ilostmypants

haha so yesterday i had a OH moment! and here is the story

So yesterday night im driving my girlfriend home in the boonies north of Toronto its snowing decently maybe half an inch of accumulation on the road but its windy and cold and not a busy enough road so its not slushing up its just becoming a slick packed layer and the plows haven't been out yet.
so we are approaching the lite in the small town were her parents live one car in front of us maybe 25 meters and a little red car behind us maybe 4 or 5 meters behind me and where all slowing from 60 km/h to the stop light everyone seems to be giving lots of distance. and everything seems totally cool

ok so i have the truck in 2 high hubs are unlocked and i should note my turbo tech radials that i got on the truck are not in the best winter tacking condition i was trying to get a set of new goodyear wrangler duratracs though school before the x-mas brake but it didn't happen.

SO i downshift and begin to brake,
THEN ALL HELL BRAKES LOOSE!
the rear end completely brakes lose and starts to pass us on the right.
and the front of the truck is starting to slide for the far side of the road and where still rotating and i handled this horrible horrible situation fairly well i looked down the road were i wanted to go. and where i was supper happy there was no oncoming traffic and i steered into it and gave it a little gas and it didn't put me back in my lane but it straitened me out and let me get back into my lane like nothing had ever happened.

i attest my most awesome and lucky of driving skills ti watching waaaay way to much top gear

it only hit me after we got to my girlfriends house how serious it could have been, if there had been oncoming traffic it for sure could or would have been a head on collision , or my girlfriend on the passenger side getting t-boned witch would be the end of my world, and we didn't even end up beyond the other lane but there were parked cars in driveways and hydro polls lots of tree's could have been worse
as it was happening i guess i was was to busy dealing with the situation to worry. and i remember recalling the whole thing and the only thing i really remember feeling was that "if you don't fix this your gonna be F-ed" sorta stomach churn
anyways on the way home i locked the hubs and used 4wd most of the time since conditions only marginally better in places and i took the back way home instead of the highway. and i got home with the only other slide being me doing a little yee haa given her as i left the gas station later.


so winter driving tip #1 be really freaking carefully or just don't downshift on slippery surfaces

add your own winter driving tips for our trucks haha

Chris862wd

Drive slower when the roads are slippery.

ilostmypants

I hope that was sarcasm.. lol

when i say in my little story slowing from 60 what i should actually say is it was a 60 zone and everyone was doing about 45- 50km/h and we began to slow for the red.

does anyone know if its ok to shift into and out of 4wd on the fly? i was doing it yesterday just clutching for it and it seemed ok but am i wrecking anything by doing this. obviously not shifting into 4wheellow on the fly. my truck didn't come with an owners manual

Ardent

First, get some weight in the back of the truck if you don't already- sandbags are cheap. With an unloaded bed, pickups will always have a tendency to slide out on the rear. Weight will help this.

If you know there's snow on the ground, lock your hubs. Driving around town for a day or two with your hubs locked is not going to put significant wear on your CVs. This way, you have it when you need it.

When sliding on ice or any other slick surface, steer in the direction you want to go (Sounds like you've got that part) but then let off the brakes and reapply slowly. Often times, just these two steps will allow you to recover from a spin/drift/slide.

Get better tires.

Practice in an open parking lot if possible/legal.

Good luck!

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

If the front hubs are locked, you can shift in and out of 4WD most any time you want. No need to clutch or anything. As long as the rear tires are not spinning it should be fine. Advantage of 4WD is you get all 4 wheels for engine braking.

Ardent

Yes, that should be fine. Just don't try to go into 4Lo while moving. Sounds like you're doing it right (clutch in, shift t-case, clutch out).

Or just let off the gas.

MaK92-4RnR

its really not sarcasm thats really all you can do. Drive slowly and be cautious. you can shift from high 2 and high 4 all day long... please, for the sake of your truck, and everything else, do not shift into low 4 from high 4... you'll probably get alot of grindy grindy, but if it does manage to go in... hell will spill over.

Chris862wd

No, no sarcasm intended. Seriously, you could die, or kill someone else. It isn't worth a life to be in a hurry or feel macho with a 4wd truck.

ilostmypants

lol thanks for the tips guys and keep em coming this may help some other people out to who knows, i love learning from others mistakes saves me time and hassle haha

and yeah i have maybe 100 lbs of my mechanics tools in my took box right over the rear axle and i carry a tow strap shovel and spare gas can. and a wicked powerful flashlight.

yeah i plan on definitely driving with my diffs locked when its miserable outside.
in fact when i came back into the city yesterday night it cleared up and i stoped off at sears to see if they had any deals on flare nut wrenches. so i unlocked my hubs in the parking lot wasn't snowing and roads just wet by then.
then as i got closer to home about an hour later it started to squall so at a red light in a ritch part of town i jumped out and locked my hubs again, all with some dude and his ritzy wife watching me from there z8 haha

and yeah i need new tires the ones i have there good enough to be legal but they SUCK! made in china worn out crap.

olharleyman

The biggest thing you can do to slow yourself down is stab and release do not apply brakes like you do on dry roads.

Stab the brakes for about 2-3 seconds release repeat till you stop keep a extra few seconds behind the car/truck in front of you this way you are only instantaneously activating the brakes and not allowing them to lock up causing you to spin/slide out of control.

