This is a good topic. I drive a snowplow in boulder county, so I see it all. Most SUV drivers on the road are morons. They drive way to fast and jam on their brakes way to hard. Saw more than 6 people in the ditch before 6am. I pulled one, don't tell anyone, a soccer mom haulin arse on the way to school did a couple of 360s in after she passed me.... Yeah I pulled her out and explained the idea of four wheel drive... She was shocked at the reality of it all. Four wheel drive is great to get you going from the stoplight, but is not great at stopping you. I use four wheel drive if the conditions warrant it. It differs for all people. If the back end wants to become the front end you might want to slow down and put er in 4wd.
EVERYONE should go to an empty parking lot and practice sliding around in their car/truck... Fun and great education...
Adios
Snowman

 

I couldn't agree more. That's how I learned to control my vehicles.

 

"I have an '01..."
Some 3rd gens have the AWD button on the 4wd shifter, this allows you to use 4wd on surface with higher traction without ruining the center diff. I think this became available in 2000 model year. You might also have a traction control that could help you.

 

yea, 01+ can go ahead and use it on any surface. i use 4wd in my '01 when the rain first hits and the roads are real slick... i use it in snow of any kind.

i also use it on dirt, sand, rocks etc. use it when you think you need it.

 

Unless you put it in reverse and start driving backwards.

 

 

I use 4wd when the streets are snowpacked. Going in 2wd in Northern Utah in a snow storm is just asking for trouble.

If I am on a groomed trail, I don't use 4wd, I will only shift into 4WD when I get to a part of the trail that looks muddy or slippery.

 

Our intersections got so icy I had to put it in 4wd just to get moving on even a slight incline and then I took it right out.

 

One the hardroad 2 wheel all the time. 4 wheel drive only where 2 wheel drive will not take you. 4 Low is there to save you if 4 H wont cut it. Off road 2 H until you have to get through something. To me 4 H takes a lot of the challenge/fun out of driving.

 

I have one for you. I live in the eastern most part of WV, which is a little over 1 hour from the Baltimore/Washington DC area. I don’t want to start any crap with the folks that grew up in those areas but a majority has no clue as to how to drive, let alone in the snow and ice, I commuted for a long time, I know. There is a sea of new housing developments in my area and 90% of the people paying 300k and up commute to the city and are from that area originally. Well last winter I was out in my truck, I think I went out just for a snow drive and cup of coffee. This guy passed me in his new Lincoln Navigator like I was standing still on a back road, I though oh that’s real smart he is going to slide into a friend of mine or crash. Well about 4 miles up the road there is this guy standing along the road in a business suit, you can see where I’m going with this one next to his Navigator that has slid off the road at a stop sign. His cell phone didn’t work and he had the nerve to ask me for help. I asked him why he passed me like that and if he had no sense at all, he said the same thing "I have my truck in 4 wheel drive" and got really nasty with me about how I was driving to slow...., I guess they never told him you still cant stop in the snow! Here’s where it gets a little funny. I looked at my tow strap that I had used the day before to help a lady get her van out of a snow drift and said well I don’t have my strap with me but I can bump up to your "truck" and give you a push back onto the road ...I say "truck" because that is what he kept calling the Navigaor. I thought to myself he would say no thanks, but I was wrong. I was still pissed that he passed me on this icy back road that my friends and family travel and got nasty with me so I told him to get in his truck and give it some gas while I push him from behind, little did he know my smitty grill guard was eating his Navigator for breakfast... I still cant believe that his back window didn’t implode by the size of the dent I fed his “truck” I got him back out on the road after completely caving in the rear hatch of his “truck” and scraping the paint off of his rear bumper for him, he took off like a bat out of hell and didn’t even thank me or get out to check for damage, once he got moving that was the last time I saw him. Had he not passed me like that and then gave me a really pissy attitude like he was better than me and every one around I would have hooked up to his front tow hook and pulled him right out, but what goes around comes around. I got out and looked at the nice pearl white paint on my grill guard, reset my fog lights and had to laugh. Oh that still makes me laugh, I need a dash mounted camera

 

I can second his opinion of the drivers in our area. I have a side snowplowing buisness with a friend and I have seen it all. To many to list, but the funniest one was the guy in the jeep that asked me to push him out with the plow. He figured the shape of the plow wouldn't do much damage. I said it's your jeep, and pushed him out, and proceeded to mangle the bumper and poped a hole in his spare. He looked at it and said thanks and drove off. 5 miles later passed him again in another ditch and waved as I went by.

