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

You will get to the point the snow will just be to deep.

If this is high enough in the Mountains once winter sets in you seldom get a real thaw to spring .

Break out the skinny ski`s or snow shoes

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Driving in snow actually varies in different parts of the country. Wisconsin tends to stay below freezing and is flat like you mentioned so it is mostly packed snow. Other places such as you are mentioning is hilly and snow covered. Where I live it tends to thaw out during the day and freeze at night and is basically the same as driving on ice. Even 4 wheels have their limits.

Where I live, there are just as many 4 wheels in the ditch as 2 wheels. 4 wheel tends to give a false sense of security as they do handle better in control, take off, steering and other things, but the brakes are all the same. They do not stop any better then 2 wheel.

muddpigg

iTrader: (1)

Lot's of good advice previously posted. Very true about different types of snow.

In deep snow i air down to single digits in tires and stay in lowest gear to creep on top of snow. Without fail when the wheels started spinning the truck would dig into the snow and truck would sit on the frame. I've used chain especially on ice. If you're going out on your own definately consider a winch and proper recovery gear. Don't forget electrical system upgrades.
Look on YouTube for airing down for snow driving. There's a guy who's vids do very good example of different effects of different tire pressure. And crawling onto of snow vrs trying to barrel through it as you mentioned you already noticed. Have fun and be safe.

Chet Wesley

Thanks for the advice everyone. Very helpful.

It's raining all week up there right now so we'll see if it is even a problem again this year.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Some many different types of Snow as any one who ski`s should know.

In our little weather event this weekend .

The snow was cold and light powder I had no problems with the 4Runner coming up the hill ( Easterners call it a mountain) in 2wd even though the snow was bumper deep in spots.

It looks neat to see your tire tracks and tracks for the differentials as well!!

If the snow would have been wet I would have been stuck .

ThorInc

Hummm.....since I have not seen the hill or road, I have to recommended chains or studded tires for traction and safety. Momemtum can also be helpful if you know the roads and obstacles.

muddpigg

iTrader: (1)

Saw a video discussing different types of snow and amount to equate to an inch of rain. The amounts for some types of snow to equal an inch is hard to believe.

punks_is_4x4

What size tires are u using I found a big difference when I went from 31s to 33s there both 10.50/15 I aired down to 15psi open diffs and made it a good ways through deep stuff airing down is a huge difference as well. I would call my self a novice for sure but it's been a few years Ina pretty much stock 87 4Runner and I'm surprised every time what it can do still. I have never drivin with a locker. For snow what locker situation would u describe it helping

punks_is_4x4

If I had a locker and a winch and I was still having a hard time getting up a hill I think I would just stay at the bottom.