Use the clutch only when you know you are stopping pushing it in and releasing it only helps to throw you in to a spin/slide remember the clutch is not keeping tire speed and engine speed the same so when you release it the rear tires are going to be more likely to break lose.

toyota4x4907

I run my hubs locked all winter with no problem (usually October to late March, early May.) Everything else has pretty much been covered.....

You need more than 100lbs of tools.... My friend has between 400 and 900lbs in his '95 F-250 during the winter. Never seen him lock his hubs for street driving. I would say around 300lbs would be pretty decent for our trucks. I have 200lbs of sandbags for my 4runner, but recently I have taken them out because I have a crap ton of other stuff in there (probably about 200lbs of stuff )

92 TOY

based on my experience, 1/2'' snow is more dangerous than 3''.

nothing abraupt, better to drive through someone's yard or mailbox than hitting someone head-on...grass can be re-planted.

keep hubs locked...for readiness and it's recommended every so often (i remember reading that)...i too, would keep my hubs locked.

let the engine slow you down.

most of it is experience.

Oh yeah,don't EVER be over confident because you have a 4wd

kiyobrown

If you use your engine to slow you down (downshifting) you will have a higher tendency to break it loose. Get some weight in there and brake like Olharleyman described. At work, we have engine retarders of the fire engines. We turn that system off when its slick outside for the same reason. Its not fun going sideways down a road in a $500,000 truck that the taxpayers own.

I always found going a constant speed usually gives good traction, its the accelerating/ decelerating that will get you.

And 92 Toy said it best, Don't be over confident bc you have a 4wd, the majority of the rigs we have to fish out of ditches are all 4wd and passersby always state they were going way too fast for the conditions.

Glad no one was hurt, and good for you trying to make yourself a better driver.

ilostmypants

haha im not one of those i have a 4x4 i can go as fast as i want guys no worry's.

and i dont think my truck could handle much more weight in the back right now to be honest my springs are pretty tired. but that is a good idea!!
ive seen on a snowplowing forum a guy actually hung tractor weights off his hitch to help counter balance his plow up front.

92 TOY

oh no, I don't mean downshift by any means.

my experience has been the same as your's kiyobrown.....4x4's driven by inexperienced persons end up wrecked because they thought they were driving a sherman tank.

also good tires make a difference.

even in my truck, i would pull over and let people pass me if i thought they were hanging a little too close to me.....slow and steady, gets you home.

kiyobrown

Well, looks like you need an add a leaf or a zuk mod to go with your new tires so you can add weight without slamming the frame to the bumpstops.

I just added time to my travels this year. I had good Mud and snow tires, and wife just bought me GY wrangler MT/R knockoffs for christmas (treadwright Guard dog mt's). That will definitely slow me down further.

camo31_10.50

i use my engine to slow me down alll the time on the ice..ya just gotta watch how ya do it...and use the brakes a LITTLE bit, having a good set of tires helps a lot though..

the way i learned to drive on ice: i went to a empty walmart parkin lot last year (went to other places first..had fun doin donuts and such in the ice while in 4wd lmao) just start by letting your truck get out of control, then figure out ways to get it back in control, 4wd works wonders when your in a spin dude

ilostmypants

haha yeah im planing in upgrading my springs hopefully with ome 2" lift when i get my rrsp money transfered in the new year.. and yeah ive done that before to pulling over to let people pass more because id rather not hold people up then worry about them rear ending me my back bumper is a 2 inch piece of pipe haha.

Stuwy123

iTrader: (1)

- Downshifting into low RPM's is your friend.

- Downshifting into high RPM's will kick out the rear.

- Get sandbags for the back of your truck. Double use as traction sand for icy spots.

- Carry spare plenty of windshield washer fluid (low temperature stuff). You can have all the traction in the world but if you can't see, you're hooped.

- Carry spare wiper blades. They can go out spontaneously. Same reason as above.

- Check you're rad fluid and use the proper low temp mixture. I've seen more people blow motors in the winter. Water for coolant = cracked rad and engine block at freezing temps.

- If you have an auto, brake light and for a long time.

- Leave room between you and the car in front at stop lights. You get charged if someone re-ends you and pushes you into the car ahead.

- If it's icy at a stop light (usually is), let it idle forward, no gas. If it still spins, try it in 2nd.

- There's no shame in driving in 4wd if it's icy out. That's why you bought a 4x4.

- 4wd gives you a false sense of security. You can't tell how icey it is until you hit the brakes. Drive slow, even in 4wd.

- Hit the ditch, lawn, sidewalk, boulevard, whatever if you need to. It's better than hitting a person.

- Hit a parked car over a moving car.

- Drive like there's a block of wood under the skinny pedal.

ilostmypants

MOre good tips, i'v done the 2nd gear start a few times but the motor sounds like its angry at me i found with some playing around yesterday that starting in 1st but shifting to 2nd almost instantly after releasing the clutch worked really well and let me not rev the snot out of it and only spun the rear a little if any off the line

and actually i flushed and re filled my cooling system on Sunday and this time last week i rainx'ed the windshield and installed new wipers

now when you say downshifting into low rpm good. vs downshifting into high rpm bad
like downshifting earlier to slow yourself down instead of waiting until l you are at the speed appropriate for the gear downshifted into right?

also anyone else kinda tall (i'm 6'2) have a reg cab. and find there breathing keeps fogging up the top of windshield haha.
i think i need to get some windshield interior rainx