Like everyone else I tend to leave the hubs turned and shift in and out as needed, sometimes I ride in the 4hi while on snow and ice because the rear end of the pickup is to light and I'm to lazy to weight it down.

 

Well, it seems when to use 4WD is really a matter of opinion, and the correct answer depends upon who you ask......However, no matter who you go with, just remember to run your rig in 4WD for around 15 miles a month (at least) just to lube all the 4WD gear.

 

Hahahah thats funny, I know some of these people dont need to drive at all let alone on ice and snow! I lock my hubs in when its snowing or when Im wheeling and just use 4H and 4L as needed. Thats not always true though I often go wheeling and dont even lock them, REVOS KICK BUTT I will use low range and crawl along with out locking them I dont think this can damage any thing but I could be wrong!

 

You've exposed yourself to a lawsuit. The guy could turn around and sue you for damaging his Navigator.

As a rule, I don't pull or push people out of trouble with my truck. I always carry a shovel, and will be glad to help dig them out. It is too easy to cause damage to vehicles unless you know what you are doing. I would much rather leave the job to a pro (tow operator) who has the insurance for liability.

 

If I pull someone out, even a friend I always make them do their own hook up. If they ask me where I say "the frame" but you would be suprised how many people ask "is this the frame" or "how about this" and have the strap attached to a half shaft or a peice of plastic. The only time I touch their vehical is to point out the frame.

 

It's that time a year again, so many times I see an SUV spinning like crazy to get up a hill and all Im thinking is they don't even realize they gotta shift it into 4wd in a given 5 mile drive during a snow storm I can come across 1 or 2 all the time, the best was a 2000 something 4Runner SR5 loaded, woman was a bit to blond cause she crossed the double yellow and went up a hill that was a complete blind spot at the top, but the down side was plowed and all Im thinking is even if someone crawls over the top of that hill at 15mph the collision is gonna send them sliding down into myself and the Montero behind me, so when she hit the top I flew up and eventually pulled around her cause even on flat surface the tail wanted to come around, I stopped got out and was like are you for real, completely oblivious to the fact that she just put herself and 2 small kids in danger not to mention anyone else who would have hit her, I showed her the lever and was like after the snow melts shift it back to 2wd, gave her a brief overview of how it works and showed her in the manual and she tap the gas and smiled and said thanks.

In the end she said thank you, the people who sell these things really need to explain major features like that, I gave he my number and said if she ever wanted to slide around in a parking lot give me a ring anytime when it snowing

 

During this last storm I saw a Navigator,a Tahoe and even an H2 all off the road and all were wearing 20"+ wheels and their summer street tires. I guess that's as much of off road as they'll ever see anyway.

 

well i just drove from denver, co to missoula mt last sunday and it was hell. left at 4:30 in the morning got to cheyene at 7 usually takes me an hour and te n to twenty minutes driving really really fast or 2 if its wet at all. it was like 4 inches of fresh over black ice and semis everywhere with almost full white out conditions. def in 4hi. then it eased up and got to just a half snow covered road and still had it in 4hi b/c ppl were driving way to slow and the passing lane was slippery. 30 miles outside missoula come around a corner going 90 heard weather was perfectly clear ten minutes before from my girlfriend and bam white out blizard slowed down put it in 4hi come to almost a stop complete the turn and see 2 pick ups do 360s and hit a semi. i had to slam the brakes and started sliding across a bridge 0-sketchy as all get out. somehow managed not to hit anyone being in the middle of a 15 car pile up. 4hi will save your ass. i remeber two years ago when i had first gotten my license i was cruising down a street that was snow covered doing like 40 aqnd decided to take a short cut up a side street and took ym car out of 4hi-first mistake, i proceeded to take the corner wayy to fast and slid back and forth for a whole block sliding inbetween cars missing everyone till the last one on the block. piut a nice little dent in my bumper and the wheel well of a corolla. all worked out in the end the lady paid me 100 bucks b/c she didnt have a greencard

 

Mammoth got a lot of snow last weekend, I was quite interesting seeing all the 2wd SUVs trying to stay on the road.

 

Haha...this reminds me of this video:
http://content.collegehumor.com/medi...snowtowcar.wmv
It's a little big at 14.1 mb, but it's definately worth the wait. These idiots try to pull out a car but didn't hook up to the frame and rip the whole rear end off a car. :pat: