Hi,

I am going to be driving up to snowboard and was wondering if someone could help me out. Since I am not satisfied with my MT/Rs in the rain, I would like to know if using 4 wheel high is safe in rain and possibly snow? I just got into 4wheeling and am not sure. Also, in the manual it says something about using the locker in the snow? That cant be right, can it? Any driving tips for rain/snow up in the hills would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks
--Acid

By the way, I have a 98' limited lifted with 33s and a rear stock locker.

 

4high is usually always safe in snow. Rain can be borderline, it needs to be raining a whole lot or slick. This is for 4wd, if you have AWD it is safe in rain just don't lock the center diff. Using a locker in snow can be bad juju, the rear will try to pass the front during a turn. Toyota's e-locker is limited to 4-low and <5mph (unless bypassed as is common) which is kinda pointless in snow, probably a good thing.

 

Hey toy283, good to see ya here!
From what I understood, the locker could only be enguaged/disenguaged when under 5mph, but was useable at higher speeds when already locked in.

My advice, take it to an empty parking lot when it's snowy and try the locker out.
There are some benifits of having it (getting you out of a tight spot - one wheel not gripping well), but for normal street driving it probably doesn't help much.

As for the rain, I think the paved roads are still probably too grippy for 4wd unless you're hydroplaning.

 

Get your tires siped if you need more grip in rain- Discount Tire stores, at least here locally, have siping machines. It will improve the grip for ice and rain driving. They can sipe only the inner tread blocks, so that the outter lugs are still usable in the rough stuff.

I'm actually real impressed with my MT/R's in rain and snow- compared to BFG M/T's. I've had no hydroplanning or other problems with'm.

You should not need 4x4 in rain, unless it's a deluge of biblical proportions. The front end won't slip enough on wet asphalt, so you'll eventualy bind up the drive train.

Yes, the locker can be used in snow- it will amaze you. You'll cruise right on thru deep snow. Snow packed roads are fine too- as long as it isn't ice.

Ice, on the other hand, is not much fun. I drive a full spool daily, so I've learned to deal with it. Since I'm locked on both front and real axles, I use 2x4 for icy conditions- the front tends to go sideways on road crowns when it's locked.

 

Ice and a locker is a very bad idea unless you are used to it. The truck will get very squirly with you and probably send you off the road. Leave it in 4wd in the snow and 2wd in the rain.

 

tell you what...

i'll take those lousy MTrs off your hand and swap you a great set of M+S...

 

thanks for the help guys. One question... with all that has been said, am I wrong to think that deep snow with chains would benefit with locking the e-locker? I might be totally off here. Also I actually might be getting 35's here soon since these 33s look kinda small on my truck. I would be selling them on yotatech if anyone is interested. But then I would need a regear..damn

 

Chains and a locked rear end will kick some serious a**. I had to enter winter with mismatched gears and no studded tires - snafu in sas planning on my part. Our place is up 3 miles of posted 4wd w/ studs or chains access. Did that in 2wd with a NoSlip rear and chains til I could get shop time to accomodate said poor planning.

We're adjacent to parkland the size of NH, so see a lot of weekend recreation traffic (ie folks not used to driving snowy mountain roads) Each day I had to do that, I had less trouble in 2wd, locked and chained than some other 4wds I encountered along the way.

 

I drove in some really bad rain this summer. The wind was blowing so hard it blew a couple of trees over. I had no traction problems and was very impressed with the improvement over my old Bridgestone's. Again no two trucks are the same but try changing simple variables like air pressure. Siping sounds like it would help but maybe you were running too much pressure and had a higher hydroplaining potential?