First day in snow for Taco - what do you do?

Today northeast Ohio is getting hit with maybe 6” of snow. It will be my first commute with the new Taco. All highway. Do you put it in 4wd off the rip and keep it there or leave it or 2wd until you need it. Roads will be slushy and snow covered for all 40 miles.

 

What's your previous experience driving in winter conditions?

 

Unless you have weight in the back, just put it in 4 and go. It's not worth saving it to say you're a cool kid.

Calling for 6-8 at work for me.

 

What tires are you running?

 

Highways are generally treated and plowed often, so you probably won't be driving on much accumulated snow. If you don't have good tires/experience, 4WD may be in order.

 

Unless snow is completely covering the roadway don't use 4 wheel drive. Slow down.

 

I always enjoyed the challenge of driving a pickup with no weight in the back in 2wd in the snow. It's like a video game.

 

Bare ground (e.g. plowed and treated) then I stick with 2WD and take it easy but if there's slush or accumulation, 4Hi from the get-go. I've found too many hidden ice patches in the past and that's not something I want to deal with at speed.

IMO, 4Lo is the one you save for when you need it. When you suddenly find a need for 4Hi, it's typically too late.

That said, tires > 4wd all day long. I'd take a 2wd Tacoma with good tires (and some weight in the back) in roadway snow any day of the week over a 4wd with all seasons.

 

Had a 2.2 4 cyl 2wd s10 when I lived in buffalo. That was fun... I drove that thing often in white out conditions and unplowed roads. I got pretty acclimated to driving sideways lol.

 

first step, get to an empty parking lot, turn traction control off completely, go into s mode shift down to 1 then proceed to write your name in cursive in the parking lot

 

Agreed. Especially if you don’t have much snow driving experience, any sort of accumulation on the road, put it in 4hi. Doing 360’s with oncoming traffic isn’t fun.

 

First time in the snow with your taco? this calls for donuts.

 

Dont come to Canada, sometimes the roads are not covered in snow.

 

I have been living out here in the desert so long that couldn't tell Ya. Back when I lived up in the snow I had a 71 Cruiser with a modified 3 on the floor. Sometimes going around corners, slush came through the hole that was cut out in the middle of the floor for the shifter. Back in those days, Ya had to stop, get out and lock in the front hubs. Sometimes the hubs wouldn't lock in unless Ya rocked the Cruiser back and forth. Most of the time I was alone while doing this so I had to find smooth level ground, put it in neutral, get out and oh yeah make sure your hands are dry because you don't want them freezing to the hub locks. In my 3rd gen I turn a dial and a light comes on that shows I am in 4WD. If I want to go back to 2WD, I just turn that same dial back to where it started out. Oh yeah, I can do this while the truck is in motion, I don't even have to slow down to 35 like I did in Jeep Liberty Renegade, yeah I owned one of those lol. So anyhow like I was saying...

 

Been here all my life but mostly with front wheel drive. That light rear end is no joke in 2wd. Spin out like no ones business.

 

Trail grapplers. 33” lol. Also doesn’t seem great for ice. No plans to go snow tires but we’ll see how bad it is.

 

Yeah, front wheel drive is the way to go in light snow and hard packed roads.

 

I did a 360 once with a 2wd 4Runner. Was going straight and still don’t know why I lost control. First time with rear wheel drive again makes me nervous. Lots of experience, but not with rear wheel. The comment about frequently plowed and iced is not very accurate. I’m in the snow belt of Ohio. We have slushy conditions pretty frequently. Once snow starts it’s hard to keep up with the plowing. Slowing down is a given. You’ll see 10 cars in the ditch every day. People who think they can go 70 still.

 

mannnnn I gotta deal with salted roads in my new truck! who knew it would start snowing so early this year!

 

All-you-can-use car washes are the best if you have a touchless one around and don't have access to a yard and hose. It's $40 for the one by me and you can go once per day to get that undercarriage wash. Just don't do a touch car wash that frequently if you like your paint.