Snow Performance Fail

Backhoe you say? Seems to me that the best way to pull you out of a driveway with one would be to start by digging out the snow bank with the loader or blade, then spin it around, drop the stabilizers, and hook a chain from the hoe to your recovery hook. Would take just a few seconds to drag it out like that.

Backhoe's are pretty bad for traction on snow. The kind of tires they'll be equipped with (typically R4's) are terrible for snow. Especially if the backhoe is 2wd, they can barely get out of their own way in the snow.

 

Learn some physics and then come back. When you can demonstrate even a very basic understanding and willingness to learn, then we can talk more.

 

BUT PHYSICS!!!

 

Well then my vote is for high centered happens to me all the time in the snow. That + crappy tires = a lot of shovel time.

 

Everyone........please watch the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4JhruinbWc

 

Do you even own a Tacoma?

 

You were high centered on snow.

/Thread

Interested to see what underneath the truck is broken or bent? Brake lines. Fuel lines. E-brake. Shields. Mounts. Linkage.

 

This one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4JhruinbWc#t=1m50s&feature=related

From the 30s, but idea is the same. Gears is gears.

 

Haha. Yep, that's it.

 

Just to clarify....there seems to be a lot of confusion about traction vs torque distribution in a differential.

A differential's job is to distribute torque. An open diff is fixed at 50/50 torque distribution. It seems counter-intuitive, but the torque at each wheel in an open differential is the same! The torque available is equal to the least amount of torque that each wheel can handle. I.E. if one wheel is on ice that you're not going to have much torque available to go anywhere, but the torque at each wheel will be the same. It doesn't matter than one is spinning and the other isn't. If one wheel is in the air then essentially you will have zero torque available to the wheels.

Contrast this with a locked differential. With a locker the torque distribution changes based on the traction of each wheel. If both wheels have the same traction then there is equal 50/50 distribution of power. If one wheel is in the air than all 100% of the power goes to the wheel with the most traction.

It is weird that you can have zero torque to the wheels. But it is physics and this is how it works. It's not completely intuitive. I think most people understand the general mechanics behind how diffs work, but not necessarily the details.

TL;DR - Diff distribute torque not traction. An open diff has 50/50 torque distribution. The amount of torque is proportional to the wheel with the least traction. A lock diff varies torque distribution, sending more power to the wheel with the most traction. Both wheels will spin the same number of times but only one could have all the power.

 

.... And once you've lost your static friction (broken traction) it takes very little torque to continue to spin the wheel.

 

IMO the most important part of the OP's story is the "we broke SEVERAL straps" trying to pull him out. If the truck was stuck so badly that another FULL SIZE truck with tow straps couldn't pull him out, how the hell could he expect to drive out of what ever he was in??? Not a fault of the truck.

Maybe next time OP needs to shovel some more before deciding he needs to pay somebody to tow him.

 

Correct. Since an open diff sends equal power to each wheel, both wheels get little to no torque. With a locker, the spinning wheel would get little to no torque and the other wheel would get all the torque. Many people seem to think that open differential vary the torque to the wheels; always sending it all to the wheel with least traction. And that locked diff's always send 50/50 to both wheels. But actually, it's the other way around. Most people know the correct result, but not exactly how to describe it.

 

This. I get the impression the truck was parked pretty much high centered on snow, then left to freeze. Then revved the piss out of it trying to get moving. (slow spinning tires don't smoke)